2023 Term 2 Week 3
Principal's News
Dear St Joseph’s Community,
This Sunday, we celebrate Mothers’ Day – an important and special day when we remember and give thanks to our mothers for everything they have done to guide and shape our lives.
I am sure that each of us has a very special memory of our mum or another important woman in our lives, and many of us are fortunate to still have the opportunity to continue creating beautiful memories with our mothers.
For all our mothers and other special women, on this special day, we honour them. We hope they can join us for a prayer assembly this Friday, in McCarthy Hall, as we pray for and honour all of our mothers.
We wish all our mums a very happy Mothers' Day for Sunday, 14 May.
A Blessing for Mothers
Loving God, we pray for all mothers.
New mothers, navigating the newness of motherhood.
Expectant mothers as they wonder and wait.
Mothers who are tired and stressed.
Mothers living in poverty.
Mothers who are alone.
Mothers who have lost a child.
Mothers who care for the children of others.
Mothers whose children have left home.
Those whose desire to be a mother has been left unanswered.
Bless all mothers, that their love may be deep and tender, and that they may lead their children to know and do what is good, living not for themselves alone, but for God and for others.
Amen.
May: A Marian Month
May is traditionally a month when we pray to and celebrate Mary, the Mother of God. and ‘Our Good Mother’. Jesus, in his last moments on the cross, entrusted his own mother into the hands of his disciple John, saying to him “behold, your mother” (John 19:27). It was at this moment that we all became blessed to call Mary ‘Our Good Mother’.
Mary, like all mothers, is a wonderful teacher. She teaches us first and foremost how to be a disciple. She did this primarily through her fiat, her great YES to the call to bear the Son of God. Mary was really the first follower of Jesus and she calls us to follow her Son also. Mary, as all wonderful mothers do, gave her Son the gentle nudge he needed to commence his ministry at the wedding at Cana, encouraging him to transform the water into wine. Mary was also present at the birth of the Church when the Spirit swept through the upper room at Pentecost, thus modelling for us how to be an apostle to the nations.
Mary is a constant reminder of how to live a life in Christ. We pray for Mary’s intercession throughout May, confident that our prayers will be heard.
Child Safe Standards
Our school, as part of the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Limited (DLCSL), like all child-safe organisations, is implementing the Child Safe Standards. As a part of this work, we share our Child Safeguarding Commitment Statement which reinforces our dedication to the safety and wellbeing of all children. Please take the time to read the commitment statement, and if you have any questions, please discuss them with the school leadership team. We will continue to engage with you on this important matter.
Tell Them From Me
A sincere thank you to all parents who were able to share their voices through the Tell Them From Me survey last week. Your voice, along with that of your children and their teachers, will help to guide the direction of our school going forward.
I look forward to sharing the analysis of the survey with you when the results are released.
If you haven’t yet completed the survey, there is still time. The survey closes this Friday. You can access the survey via this URL: tellthemfromme.com/joeysalstonville2023
Managing Technology
Following on from our work with Safe on Social, we will continue to share helpful resources for parents to help navigate safe and healthy technology use with our students. We encourage parents to take the time to engage with these resources.
Parental As Anything Podcast - Maggie Dent
Those parents with children with upcoming birthdays might be interested in this podcast episode from prominent Australian parenting guru Maggie Dent.
How to throw a birthday party your kid will actually enjoy.
Parish School Forum - Save The Date
The next meeting of the Parish School Forum is Tuesday, May 23 in the Staff Room. Details will follow in our newsletter and through Compass.
Acknowledgement to Country
Jingi Walla ( Jin-gee-wah-la ) Hello….
As we journey on this land of the Bundjalung Nation on which St Joseph’s stands, we pay our respects to the Elders - the past, present and emerging leaders of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge and respect their culture, their heritage and their beliefs as stewards of the land, sea, the earth and heavens, animals and vegetation.
Mission News
Catholic Schools Week
Thank you to the large number of families who joined our Catholic Schools Week celebrations last week!
Our Kindy students beautifully performed a song ‘My Lighthouse’ by Rend Collective. Our thanks to our Kindy students and their teachers, Miss Stokes and Mrs Lewis, for this joyful ending to our Catholic Schools Week assembly.
The following prayer was shared by our Year 6 leaders at assembly, to celebrate our own wonderful parish-school community and the important role of Catholic schools in living out the mission of the church.
Learning & Teaching News
The Writing Rope is a visual for ensuring that there is balance in writing instruction and that not too much focus is given to one area over another. Using the Writing Rope as a guide, we can make sure that we are covering all of the necessary bases in helping our students become competent, well-rounded writers. The writing rope helps students put words and sentences together to create text that is meaningful.
Strand 1- Critical Thinking: This strand includes those skills students need in order to brainstorm, plan, organise, and execute their writing. Everything from researching a topic to choosing a logical plot line uses critical thinking skills.
Stage News
Stage 2 has been looking for opportunities to use their STEM skills to enhance classroom learning. Take a look at their recent challenge to build the tallest structure with one cube as the base.
The children had access to a range of materials to build their structure but were not allowed to tape their structure to the cube or the table! During their reflection, the students all agreed that stability was a key element needed to be successful with this task.
Stage 3 have been using poetry to express their thoughts and memories about their camp at Tyalgum at the end of Term 1. They have shared some photos and examples of their work with us:
Excitement was building as we boarded the bus
Who is in our cabin became a big fuss
We arrived at camp with loads of trepidation
We looked out the window with a mesmerising sensation
Getting to our cabins with our best friends
3 full days packed with fun and excitement
Not wanting to go home but sleeping in my own bed fills me with excitement
By Penny Hodge
Clinging, sliding, flying, slipping, clipping
as you grab onto the rope
for your life.
He let go of you.
You can't not look what you see is
Amazing, the tree blowing in the
Wind, the clouds slowly
Moving and your friends learning.
You will never forget camp
Flying Fox was amazing.
By Ruby Vickrage
Clickety clang, anticipation rush, claps and cheers all around I feel like a champion.
Wibble wobble,the wire twitch, I’m clipped on and I zoom down the wire.
By Zeke Kubils
Fire crackling, orange sparks in the air warming my whole body
as golden syrup runs down my hands.
The smell of the fluffy warm damper reminds me of a cold night roasting marshmallows.
Listening to the sound of the birds chirping
as we watched the sky turn from burnt orange to black
Cheers, chats and laughter as children hopped back to their quiet cabins
By Harpa Windley
Sport News
Zone Cross Country
Last Wednesday, 43 students travelled to Goonellabah to compete at Zone Cross Country. As always, our children showed amazing sportsmanship both on and off the track and gave their all in their races. Have a look at our results below:
John Wilkie- 3rd 8 year old boys
Hugo McCall- 4th 8 year old boys
Braith Duncan- 4th 9 year old boys
Jordy Thompson- 8th 9 year old girls
Sully Mitchell - 6th 10 years boys
Josie Layland- 1st 11 year old girls
Will Gallagher- 5th 12 year old boys
We wish our 9-12 year olds the best of luck as they compete at Diocesan level on Tuesday 23 May, in Grafton.
A reminder that all school singlets should have been washed and returned to the school office.
Congratulations to Cawley House (green) who were the Cross Country Champion House.
Year 6 Cawley students were presented with the Cross Country trophy at the assembly last week.
Structured Play at Lunch Time
We have recently introduced some extra playtime options for students during lunch. We identified a lack of female participation and a lack of variety in the games played at lunch. We then sought feedback from Stage 2 and Stage 3 students about sport at school. Some areas of concern that students identified were: mostly boys who play; some play appears rough to less confident players; always the same sport; non-inclusive between boys and girls; field sharing is a struggle. They offered some great insight and suggestions about what they would like which included having greater opportunity to play different sports rather than the same game every day (typically Soccer), and which ones they would like to see more of. They then suggested the use of a timetable, similar to our structured play schedule, to organise this.
As a result, on Tuesdays, we now offer a more gentle approach to sporting games and activities. For example, today, children played a modified game of Hockey using a soft ball and pool noodles. (Everyone had a great time!) On Thursdays, we offer a more structured approach to regular lunchtime games, to build skill levels, sportmanship and teamwork. We have also added a netball post for student use as well as a second set of soccer goals for easier sharing.
Athletics Carnival- Save the Date
This year we will be having a combined Athletics Carnival again with St Joseph’s Primary School, Coraki, at Geoff Watt Oval on Friday 23 June, (T2, Wk9). More information to follow later in the term.
Miss Linsey MacDonald - Sport Co-Ordinator
STEM News
Stage 1 Excursion
Stage 1 will be travelling by bus to Ballina to the Australian Sea Bird and Turtle Rescue for their STEM unit on Living Things THIS Thursday, 11 May.
A reminder to parents to please go to the Event in Compass to give permission and make payment. Cost $15 (includes $8 entry fee and $7 bus).
(Students will have an opportunity to purchase gifts from the Mothers' Day Stall on their return to school.
Parish News
Children’s Liturgy of the Word – Sunday, 14 May 2023
Leader on the day will be Mr Phil Crosby
Children’s Liturgy helps your child/children grow in their faith and love of Jesus. We encourage you to bring your family to the 8.30am Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary Alstonville Church on Sunday, 14 May. The children accompany their family in the church at the beginning of Mass, and then when the Liturgy of the Word commences, the children leave to go to the hall to hear the Word at a level that they can understand. It is designed for children aged from 3 – 12. The activity sheet that follows the Gospel of the day, is age appropriate.
All of the Children’s Liturgy Leaders have been verified under the Working with Children Check
process.
Please feel free to contact the parish office on 6628 3047 should you have any queries.
Canteen News
Supply issues:
- Due to company re-branding, we are unable to source our 300ml fresh flavoured milk at the moment. The children will still be able to purchase these flavours from the canteen but will receive a different brand. Thank you for your understanding whilst we work through this supply issue.
- We are also having supply issues with cinnamon donuts and gluten free nuggets. These items will appear on the menu as soon as they become available.
Thank you to the families who have embraced the use of the online ordering system. If items appear on the menu as unavailable or sold out, it isn't a permanent removal of items. These items will be opened for ordering as soon as they become available.
Please remind your children that if items like Chill Js are not in their lunch basket, to come to canteen to select another flavour.
Thank you,
Emma Thrum, Canteen Co-Ordinator
Celebrations
Congratulations to our Award recipients and...
...to our Gold Award recipients.
Coming Events
Mothers's Day Stall & Liturgy
We are looking forward to celebrating Mothers' Day this weekend.
We will have a gift stall, facilitated by the PSF, THIS THURSDAY, 11 May. Gifts range in price from $1 to $8. Cards and gift bags are also available for purchase. Each student who wishes to purchase gifts must bring money on the day. Anyone who purchases an item automatically goes into the draw for our Mothers' Day Raffle.
We also have a Mother's Day Prayer Assembly this Friday at 2:30pm in McCarthy Hall. We invite all the special people in the lives of our children to attend. (Please see some helpful tips below to assist when signing-in.)
We would love to have a slide show with photos of as many mums and other special women in the lives of our students as we can. Even if you can't be at the assembly, we would love it if you emailed us a photo to: alstp@lism.catholic.edu.au
We look forward to sharing this special prayer liturgy with you.
Signing in to our Assembly:
SIGN-IN:
- Please use the displayed QR CODES or the ipad in the office to sign in.
- When asked what Organisation you are from, please enter: parent, grandparent, aunt etc.
- When asked who you are visiting, please enter a staff member's name (not your child's).
- COLLECT your name label from the office.
COLLECTING CHILDREN EARLY: If you are planning to take your child/ren with you at the conclusion of events, please complete a “How I am Getting Home” slip for each child, available from the office. (To: = your child’s name; circle the “With Parent after Assembly” option.) When you are ready to leave, give the slip to your child’s teacher and collect your child.
BOOM GATE: The boom gate is CLOSED from 3pm—3:45pm. Please DO NOT park in the car park if you need to leave during this time.
SIGN-OUT: Please remember to sign out when you leave.
We are accepting enrolments for 2024
We invite anyone considering enrolling their child in Kindergarten in 2024 to come to our Open Morning on Sunday, 21 May.
We are also asking our current families to reach out to neighbours and friends, if you know they have a child ready to start school next year, and let them know about our Open Morning and that it is time to submit an enrolment application. Please direct them to our school newsletter where they can access the above QR Code to register their interest.
For Your Information
Afternoon pick-up TOMORROW
A funeral is being held at the church tomorrow, Wednesday 10 May, at 2pm. This may impact the availability of parking and result in increased traffic movement at the end of the school day. We thank you for your patience and understanding on this occasion.
Community News
Ballina Shire Council wishes to advise that our crews will be commencing road resurfacing works on a section of Cawley Place, Alstonville from Wednesday, 17 May 2023. Please click on the link below for more information.
