Newsletter Term 4 Week 6

Principal's Report

Dear Community,

Welcome to the Week 6 newsletter. There has been much happening over the previous weeks, with many exciting events still to come! Congratulations to the students who participated in last night's Queensland Symphony Orchestra visit. It was a fantastic event, and all should be very proud of their accomplishments.

It's hard to believe that in just 2 weeks, we will be celebrating our Annual Awards Night, marking the end of this busy academic year. Where did the year go? The following week, we will gather for our Graduation Mass, marking the end of the school year. As we approach the end of the year, it's a time for goodbyes, and there will be multiple opportunities to bid farewell to staff, students, and families as they move on to their next endeavours.

2024 Staffing and Intentions:

We are currently in the process of appointing staff for 2024 and will announce these appointments as soon as possible. With Mrs. Sanders' appointment, we are also looking for an Assistant Principal for Religious Education (APRE)/classroom teacher and a classroom teacher to replace Miss Grant. Once these positions are finalised, we will share this information with you. If you anticipate any changes to your enrollment status in 2024, please notify the school office to assist with staffing and waitlists.

I can confirm our class structures for the next year, along with approximate student numbers for each class:

• Prep: 18 students
• Year 1/2: 20 students
• Year 3/4: 26 students
• Year 5/6: 22 students

These are the highest enrolment numbers for St. Joseph's in recent history and are a testament to the wonderful community we have here, and the hard work of the staff, families, and students of St. Joseph's.

Report Cards:

Report cards will be available for families via the parent portal during Week 9. Please note that this Semester all reports will be sent via the Parent Portal digitally. 

Paper reports will not be distributed to all students. Should you require a hard copy report, please arrange a time to discuss this with the office. 

Student Health:

With a busy few weeks ahead and the increased prevalence of illness during busy times, we have noticed more unwell students. We kindly request that students who are unwell do not attend school and that any exclusion periods are adhered to. Please refer to the chart below for exclusion periods.

It is crucial to emphasize the importance of keeping children home when they are sick in our school community. This practice not only protects the health and well-being of the sick child but also safeguards the overall health of our school environment. When sick children attend school, they risk spreading illnesses to their peers and teachers, leading to outbreaks and disruptions in the learning process.

Thank you for your diligence in keeping our school community happy and healthy in the final weeks of 2023. If any student presents unwell or is within the exclusion period of an illness, we kindly ask that you keep them home. If unwell students arrive at school or have been unwell and arrive at school, we will notify parents to please collect them. We understand that this can be inconvenient, but the health of all students and staff is paramount.

Until the next newsletter, 

Mr Lawson Short 

Date Claimers

Student of the week

Week 3 

Prep/One: Bentley Garner - Trying hard at swimming and being so caring at the prep transition day.

Year 3/4: Archie Fisher for always being willing to help his friends.

Year 5/6: Will Purnell - for his great work ethic this week.  All your work has been of a high standard. Well done.

Week 4

Prep/One:  Zerena Sariman - Putting in 100% effort when practicing reading and dancing for the liturgy.

Year 2: Harper Turner- For writing a detailed weekend recount independently. 

Year 3/4: Brad Stower for improving his work efforts in English

Year 5/6: Liam Folker - for his fantastic work with his partner on writing an explanation about how the digestive system works.

 Week 5

Prep/One: Esther Hollis - For continually taking on feedback and striving to improve in her learning.

Year 2: Jose Lehuede- For doing an amazing job in his reading tests. 

Year 3/4: Shannon Maddison - For improving his classroom behaviour so much already in his first week.

Year 5/6: Felicity Clark - Using great strategies to help her work out difficult problems in Maths

Learning Behaviours

Week 3

Prep/One: Robbie Stoker - Being so caring and welcoming to the prep students for next year at the transition day.

Year 2: Sophie Clark- Courageous Corella- For swimming 25m in the swimming carnival.  

               Madeline Folker- Courageous Corella- For swimming 25m in the swimming carnival. 

               Layla Huth- Courageous Corella- For swimming 25m in the swimming carnival. 

               Kingston Pink- Courageous Corella- For swimming 25m in the swimming carnival. 

Year 3/4: Persistent Parakeet: Emmi Gollan for being such a hard worker and keeping a smile on her face

 Year 5/6:  - Kobi Turner - Welcoming Wagtail - for always trying to include others and make sure they feel valued.

Week 4

Prep/One: Persistent Parakeet: Lane Eden - Persisting with his reading and writing.

Year 2: Aleeah Garner- Respectful Rosella- For being respectful and a great leader during liturgy practice.

Year 3/4: Respectful Rosella: Harlen Pink for having something to be grateful for every day, even if its something little!

Year 5/6: Charlie French - Persistent Parakeet - working through the word problems in Maths methodically.

Week 5

Prep/One: Persistent Parakeet: Bonnie Fitzgerald - For persisting with PAT Maths and Reading, and using great thinking skills to answer complex questions.

Year 2: Tessah Stoker- Courageous Corella- For accepting and learning from her mistakes without getting upset.  

Year 3/4: Welcoming Wagtail: Benji Wise for finding something in common with a new student and including them straight away.

Year 5/6: Rocco Zahra - Respectful Rosella - always using great manners and speaking kindly and politely to others.

World Teacher's Day Liturgy

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Swimming Aged Champion and Runners-up

ICAS

Year 2 News

Dear Parents and Friends, 

 I can’t believe that we are already in the second half of Term Four! The Year Two’s have had such an awesome term and an even better year! We have done such amazing learning and have grown so much.  

In Math’s this term, we have focused on a couple of different topics. To start the term, we were looking at addition and subtraction facts and trying to get a fast recall on the basic facts. We are now learning about location and direction. This unit is going to be so fun. We get to make and give directions as well as follow directions given from others. We also get to use grids to locate different items. We are so excited about this!  

In English, we are learning all about factual descriptions. We have been loving learning all different facts about creek animals, especially fish and crocodiles. We have learnt so many new and exciting words. All year we have been practicing our entries and exits in handwriting and have become amazing with these! Our next step is learning how to join these together and start writing in cursive. We are so excited for this, but we definitely need a lot of practice! 

In HASS, we have been learning about Australia and places around the world. We have been looking into all different countries and continents. Last week, we even had the chance to plan a cruise holiday around the world! We went to so many places; China, Germany, USA, Chille…it was so much fun!  

In Science, we are looking at different materials. Last week we made a mixture and solution with all different things and when we mixed it all up, we made playdough! That was so exciting!  

In Religion, we have been learning about what covenants is and where it shows that in the bible. The Year Two’s did an awesome job at finding different stories in the bible that show relationships, agreements, promises etc.  

In Technology this term, we are learning all about creating things on digital platforms. We are lucky enough to be able to use “Minecraft Education” to complete our build challenges. We have been having so much fun learning how to use this platform and getting creative with different blocks!  

Last week we also welcomed Mr Riley into our classroom. Mr Riley will be with us until the end of week 8 learning how to become a teacher. We are so excited to have him in our room and to learn from him.  

• Lauren Grant  

From the APRE

I can't believe how quickly the term is going by and that we only have 4 weeks to go.  It is going to be a very busy 4 weeks also, with lots of celebrations and events happening.

Firstly, what a wonderful liturgy we enjoyed for World Teacher's Day from our Prep/1/2 students.  We especially loved the dance at the end.  Thank you for making all of our staff feel special.

Last week we celebrated All Soul's Day and Family Mass. Thank you to those students who continually come along to Family Masses and participate and engage with the parish community.  Next year we will be holding all of our Family Masses in the school hall. 

We are definitely on the downhill run now and Mini Vinnies will be starting up their annual Christmas Appeal.  A number of families in our community will be struggling this Christmas, so every little bit helps.  Please see the flyer below about appropriate items to bring in.  All donations can be dropped to the school office.

God Bless,

Michele Sanders

PPF News