6 December 2018

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

I would like to thank all students, staff, families and members of the parish and wider community for their support and commitment to the school in 2018. This year has been a year of change and improvement and I believe the school is well placed for great success in 2019.

I congratulate the Year 6’s who complete their Primary schooling this week. Our Semper Una (“Always One”) celebration on Wednesday acknowledged that they will always be a part of the St Joseph’s School community and wished them the best for the next phase of their schooling journey.

I also wish the best to the staff who are finishing at St Joseph’s this week. In particular, I thank Mrs Linda Perrett and Mrs Patricia Armstrong for their long and dedicated service. Thanks also to Miss Christina Benson and Mr Brian Carmichael.

To all of you, may you have a blessed, safe and restful Christmas break.

God Bless,

Andrew Kendall
PRINCIPAL

LEADERSHIP NEWS

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - SECONDARY

The end to the 2018 school year on the Secondary campus has been incredibly busy and as parents, you should be extremely proud of the hard work and commitment shown by all students during what has been a challenging assessment period.

I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the graduating class of 2018. As our school community gathered to farewell our senior cohort, I took the time to speak with the Year 12’s about their journey. Through this reflection, I reminded the seniors of how proud they should be of their time at St Joseph’s and the legacy they will leave behind. A legacy built on hard work, pride in our school, excellent academic success and as our Valedictorian alluded to, the sense of togetherness and the mantra “to never leave anyone behind”. As staff, we are exceptionally proud of the graduating seniors of 2018 and as parents, I am sure you are too.

For parents of students in Years 7-11, Semester 2 report cards will be mailed home early in the school holidays. These reports reflect the great academic success of many of the students in the secondary, as well as providing possible areas for improvement in the new school year. As always, I invite parents to contact the school in early 2019 to meet with myself or other staff to discuss your child’s academic progress and what we can do to work collectively to improve these outcomes.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to, on behalf of all the secondary staff, thank you as parents for your continued support of the school. The future for 2019 and beyond is bright and we look forward to continuing to share the educational journey with you and your child.

Matthew Brown
Acting Assistant Principal Secondary

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - PRIMARY

The academic year 2018 has come to an end and it is an appropriate time to reflect on all that has been achieved. Shortly all parents will receive their child’s semester report which provides a summary of their achievement this semester and some suggestions for areas which would benefit from further consolidation in 2019. Whilst the grades achieved for each subject are of interest to parents, it is also important to remember the academic growth that each student has made throughout the year. This may not necessarily be shown in the grades, but all Primary teachers would be able to explain in great detail the development that each individual child has shown. This is the information that will be passed to the teachers for 2019 so that the learning transition is seamless. For your reference when reading the reports, the following table outlines how the grades should be interpreted.

There is so much more that happens within St Joseph’s that can never be truly reflected in the academic report, including the sense of belonging and responsibility that each learner develops towards the school community and its members, the understanding of how to nurture friendships whilst negotiating the difficult times and the recognition that we have the ability to affect the lives of others through acts of service and kindness. It has been such a pleasure to be a part of this and more during 2018 and we are looking forward to what 2019 brings.

On behalf of all the staff on the Primary Campus, I would to thank the parents and families for their continued support throughout the year. I would also like to recognise the dedication of the staff and thank them for their commitment to providing the highest level of care, support and education for the children. Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to the children themselves who continue to surprise us every day and make our role as educators so fulfilling.

I wish everyone a restful and safe holiday and trust that we will all have the opportunity to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas and the role that Jesus plays in our lives.

May we all rejoice in the miracle, the gift and the promise of Christmas.

Sarah Yates
Assistant Principal Administration-Primary

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (APRE)

The Journey

As Term 4 quickly draws to a close it brings with it a time for reflection on the faith journey of St. Joseph’s School community throughout 2018. Whether through Religious Education lessons, liturgies, campaigns or events, each person in our community has come to know and experience the face of Jesus through their own faith journey. The seasons of the Church, as well as our many Faith in Action projects have enabled all of us to live out the Gospel values and share our journey with those around us. Our latest campaign, the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal, has seen many generous donations which will be gratefully accepted by the conference in making Christmas a little brighter for those in need in our community.

May I take this opportunity to thank students and their families for the support of the religious life of St. Joseph’s School and wish you all a holy and happy Christmas.

God Bless,

Megan Mahoney
Assistant Principal Religious Education

SCHOOL NEWS

LEADERSHIP TEAM ATTENDS SYDNEY VISIBLE LEARNING SYMPOSIUM

Members of the St Joseph’s School Leadership Team travelled to Sydney this week for a Visible Learning Symposium where world renowned educational experts, Professor John Hattie and Dr Doug Fisher, presented “Developing Assessment Capable Visible Learners”.

Visible Learning research is clear that when students know how to learn and are aware of strategies to help them learn, they are able to become their own teachers. Imagine students who describe their learning in these terms: "I know where I'm going, I have the tools I need for the journey, and I monitor my own progress." Now imagine the extraordinary difference this type of ownership makes in their progress over the course of a school year.

Professor Hattie and Dr Fisher shared their insights and experiences on how to make this scenario an everyday reality in classrooms - one that will significantly increase students' capacity to thrive as they take responsibility for their own learning. They talked about how the right approach at the right time can create classroom experiences that maximise student success at the different phases of learning.

St Joseph’s School has implemented a Visible Learning program in 2018 and is achieving great success in helping students maximise their learning.

DEBATING

The inter-school debating competition between Stanthorpe State High School and St Joseph’s continued last week with our second debate, hosted by St Josephs. This time the Year 7 team argued on the negative ‘That plastic water bottles should not be sold in Australia’. They put up some excellent arguments in a difficult position and won their debate.

The Year 8 team argued, also in the negative, ‘That organised sport should be compulsory in Australian schools’ and argued strongly from a difficult position and narrowly lost their debate. The debating competition has given our students an excellent opportunity to develop skills in public speaking and critical reasoning that complements and builds on their classroom learning. A special thanks must go to the parents and carers who have supported and encouraged our teams at home and by coming along to watch the debates, we appreciate your support. Stay tuned for another inter-school debating competition in 2019.

WET’N’WILD

It was the twenty-third of November, there was a gloominess where the dull streetlights glowed through the morning’s mists, there was excitement in the air. As cars pulled up in the St Joseph’s carpark, the Year 6 class of 2018 gathered for their last excursion as a group. Waking at 5am and travelling on a bus for three and a half hours was definitely worth the adventure that lay ahead of us.

After waiting for what seemed a life time, it was finally our turn to enjoy the annual year six trip to Wet ‘n’ Wild. We kicked off the day by all enjoying the memorable experience of ‘Mammoth Falls’, before we went our separate ways. Accompanying us on our trip were Mrs. Charlton, Mr. Fleming and a handful of parents. While we were getting wet and going wild, Mr. Fleming and Mrs. Charlton had a more dry and mild experience.

Slipping and sliding, screaming all the way, only stopping for food, water and reapplication of sunscreen we had a wonderful day with our friends. With great reluctance our adventure concluded, leaving many of us asleep on the bus. Our long- awaited excursion was, unquestionably worth the wait and was all we had hoped it would be. With strengthened friendships and a new extent of bravery the Wet n’ Wild trip of 2018 was one to remember. (by Claire Williamson)

CHOIR PERFORMS AT CARRAMAR

Carramar Villa’s residents were treated to a performance by St Joseph’s School Choir last week. The songs chosen for the performance were a mix of Gospel, Top 40 and Pop songs.

To share some Christmas joy, the students finished with some Christmas carols, much to the delight of the elderly residents. Choir master Jo Barker said, “the students were so well behaved I was proud to have them represent the school.”

YOUNG WINEMAKERS

Last week our Young Winemakers concluded their year-long program with a winery tour of the district. The students visited Ballandean Estate, Golden Grove Estate, Bungawarra Wines and Ridgemill Estate to gain an insight into how these wineries promote themselves locally and further afield, as well as how they attract tourists to their cellar door.

They also heard insights into the different philosophies of the wineries and saw how these have contributed to their different brand identities. It was an enjoyable and educational day, and St Joseph’s would like to acknowledge the time taken by the wineries to show our Young Winemakers around.

LIBRARY NEWS

This term I have had the absolute pleasure of working with some extension groups (Primary). This has been in addition to our usual library program. The students have been engaged in problem solving, creative writing, reading challenging texts, researching, planning and presentation – depending on the context and focus.

Some of the groups chose to research a particular topic and create a display of their findings. They have worked very hard and have loved the experience. Thank you to Miss Gangemi for helping with the finer points of creating large displays, which is in itself, quite a skill! We will be leaving the displays up for Term 1 next year and you are all invited to check them out!

Thank you, students for the fun and learning. It has been amazing!

Leslie Grant
Teacher Librarian

MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAINING

Our dedicated young mountain bikers have been training every Friday afternoon this term, and it’s been fantastic to see their confidence and skills developing over this time.

During the term they focussed on developing skills that will help them to ride designated mountain bike trails, including head and body position, the “attack” position, riding up and down hills, correct braking technique and lifting the front wheel. Various obstacles including cones, “practice logs” and balance beams have been introduced to hone their skills, and these will be put to the test when they headed out to ride the Mt Marlay trails this week.

GRANITE BELT CHESS

This term we have held Chess Club each Friday at lunch time in preparation for the annual Granite Belt Chess competition. Unfortunately, due to a change in dates we were only able to compete on two of the three scheduled days of competition which ultimately cost the teams higher placings.

All students improved in their ability to plan ahead and apply learnt strategies. A great time was had by all students interacting with other students from across the Granite Belt.

INTRODUCING STAFF

In the first newsletter of the School year, the new teachers were introduced as well as a reintroduction of the Leadership. Every fortnight, a staff member from both campuses will provide a profile of themselves to allow the school and wider community to familiarise themselves with the staff at St Joseph’s School. The school operates with approximately 50 staff members who all have a special role to play in the effective functioning of the school.

Hi! My name is Scott Stone and I am the Manual Arts Teacher at St. Joseph's School. I have completed 18 months at the school and I am currently developing the Technology curriculum and workshops. My family, wife Debi (Year 1 Teacher), my daughter Elizabeth and her 2 daughters, moved here last Christmas. All have settled in well, which is a credit to the school and the Stanthorpe community. My family and I are so happy that we took the decision to move here and make Stanthorpe our home.

I hope by the end of 2019 I will have established an environment that will excite and extend students academically and vocationally. Technology initiatives to look out for in 2019 are, Junior and senior Craftsperson's Awards, Go-kart racing, F1 Co2 cars, steam traction engines and 3D printing. Also, I look forward to the continual development of the workshop resources.

God Bless.

SPORT

TED BONNER TENNIS

Last Friday Luke Gasparin, Shania Politch, Charlie Haynes, David Romeo and Callan Grace represented St Josephs in the annual Ted Bonner memorial tennis competition. In the semi-final against Stanthorpe State School the team were defeated in a close encounter in a count back on games after tying two sets all. The students, as usual, were competitive and played in a sporting manner. Congratulations to the students and also Mr Grew for preparing the students for the competition.

ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL WILL FINISH AT 12 NOON FRIDAY 7TH

Please be advised that St Joseph's School will finish at 12 noon on Friday 7th December.

Parents will need to make arrangements for their child to be collected as there will be no supervision available after this time. School buses have been advised of this early finish and will not be operating for the afternoon.

2018 YEARBOOKS

Yearbooks have arrived. Parents and Caregivers are welcome to collect their ordered copy at the front office. There are only five copies left for purchase. Cost is $27.

2019 BOOKLISTS

The 2019 booklists are available from the website at

A Broadcast will be sent in the next few days advising of classes for 2019 with the appropriate booklist. A copy of the booklists will also be sent with the report cards.

ANNUAL ROTARY JUNIOR CRAFTPERSON’S AWARDS

On Monday last week the annual Rotary Junior Craftsperson's Awards were held at the school. These awards are open to all Year 10 Technology Studies Students. This year we had five completed entries including a 2-dog kennel, a 3D printed forging mallet, a blanket box, a coffee table and a bar stand. Rotary organised and ran the night, judged the entries and supplied the prizes donated from local businesses. This year's runner-up was Lachlan Mahoney with his Bar Stand and the winner was Franco Pozzebon with his Blanket Box. Our thanks go to Rotary for their continual support. Next year we are considering including a Senior Craftsperson's category in the awards.

LIVING AWAY FROM HOME ALLOWANCE

Secondary students Living away from home allowance is to support students who are boarding to attend an appropriate secondary school. Primary carers must be NSW residents. More information including eligibility for the allowance can be found at:

MERRY CHRISTMAS

St Joseph’s School would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

UPCOMING EVENTS