Term 1 Week 6 2022

From our Leadership

Dear St Joseph's Community,

The week just past has been a challenging time for our community and our fellow schools. The strength of being a part of a system of schools is how we can support each other. Currently the best thing we can do is offer our prayers for those effected by flood. When needs become clearer we will organise a specific activity to support our schools and their families.

God of compassion, hear the cries of all who are in trouble and distress.  Accept our prayers for all those affected from the recent flooding.  Amen

Lent 

Despite the large number of children away due to the flooding emergency in the Clarence Valley, our children were still able to learn about the importance of Shrove Tuesday and enjoy a feast of pancakes. All children were involved in the making and cooking of the pancakes and we would especially like to thank Ruby for making and serving the batch of pancakes for the staff!

Ash Wednesday marked the first day of the Lenten season. We were all prepared to go to the church, but as our buses were flooded in, we held a beautiful ceremony here at school. Mr Rankin spoke about the significance of this day and how we all need to pray more to Jesus, be more forgiving and caring to others  and help all those who are less fortunate than ourselves. 

Classes were then issued with a Project Compassion pack which included donation money boxes, posters and resources to use in the class to help raise awareness of the important work Caritas Australia does in communities around the world.

Father Joe Holloway was also able to come and visit our new Kindergarten students and the Stage 1 class. It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to ask him many questions about our faith.

Incitare, the Year 6 discipleship formation program which was to be held at McAuley Catholic College will be rescheduled for later in the year.

Enjoy the photos of the last few days. We have an absolutely amazing group of students. 

Catherine McAuley

On Thursday, 17 March we celebrate the feast day of St Patrick. We will also be entertained by STARR Productions, a professional traveling show that will portray the life and times of Catherine McAuley. All children will attend this performance and the cost has been met by the school. In class, children will also be learning about the works of Catherine McAuley and how she formed the Sisters of Mercy who have lived and worked in Grafton since 1884. 

Families Welcome Again!

It has been wonderful to welcome our families back into the school grounds. Please feel free to come inside your school to drop your children off, pick them up or visit our school office. 

Our parent pick up area will now be along the green seat at the side of the school. Please come inside the school gate and down the path to collect your child. Children will be unable to leave this area without an adult so we ask that you please exit your car and come into the school to collect your child. 

On Friday, 19 March we will celebrate St Joseph's Feast Day. We will commence with a Mass at St Patrick’s Church. During this celebration we will induct our School Captains and Year 6 Leaders and present them with their badges. We extend a special invite to the families of our Year 6 students. We will also formally welcome our Kindergarten Class and new students to our St Joseph’s community. 

We are planning to celebrate this feast day as a whole school community, a separate note has been sent home outlining the details. Please make sure you return the sausage sizzle order form attached to this note.

As we are now able to gather as a school and have families join us, our first Assembly for 2022 will be held on Monday, 21 March at 2:15pm at school in our Mercy Hall. Please join us as we celebrate together as a Catholic community and recognise student achievements.

Late for school 

Attending school regularly is legally required for all children of school age. If your child is habitually absent they miss important learning, as well as opportunities to connect with their peers. Even being 5-10 minutes late regularly adds up to a lot of missed days. For example, if your child is 20 minutes late each day this adds up to almost one school year over their schooling life!! If for any reason you are having difficulty getting your child to school, please contact their class teacher for assistance. We wish to work in partnership with you to support regular attendance. We thank you for your support in this matter.

RATs

This Friday rapid antigen tests (RATs) will be sent home. Each child will receive 8 RATs to be used at your discretion, for example if your child is displaying symptoms.

Acting Principal-Danny Rankin       

Assistant Principal-Anne Forwell     

Leader of Mission-Joe Stewart

Shrove Tuesday & Ash Wednesday

K-2 Instructional Leader -Brooke Donoghue

Home Access to Learning Subscriptions

As part of our school subscription, your child has take-home access to Reading Eggs/Eggspress and Mathseeds. In the upcoming weeks, your child will be coming home with a login that will allow them access to Reading Eggs and Math Seeds if you wish for them to use it.

For Kinder students, these login details will be sent home once we familiarise your child with the program and have completed the initial placement assessment.

With Reading Eggs you get 3 programs in one – Fast Phonics, Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress. ABC Reading Eggs makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with great online reading games and activities.

Children love the games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, really motivate children to keep exploring and learning.

ABC Mathseeds supports students learning core maths and problem solving skills with fun, highly interactive and rewarding lessons. It combines highly structured lessons with fun motivational elements that keep children engaged and keen to learn.

They are both highly engaging and personalised resources that make learning fun for kids. They simply sign-in using any compatible computer or mobile device. 

Some students will also receive at home access login to ‘Reading Doctor’ which will further support their learning from school.

Please don’t feel pressured to complete these tasks everyday- do what is best for your family and your child. These programs are purely available to you if you wish your child to use them.

Sport Coordinator - Emma Davis

Gumbaynggirr Language - Liz Hegedus

Ginnagay Ngujawiny -Hello You Mob,

Last week Stage 2 and Kinder learnt all about Indigenous spears.  

There are a large variety of spears made by the Indigenous peoples of Australia, and they were made for a variety of purposes and from different materials. When making a spear, Aboriginal men would often use fire to help straighten or harden the wood. 

Spears were made to hunt and kill large land animals, fishing, birds and in any type of warfare.  The idea and design of each spear was created for the task at hand.

           Hunting large animals 

• Spears made for killing large animals such as kangaroos and buffalo need to be made out of strong hardwood to be able to penetrate through the skin of a large fast-moving animal. Often the spear point was made from stone that was shaped into a point and attached to the spear with resin and string or sinew. If stone wasn’t available, the point could be hardened using a fire.
  Spearing fish

• Fishing spears were made from lighter materials and often had several barbed points.  Bamboo could be used to make a number of points, otherwise the extra points had to be attached. Sometimes the branches wouldn’t be straight but could be straightened by holding them over a fire.
  Hunting Birds

• Hunting Spears for hunting birds were made out of light wood and were used so that they would hit the birds when they were in flight, damaging their wings and necks, rather than spearing them. Boomerangs were also used, as well as making the birds fly into net
  
  Fighting War

• Fighting spears were usually made from hard woods and had barbs on them so that they could not be removed. The only way of removing a barbed spear is to push it right through.Stage 1 and Kinder enjoyed learning about the different types of Indigenous spears and how they were made and utilized in order to collect food and protect from danger.

  Stage 1 and Kinder really enjoyed learning about the different types of Indigenous spears that were made by the Indigenous people to help  them hunt for food and protect themselves from danger.  Below are two videos of how spears are made and how to spear fish.

  https://youtu.be/6RTiGmnMvvU            Making and throwing spear for fishing

  https://youtu.be/w_wtR5zaGOY            Spearfishing

  
  

  Darrundang Ngiinda -Thankyou

  Miss Liz Hegedus

  IEW  Indigenous Educational Worker 

School Notes

School Improvement 2022

Each year staff set goals for our school community. This year staff will be working on two main goals to lead improvements in the areas of Catholic Mission and Learning and Teaching. 

GOAL 1  Mission: Students are evangelised to serve and nourish others with the values of the Gospel. Students model Jesus and build relationships with others by being witnesses to the Mission.

GOAL 2  Learning and Teaching: To improve student outcomes in reading. Quality formative assessment that informs teaching practice will lead to growth in reading for all students.

Bell Times

School Office

A friendly reminder that no change is kept in the School Office. When sending in payments please enclose the correct money.

Notes

School Events & Dates

TERM 1

WEEK 7

Thursday, 17 March - St Patrick's Day

Friday, 18 March - St Joseph's Day Celebrations: Mass at St Patrick's Church 9.30am; Lunch & sausage sizzle 11.00am followed by tabloid sports ALL FAMILIES WELCOME

WEEK 9

Monday, 21 March - 2.30pm School Assembly in Mercy Hall 

Wednesday, 30 March - School Cross Country at McAuley Catholic College

WEEk 10

Friday, 8 April Last Day of Term 1

TERM 2

WEEK 1

Monday, 25 April ANZAC Day

Tuesday, 26 April Staff Development Day (Pupil Free Day)

Wednesday, 27 April Students return 

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  Ph: 0439434410                                       

Canteen

CANTEEN OPEN WEDNESDAY'S

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Our canteen is in need of volunteers. Currently we only have enough volunteers to open one day per week . We would love to hear from anyone who can spare a little time weekly, fortnightly or even each month between 9am to 11.30am on a Wednesday or Friday- all mums, dads, carers and grandparents are most welcome.

If you would like to add your name to the canteen roster please leave your details with the school office.