St Joseph’s School, Millmerran eNewsletter

Principal's Report

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the final newsletter of Term 3. It is certainly very hard to believe that the school term is already coming to a close! It has certainly been a fantastic, and very busy term once again.

The absolute highlight of the term was the school musical! I am sure you will all agree with me that the students did an absolutely fantastic job. Everyone should be congratulated on their incredible efforts in preparing for and presenting the school musical. Well done!!

Sentral For Parents App and Parent Portal

A reminder that the Sentral for Parents App and the Parent Portal is the primary source of information for our families. Please ensure that you have downloaded the app, signed in, and activated your student access keys. We recommend that you regularly check into the app, to ensure you are correctly logged in. The App is St Joseph’s primary form of communication, with all notes, activity permission slips etc being sent home via the app. In order to stay informed, it is vital that parents have the app installed and functioning to receive vital information.

If you have any questions at all about the app, or how to use it, please contact the school office.

Have a wonderful and well-earned rest over the upcoming school holidays.

I will be taking a period of Sabbatical and Long Service Leave over the school holidays and for Weeks 1 and 2 of school. For all school matters please contact the school office, or acting principal, Michelle Sanders.

Lawson Short

Principal

Prep_Transition_Days.pdf

Student of the Week

Term 3 Week 8

Prep/1: Chase Sinclair - Trying his best when learning the musical songs and dances.

Year 2: Kingston Pink - For creating a great new travel app!

Year 3/4: James Kelly - For making a great effort to improve his behaviour and effort.

Year 5/6: Darby Commens - For showing great enthusiasm and effort in class tasks this week.

Term 3 week 9

Prep/1: Noah Orchison Hood - For trying hard during musical practice and helping his classmates remember their lines.

Year 2: Madeline Folker- For always listening and being ready to go during musical rehearsals!

Year 3/4: Brad Stower - For doing an amazing job in the school musical.

Year 5/6: Matilda Evans - For her dedication to the musical this week.

Year 5/6: Josephine Wise - For her quick thinking up on stage.

Learning Behaviours - Curious Cockatoo

Term 3 Week 8

Prep/1: Clancy Willett: Trying hard when learning adjectives and continuously asking great questions.

Year 2: Harper Turner- For asking question during class to check her understanding!

Year 3/4: Paige Byers – for always looking for ways to extend her learning.

Year 5/6: Heidi Sanders– for asking questions to help her improve her learning in all subject areas.

Term 3 Week 9

Prep/1: Elana Hughes - For using her dictionary and editing checklist to help her improve her work.

Year 2: Eli Hollis- For always asking questions when he doesn't understand something!

Year 3/4: Curious Cockatoo – Emmi Gollan for always striving for more learning

Date Claimers

Thursday 14th September - Prep Vision screening 9.00am
Friday 15th September - Official opening of the Millmerran Aquatic Centre
Friday 15th September - Last day Term 3
Monday 2nd October - Public Holiday
Tuesday 3rd October - First day Term 4
Tuesday 3rd October - Year 5/6 Camp Departure
Monday 9th October - Swimming lessons week
Friday 13th October - Swimming Carnival @ Millmerran Aquatic Centre
Monday 16th October - PPF meeting @ 5pm
Thursday 19th October - Prep Transition morning - 9-11am

Monday 2nd October -

Public Holiday

Prep/One

Hi everyone,

Wow this term has definitely been a big one – and I can definitely tell by looking at the Prep/Ones tired little faces! They have all come so far this term – it is very evident that everything they are learning is coming together!

I’d firstly like to say that the students did so well in the Musical. They waited so patiently in rehearsals and backstage, and they also performed so well! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I definitely had many proud tears during the performance!

During the week, the students went to Mount Basalt. Rebecca Kirby (from Landcare), explained to the students that Mount Basalt used to be a volcano – hence, the basalt rocks are dried up lava. As the students could see a fantastic view, the students learnt about topics like the power station and contour banks. It really was a great way for them to learn about their surroundings!

In English this term we have been doing lots of writing, and their efforts are paying off! Their reading is also improving immensely! Please continue to practice both reading and writing at home 😊 The Grade Ones are learning to make their writing better by using capital letters, full stops, their dictionary and adjectives in their writing. We will continue this into next term!

In Maths, the Preps now know the numbers from 1 to 15. Grade Ones are continuing to master their numbers up to 120. We have recently been working on more complicated addition like 30 + 50 and 70 + 6 with the Grade Ones.

In Health/Media, the students made an All About Me book on Book Creator (an app on the iPad, and it looks fantastic!). If you would like to see it, please let me know and I can get your child to show you one morning or afternoon. In Science the students learnt about forces, in HASS the students learnt about places and in Religion, the students learnt about stories from the Old Testament like David & Goliath.

Have a lovely and safe holiday, and a well deserved rest, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone, bright and fresh, next term!

Kind Regards,

Grace

Year Two News

Dear Parents and friends,

Wow! I can’t believe we are in our final week of Term Three! This term has been full of so much fun and learning!

In English, we have been learning all about persuasive writing. We had so much fun debating different topics and sharing our opinions. We also had the chance to persuade Mr Short to let us get a class pet! We did a great job of persuading him but unfortunately, we were still unable to get one!

In Maths, we have focused on a lot of different topics. We have learnt about measurement, 2D shapes and 3D objects, calendars and months of the year, statistics and data. We have had lots of hands on learning this term. We have used sand to measure capacity, used toothpicks and blu-tac to make 2D and 3D objects and compared the weight of a lot of classroom objects.

In HASS, we have been learning about people’s connections to places. We have had the chance to explore google earth to find lots of different places that people think are important to them! We also learnt about how other kids get to school. It was crazy to see that some kids have to cross rivers, climb mountains, walk a long way to school etc.

In Science, we have been learning about how energy comes in different forms. We have mainly focused on light and heat and how these sources can be man made or made by nature. We have done lots of investigations on this, for example looking at light through different materials, popping corn kernels and melting chocolate with the sun.

In Health, we have been focusing on some key safety messages that we hear and learn about. We have started making these key messages into a PowerPoint presentation to present next term. Our key ideas so far are healthy eating, sun safety and road safety. I am excited to see these presentations as the Year Two’s have been working so hard on them!

I can’t believe how amazing the Year Two’s did in the school musical last week! They should be congratulated for their hard work and dedication in making the musical a great success!

This week we are saying goodbye to Phoenix. It is sad to see him go however I know he will keep in contact with us and share some of the amazing adventures he is going to go on!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday and come back ready to do some awesome learning in Term Four!

Lauren Grant

Hello friends and families!

I can’t believe we are at the end of Term 3 already. This term has flown by with how busy the kids have been getting ready for the musical and moving towards the end of the year. I am so proud of their work in the musical as I am sure you are too! It was amazing to see the whole production come together, and the kids work their hardest to put on a show. This term has shown me more of what the ¾ students are capable of and they have improved so much in their work efforts and school learning behaviours.

The class have been putting everything they have learnt about informative texts together to start writing some full samples, working on their sentence structure and extending their vocabulary and researching skills. Writing about their favourite ‘ugly’ or ‘strange’ animal has given the kids an interest in the subject that I love seeing come out in their writing. We have also been slowly (very slowly) getting through Harry Potter as a class, which has been a great opportunity for students to practice their listening skills and have some down time in their busy days. It is also an excellent way to remind students of different text features learnt in previous terms and compare those to the ones we are using in writing now. I am looking forward to learning all about their dream country to visit in the coming week and at the start of next term for the informative text writing assessment.

In Maths we have been very busy moving through multiple topics this term! We have covered money, fractions, more division, time and are now starting to look at probability and chance. We have only done a couple of lessons on probability and already having fun, with different experiments such as coin and cup tossing! If they are lucky, we might even start to collect data on some jelly beans and other lollies… Overall, Maths is always a tricky subject and I am very proud of how these kids have progressed over Term 3.

Science has been an amazing unit this term, with the students showing me their knowledge of forces through different experiments and activities. I am fortunate enough to have pilots in my family, and having someone come out to show the kids the different forces used in an airplane was an amazing experience that I’m so glad they enjoyed! It was a great opportunity for the students to solidify their understanding of forces, and as a form of assessment they showed me their creative side by designing an amusement park ride using forces to explain it.

In HASS this term, we looked at what environments are and how important they are, and the students learnt about different examples and how these are impacted. I am hoping to combine this knowledge with Health next term when we finally plant our class vegetable/fruit garden! Discussing sustainability alongside healthy eating choices should be a great conversation and learning opportunity.

I am looking forward to next term with the 3/4 students, and hope you all have a well-deserved restful holidays.

Regards,

Georgia

Year 5/6

Well, the term has finally come to an end and what an end it has been. Congratualtions to all of the 5/6 students on their performances in the school musical last Friday night. They were all amazing! I am so proud of each and every one of them.

This week, we have been busy catching up and finishing off assessments that we were unable to do last week. The students have worked really hard, even though they have been really tired!

Week 1 next term we head off on camp. Remember to look out for an email from me in the second week of the holidays to confirm all the final details. I look forwerd to a fun week away, filled with lots of sun and sand.

I hope you all have a resful break and I look forward to seeing the students all back next term!

Michelle

From the APRE

In this week's, we hear a parable about a landowner who pays all his workers the same amount of money, even though they did not all work the same amount of time. We may wonder why Jesus seems to be okay with that – isn’t it unfair?

Matthew 20: 16

“Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first”.

I remember when I was at primary school and I made the soccer team. Every day after school me and my teammates practiced. One day, a new student came to the school. The coach wanted them to feel welcome so he made them the starter for the next game. Without doing all the work the rest of the team had done, they received the same reward. Do you think that was fair for everyone? The team did not! The following year I started high school and my music teachers gave me opportunities to shine. I had natural talent in these areas, but so did other students. Was it fair? Perhaps the Gospel message is that instead of measuring our blessings against what others get, we should appreciate the many ways we are blessed.

Generous God, please help me to value your gifts, even if things seem unfair at times. Give me the patience to wait and see what generous ways you love me. Amen.

Have you ever been jealous of someone else’s success? Remember, God loves us all … in different ways!

God Bless,

Michele Sanders

Father's Day Breakfast

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our students. They did an amazing job on Friday in the school musical. Thank you to everyone that came along and supported them and made the show a success. All the photos have been put up on Facebook and you are welcome to save them and share them as you wish.

Thank you all for your wonderful costumes, the show looked spectacular!