Term 4 Week 6

Acting Principal - Anne Forwell

It is hard to believe that it is already November and we are nearing the end of another school year. I would sincerely like to thank all of the staff, students and families for all of their support in another year that has had its challenges. 

COVID Update 

From this week all staff who work in schools are to be fully vaccinated. The NSW Government, supported by Catholic Schools NSW have also announced that fully vaccinated parents and visitors are permitted onsite to support curriculum delivery, wellbeing programs and school operations. These include programs such as reading support, canteens, uniform shops and gardening.

As schools are not yet in a position to welcome visitors back en masse, please ring the school for an appointment should you wish to visit the school for other reasons. I rely on your understanding that appointment numbers and times are limited and are at the discretion of the school.

Please remember to bring your proof of vaccination when you come to school. You’ll be asked to show this proof at the front desk as you sign in to the school system and to Services NSW. Please remember these rules are required by the NSW Government. Your respect and patience towards our front office staff is appreciated. It is important to also note that schools operate under different restrictions than the general community. 

Year 6 Graduation 

We are pleased to inform our community that we will have a Year 6 Graduation dinner on Thursday 2 December at the Grafton Golf Club. We are looking forward to celebrating this special event with our graduating class. More details will follow for our Year 6 families.  

Year 6 Camp

Due to COVID Level 3 school restrictions we are unable to hold an overnight camp or a day trip for our Year 6 students. In place of this we have organised for there to be two Stage 3 fun days at school. 

End of Year Awards Ceremony and Thanksgiving Mass

We are hoping that these events will go ahead if restrictions are lifted. Again we will keep everyone updated. 

Reports sent home

Due to the current COVID situation as well as our previous lockdown, reports this semester will not include a subject grade from A - E. The reports will include comments on your child’s learning and progress in English, Mathematics, Religious Education as well as a general comment. Parent/teacher interview opportunities will also be provided. 

Previous School Reports 

In 2022 we will move to a new office and reporting system. So that information is not lost in the change over we encourage you to download your child’s previous reports from the parent portal and store these on your device. http://parent.lism.catholic.edu.au/   

Orientation 

We are thrilled to announce that our Junior Joeys Orientation to Kindergarten will commence soon.

There will be 3 sessions from 9.00am until 12noon on Wednesday 17 November, Wednesday 24 November and Wednesday 1 December.  Children are to be dropped off at the school gate please.

If you know of anyone who would like to secure a place for Kindergarten in 2022 and attend these sessions please contact the school office on 66422899. We are excited!

God’s blessings on each of our families this week

Acting Assistant Principal & Leader of Catechesis-Joe Stewart

Exuro Retreat for Year 5 Students: Set the World on Fire

Our Year 5 students will soon participate in a school-based retreat called Exuro. 

Exuro (Latin for “on fire”) is a student discipleship formation program for Year 5 students that will strengthen the Catholic lives of students and keep the fire and passion of Proclaim Lismore Students alive in parish primary schools. 

Theme: Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith and purity. – 1 Timothy 4:12

The full-day retreat will be led by Mrs Bancroft. A note with further details will be sent home with Year 5 students next week.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Appeal

The end of the year is fast approaching and this means our attention turns to preparing for the great celebration of Christmas. I'm sure that this Christmas will be extra special as restrictions ease and families reunite and celebrate being together again. Each year our school community prepares Christmas Hampers which are donated to St Vincent de Paul to be distributed to families who are less fortunate than ourselves. To ensure that these hampers contain a variety of food, each child will receive a letter requesting a food item that they can bring in for donation. The support of this cause has always been amazing and the children experience a great deal of satisfaction knowing that they have contributed to making someone else's life better. If we all give a little, it will help a lot.

Salvation Army Toy Run

We also provide an opportunity for children to donate new toys. Toys can be brought in and placed in the Christmas box in the office foyer. These toys are donated to the Salvation Army for distribution. Once again, thank you to those who in the past have generously contributed to this important cause. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

THE SPIRIT OF JESUS  - MAKING JESUS REAL  (MJR) 

At St Joseph’s we encourage our students to “Make Jesus Real” by the way they act in our school community, while at home and out in the wider community.

The most amazing thing happens when we do something good for others - we shine the light of the spirit of Jesus out of our hearts and, when we see others doing good things, we see the spirit of Jesus in them. How do we show the Spirit of Jesus? Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

MJR at St Joseph’s encourages our students to be WEST people - that is WELCOMING, ENCOURAGING, SAY SORRY when needed and be THANKFUL.

If we have the spirit of Jesus in our hearts, then we are kind, compassionate, welcoming cheerful, giving, forgiving, encouraging, cheerful, friendly and thankful.

Mercy In Action - Service

This week I have noticed several students holding the bin lids up for other students at lunchtime and walking around the school collecting any rubbish around the school that has blown around due to the recent storms. Their message is simple. We have to take care care of our school and the earth as it is God's most precious gift to us. This simple act of SERVICE has been done voluntarily by various students, and today it was Miranda, Rachael, Rose and Pippa in Stage 2. Mary of the Cross (Mary McKillop) said, 'Never see a need without doing something about it.'  

Thank you to all our students who see a need and do something about it.  You are Mercy in action.

St Joseph's Annual Chess Tournament

Excitement is building as the children are busily getting in their last practice games before the tournament commences next week. We have 20 students who will be participating in this competition. We wish you all the very best of luck and hope you enjoy this experience.

Leader of Evangelisation - Donna Bancroft

Socktober- Mission Day at St Joseph’s

Socktober is an initiative of Catholic Mission which aims to ‘kick goals for kids in need’ and help some of the most needy and vulnerable children in the world have better opportunities in life and a hope filled-future. 

Students at St Joseph’s and even Bertie were encouraged to wear their favourite, crazy or cleverly decorated socks to school. We passed a sock around and collected a total of $172.20. All funds raised were donated to Catholic Missions to support the vulnerable children and their mothers in Thailand. 

In preparation for the Socktober Mission Day event, the students took up the challenge and made their own class soccer ball from recycled materials like plastic bags, bubble wrap, socks and then bound the ball together with whatever they can find like tape, string, twine etc. By playing a game of soccer for sport, while wearing crazy socks and using a handmade soccer ball, our aim was to bring the concept of mission alive for our students. 

Resources from Catholic Mission helped students think deeply about why they were participating and raising funds for missionary works. Students first got their heads around the reality of children in developing countries, then filled the students’ hearts with love and compassion for the people that they were supporting and finally, compelled them to use their hands to take action.

Grandparent’s Day

Grandparent’s Day at St Joseph's was celebrated during the last week in October and has been encouraged by Pope Francis since 2015.

Pope Francis said, when recalling the upcoming feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple – when the elderly Simeon and Anna encountered the child Jesus and recognized Him as the Messiah, “the Holy Spirit even today stirs up thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly.” The voice of the elderly “is precious,” he said, “because it sings the praises of God and preserves the roots of the peoples.” 

Our Pope continued, “the elderly remind us that old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between the different generations, to pass on to the young the experience of life.”

As part of the day’s activities, students explored the ‘Ask Gran not Google’ Grandparent’s Day resource, to spark conversations. Classes then wrote questions and messages on postcards to give to a grandparent or a special senior person in their life as part of the day’s celebrations.

All Saint's and All Soul's Day

All Saints Day was celebrated on November 1. The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church, that is, all those who have attained heaven. All Souls Day was observed on November 2, and is dedicated to those who have died and not yet reached heaven.

The students at St Joseph's investigated a range of saints, including St Joseph as it is the Year of St Joseph, and St Mary of the Cross since Mary Mackillop is Australia's first and only saint. Students also researched how someone becomes a saint and the process leading up to the canonisation.

Students in Stage 1 reflected upon which saint they admired and why. Discussions in Stage 1 centred on people in the student's lives that they considered a saint and what attributes led them to make their conclusion. Students in Stage 1 mastered the art of making a stained glass window in honour of their saint during their Walker Learning investigations. The stained glass windows are proudly on display in the Stage 1 classroom.

Pope Francis calls for us all to become saints. 

K-2 Instructional Leader - Carole Reinhard

It is lovely to see students focusing on learning tasks and their Walker Learning investigations.  In Stage 1 the students are learning the jump strategy in addition. They are still learning how to write a persuasive argument to sway the reader to their point of view. In science they have been focusing on Force and Movement.

Kindergarten have been busy writing persuasive arguments as well. In mathematics they are counting larger groups of objects and learning about heavy and light.

Next week will see the commencement of the Kindergarten Orientation over three weeks, commencing on Wednesday 17 November. We are all excited the meet the Kindergarten class of 2022. 

Sport Coordinator - Emma Davis

School Swimming Carnival 2022

The school swimming carnival in 2022 will follow the same format that was introduced this year. Students who wish to compete to represent the school at the Clarence Zone Swimming carnival will be invited to participate in the school swimming trials on Wednesday 9 February at the South Grafton Pool. The whole school swimming carnival will be held on Tuesday 22 February at Grafton Olympic Pool, where all students will be able to participate in a variety of events.

A note will be sent home with students at the commencement of the school year to collect nominations for the school swimming trials. Students will need to nominate prior to the event, nominations will not be excepted on the day. 

Age champion points will be collected at both the swimming trials and swimming carnival, to determine the age champions.

If you require any further information please contact  emma.davis@lism.catholic.edu.au   

Library/Book Club Coordinator - Anna Smidt

Book Club Issue 8

The catalogue for Book Club Issue 8 will be sent home when it arrives at school. In the meantime you can use the link below to view and order online if you wish. Look out for the catalogue in your childs school bag over the next few weeks. If you wish to place an order through the school, please have your order in by Thursday 2 December.

Don't forget, books make the best gifts and this could be a chance to start your Christmas shopping!

https://www.scholastic.com.au/book-club/book-club-parents/

Premier's Reading Challenge

Congratulations to the amazing readers who completed the Premier's Reading Challenge this year. Certificates  for these students will be arriving at school soon. Congratulations once again, we are so proud of you!

Gumbaynggirr Language - Liz Hegedus

Giinagay Ngujawiny -Hello You Mob,

The school has purchased four Indigenous language and story  books. Two of the books have wonderful Indigenous Gumbaynggirr stories told from the perspective of different Gumbaynggirr elders. About their lives growing up and surviving being an Indigenous person through all the different aspects of a developing country.

The other two books are a Gumbaynggirr language dictionary and workbook. As you know the students are learning about Indigenous culture each week at St Joseph's, they are also learning the language we speak known as 'Gumbaynggirr' language.

These four books will benefit the school imensely for many years to come. 

Darrundang Ngiinda -Thankyou

Miss Liz Hegedus

IEW (Indigenous Educational Worker 

School Notes

School Banking update from Commonwealth Bank

For 90 years, our School Banking program has helped children learn about money, reinforced the importance of regular savings and provided structure for parents to support their children to save.

Though the program continues to have strong support from schools, parents and teachers, recent decisions by some state and territory governments because of a review by the corporate regulator mean we are unable to continue providing programs in schools, and we have had to make a difficult decision to close our School Banking program for all government and non-government schools across the country.

Our School Banking program was established in 1931 at a time when having a bank account was not commonplace, and since then we have helped more than 15 million Australians take their first financial steps. This would not have been possible without the wonderful support we have received from schools like yours, including all the parents and volunteers, and for this we are deeply grateful. Thank you.

Even though this is a sad time, School Banking has taught so many young Australians, past and present, the value of money and we believe this should be celebrated. We have created a place for you to share your stories, fondest memories and lessons learnt through the program. To share your story and access our financial education resources, please visit commbank.com.au/schoolbanking 

Even though the CommBank School Banking program will not be returning to your school after this year, you can continue to make deposits into your child’s Youthsaver account through online transfers or at any CommBank branch. If you need further information please phone 132 221 or visit your local CommBank branch.

MUSIC TUITION

Maree Hickson tutors in guitar, piano, voice and drama. If your child would like tuition please call Maree on 0421656019 or email maree.hickson@hotmail.com

School Events & Dates

TERM 4

WEEK 6

Thursday, 11 November - Remembrance Day

WEEK 7

Wednesday, 17 November - 9.00am - 12.00pm Kindergarten Orientation Session 1 

WEEK 8

Wednesday, 24 November - 9.00am - 12.00pm Kindergarten Orientation Session 2

WEEK 9 

Wednesday, 1 December - 9.00am - 12.00pm Kindergarten Orientation Session 3

Merit Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Award. 

WEEK 5

Stage 1

William Fallon for his dedication and focus during guided reading.

Jimi Smith for his wonderful explanation about how forces work.

Elsie-Maree Harris for her outstanding improvement in reading.

Alexander Hylton-Cummins for his outstanding effort in reading this week.

WEEK 6

Kindergarten

Mason Montford for identifying sounds in words and blending them together to form a word when reading.

Ruby Woods for always contributing to class discussions.

Emily Clay for identifying items that are light and heavy when completing her photographer role.

Stage 1  

Maddison Hayes for writing some fantastic arguments why someone shouldn't open the book.

Pippa Bennett for demonstrating the cognitive domain of asking questions to find out more information about the learning.

Lincoln Browne for showing maturity in his learning.

James Awberry for modelling the social domain of being an active listener and showing eye contact.

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