Term 3 Week 1
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are recharged for the term ahead.
The Greater Sydney lockdown has of course impacted upon us here, in Grafton. I thank you all for your understanding in following our Covid - Safe Guidelines which have been sent to us from Catholic Schools NSW.
| Only enter school grounds for essential business or scheduled meetings with your child's teacher. | Wear masks at all times whilst on school grounds. The office has a supply of masks if needed. |
| Sign in twice using the QR codes at the office. | Hand sanitise at the school gate and socially distance as needed. |
| Breakfast Club has been postponed until further notice. | Canteen will go ahead every Wednesday and Friday. |
| Visitors / Parents are unable to attend assemblies until further notice. | If you wish to enter the school, please wait at the gate and ring the number on the gate. A staff member will come out to assist you. |
Secondly, we are very happy to welcome Melinda Plesman as a new member of our St Joseph’s school community. She is our Family Connect worker. Mel can help families to access a wide range of services including NDIS, housing, counselling, parenting programs, family violence and addiction services.
Mel has a Diploma in Community Services: Welfare and has extensive experience working with families and young people. She has worked with Social Futures for the past 9 years in the role of Family Support Worker. Mel is also trained in Triple P Parenting and is passionate about social equity and ensuring that all families can have access to the support that they need to help their family flourish.
We encourage any of our parents/carers to make contact with Mel if they would like more information about the help and support she can provide. Call Mel on 0409153405 or email melinda.plesman@socialfutures.org.au.
With every good wish
Lee Denton
Principal
Masters of Education (Leadership)
Assistant Principal - Anne Forwell
Welcome back everyone! It is great to see everyone’s smiling face and all the great learning that is happening already.
Leader of Evangelisation - Donna Bancroft
Remember Our Neighbours
As we prepare for the new term of learning and teaching ahead, it is important to focus on our neighbours. It has been a disrupted school holiday break for many as we navigate our way through more COVID-19 induced lockdowns and travel restrictions. While we are grateful for the great position Australia is in compared to many places in the world, we remember those in our communities whose health and livelihood have been adversely affected since the start of the pandemic. As we reflect on our Sydney neighbours, we are reminded of the great commandment to love one another. May we keep this powerful teaching firmly in our sights as we seek to see the face of Jesus in all those we meet on the journey of life.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus taught us to love our neighbour as ourselves. It is not for us to decide which neighbour we will reach out to in love, we are asked to love and to treat all as our neighbour because as Pope Francis said “In the face of every brother, especially the smallest, the most vulnerable, defenceless and needy is the unique image of God.”
Confirmation Reflection Day
Next Wednesday 21 July, Confirmation candidates from St Joseph's School will travel by bus to St Mary’s School for their final preparation of the Sacrament of Confirmation. The day will start at 9:30am and conclude at 2:30pm.
The children are reminded to bring a momento from their Baptism, a packed lunch and drink, recess, their pencil case and a hat in their school bag. Children are also reminded to wear casual clothes on the day. This is an exciting way to culminate all the children's learning and to celebrate with other children in the Parish who are also receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Please continue your prayers for the children who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from St Joseph’s Primary School- Lara Forwell, Rachael Savins, Miranda Scully, Hugh Brotherson, Ivy Lloyd and Rowan Lloyd.
Leader of Catechesis - Joe Stewart
Confirmation
A letter was sent home this week with the candidates outlining the final details of their preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. A parent meeting was held on Tuesday, 13 July at the McCarthy Centre. Thank you Fr Joe for sharing your insights in a practical way for our families. The children will attend a Confirmation Reflection Day on Wednesday, 21 July at St Mary's Primary School. Confirmation will be held on Friday, 23 July at St Mary's Church at 6:00pm. Bishop Greg will meet the candidates at 5:30pm before the Mass. All are invited to attend the Confirmation Mass to join in celebrating the Confirmation of the children in our Parish. Please keep these children and their families in your prayers during the last week of their preparation and faith journey. Miranda Scully, Lara Forwell, Rowan Lloyd, Rachael Savins, Hugh Brotherson and Ivy Lloyd.
First Holy Communion
Preparation for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion will commence early this Term. A letter will be sent home with the children who were confirmed in 2019. Most of these students will be in Year 4. The First Communion Mass will be held on the weekend of 11/12 September. Please contact the school if you require more information regarding enrolling your child in the preparation of this sacrament.
Leader of Curriculum - Hannah Gorman
Parent Interviews
Formal Parent teacher meeting opportunities have continued this week. These meetings have been great to assist both parents and teachers as we work in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests. If you have been unable to attend a formal meeting during this time you are always welcome to contact your child's teacher/s directly via their email or by phone on 6642 2 899.
Geography Teaching and Learning
The second Semester in 2021 sees all grades from K-6 move from learning about History as part of HSIE to Geography. Our school HSIE teacher Mrs Smidt has begun Geography lessons. Students are engaged and excited to study places and the relationships between people and their environments.
Mrs Smidt will lead students through the Geographical inquiry process as they investigate the following key content;
- Students investigate people, places and
environments. - They explore geographical concepts, such as
place and sustainability, through real world
examples and issues. - Students learn how to acquire, process and
communicate geographical information using
geographical tools and inquiry
If there are any parents, friends or family members with a particuilar interest or expertise in the field of Geography, Mrs Smidt would love to hear from them!
Sport Coordinator - Emma Davis
Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival
The scheduled Clarence Zone Athletics Carnival that was to be held on Tuesday 13 July was postponed due to the current restrictions in place stating that sporting events are unable to be held outside of Local Government Areas. The date for this carnival has not yet been rescheduled as we are unsure how long these restrictions will be in place. Once a new date has been scheduled families will be notified.
Olympics Fun Day
To celebrate the Tokyo Olympics, the school will be holding an Olympics Fun Day on Friday 30 July (Week 3). Students will be given a country that will be attending this year's Olympics. Students can either dress up in their country's colours or an outfit that represents that country. Students will participate in an 'Opening Ceremony' and some tabloid activities. Students will be spending time in class creating a flag to hold during the Opening Ceremony.
Current School Sport Covid Restrictions
The Current Restrictions in place for school sport are as follows:
- Sport within school grounds may continue as normal provided mingling of students is minimised
- Travelling for sport: travel for sport can only occur within the schools Local Government Area. This is determined by the Local Council boundary (ie Ballina Shire, Tweed Shire, Nambucca Shire etc). Interschool sport can only occur with schools within the schools Local Government Area.
- Mask wearing - outdoor public sporting facilities: students (over 12 years of age) and staff travelling to outdoor public sporting facilities must wear masks while travelling on buses however they may remove masks once they step off the bus until further notice.
Gumbaynggirr Language - Liz Hegedus
Giinagay Ngujawiny - Hello You Mob,
Welcome back to Term 3, 2021. Over the holidays the nation celebrated NAIDOC 2021. The theme for this year is 'Heal Country' which calls for all of us to continue to seek greater protections for our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and our cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction. As we are currently facing the many decisions of events being cancelled due to COVID, NAIDOC 2021 events were postponed to a later date.
On a brighter note, Stage 1 have created an awesome 'Indigenous Walker Learner' space. This area is designed for the students to understand how Indigenous people use different symbols to create their 'Storylines' through drawings, paintings, oral stories, dance and music. Students are able to create a story in the sand with many different Indigenous symbols. This is a great resource to allow students to become great story tellers through imagnative play.
Indigenous education is growing strong at St Joseph's. Teachers and students are interested, involved and excited to learn all of the Indigenous resources available to learn and teach.
Darrundang Ngiinda -Thank you
Miss Liz
IEW (Indigenous Educational Worker)
School Notes
Student Banking
As per Commonwealth Bank guidelines student deposit books are to be brought to school only on the day of banking and returned to students the same day.
Our banking day is Wednesday, therefore students are asked to only bring their deposit book in on that day.
Thank you
Drama and Voice Tuition
If your child would like tuition in drama or voice please contact Maree Hickson on 0421 656 019.
School Events & Dates
TERM 3
WEEK 2
- Wednesday 21 July - Confirmation reflection day at St Mary's Primary School
- Friday 23 July - Sacrament of Confirmation - St Mary's Church, Grafton 6.00pm
Uniform Shop
The uniform shop is located in the BrewHouse Village.
Opening hours:
Monday - Thursday 10.00am to 4.30pm
Friday by appointment only
Email: fytexptyltd@bigpond.com or Phone 6643 2989
Canteen
Canteen closed on Thursday's in Term 3
Our canteen will be closed on Thursday's in Term 3. This is due to not having enough volunteers to operate three days.
If you are able to assist us between 9.00 am and 12.00 pm on any canteen day.
Babies in prams are very welcome. Toddlers, however, can find the canteen an unsafe place so we would recommend that they are not present.
You may find you cannot volunteer every week - that is fine! We are grateful for any help you can give us. Please contact the School Office if you are able to help.
