Term 1 Week 4, 2024
From our Leadership
Welcome
Kindergarten 2024
Our Kindergarten students were welcomed formally to St Joseph's with a special cross of St Joseph embedded into the wood. We hope that during their time with us at St Joseph's School they will imbue our school motto of ‘living and growing”.
Lord,
We entrust our children into your care, and as we do, may they grow in confidence and independence. May joy abound in their hearts and may they be filled with wonder, awe, and excitement. Help them make friends and grow as people of kindness and faith.
Amen.
Year 6 Leaders
On Wednesday, our Year 6 students were inducted as leaders taking responsibility for Mission, Sport and the Environment. We congratulate our Year 6 students on achieving this milestone and we look forward to seeing the energy, input, and role modelling that they will present to the school in various ways during the year ahead. Congratulations kids!
Beginning Year Mass
Our whole school Beginning of Year Mass was held at St Patrick’s Church on Wednesday of this week. It was wonderful to welcome our new Kindergarten students and acknowledge our Year 6 students as school leaders for 2024 at this special event.
Family Teacher Meetings
It was wonderful to see so many families meeting with their child’s teachers last week. Families were able to share information about their child and any goals for the future. Positive outcomes for students are more likely when schools and families work together. Families are most welcome to meet their child’s teachers at any time during the year. Please email your child’s teacher to make a suitable meeting time.
Year 6 Incitare
Our Year 6 students will join other year 6 students from across the Clarence Valley on Friday, 1 March at McAuley Catholic College to engage in the Incitare student discipleship day. Incitare means to stir up, incite, urge, spur - when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives we are invited to spread the good news to all we encounter. Students will experience faith nurturing activities and skills for being faith leaders at their school. An Event for this retreat has been added to the Compass portal for Year 6 students.
Parent Community Group
Thank you to those parents who could make it to our first meeting. A copy of the full minutes is available upon request from the Office. The highlights are:
- Crispy Cream Donuts our first fundraiser - Easter association.
- The Movie Night has been moved back to May due to concerns about daylight saving and sunset. The screen has been booked for the new night. Exploration of a popcorn machine etc.
- School will organise a welcome BBQ and family games for all families on St Joseph’s Feast Day.
- A kindergarten meet will also be organised so families can get to know each other in Term 1
- Move the Colour Fun run to Term 3.
Other fundraising ideas will be discussed at our next meeting.
Things that fundraising could be used for
- Netball rings
- Picnic tables
- More play equipment for younger kids
- Great availability of the Arts
A Crispy Cream Donuts Fundraiser
Who doesn’t like a donut especially around Easter time! An order form will be forthcoming with details next week. It is one form that I am sure your kids will make sure gets out of their bag.
Charity Fundraiser
It is Lent which is a time we think of others. The school will raise money through the selection of cans/bottles/juice containers. PLEASE send them to school. Our charity is once again CARITAS - Project Compassion.
Teaching and Learning
Dibels Parent Information
This term from weeks 3-6, our students will be completing DIBELS assessments.
What are DIBELS?
DIBELS are measures that help teachers and schools determine how students are performing on important reading skills. DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. These measures are designed for students in grades K-6 following extensive research done by the University of Oregon, Centre for Teaching and Learning.
What skills are measured by DIBELS and why are they important?
The critical skills necessary for successful beginning reading include: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The DIBELS measures assess students on four of these five critical skills, which are often referred to as the “Big Ideas” of reading. The table overleaf, describes each Big Idea of reading and lists the corresponding DIBELS measure.
Which tests will be given to my child/children?
Each student will complete the tests depending on his or her grade and the time of year. The table on page 2 shows the timeline for assessing your child/children on the Big Ideas of reading across grade levels.
How often are students assessed?
Students in Kindergarten - Year 2 are assessed on DIBELS at the end of the year to monitor their progress following implementation of their Systematic Synthetic Phonics program.- Students in Years 3-6 are benchmarked using the DIBELS testing materials three times each year; early Term 1, early Term 3 and mid Term 4.
How much time does it take?
Each of the DIBELS tests only takes about one minute to complete. DIBELS tests are “indicators” of the student’s overall reading status, and are not intended to be in-depth or comprehensive measures of reading. Just like using a thermometer to take your child’s temperature, which provides a quick indicator of your child’s general health, these quick DIBELS tests provide teachers with information about your child’s reading health and how well he or she is progressing on a particular early reading skill. Benchmark assessments generally take 2 to 6 minutes to give, depending on the grade of the student and time of year. DIBELS measures allow teachers to get valuable information about students’ reading skills without using large amounts of instructional time.
How will the results be used?
A student’s scores on the DIBELS measure gives the school information about whether or not a student is on track for grade-level reading success. A school can quickly identify students who do not meet the goals on each DIBELS measure and provide support. For example, if your child is reading words accurately, but slowly, the teacher can provide extra practice re-reading texts to improve his or her reading rate or fluency. System staff can also study the test scores across classrooms and grade levels to make decisions about how to best use resources to make sure that every child in the school, including your child, is on track to become an accurate and fluent reader.
NAPLAN Dates/Parent Information
The NAPLAN testing window for 2024 will be Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March.
Please link in this pdf https://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
During the next two weeks, teachers will employ explicit and differentiated teaching strategies based on the clearly defined Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for each group shown below. These objectives will guide both educators and students in the pursuit of specific educational goals for their group as well as their own personalised goal, fostering a focused and structured learning environment. Additionally, educators and students will utilise these criteria for teacher feedback, self-assessment and provide constructive feedback to their peers, promoting a collaborative and reflective approach to learning.
Principal-Danny Rankin
Assistant Principal-Anne Forwell
Leader of Learning - Brooke Donoghue
Sport Coordinator - Caitlin Crispin
The Clarence Zone Swimming Carnival will be held on Monday, 26 February at Maclean Olympic Pool. The bus will be departing school at 8:10am sharp. The carnival will conclude at 2:45pm. Students will return to school around 3:45pm.
The School Cross Country will be held in Week 8, on Friday 18 March.
Gumbaynggirr Language - Liz Hegedus
Ginnagay Ngujawiny -Hello You Mob,
This term in Kindergarten, we are learning all about Family. In Gumbaynggirr language the word for family is 'Barrmarrany.'
The structure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families are very important as it identifies how we connect with each other. Aboriginal families consists of grandparents, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunties, sisters, brothers and cousins. Each person has a role in the family in regards to kinship, values and responsibilities, including care, discipline and education. Aboriginal families rely on and nurture strong family ties as a means of passing on their cultural beliefs from one generation to the next.
We then looked at what roles are in our families. The first person we looked at was our mum, in Gumbaynggirr language mother is 'miimi.' In Indigenous culture their role was known as life giver. 'Miimi' also carried out healing ceremonies, dances and told stories to carry on social traditions. Women generally looked after children, cooked and took on the role of gatherers; collecting vegetables, eggs, shellfish and small animals. In many cases they were the primary providers of food. Women also made hand tools and clothing.
Kindergarten also shared some of the roles their mums carry out at home:
- My mum loves to tickle me.
- My mum loves to cook cakes.
- My mum swims with dolphins.
- My mum gives me lots of cuddles.
I can tell that all of kinder are loved by their mums.
We also listened to a story 'Family' by Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson.
Illustrated by Jasmine Seymour. This Indigenous story is about family, stories and songs, showing us the way home and heart and home.
https://youtu.be/RNZOyT3NZhI?si=Zzm1T1KIX27TkJAa
Darrundang Ngiinda - Thankyou Miss Liz Hegedus IEW Indigenous Educational Worker
School Notes
SCHOOL FEES
Term 1 school fees have now been applied. Your statement is available to view via the Compass app.
Thank you to those families who have made the change from Direct Debit to BPay for fee payments. BPay is the preferred payment method for school fees. Scheduled payments can also be set up using BPay, the Biller Code and your personal reference number can be found on your Fee Statement.
Paying through BPay ensures that your payment goes directly to your account. Any enquireies please contact the School Office.
ABSENCES
Please notify the School Office if your child will be absent for an extended period of time, Principal approval may be required.
Only full day absences are to be entered into Compass, for partial absences - arriving late or leaving early please phone the School Office to notify.
Change to afternoon travel arrangements may be emailed to the school if before 12.00pm sjpgraf@lism.catholic.edu.au
After 12.00pm please phone the School Office on 6642 2899 with any changes.
Uniforms
School Calendar
TERM 1 2024
Week 5
Monday, 7 February - Zone Swimming Carnival
Friday, 1 March - Year 6 Incitare at McAuley Catholic College
Week 6
Monday, 4 March - School Assembly 2.15pm
Week 7
Tuesday, 12 March - Parent Group Meeting 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Week 8
Monday, 18 March - School Assembly 2.15pm
Tuesday, 19 March - St Joseph's Feast Day
Friday, 22 March - School Cross Country
Week 9
Thursday, 28 March - Easter Celebration
Friday, 29 March - Good Friday (Public Holiday)
Week 10
Monday, 1 April - Easter Monday ( Public Holiday)
Week 11
Thursday, 11 April - Last day of Term 1 for students
Friday, 12 April - Staff Development Day
Merit Awards
Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Award.
TERM 1 WEEK 4
ES1: Thomas, Leonardo, Lacey, Alyssa
Stage 1: Daisy, Jack, Emelia, Logan
Stage 2: Patrick, Mason, Owen, Maddelyn
Stage 3: Jasmin, Eli, Heidi, Hunter
Canteen
Canteen
Open every Wednesday and Friday
Online orders are placed through the Compass app. before 8.30am. Lunch orders may still be brought in with your child, please write their name and class on the front of a paper bag along with their order.
Volunteers always welcome, please leave your details with the School office if you're able to assist.
Community Notices
