25 June 2024 (Week 9 Term 2 2024)

Dear St Joseph’s Community

A huge thank you to our Stage 2 teachers, students and their families for their support of the Stage 2 School Family Mass on Saturday night at the church. Our ties with our parish are incredibly important for our school and we appreciate the support of families in bringing us together.

We look forward to our Athletics Carnival this Friday. These are always wonderful opportunities for our community to come together. We enjoy sharing our carnival with our friends from St Joseph’s Primary, Coraki, and we thank Woodlawn for sending one of the Physical Activity and Sports Science classes to be helpers on the day. Thank you to those parents who have also volunteered to help with the running of the carnival. 

Over the last two weeks, our teachers have taken our students through the lockdown and evacuations drills so we are all confident in the case of an emergency. We held both lockdown and evacuation drills in the last two weeks and I am incredibly proud of the way students conducted themselves throughout. 

On Friday, I had the privilege of acknowledging a record of 20 students receiving gold awards. This is a recognition of consistently working hard in classes and meeting those school expectations. These students and their families should be proud of their efforts. We also acknowledged Harry Collins from Year 6, who received this term’s Quota Kindness Award, for the quiet and unassuming way he goes about supporting students in his own class and throughout the school. 

Last week, Ms Ros Kingsford, our amazing librarian, presented at the Catholic Education Diocese of Rockhampton Library Matters Conference. She was invited to present at this conference after her excellent presentation last year at the Capacity Building School Libraries Conference. Ms Kingsford is incredibly well-regarded across the diocese for her support of libraries across the dioceses and we know her presentation will be amazing! 

SECOND-HAND UNIFORM ITEMS

The uniform shop, open Fridays, has a range of used items as well. Shirts, Shorts and skorts are all available at $3. Parents are welcome to contact the school to see which sizes might be available. 

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION 

In this week’s Gospel, Mark 4:35-41, we witness Jesus calming the storm as He and His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee. Despite the fierce winds and waves, Jesus remains calm and commands the storm to be still, demonstrating His divine power and the importance of faith. This powerful story reminds us that even in the face of life's storms, our faith and love can bring peace and calm. Just as Jesus reassured His disciples, we, too, can find strength and courage in our faith and the support of our loving community. As educators, parents, and students, let us take this message to heart. By supporting one another through challenges and fostering an environment of trust and love, we can navigate any storm that comes our way. Our collective faith and compassion can turn turbulent times into opportunities for growth and resilience.

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

COMMUNITY REWARD DAY MONDAY 1st JULY

Students are invited to wear their ‘team colours’ next Monday and donate a gold coin for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Our Year 6 students will lead team-based games in vertical house groups for the afternoon. 

We look forward to celebrating our students' great learning, growth mindsets and positive attitudes with a fun afternoon of games.

FIRST EUCHARIST INFORMATION NIGHT (YEAR 4 +)

Tomorrow night is our information night for First Eucharist. If your child is Confirmed and has made their First Reconciliation, they are invited to come along and begin preparing to receive their First Eucharist (often called First Communion) in late August. The information night is at 6pm in the staffroom on Wednesday, 26th June.

BOARD GAME SHOW CASE

Attention parents of students in Year Five and Six. The showcase will be held on Thursday 4 July from 1:45 - 2:30, in the STEM room and stage 3 classrooms. Please find the information about our board game showcase below.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL - FRIDAY 28 JUNE

 Excitement is high at school for students as they prepare for our Athletics Carnival this week. As we are leaving school grounds, students will need permission to attend the day on Compass. This Compass Event also includes the information you will need about the run of the day  and clothing requirements. 

If you plan on taking your child home early on this day, please send an email to alstp@lism.catholic.edu.au, or alternatively they can bring in a written note to school. 

Since placing the call out for parent helpers, we have been fortunate to have Woodlawn students become available for timekeeping. We would love it if those parents who are available to assist, could help out in the canteen during the times below. 

CANTEEN ROSTER AT THE CARNIVAL

• 10:00 - 11:00 am Kinder family support
• 11:00 - 12:00 pm Stage 1 family support
• 12:00 - 1:00 pm Stage 2 family support
• 1:00 - 2:00 pm Stage 3 family support

We can't wait to see you enjoy this fun day together! 

GARDINER CHESS

We had five students representing our school at the Gardiner Chess competition held at Alstonville High: Finlay Baker, Myf Richardson, Lily McVey, Hunter Fisher and Marlon Atkin. All students were able to win at least one game, often against students who were much older. Our students represented our school very well and Marlon Atkin was awarded a ribbon for his excellent performance. 

WELCOME

Welcome to our St Joseph’s community - Ayla Grace Cormick.  Ayla was born on Thursday June 13th and is an extremely loved and cherished little sister for James and Archie.  Congratulations boys, and Tamara and Andrew.

PARENT HANDBOOK

Did you know ...

... that one of the many useful tools on our School Website is our Parent Handbook 2024?  This is an up-to-date guide to everything about us at Joeys - from our vision, our behaviour code, policies and procedural information, to the canteen, our Parish and so much more. 

We highly recommend that all families in our community familiarise themselves with our handbook, it is a wealth of information.

 PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT FOR FIRST EUCHARIST

The Parent Information Night for First Eucharist will be held on Wednesday 26th June 2024 in the staff room at St Joseph’s School Alstonville at 6.00 pm. The meeting will address the meaning of the Sacrament of Eucharist and will be the opportunity to organise the various groups for home instruction. This will involve all parents from both Government schools and St Joseph’s. 

All children who are in Year 4 and beyond and who have received the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Reconciliation are eligible to receive First Eucharist. Enrolment forms for First Eucharist can be collected from the school office.