Newsletter Term 4 Week 9
Principal's Report
Date Claimers
- Graduation Mass - Friday 2nd December 11:00am (Shared lunch afterwards)
2023 Dates
- School Office Opens - Monday 16th January
- Pupil Free Day - Monday 23rd January
- Term 1 begins - Tuesday 24th January
- Austraila Day Public Holiday - Thursday 26th January
- Opening School Mass - Friday 17th February 9:30am
- Ash Wednesday Mass - Wednesday 22nd February 9:30am
Awards
Term 4 Week 7
- Brodie Hallam - for taking so much time and care with his handwriting.
- Lola Fitzgerald - for always being ready to learn.
- Eloisa Lehuede – For her positive attitude towards her learning this week and being a cooperative group member. Well done!
- Grace Giddy – For her excellent engagement this week, finishing assessment and working well in group tasks. Keep it up!
- Charlie French – excellent improvement across all learning areas over the past few weeks.
- Darby Commens – for working super hard this week to finish assessment
From the APRE
We find ourselves at the end of the school year for another year. As I look back and reflect on this year, I think of all the wonderful events that have taken place. We have been very fortunate to participate in a number of different masses/liturgies and fundraising opportunites that have helped our students to learn and grow.
Our last mass for this year will be our Graduation Mass held tomorrow at 11:00am. This will be followed by a shared lunch. Everyone is welcome to attend and farewell our Year 6 students and also any other families and staff who are leaving us at the end of this year. Please bring along a plate of food to share. At this mass we will also present our food hampers to St Vincent De Paul. The Mini Vinnies group is very thankful for all the donations of food that have come in that go to people in the Millmerran community who may not have the means to provide their families with presents and food on Christmas Day. We know that this will bring joy to these people this Christmas.
As we reach this season of Advent, also known as a time of giving, I encourage you all to think about simple things you can do in the lead up to Christmas that might bring a smile to someone's face or make somebody's Christmas that little bit brighter this year.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and holy New Year.
God Bless,
Michele Sanders
ADVENT REFLECTION
Matthew 3: 1 – 2
While Jesus was living in the Galilean hills, John, called “the Baptiser,” was preaching in the desert country of Judea. His message was simple and austere, like his desert surroundings: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here”.
A group of friends talking about how easy it is to be nard on ourselves and others: One guy told how in high school he got caught cutting a class to smoke. The much-feared dean of discipline had called him to his office and was about to dish out just punishment when the school’s wise principal intervened. “Can I talk with this gentleman for a minute?”
“Now I’m done for,” thought my friend. The principal sat him down, smiled, and said, “We’re starting a new program of peer counsellors, and I think you would be great at it. The other students admire you and look up to you. Can I count on your participation?”
“Sure,” said my friend, stunned. As the principal walked him out they stopped at the dean’s office. “I think we’ve settled that business about cutting classes. This young man will be too busy to stoop to that kind of thing in the future”.
John the Baptist was sure that the coming of the Messiah meant harsh and just punishment. Yet Jesus arrived, offering opportunities to love and to serve and use our talents for the good of the world, even if we might deserve a good kick in the pants.
Awards Night
What a wonderful celebration of learning we had on Friday night. It was great to see so many families attending and joining us to congratulate the students on their achievements. We also enjoyed the Christmas performances from each class as well as the teachers. A big thank you to the PPF for all their hard work in setting up and helping to orgainse this event.
MAJOR AWARD WINNERS
The Bevan Bliss Memorial Bursary for Academic Excellence - Samuel Folker
The Brad Rogers Memorial Music Bursary - Dominic Sauverain
Excellence in Sport Award - Felicity Clark
The Millmerran Lions Club Bursary - Haylea Evans
Christian Living Award - Samuel Folker
Awards Night
Prep/ 1 News
I cannot believe this is our last newsletter for 2022! We have been doing lots of fun Christmas activities in Prep/One to celebrate all our hard work from throughout the year. Miss Ashleigh Leo had her very last day in our classroom last week and it was an emotional goodbye. The kids had so much fun with Ashleigh and we are all really missing her this week.
Two weeks ago we had our very last transition day for 2022. It was a very exciting day as we got to meet our Prep/One teacher for next year, Miss Grace Twidale. We did some super fun activities such as reindeer cookies.
We wish everyone the very best and safe Christmas break and I am very excited to start our new Year Two classroom next year!
Lauren Grant
2/3 News
Hi St Joey’s community! Hope you have had an excellent few weeks. We are finally at the end of the year, and what a year it has been. It finally felt like we returned to some normality for the most part in 2022, and we have been busy all year. The students have definitely earnt a well-deserved break.
Thank you to everyone who attended the awards night last Friday, it was a great night and I think the kids did an amazing job with their performance. Hope you all enjoyed!
We only have one major event left for the year, that being our graduation mass this Friday. The mass will be followed by a shared lunch, once lunch is finished parents are welcome to take their kids home and begin holidays!
As the 2/3 teacher the past 3 years, I just want to say it has been amazing watching the students at St Joseph’s grow and mature into terrific human beings. As a graduate teacher joining the community back in 2019, I look at my time since then and I couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to my career as an educator. St Joey’s is a great community and that is a testament to the wonderful parents, students, and staff that all work extremely hard to make this school what it is today. I will thoroughly enjoy keeping up with the happenings at St Joseph’s in the future and look forward to seeing the students continue to grow and succeed.
Hope you all have a fantastic holiday break.
Mitchell Albury
4/5/6 News
We have reached the last few days of school and it is hard to believe that this year is almost over. What a year we have had!
4/5/6 have been involved in many different learning activities and opportunities this year, some easy and some quite challenging. We have overcome fears, persisted when things got tough and shared some fun and laughter along the way.
I want to say a massive thank you to Mrs Gunning and Mrs Clark who are a vital part of our classroom environment and without whom, I would be lost. They go above and beyond in their roles and bring so much to our classroom. Their knowledge, passion and kindness help our students to achieve to the best of their ability.
To the Year 6 students - you will be greatly missed. I have had the pleasure of teaching you for four years out of your seven at St Joseph's and you have brought joy, laughter and smiles to my face everyday. I wish you all the best for your journey ahead and know that you will go and give it everything you have.
To the Year 4 and 5 students, thank you for a great year. I look forward to working with you all again next year. I know that we are going to achieve even bigger and better goals next year.
And finally to all of the parents, I appreciate all of your support this year. Thank you for being there for your children and supporting them along their learning journey.
May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Michele Sanders
Pirates Versus Mermaids
Library News
The 4/5/6 class has really been challenged by the latest Hour of Code challenge working in Minecraft Education Edition. This was an Escape Room challenge where students were required to bug-fix block code to escape from the haunted mansion. Plenty of challenges and puzzles left to do if they are at a loss during the holidays.
Login: CLI********@twb.catholic.edu.au
Password: the one they use to log in to computers at school.
We had a wonderful end to library lessons with our Year 6 farewell party. Dom, Hayley and Sam were great team captains for our library relay race. We then returned to the library for cupcakes. We wish Dom, Hayley and Sam all the best for the next chapter of their story.
And please … a reminder to return all school library books to the library asap!!
Mrs Burgess & Mrs Gunning.
Library Party
Getting to know Miss Grace Twidale
- I grew up on a farm outside Milmerran and went to St Joseph’s for primary school!
- I had the best time at St Joseph’s so am very excited to come back 😊
- I boarded at The Glennie School in Toowoomba for high school.
- I love music and drama (and if you get me started on musicals – the conversation may be going for quite a while!).
- I make polymer clay earrings in my spare time and like to wear my different creations to school. Not giving away too many hints but… the Prep/1s may get an opportunity to make some too!
- I play piano, guitar, ukulele and a few other instruments. I am excited to bring this into the Prep/1 classroom, and other areas of the school!
- My Mum is Mrs Twidale – the learning support teacher at the school – hopefully this isn’t too confusing for the students!
- When I left school, I began teaching piano and guitar to students at St Joseph’s and St Stephen’s in Pittsworth – so this is the second round for me but this time, I am in the classroom!
- After this, I was music teaching and teacher aiding at Our Lady of Lourdes in Toowoomba for a number of years, and in Semester Two this year, I was lucky enough to begin teaching Grade 1 at St Patrick’s in St George.
- It has been an amazing experience, but am very excited to be A LOT closer to home!
- I have a fluffy cavoodle called Sadie and she has been by my side in all my travels.
- I can’t wait to come back and teach at St Joseph’s next year 😊
Connecting with your child over the holidays and every day!
As we move into the school holiday period, it is a great time to reflect on the ways in which we connect with our children. Life can be busy, especially over the festive season, and it’s especially important during these times to still maintain a connection with our children. Positive parent-child relationships are built on spending quality time together. These times provide opportunities to send positive messages to your child through your smiles, laughter, hugs, and gentle touches, which builds credits in their emotional bank. Be in the moment with your child, tuning in and thinking about what is going on for them; listen and notice what your child is doing and saying. Some simple ways to spend quality time together are:
- Read together
- Take an interest in your child’s interests
- Switch off your phone and be completely present with your child
- Show affection
- Listen to music
- Eat together
- Cook together
- Play games (e.g., a board game after dinner) and have a regular ‘family night’ (e.g., watch a family movie together)
- Talk while in the car, ask questions and show interest
- Connect during family holidays
For more ideas see the link below:
Positive relationships: parents & children | Raising Children Network
Further support:
Parentline – 1300 301 300; Kids | Parentline
Tuckshop News
This was our first full year using the online ordering platform, while it has had a few bugs here and there, for the most part, I believe this is much more convenient for families and I know it's much easier to manage from my end.
As the year closes, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the tuckshop helpers for the year, without you we couldn't run successfully. This year, tuckshop has sold over $9000 in product! How amazing is that! And the school has benefitted from around $2000 in profit going into the PPF account to be used towards equipment and resources for our children.
Also a big thank you to Lindsay who has lovingly baked and donated the delicious cupcakes that everyone loves each week!
Merry Christmas and see you all for tuckshop in 2023.
Marg Gaske
PSHS Transition Days
Millmerran Family Christmas
