23 July 2015

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s News

Catholic Education Week
26 July - 1 August 2015

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 26 July - 1 August this year.

This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.

The theme for this year’s celebrations is: Engaging Minds. Igniting Hearts. Serving Others.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

During Catholic Education Week 2015, Catholic education communities across Queensland are invited to celebrate and share how they are Engaging Minds. Igniting Hearts. Serving Others.

There are 299 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 147,000 students and employ almost 18,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.

Our school is planning a number of activities during the week and we hope you are able to join in the celebrations with us.

I thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you during Catholic Education Week 2015.

Listed below is a schedule of activities/events at our School during Catholic Education Week:

Sunday 26 July: Catholic Education Week Mass, 8:30am.
Monday 27 July: Soup Kitchen, Piazza, 11am-1pm.
Tuesday 28 July: Catholic Education Week Launch, St Mary’s Primary School, Warwick.
Wednesday 29 July: Primary students will create a Prayer Chain
Thursday 30 July: P-12 Pizza Lunch on the Primary Campus.
Friday 31 July: Pupil-free day; Bishop’s Inservice Day, Toowoomba.

Dr Michael McCarthy
Principal

Leader’s News

Winning Isn’t Everything – Sometimes you need to lose to win!

‘I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying, Michael Jordan

As you would realise from the other article I have penned for this week’s newsletter the first week of the school holidays for me was spent with a group of young men who were a pleasure to be with and to watch them grow both on and off the field.

As I reflected upon this experience I was once again struck by how much these young men had learnt over the week of the carnival. Sometimes it is only through sport that the idea of ‘Winning Isn’t Everything’ comes through.

The young men didn’t come first, didn’t pick up a trophy, didn’t play in a Grand Final and if we judged the success or failure of the carnival on collecting silverware we could call this a failure. The achievements of these young men were in no way a failure.

They were challenged on and off the field and met these challenges front on. They called upon stocks of resilience that I’m not sure that they knew they had. They have forged friendships with students across Queensland. They have shared the comradery of their team mates. They have developed a sense of self- belief and confidence that will stand them in good stead in the years ahead.

As our students progress through their school years there will be times when ‘winning’ just doesn’t happen; subjects are failed, non-selection in sporting sides occurs, they fall in a race, don’t get the mark they thought was deserved.

Just as on the sporting field these are opportunities for growth. It is only when we don’t learn from these events that we fail. As his ‘airness’ points out; ‘I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.’

David Fleming
APA

School News

Year 3

This term Year 3 are busy being natural scientists and investigating whether specimens are living, not living, or once lived. Students are discovering the characteristics that are needed to class items into these three groups, and also looking at how to classify living things into relevant groups. The class is very excited to be putting these skills into place by being an explorer and finding living and non-living things at or around their home.

The class is also busy learning about morals as part of Religious Education this term. We are investigating what it means to live a moral life and where the rules they follow to live a moral life come from.

The class continues to practise our literacy and numeracy skills every day, and we are excited to be able to access a class bank of MS Surface tablets to help us practice these skills, using online programs such as Study Ladder.

We start Geography this term and are looking forward to learning about Australia and our near neighbours, New Zealand, Fiji and Indonesia and our similarities and differences. We will learn about different climate zones and why it is important to protect places that have special significance for people.

Year 10 News

Year 10 have thrown themselves into the new term. In English classes students are studying William Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet, whilst Home Economic students have been creating jewellery. In History this week McAuley have been learning about the Treaty of Versailles, German territorial expansion and the invasion of Poland which triggered World War Two.

Year 10 had the opportunity to listen to Father Henry talk about the work undertaken by Missionaries of the Poor in Jamaica, Haiti and the Philippines. Students were touched by the corporal acts of mercy undertaken by these members. Members of the Institute fed the hungry, housed the homeless, cared for street children and the sick, and visited prisoners. Year 10 were very grateful for the chance to listen to such a proactive and humble citizen of the Catholic community.

During the last week of Term 2, Year 10 students participated in work experience placements to gain an insight into what the ‘real world’ was like. Asbjorn Gaskell spent his week at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism in an office role. ‘My various tasks were banking, payroll and completing other tasks which allow the business to run smoothly. It was enjoyable to work at the QCWT, as it gave me experience in the workforce, and it provided an insight into what’s going to be expected of me in a few years.’

Kean Bylicki completed his work experience placement at Bupa Optical Indooroopilly. He sat in on consultations and check-ups which enabled him to observe a range of practices. ‘I was able to learn in depth tests, processes and methods to identify if the patient had a condition as well as if they are in need of glasses or contact lenses.’ Kean’s placement further strengthened his desire to become an optometrist after leaving school, describing his experiences as ‘invaluable’.

Eve Perrett was also placed in Brisbane, where she was given the opportunity to work at Queensland Brides and Homes magazine. ‘I enjoyed learning how to publish and create a magazine and went to a bridal shop and met a model for the next spring issue. I was taught how to write a post for their online magazine and upload images for them.’

Inspired by her teachers, Hollie Grasso headed to Severnlea School to work with Prep to One students, where she assisted in various teaching activities. ‘I really enjoyed it as it gave me an insight into what it is like to be a teacher’ Hollie reflected.

Making Rosary Beads

At the end of Term 2, Year 5 students were learning about the early Church in Australia in their Religion Class. Interestingly we learnt that there were no Catholic Priests until the1800’s. So what did Early Australian Catholics do? They prayed the Rosary. It was a big part of their lives, praying the rosary kept their faith alive.

Not only did we pray the rosary and learn about the Mysteries, we made keychain rosary beads. We enjoyed it so much that we made Rosary Keychains for all of the Primary Teachers and Office Staff.

Mrs Mahoney joined us and at the end we all prayed a decade of the Rosary together. Mrs Mahoney pointed out to us that we could pray in many different ways – by singing, dancing, and even rapping the rosary.

Sports News

Confro 2015

In the first week of the school holidays students from St Joseph’s, again combined with Assumption College Warwick, to attend the Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Rugby League Carnival – more commonly and affectionately known as Confro. From humble beginnings in 1980 with 8 teams competing, it is now the largest schoolboy Rugby League carnival in Australia with 48 teams from across Queensland and Papua New Guinea.

Our schools once again nominated to the B division of the carnival and we were well aware from previous carnivals that this is never an easy task but a challenge that our young men look forward to each year. Our pool this year comprised of Shalom College Bundaberg, Santa Maria Gilroy Ingham and Marist College Emerald. Against Shalom on day one we were narrowly beaten 10 to 4. In the second game on day one we defeated Santa Maria 7 to 4 in a game played in difficult weather conditions. After checking the results of the five other pools we soon realised that we had a chance of making the top eight of B division after our final pool game on Tuesday morning. The boys played out of their skins defeating a much larger Marist Emerald team to the tune of 16 points to 8. After a nervous wait we found out that we had finished the pool rounds in eighth place, guaranteeing the team the highest result in the eleven years we have been at the carnival.

Tuesday afternoon is always the hardest game of the carnival with all players playing sore. Our opponents in the quarter final were St Thomas Moore’s from Sunnybank in Brisbane who had finished in first place in B Division. The boys started strongly and after 15 minutes scores were locked at nil all. Tommy Moore’s then scored two quick tries despite desperate last ditch defence. A try right on half time to Liam Duncan and a successful conversion saw the score at half time being 10 to 6. Unfortunately the second half began with the bigger forwards from Tommy Moore’s gaining the ascendancy to put on three tries and although outplayed in the second half the boys never gave up.

Wednesday was a well- deserved rest day and sleep in before heading off to Carindale for the annual shopping expedition. Thursday, although no longer in the running for any silverware, saw the young men upbeat and ready to play. Unfortunately we played an extremely mobile forward pack from Trinity College Beenleigh that were simply too strong for us winning by 38 points to 12. Our last game on Friday was played against St Columban’s Caboolture and was an entertaining game between two evenly matched teams. After leading for the duration of the match our boys let in a soft try with 30 seconds left on the clock. Luckily for the St Joseph’s/Assumption team the conversion was unsuccessful leaving the scores locked at 16 all at full time. This result left our team in 23rd place out of 48 teams, our best result ever on the field.

The involvement of our students doesn’t just happen and there is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes in to place to ensure that the young men are well looked after. Many would remember Mr Bob Bell, who now teaches at Assumption College, and would recognise the hours of work that he puts in to the preparation for the carnival and lead up games across the Darling Downs. Mrs Mary McLucas is our catering officer and the food we have on camp is always exceptional. Mr Michael Mahoney also attends assisting both on and off the field, he’s a whiz in the kitchen and boys affectionately refer to him as the ‘Cougar or Cougs’ for his lightning speed on the field delivering water and coaching instructions. A former player Jack Breene assisted again this year as water runner and trainer. I had the pleasure of attending as assistant coach again this year.

Mary, Mick and I were also recognised at the annual dinner for our 10 years of service to the Confraternity Carnival, an honour greatly appreciated by all. 2016 will see a changing in the guard with Mary ‘retiring’ from Confro, you will be missed Mary, not just for the food but also for the support at games.

A huge thanks to the sponsors who made this event so affordable for our players; Peter Sullivan Building, Crisps Coaches, Austasia Animal Products, Zin Met, Net Pro, Howards and Sons, Wattles JRL, Stanthorpe OZTAG, Stanthorpe JRL, Collegians JRL and Warwick Embroidery and Screen Printing.

Congratulations to our St Joseph representatives; Tom Jensen, Riley Taylor, Kai Robertson, Zach Hendry, Brodie Matthews, Regan Sullivan and Jacob Adams who represented our school with distinction.

My final thanks to our 22 young men who pulled on the Green and Gold of our schools. Well done gentlemen both on and off the field. Indeed this year ‘We took away boys and brought back men.’

David Fleming
APA- Primary

QISSN 2015

It was an exciting end to Term 2 for our QISSN squad as they prepared to take on the challenge of a week-long netball carnival played out at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre during the first week of the school holidays. The girls played schools that included: Assisi, Chanel, Blackhealth & Thornborough Colleges, All Souls Saint Gabriel’s School, St. Andrews, Good Shepherd, Assumption Colleges, Mercy College and St. Augustine’s College. It was an incredible learning experience as the girls were challenged physically as each match was played and the competition intensified leading toward semi-finals. The girls did not win any of their matches but were able to watch a number of other schools and learn more about the game we all love. The accommodation and food were superb and the girls were a tribute to the school – we were very proud of their efforts and enjoyed their company! There were plenty of antics played out including some pretty hysterical arm wrestling, questionable television viewing and swimming in freezing conditions. Credit goes to our two captains – Caitlin Debnam who sprained her ankle early in the carnival but mustered the courage to play on, Jess Westerhout who held the team together and Ingrid Sibley who was awarded the Most Valued Player Trophy for 2015. Congratulations to the girls and a huge thank you to our families for their support along the way and to the school community for generously supporting our fundraising endeavours this year.

Michelle McCarthy and Linda Perrett.

P & F News

Welcome back to Term 3. While most of our efforts are going in to helping with the 140 year anniversary fete coming up in October, the P&F Association are still busy with other fundraisers this term. Our annual Palgrove Fundraiser will be held on Friday, 21 August 2015. Thanks to Prue Bonfield for once again giving us the opportunity to run the food stall at her annual Palgrove bull sale. Liz Alldridge has kindly offered to once again coordinate this event. Thanks so much Liz, you and your team did an amazing job last year, and I’m sure will again this year. There will be a note going out shortly asking for helpers.

A reminder to all families that our Design-a-Brick fundraiser orders are due by the end of term 3 (Friday, 18 September 2015). Now is the time to start thinking about how you would like your paver to look. This is a wonderful opportunity for past and present students and staff members to create a long lasting legacy of your time at St Joseph’s and will not only beautify our grounds but also help raise funds for our P&F Association. There are many options available, an engraved printed paver, a hand drawn/written paver and even a business logo printed paver. Order forms are available on the school website or by clicking the link below. If you would prefer, Santina can print one for you from the office. We have a small number of pavers on display in our school office. Pop in and take a look.

We encourage everyone to attend our next P&F Meeting which will be held in our school library on Tuesday, 28 July at 7pm. We love to see new people at our meetings and to receive some fresh input. You will learn a lot about what’s happening around our school and Michael always has an informative Principal’s Report.

Reminders and Updates

Just a reminder that Homework Club/Tuesday Mathematics Tutorials will be running again on Tuesdays this term! (Starting 21 July 2015). Maths tutorials for secondary students will remain on a Thursday afternoon as well, in Frayne 1.

Who: All students in years 5-12 are welcome to come along
What: Homework Club/ Tuesday Maths Tutorials
Where: The St. Joseph’s school library (Primary Campus)
When: Tuesdays 3:30pm until 4:30pm (Weeks 2-9 during the school term)
Why: To promote learning and student collaboration within St. Joseph’s school

Hope to see you there!

Thank you and kind regards,

Alyssa Murphy

Year 12

Reminder Carpark and Pedestrian Crossing

Parents are asked to refrain from walking students through the Primary Campus Carpark. This puts students at unacceptable risk.

Towards the end of last term we have also noted that a number of students have been failing to use the Pedestrian Crossings correctly under the supervision of the Road Crossing Supervisors. Parents are asked to remind their children of the following points;

• STOP at the side of the road while the supervisor walks out on to the crossing with a red stop sign
• LOOK and LISTEN for instructions from the crossing supervisor
• THINK whether or not it is safe to cross, wait until all traffic has come to a complete stop and the crossing supervisor has signalled that it is safe to cross by blowing his or her whistle twice before stepping onto the crossing.
• Obey school crossing supervisor’s instructions.
• If you are riding a bike or a scooter, stop, dismount and walk across the crossing as advised by Crossing Supervisors.

I look forward to your cooperation in keeping our students safe.

Dave Fleming
APA Primary

Presbytery News

INVITING PARENTS
TO PREPARE THEIR CHILDREN FOR THE SACRAMENTS

Children who are in Year three or older are at an age
when they can be prepared for the Sacraments.
Please contact the Parish Office
(4681 2157 or stjosephsparish@halenet.com.au)
if you wish to enrol your child to prepare for the
Sacrament of Reconciliation this year.
(Parent Night 6th September; Enrolment 12/13 September;
four weeks of Instruction in October after the holidays.)
The children will be Confirmed and receive their
First Holy Communion in 2016.
Please contact Fr. Brian if you need advice or guidance.