13 August 2024 (Week 4 Term 3 2024)

Dear St Joseph’s Community

Last week we celebrated the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. We thank Fr Max for celebrating a liturgy for the whole school in the church in the morning. In the afternoon, students participated in a range of social justice activities: making cupcakes for sale at Family Day, handing out handmade bookmarks to people on the streets of Alstonville, visiting the residents at Maranoa, playing with the children at three local early learning centres and replanting and caring for our garden. Our Yr 6 students did a wonderful job of leading and supporting students at all of these activities. It was a lovely afternoon and I loved how enthusiastic the students were when they returned from their activities. We look forward to continuing this tradition into the future. I thank the parent helpers who were able to join us, teachers for their work in supporting our students and Mrs Jones for organising.

PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR LEARNING AND TEACHING GOAL

We have recently been collecting and analysing our DIBELS data. Our Learning and Teaching Goal for 2024 is to improve student outcomes in reading and writing. We are on track to achieving this goal in relation to the DIBELS data and when we looked back at the past 12 months of growth we have moved a significant proportion of students up to grade level for reading. We will continue to work hard to teach students to read accurately, with fluency and with understanding. We have also made some tremendous growth over the 6 months with our writing data. We track every student’s writing progress against the National Literacy and Numeracy Progressions (aligned to the National and State Curricula) at the sentence level. This is because sentences are the building blocks of all writing. Teachers and Enrichment Tutors have been working incredibly hard to support students to be able to write sentences well for their developmental age. We have seen tremendous growth in this area over the past two terms and look forward to continuing this growth. Teachers have been using this data to inform the development of individual student writing goals. I asked one of our younger students before school on Thursday what his writing goal was and he could tell me it was “to use the correct letter formation when writing sentences.” I encourage you to check in with your child on their writing goal. I’d like to publicly thank our staff for their work in implementing these literacy initiatives. It is excellent work and we are seeing great progress!

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION 

In John 6:41-51, Jesus declares, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever." This passage invites us to recognise the profound spiritual nourishment Jesus offers, especially through the Eucharist. As parents, we are reminded that our role goes beyond providing for our children's physical and emotional needs; we are also called to nurture their spiritual lives. By drawing strength from the "living bread," we can approach our parenting with renewed purpose, guiding our children not just in their daily lives, but in their journey of faith. However, we must first ensure that our own spiritual cup is full, as we cannot give what we do not have. The Eucharist offers us the nourishment we need, allowing us to lead our families with wisdom, compassion, and love.

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

SCHOOL COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING TUESDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER

Our next School Community Group Meeting will be held in the staffroom at 6:30pm on Tuesday 3rd September. 

Here is a link to RSVP and to propose any items for feedback. The draft agenda, based on feedback from last term’s meeting, is below. 

FAMILY DAY 2024 - SAVE THE DATE 

We are in the midst of planning for Family Day 2024, which is scheduled for Friday 23rd of August. We would love you to save the date and join us for this special day of community building and celebration. The theme for 2024 is Reading is Magic. We will begin the day with a liturgy, share a BBQ lunch and engage in a number of fun activities. You will find below a form to RSVP for lunch and to volunteer to help out. We look forward to sharing this day with you!

Link to form.

INSTAGRAM FEEDBACK

We recently asked if families would like us to start an Instagram social media presence. We didn’t receive an overwhelming response to this survey and the respondents were split down the middle so we will shelve this idea at this time. We thank those who responded. 

UNIFORM REMINDER

A reminder that we ask students not to wear jewellery to school, with the exception of stud or sleeper earrings. We ask students with smartwatches (watches that connect to the internet or can make phone calls) to please place these in an envelope at the beginning of the school day and to collect them again at the end of the day. We ask for parent support in wearing the full and correct uniform. The school branded bomber jacket (or an older school jumper or jacket handed down from siblings) is the school uniform in winter, along with school track pants if not wearing shorts or skorts. 

MEDICAL CERTIFICATES

We have had a number of students absent due to illness which is typical at this time of year. If your child is absent from school for more than 3 consecutive days, a medical certificate is required. This can be provided to school administration by email or by attaching to an Attendance Note which relates to the absence in question. Please note that it is not meant to be an incentive to return your child to school before they are well enough. Thank you for your assistance.

SCHOOL ASSEMBLY THIS WEEK

Parents and friends are invited to join us for assembly this Friday (16 August).

PARENTING IN THE AGE OF DISTRACTION

Our Parent Assembly Team, collaborating with the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools, has organised an excellent parent learning event, hosted here at St Joseph’s. We have invited Angela Lockwood, Occupational therapist, author, podcaster and parenting guru, to present a session titled Parenting in the Age of Distraction: Raise Resilient, focused and connected kids. The session will be held in the hall on Monday 9th of September. Refreshments will be available from 6:00 pm and Angela will speak from 6.30 pm - 8 pm. This promises to be an excellent session and I encourage families to come along if you are able.

About the Workshop

In our fast-paced world filled with screens and endless distractions, parenting has become a delicate balancing act. Parenting in the Age of Distraction is a practical and engaging workshop designed specifically for parents of school-aged children. Although the digital space has impacted on our children’s ability to focus and connect, there are many other distractions vying for our children’s attention. Parenting in the Age Of Distraction provides a supportive space for parents to gain insights, share experiences, and develop a personalised toolkit for raising resilient, focused, and emotionally connected children in today's digital and distracting age.

Themes Covered

• Technology and its impact on childhood development.
• Cultivating focus in kids.
• Nurturing healthy habits.
• Parental distraction and behaviour modelling.
• Practical parenting strategies to raise resilient, confident and connected kids.

A flyer is attached below but you can register for the event via this Google Form.

GIFT OF THE GAB 2024

Click the link below to view the Zone Public Speaking Competition Guidelines. You will find:

• Schools and schedule
• Outline and processes 
• Choosing a topic
• Judging criteria

2024 Zone Public Speaking Guidelines

PANCAKE SUNDAY

Sunday, 25th August is Pancake Sunday after the 8.30am Mass. This is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a Parish community to connect with parishioners young and old. There will be familiar faces from The Yarners and the kids enjoy a few pancakes and play on the playground. We would love to see you come along!

FIRST EUCHARIST

Many of our Year 4,5 and 6 students will be celebrating the Sacrament of First Eucharist (also known as First Communion) very soon. This will be over the weekends of the 24th and 25th August and 31st August and 1st September. Don’t forget that all students who have made their First Eucharist are able to become Altar Servers. This is one way that our students are able to be involved in Church ministry and is greatly appreciated by our parishioners. To thank our students, our altar servers are shouted a day out at Wet and Wild at the end of each year!

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION

This Thursday, we celebrate as a Catholic community the Feast of the Assumption. Our Stage 2 and 3 students will be attending our Parish Mass at 10am and all members of our parish-school community are invited to join us for this celebration.

ST MARY MACKILLOP OF THE CROSS FEAST DAY

Last Thursday we celebrated St Mary MacKillop of the Cross feast day. Students visited local preschools; handed out book marks to members of the public in our village; gardened and visited Maranoa. It was a wonderful celebration day.

ST MARY MACKILLOP OF THE CROSS FEAST DAY

DIOCESAN ATHLETICS

We wish the following students the best of luck as they compete at the Dio Athletics carnival this Friday: 

• Spencer Birkwood - JNR boys 4x100m relay 
• Jack Kubils - JNR boys shot put and discus
• Hugo McCall - JNR boys 4x100m relay, 100m, 200m, 800m and 1500m
• Layla Vu - 9yr girls 100m 
• Rory Quinlan - JNR boys 4x100m relay and 100m
• Orlando Speidel - JNR boys 4x100m relay
• Jordy Thompson - 10yr girls 100m and long jump
• Jonty Allen - 11yrs Multi 100m and long jump
• Henry Buchanan - 11yrs long jump
• Maeve Crook - 12 yrs 100m
• Zeke Kubils - SNR Boys shot-put and discus

In the event the day is postponed, families will be emailed. At this stage the Dio team has not locked in a back-up date. 

STAGE 3 SPORTS GALA DAY

Later this week, the Compass events for the Stage 3 Sports Gala day will be shared with Stage 3 families. Children will be spread across 3 different venues on Friday, 30th August; competitive football, netball and multisport. Trials for the soccer and netball team were held last week, while multi-sport is available for all. All additional information will be available in the Events. 

FAMILY DAY - WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT

Family Day is our annual celebration of our school village. Family and friends join with our students and staff for a wonderful day of fun and frivolity. We understand it can be difficult for parents to attend a whole day like this, even if you can come for part of the day that would be wonderful. Grandparents, family friends, relatives or anyone you consider family are welcome to join us (but no pets sorry)!

WHEN: Friday 23 August 

• 9:15am Liturgy in the hall (including Kevin Hogan MP Book Awards)
• 10.15 -10:45 Morning tea
• Bring your own picnic morning tea for your family or buy a treat from the cake stall, coffee cart or canteen. 
• 10:50 activity rotations 
• 12.15 - 1:00 BBQ lunch
• Fr Max is kindly supplying us all with a BBQ lunch. Please make sure you complete the catering form (below).
• Classrooms will be open for you to visit, your students can show off their learning spaces and their work.
• 1:05 activity rotations
• 2:00 Rotations finish. Students may go home with family at this time.

THEME: ‘Reading is Magic’

• Students and visitors are encouraged to come dressed in the theme “Reading is Magic”. This theme lends itself to a myriad of costumes, the skies the limit! Remember, students must have covered shoes and be sun smart.

BOOK FAIR

• Our annual book fair is a true highlight of Family Day. Please come along to the library to see magical decorations and the great range of books, which have been carefully handpicked from the Book Warehouse Lismore. You are invited to purchase a book as a donation to the school library, your name will be displayed on a book plate inside the book and your student will be the first to borrow.  We will have EFTPOS and cash payment facilities available.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

BREAKING POINT - UNPACKING THE CRISIS IN YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH

The Council of Catholic School Parents is hosting a FREE parenting webinar with parenting speaker and author, Justin Coulson on Wednesday 11 September. This webinar will unpack:

• The root causes behind the deteriorating state of mental health, and who (or what) is responsible.
• The tools you need to reverse this trend for your children.
• Realistic approaches for managing screen time in a way that protects your child's wellbeing.
• Creating margin in your home and family life to protect and promote mental wellness.

Parents can register via this link.

STAGE 1 ART

ATTENDING SCHOOL REGULARLY HELPS CHILDREN FEEL BETTER ABOUT SCHOOL AND THEMSELVES. HELP YOUR CHILD TO LEARN THAT GOING TO SCHOOL ON TIME, EVERY DAY IS IMPORTANT

Reinforcing the idea that attending school regularly is crucial for a positive school experience. Foster a love for learning by encouraging your child's natural curiosity. 

Help your child to see school as a place to explore new ideas, discover interests, and develop a lifelong passion for learning. Foster positive social connections at school by encouraging friendships. Knowing that they have friends to look forward to can motivate children to attend school regularly.