5 March 2024 (Week 6 Term 1 2024)

Principal's News

Dear St Joseph’s Community

Last week, our new Kindergarten students, who have made an amazing transition into our school, ‘rang in’ to their first school year. This is a new tradition, made possible by the parting gift of our 2023 Year 6 students, who gave us a beautiful brass ship’s bell. Our students will ring out three large peals when they enter our community, and our Year 6 students will do the same as they head off to high school. 

Over the past two weeks, across years1-6, we have been collecting reading data through the DIBELS assessment. We are committed to collecting the data at the beginning, middle and end of each school year. This allows us to closely monitor student reading progress and support students more closely in their area of need. We are seeing some very positive shifts in our reading data, that we are incredibly proud of. We have seen terrific improvements in student reading data from the beginning of 2023 up until now, and we are continuing to work hard to grow our student's ability to read and read well. 

We are also very proud of our swimming students! We had Zeke Kubils, Jack Kubils, Sully Mitchell and Riley Iverson all represent at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival on Friday last week at Macksville. 

Our staff have been working hard to draft some new behaviour management processes, aligned with the evidence base and what is considered best practice. Please see the section under Mission News as we would love your feedback. 

A huge thank you to those staff members and families who joined us for Clean Up Australia Day this Sunday! This is a terrific partnership with the local Rotary Club who put on a sausage sizzle for us after the event. We cleaned up a number of local parks and reserves, including: Gap Road ovals, Geoff Watt Oval, Bullwinkle Park, Crawford Park and Tanamera Reserve. What an amazing example of the Catholic Social Teaching of Stewardship for the Environment in action. 

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION 

This Sunday’s Lenten Gospel from John 4:5-42 presents us with the transformative encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. This narrative is not just a story of personal conversion but a profound lesson on belonging and community. Jesus, by engaging with someone from a group considered an outsider, teaches us the importance of inclusivity and acceptance.

In our diverse school community, this message is particularly resonant. We are reminded that everyone, regardless of background or belief, has a place at the well - a place in our community. It challenges us to create an environment where everyone feels valued and included. Moreover, the Samaritan woman's transformation into a messenger of the Good News is a call to each of us. It invites us to share the message of belonging, to be ambassadors of an inclusive community where everyone is recognised as a child of God. As we continue our journey through Lent, let us commit to being a community where everyone feels they belong, inspired by the example of Jesus at the well. May our school be a place where the living water of acceptance, love, and community flows freely for all.

You are invited to listen to Bishop Greg’s Homily from Sunday’s Mass. 

CONDOLENCES

Our school community passes their condolences to Sybella Peters and her family on the loss of Sybella's great-grandmother; and Louis Hutley and his family on the passing of Louis' grandmother. We ask that you keep our students and their families in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve.

IMPORTANCE OF GOOD NUTRITION

With some of the small changes we have made to the school day, we have introduced some time for students to sit and eat during recess in the afternoon before students head off to play. We strongly encourage students to eat at this time as it provides the brain fuel our students need to engage deeply in the learning for our final learning session of the day. 

We also encourage all students to bring in a piece of fruit, or a container of cut up fruit, for our fruit break, which we eat first thing in the morning. This ensures all students have some good sugars in their stomach ready to start the day's literacy learning well. 

SCHOOL COMMUNITY GROUP ADOPTED

On Tuesday, we held our First School Community Group Meeting. This is the revised model that was voted on by parents at the end of 2024, to replace the Parish School Forum model, now that our system of schools has moved to a different governance structure. At this meeting, parents voted to formally adopt the School Community Group Model and to wind down the Parish School Forum Model. We will begin actioning this process. We also discerned how regularly the group would like to meet and at what times. Below are the notes from the meeting. 

A reminder to all parents and carers, that by virtue of your child’s enrolment at our school, you are all members of this group.  Each meeting we will have opportunities for the school to share, for parents to discuss items of interest and for a parent learning opportunity. We will also seek some feedback from parents and carers regarding what times may best suit parents to join these meetings going forward.

PARENT CONSENT AND STUDENT DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES USERS AGREEMENT

At St Joseph’s Primary Alstonville, we use a variety of digital technologies to promote engagement and creativity across the learning areas. The attached Parental Consent and Student Digital Technology User Agreement 2024 provides our families and students with the processes in place to build responsible digital citizens and also helps create an understanding of the expectations when using digital technology throughout the school year. This is a new process initiated by the Catholic Schools Office. The Parent Consent and User Agreement will now become an annual form we ask parents to complete.

Please take the time to read through the attached Digital Technologies User Agreement with your child. You can locate the agreement by clicking on this link. 

If you have more than one child at St Joseph’s Alstonville, you will be required to complete this with each of your children. 

A PDF copy of the signed agreement will be emailed to your nominated email address for your records and also to our school to be kept on file. 

If a parent or carer could please complete this form within the next two weeks, we would be very appreciative. 

Thank you for your continued support of your child and for promoting the responsible use of Digital Technology at St Joseph's. If you have any questions, please reach out via the school email.

Learning & Teaching News

NAPLAN  FOR YEARS 3 AND 5 2024

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point-in-time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Each year, students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

NAPLAN will take place on the following days:

• Wednesday 13 March : Yr 3 and 5 Writing
• Thursday 14 March : Yr 3 and 5 Reading
• Friday 15 March : Yr 3 and 5 Conventions of Language
• Monday 18 March : Yr 3 and 5 Numeracy

Students MUST have working headphones for the NAPLAN tests (no wireless or bluetooth headphones). 

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.

GARDINER CHESS COMPETITION

The Gardiner Chess Tournament will be held on Thursday 4th April, hosted by Emmanuel Anglican College, Ballina. Registration is from 8.30 am to 9.15 am. Start at 9.30 am and finish around 2.30 pm.

This Tournament is open to students in Stages 1-3. To be eligible to attend, students should know the rules of chess and be able to play confidently. We will likely need parent volunteers to drive students to and from this event. 

The cost of the Tournament is $24.00. 

Expressions of interest are due by Friday 22nd March.

Please complete this form to indicate your child's interest in this event. 

ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION STRATEGIES AT HOME

Research shows parents have a significant influence on their children's learning, but some lack the confidence to provide at home support. To help parents engage with their children's maths learning, this article explains three addition and subtraction strategies now taught in primary school (Split Strategy, Jump Strategy and Build to the next ten).

Mission News

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT - PARENT FEEDBACK SOUGHT

As part of our school improvement plan, our staff have been working on a consistent, whole-school approach to positive behaviour support. 

Over the past 12 months, our staff have been refining effective strategies to support positive student behaviour. Every Monday morning, we introduce our whole school value focus for the week and learn about the positive behaviours related to it. To further develop these positive behaviours in the classroom, each class co-constructed positively-framed expected behaviours for learning aligned to our four school values; safety, effort, respect and self-responsibility. We celebrate our students demonstrating these values through the class awards at our fortnightly assembly.

To further improve our processes for supporting positive behaviour, supported by the experts of the Catholic Schools Office, our staff have drafted an evidence-informed process to follow for minor and major student behaviours. This process is designed to help remind, redirect and support students to stay or return to on-task, positive behaviour. This process includes how behaviour requiring reflection will be communicated with parents and caregivers. It will replace the previously used Behaviour Benchmarks.

We warmly encourage all parents and caregivers to come and hear about our draft process and offer feedback on it on Thursday, 4th April at one of two sessions: 2pm or 7pm. We appreciate your partnership as we improve our whole school approach to pastoral care and learning through positive behaviour support processes. 

We look forward to hearing your feedback and refining this new flowchart before we begin to plan to implement this process. 

CONFIRMATION INFORMATION NIGHT

Baptised students from Year 3 up are invited to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year. Interested parents and their children are invited to attend the Information Night on Wednesday 20th March at 6pm in the school staffroom.

PROJECT COMPASSION ART COMPETITION

We are delighted to have an art competition to raise awareness and funds for Project Compassion during the Lent. Please drop your entries off to the front office with a gold coin donation. There will be a K-2 prize and 3-6 prize which will be announced after our Holy Week Liturgy on Wednesday, 27th March. We can’t wait to see the work our students create!

You can also donate to our Project Compassion campaign using this QR code.

Wellbeing News

PLAYGROUND POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT (PBS)

We are very fortunate to have a number of staff willing to give up their time to ensure our children are safe, supported and encouraged during all playtimes. This has allowed us to create opportunities for all children to feel included, build confidence and develop skills to participate in a range of sports.

Our lunchtime sports include but are not limited to cricket, netball, t-ball and touch football. It is wonderful to see students working together to learn new skills and encourage each other to improve. As previously communicated, these structured sport games have been planned to provide the opportunity for students to experience a sense of belonging and feel valued and safe. This is our current Pastoral Care School Improvement Goal. Our 2023 Tell Them From Me data and voice from key stakeholders within our community indicate that this was the area requiring greatest growth. 

As described in the Mission section above, we are developing a whole school approach to pastoral care, which includes teaching positive behaviours. Within the classroom, the Zones of Regulation curriculum is being taught to provide a shared language and skills for social and emotional growth. Our current playground plan aligns to our whole school improvement agenda in pastoral care.

Our Enrichment Tutors are explicitly teaching positive behaviours for playing sport, particularly the soccer game, every recess. These include teamwork, understanding and accepting the rules, resilience, self-esteem and social skills. Our Enrichment Tutors teach the rules of soccer, which have been adapted for the size of our playground. This ensures that when we are able to extend the number of games being played each day, all students remain safe, feel welcome to participate and are able to return to our classrooms ready to learn. 

As a whole staff, we are actively monitoring the increased positive interactions on the playground and in the classroom. We had positive feedback from our parents who attended the School Community Group meeting last week, where we asked for feedback on these changes. We will continue adapting the playground plan, as required, in response to the increasing pro-social behaviour being demonstrated during playground games. It was, and still remains, vital for our staff to work with the students to build the skills foundational to successful and respectful sports games. The next stage of our plan is set to be implemented in the coming weeks, which will see an increase in the amount of soccer played each week, including games and drills. 

Our staff, supported by the Catholic Schools Office, are working hard to support positive behaviour within the classroom and on the playground. Please come along to our Community Engagement Group meetings to work in partnership with us as we seek to improve our pastoral care practices for all students. 

Attendance Matters

HEALTHY SLEEP, EXERCISE AND DIET CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Healthy sleep, exercise, and diet play critical roles in a student's overall wellbeing, impacting not only their physical health but also their cognitive function, emotional regulation and ability to focus. 

Encouraging healthy habits early on sets the foundation for a lifetime of wellbeing. Children who learn the importance of sleep, exercise and a balanced diet are more likely to carry these habits into adolescence and adulthood, impacting their overall attendance and success in school.

For Your Information

BOOM GATE & ASSEMBLY FRIDAY’S

To avoid disappointment, please do not park in the school carpark when attending assemblies. 

The boom gate is closed between 3pm and 3.45pm daily, without exception.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Our 2024 School Photo Day is scheduled for Tuesday March 26.  Order envelopes (cash orders) have been sent home with the eldest child in each family, and if missed or lost can be collected from the office.  Sibling order envelopes are also available from the office.  Online orders are preferable using the information below, code is FVN BRY PY4.

Celebrations

Happy birthday to all of the students who have celebrated a birthday since our last newsletter:

• Sophia Tuckett

Coming Events

ANZAC DAY 2024

Please mark your calendars for ther ANZAC Day March and Main Service at Alstonville on 25^th April 2024. The March will start from the Paddy Bugden VC Memorial in Bugden Avenue at 9.40 am (Form-up at 9.15am) and then proceed to Elizabeth Ann Brown Park for the Main Service which will begin at 10am.

There will also be a Dawn Service at Elizabeth Ann Brown Park commencing at 5.30am.

Parish News

CHILDREN'S LITURGY OF THE WORD – Sunday 9^th October

Children’s Liturgy helps your 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 9^th October.  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.

PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT SACRAMENT OF  RECONCILIATION

Children who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation are eligible to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is an important step in their faith journey, which began with their Baptism.

Reconciliation will be offered by Fr. Max Gow on Tuesday, 12th March 2024 at 6.00pm.

If you believe that your child is ready to receive this Sacrament, please complete the enrolment form (which can be downloaded from the parish website or copies available from St Joseph’s School) and return to the Parish Office by Thursday, 29th February.

We thank those parents who attended the meeting, on Wednesday 21st February 2024.

Fr Max Gow

Community News