Dear Parents,

As we come to the end of Term 1, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the hard work and effort that has gone into making this term such a success. We have had a very busy term, filled with a wide range of events, activities, and learning experiences that have challenged and inspired us all.

From the exciting carnivals to the moving liturgies, and everything in between, we have had many opportunities to come together as a community, celebrate our achievements, and support each other.

As we approach the Easter season, I would like to take a moment to wish you all a holy and meaningful Easter. I hope that it will be a time
of renewal and reflection for you and your loved ones. I hope you are able to find some time to reflect on the deeper meaning of Easter and what it means for your life and the lives of those around you. It is a time to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and to renew our commitment to living a life of faith, hope, and love. 

HARMONY WEEK

Harmony week at St Joseph’s was a fabulous affair. It was full of colour, singing, prayer, drumming, and dialogue. The week began with a joyous liturgy that embraced the many cultures represented in our community. To see so many children process in, wearing clothing traditional to their cultural heritage, was beautiful. As was the children’s singing, their reactions and engagement with the liturgy’s reflection and appreciation for the Year Four students who signed ‘The Song of Peace’. Many children expressed their appreciation throughout the week for providing them with wonderful experiences.

Each day the children experienced something different, from learning about different foods from around the world and trying some on our multicultural food day, to sharing their own backgrounds, to reading and viewing various stories and video clips relating to being inclusive and then reflecting on what they had learnt and sharing it with the wider community on orange bunting strung along the fences in Union St and Farquhar St. If you haven’t yet had a chance to read their comments, try to find some time this week to reflect on the insightful words of our children.

Thank you to Donna, Bec, Kristy and Bart for the delicious meals you cooked up; to all the parents who came along to the liturgy, especially those whose dressed up as well; and to the staff who facilitated the various activities throughout the week.

These are some of the reflections from Year 4 Gold on the week.

• Writing on the bunting made me think about what we need to do better in this world - Bridget
• Wearing our cultural clothes was important because it highlighted that it doesn't matter what culture we are from, we are all equal - Jimmy
• I liked seeing all the different cultural clothes as it was an opportunity for that culture to 'show off' - Beau
• Hearing about the way signing was used in the liturgy, it made me realise how we are all linked - Emmy 
• The food was nutritious and delicious and unique - Vinnie A
• The African drumming was really fun and new to us - Maddy
• I loved being included as one of the actors in the rainbow song - Guitar
• For me, Harmony Week is about all of us getting together and sharing our backgrounds - Christopher
• It is great to gather people from different countries and get to know each other more – Thomas

EASTER RAFFLE

We are delighted to announce the successful completion of our annual Easter Raffle draw. The event was a huge success, and we are happy to report that there were lots of chocolate and many smiling faces. We had over 80 prizes to give away, and we thank all those who donated, and our Year 6 parents who worked behind the scenes to make the raffle a great success.

In addition to the raffle draw, we are also pleased to inform you that on Tuesday, four of our school leaders will be visiting St Pius Windale to donate eggs to all their students from our community. This is part of our school's commitment to giving back to the community, and we hope that this gesture will bring a smile to the faces of the students at St Pius Windale. We thank all those who contributed towards this initiative and hope to continue spreading joy in the future.

UNIFORMS

With the start of Term 2 just around the corner, I would like to remind you that we will be transitioning to our winter uniform on Monday 8^th May, Week 3. However, if the weather turns colder sooner than this, we will bring forward the changeover date to ensure that our students are dressed appropriately for the weather conditions.

As we move into the cooler months, it is important that our students are dressed in the correct winter uniform to ensure their comfort and well-being during the school day. We also ask that students wear the correct shoes, as we have recently had to address issues with incorrect footwear being worn.

We would like to remind parents that students are not permitted to wear necklaces or bracelets to school, and temporary tattoos that are in visible places are also not allowed. Additionally, long hair must be tied back and clipped out of the eyes to ensure clear vision and concentration during lessons.

We appreciate your support in ensuring that our students adhere to the school uniform and grooming standards. These standards help to create a professional and respectful learning environment that reflects the values of our school community.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Last Thursday and Friday a number of our staff engaged inprofessional learning with Michael McDowell, an educator and author, who is one of the leading authorities on integrating innovative and impactful practices into schools. The two days focused on practices that strategically support students as they move from novices to experts in their learning.  We are looking forward to sharing our learning with the remaining staff members to build our collective expertise and to implementing what we learnt into our teaching practices.

GREAT VEGIE CRUNCH

I am thrilled to share with you the success of our recent Great Vegie Crunch event, which took place last Thursday. This annual event is a fun and engaging way to promote healthy eating habits and encourage our students to both increase their vegetable intake and to try new vegetables.

We were delighted to see such enthusiasm from our students as they crunched their way through a variety of delicious vegetables, including carrots, corn, cucumbers, and capsicums.

It was heart-warming to see the excitement and enthusiasm of our students as they explored new flavours and textures, and we hope that this event has inspired them to continue making healthy food choices.

HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS

If you are looking for activities for your children to
engage in these holidays why not check these out?

Kids School Holidays Workshops with LEGO® Bricks!

Hog Watts School

Mega Creatures

Newcastle Library

Newcastle Museum                         

Lake Macquarie City Library

Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie MAC

Maitland City Council

Cessnock City Library

NUSPORT at the Forum Sports Holiday Program

PCYC Newcastle School Holidays

Midcoast Council Libraries

May you and your loved ones have a blessed and holy Easter season.

Karen

4 Gold - Swinburne University Student Placement 

St Joseph’s will be hosting a practicum student teacher from the Swinburne University in Weeks 1-4 of Term 2. Mr Woody Strehler is in the fourth and final year of his teaching degree, and this will be his fourth school placement. During his time at St Joseph’s, he will be observing lessons in the classroom, facilitating small group learning, teaching whole class lessons, completing playground duties and attending staff professional development meetings. We are grateful to 4 Gold and their teachers, Ms Morgan and Ms Rozenfeld, who will work with Mr Strehler during his placement. We have so much to share here at St Joseph’s and it is great to see that we can nurture and build the future of our teaching profession in this way.  

NAPLAN 

We have now completed the NAPLAN testing fortnight. We would like to thank the teachers in Years 3 & 5, Mrs Milgate, Mrs Anderson and the learning support staff for their assistance in ensuring the smooth running of NAPLAN. Most of all, we would like to thank and congratulate the Years 3 & 5 students for their focus and engagement in the NAPLAN tests. 

It is important to remember that these tests only give us a snapshot of where the students are on their learning journey. Teachers analyse the results to assist students to continue to grow in their skills and understanding of the curriculum. This is only one tool teachers use to measure progress. Students are also regularly assessed within the classroom activities. The data collected regularly by staff enables the teachers to help develop your child and target their individual needs, through appropriate planning and curriculum delivery, to improve the learning outcomes for each child.  

If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, appointments to discuss these with your child’s teacher can be made through the school office. Official interviews with families will be conducted in Term 2.  

Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) 

We have had a very successful first term implementation of PBL at St Joseph’s. Students have enjoyed explicit PBL lessons, and we have seen much of their learning exhibited in both the classroom and playground. This term we have had a focus on: 

• Act Safely – Using safe hands and feet
• Being Respectful – Including others 
• Care for all – Care for the place you are in 
• Do Your Best – Learn and let others learn 

Our PBL Dash Tokens have been a great way to instantly reward students when they demonstrate positive behaviour. Our current house token count for the final weeks of Term 1 sits at: 

Sports captains will complete our final count this week, with the winning house to be announced on Tuesday. Well done to all, for their efforts with our PBL this term! 

Nicole Charnock 
Assistant Principal 

As Term 1 draws to a close, we come to celebrate an important season in the Church’s year, Easter. We will be celebrating Holy week on Thursday 6^th April in the school playground with each class presenting Jesus’ final days with a Holy Week remembrance. Students will be moving between stations around the playground silently showing reverence for this special time. Families are invited to attend this celebration with Gold classes presenting at 10am then Blue classes at 12:30pm.

Holy Week is a time to remember Jesus’ last days and moments. As the image above shows, it begins on the Sunday before Good Friday, called Palm Sunday, when Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted by many people praising him. On Holy Thursday, Jesus performs an act of service for his disciples and washes their feet. He also shares a meal with them which is the Last Supper. On Good Friday, Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice for us, is sentenced to death and is crucified on the cross. Finally, on Easter Sunday, three days later, we rejoice as Jesus is risen. This is known as Easter Sunday.

Please see the parish bulletin for the times and locations of the different Easter services in our region for this Holy Week.

https://www.newcastlecatholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/parish-bulletin-palm-sunday-1.pdf

Starting in Term 2, we will recommence grade masses on Friday at 10:15am at St Joseph’s Church. I warmly wish to invite our parent community to join us in worship at our grade masses. The roster for masses will be published at the start of next term.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and enjoyable Easter break and I look forward to us coming together to worship as a whole school community in the future.

Donna Morgan
REC

Open-ended Maths questions are used for a variety of reasons, including:

• Encouraging critical thinking: These questions require students to think deeply about the problem, explore different solutions, and evaluate the effectiveness of their methods. This helps students develop critical thinking skills, which are essential for success in many areas of life.
• Developing problem-solving skills: Open-ended maths questions provide students with opportunities to develop their problem-solving skills. Students must use their creativity, logical reasoning, and Mathematical knowledge to find a solution to the problem.
• Promoting communication and collaboration: These questions often require students to work together to solve the problem. This promotes communication and collaboration, which are essential skills for success in many areas of life.
• Fostering a love of learning: Open-ended Maths questions can be engaging and fun for students. When students are interested in what they are learning, they are more likely to be motivated and enthusiastic about their education.
• Preparing students for real-world problem solving: These types of questions are often based on real-world situations. This helps prepare students for the challenges they may face in the future and provides them with the skills they need to solve complex problems in their daily lives.

Here is an example of a simple closed question and an open-ended question:

Harmony Week

Swimming – Polding at SOPAC 

It is not often you get to swim at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre where past Olympians have swam. However, for the following students, they seem to be regular visitors of this venue! Ava K, Archie D, Byron S, Jacob F, Sid M and Vincent M attended the NSWCPS Swimming Championships 2023 this past Thursday 30th March. 

We had the live stream airing on the smartboard in the classrooms back at school so that we could watch them swim. The children at St Joseph’s were so excited, cheering on their fellow peers and praying for success. Even just watching them swim in this grand arena in which they were swimming in was enough to make us all feel so proud.  

For the boys, they fought hard and swam extremely well but unfortunately didn’t come away with a win. Mrs. Mantach was lucky enough to be able to be there on the day and she felt so proud of her students and the discipline and drive in which they displayed. 

Ava K did bring it home for the girls though! Ava
competed in two races, the 200m individual medley in which she came 2nd, taking the silver medal, and the 50m Jnr backstroke, coming 3rd, receiving a bronze medal. Ava swam a personal best, which is always a bonus, and will
now compete in the NSWCPS Swimming Championships 2023.  

Congratulations to Ava, and the boys who are all excellent role models for our school, showing determination and that hard work can pay off. Keep making us proud. 

Athletics Carnival Nominations 

The annual St Joseph’s Athletics Carnival will be held in Term 2, Week 2 on 3rd May. All students in Year 2 – Year 6 will participate in the 100m race, shot put and long jump. If your child wishes to also participate in the 200m race, 800m race, 1500m race or the high jump, please see the Compass notification and complete the required form to nominate your child.  You must complete this form PRIOR to the event by 9am on Thursday, 6th April, 2023. 

Kinder and Year 1 will make their way to Fearnley Dawes Athletics Track during the morning and will participate in the 100m race event along with some fun activities provided in the middle of the field. Please be reminded that Kinder and Year 1 will not be timed and will not proceed to regionals.  

Volunteers 

We are looking for volunteers and welcome anyone who would like to provide their assistance on the day in shot put, long jump, canteen or infants field activities. You do not need to stay for the duration of the event, and we would most certainly like you to take time to watch your own children. If you can give any amount of time to any activity, we would be very appreciative.  

Please register by Thursday 6 April by clicking on the link below.

https://forms.office.com/r/Wb9zWjtNv9

Only verified volunteers are able to register.

Parent race

To add to the fun of the day (for us AND the kids) we plan to hold a teacher/parent relay and would like to gauge interest. Please indicate if you are keen to get involved in the fun!

Dressing up

Dressing up in sport house colours with a fun flair (think wigs, tutus and lairy socks) is optional but is always a hit with the kids.

Thanks so much!

Anna Graham and Renee Mantle
Parent Representatives
St Joseph's Merewether Sports Committee

Touch Polding Trials 

Callum V H, Toby B and Sidney M ventured to Parkes last week on Monday and Tuesday to vie for a spot in the Polding Touch team. All students should feel extremely proud of the effort and skills they possess to have got them this far. Well done, boys! We really are so very proud of you. Miss Parish was there on the day, as one of the convenors, and she mentioned just how amazing they all played.  

Congratulations to Sidney M who made it to the "possibles and probables" team, almost making it into the Polding team.  

Upcoming Events 

Athletics carnival 

Term 2, Week 2 

Date: 3 May 

Time: Approximately 9:30am – 2:00pm 

Location: Fearnley Dawes Athletics Track (120 Smith St, Newcastle West) 

Volunteers wanted! If you are able to assist on the day, we would love your support. Perhaps you have skills in long jump, shot put, or maybe we could use your support in the canteen or helping with the infants’ activities. Please email MTH-Admin@mn.catholic.edu.au if you are able to assist on the day, in any capacity and for any length of time.  

Paul Kelly Cup 

Term 2, Week 2 

Date: Thursday, 4 May 

Location: Feign Oval, Warner’s Bay 

Students who have been successful are: Harry H, Sidney M, Toby B, Max L, Jacob F, Callum V, Gus M, James S, Byron S, Darcy W, Ollie H, Jai B, Evan B, Max O, Archie D and Louis B.  

Diocesan Cross Country 

Term 2, Week 3 

Date: Wednesday, 10 May 

Time: 9am start time, approximately 1pm finish time 

Location: Maitland Park Touch Fields 

Students have been given information notes, with order of events and other relevant information. Please reach out if your child has not received this.    

Rugby Union Diocesan Trials 

Term 2, Week 5 

Date: Wednesday, 24 May 

Location: Marcellin Park, Lorn 

Congratulations to Max L and Sidney M who have made it through to the Diocesan selections.  

Emma Cook 
Sport Coordinator

2024 Enrolments

We are happy to announce that enrolments for the 2024 school year are now open.  

If you have a younger child, that will be starting Kindergarten next year, or you know of any families with children whose youngest is due to start Kindergarten, please click here to request an enrolment pack or refer to the Catholic Schools Office website for further information.

Student lead tours are currently underway and will continue into early next term. Please contact the office to discuss the dates and times available.

School Fees

2023 School Fees have been invoiced for the full school year.

As per previous correspondence, if paying fees by instalment, your weekly, fortnight or monthly frequency needs to have already commenced, and we ask that fees are paid in full by 30 November 2023.  Thank you to those families who have already made a payment.

If paying fees ‘in full’ as one payment, please finalise prior to 30 June 2023.  

Our preferred method of payment is either BPay or direct debit.   For Fee Payers wishing to establish a new Direct Debit. Please do not use Compass to pay for your school fees as the school incurs large fees using this option.

We will now commence the school fee management process.

OOSH