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Dear Parents,
Welcome back to the 2020 school year. I hope that the summer break was as enjoyable for you as what it was for your children. They have obviously spent some wonderful times with you and very much enjoyed the experiences that you provided them with over the holidays, gauging by what they have been sharing with us.
I would like to especially welcome all the new families to our St Joseph’s community. We have a delightful group of fresh young faces in our Kinder classes as well as some refreshing new faces across various year groups. They have obviously heard how brilliant a school St Joseph’s is! We welcome the following students & their families; Flynn (Y 1) & Cooper (Yr 3) Hosking, Peter (Yr 5) & Jonathon (Yr 3) Higgins, Amelia (Yr 6) & Madelyn (Yr 1) Oderico, Felix Pasvolsky (Yr 2), Misheel Chandmani (Yr 3) and Michael Mooney (Yr 6).
We also extend a warm welcome to our new staff members, Miss Emma Cook and Miss Grace Parker. Emma will initially be teaching Year 6 Gold with Nicola Matheson. A little later this term Nicola commences maternity leave as her and her husband welcome twins into their family. Emma will then take over the fulltime teaching role in 6 Gold. Grace will be teaching Music to all students, K-6, this year on a weekly basis and will be with us 3 days a week. We are so glad that all these people have joined our community and know that each one of them will add much value to our school family.
Teaching Staff 2020
KB | Stephanie Colvin (Mon - Thurs) | KB | Lauretta Tonkin (Fri) |
KG | Gabrielle Carney | 1G | Carolyn Delore |
1B | Leanne Skinner (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) | 1B | Jane Scott (Wed) |
2G | Joanne Standing (Mon, Tues, Wed) | 2G | Jane Scott (Thurs, Fri) |
2B | Felicity Peart (Mon, Tues, Wed) | 2B | Anne Maree Mantach (Thurs, Fri) |
3G | Nicole Charnock (Mon, Tues, Fri) | 3G | Belinda Parkes (Wed, Thurs) |
4B | Donna McMillan | 4G | Fiona McCalden |
5B | Laura Slattery | 5G | Paul Nolan |
6B | Renata Powell (Mon, Tues, Fri) | 6B | Leah Temple (Wed, Thurs) |
6G | Nicola Matheson (Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri) | 6G | Emma Cook (Mon) |
To borrow some words from our Parents’ Back to School prayer, this year with your children, we aim to ‘fill them, guide them, protect them and enliven them’ and we hope that you will very much support us in this mission.
I look forward to meeting you all at our “Meet the Teacher” Information Evening to be held on Wednesday 19h February.
Meet The Teacher Night
All parents will have the opportunity to meet their children’s teachers on Wednesday 19th February. At this meeting the teachers will talk with the group of parents from their class, outlining routines, aims and expectations for the year. This meeting will then be followed by the first P&F meeting of the year. We look forward to seeing all families on this night.
Session 1 (Classrooms)
5.30pm – 5.50pm Parents meet with class teacher in the classroom
Session 2 (School Hall)
6.00pm – 6.20pm All parents meet with school principal, Karen McGinlay
Session 3 (Classrooms)
6.30pm – 6.50pm Parents meet with class teacher in the classroom
(Session 3 is a repeat of Session 1 for those parents unavailable to attend the 5.30pm time or for those who need to be at several teachers’ sessions)
If you would like to know more about the school or become more involved in the school community, as well as connect with other parents please come along and join us for our first P&F Meeting for the year. This will follow the information night at 7:00pm in the Library. Come and join us for a cuppa and a treat, see what the P&F is all about and offer your thoughts and ideas.
Playground
As you will have noticed the dirt bowl is no longer in existence and we have a magnificent lush green playground complete with an upgraded sand pit and a dry creek bed and bridge creative play space. We are so grateful to Aussie Outdoor Design, the company we selected to undertake the works. To start and completely finish the job within 3 weeks was brilliant and, for me, each visit up to school throughout the holidays was exciting as every time there was something more unfolding. It is fabulous to see the children get so much joy from the various aspects of the playground, from rolling down the mound to playing soccer with clearly marked lines and others pretending to be billy goats crossing the troll’s bridge or extending their engineering skills in the sandpit! A little later in the term we will organise an event to celebrate what we have achieved, however I would like to take this opportunity to make special mention of the great assistance we received from Peter Shrewsbury and his workplace BG&E engineering and from Mrs Sarah Rees from Green Space Planning. Their advice and support were invaluable.
Some General Items of Information
Absences
All student absences, by law, are required to have a written explanation, so please ensure that on your child’s return to school you have explained their absence using Compass or alternatively provide the school with a note outlining the dates and reason for their absence.
Extended Leave: If your child will be absent from school for more than 10 school days at a time you need to complete an Extended Absence Form that can be obtained from the office and it is a legal requirement that you submit copies of airline tickets/itineraries for these absences.
Parent/Teacher Communication
Please arrange a time, either through the office, or directly with the teachers to speak about any issues concerning your child’s welfare or progress. Teachers are only too happy to meet with you, or speak with you over the phone, however it is important to book a time so that they can be best prepared to respond to your concerns and so that time they plan to use for preparing their lessons & resources is not unexpectedly impacted upon. Our policy, if you wish to email the teachers is to do so using the school admin address, which is: admin@merewether.catholic.edu.au as opposed to using their direct email address.
Medical Plans
If your child has any significant medical issues and requires the administration of medication it is a requirement that you provide the school with a medical/health management plan. Please ensure that your child’s doctor completes one of these and pass it on to the office staff as soon as possible. This even applies if your child may only occasionally require their medication eg seasonal Asthma. If tablets are to be regularly administered to your child please arrange for their medication to be put into blister packs which clearly have your child’s name and medication details displayed. If you are unaware of what these packs are please speak with your pharmacist.
Compass
It is essential that all parents have downloaded the Compass app onto their devices and are familiar with using Compass as the majority of our communication will be via this. If you have forgotten your password please go in and reset a new one. If you are still having difficulty with accessing Compass after this please contact the office.
Bell times
We have adjusted our recess bell times by 5 minutes this year. Recess is from 1:25pm – 2:05pm. This is to better accommodate Music and Library lessons.
Canteen
The canteen is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays this year and will continue to be managed by Kelly Brands. Lunch orders are placed online using the QKR app. See below for details. The canteen is open for snacks at lunchtime, once the children have finished eating their lunches, and again at recess. We require volunteers for both lunch time and recess sessions. Please see the roster that Kelly has set up and if you can spare some time this term to come along and help out, we would really appreciate it. Children love to see a family member behind the canteen counter for many reasons!
Uniforms
The children are currently wearing their school uniforms with great pride, especially the new sports polo shirt and white trainers. Please note that the boys’ summer shirts are to be worn outside their shorts, rather than tucked in. Sports shirts are also to be left out. Thank you to all those families who have complied with the footwear policy of black leather style school shoes and white/predominantly white trainers. Our students are certainly looking very smart at the moment and we ask that you continue to encourage this sense of pride in your children throughout the year.
Label Everything!
Please ensure all clothing (especially hats), lunch boxes, drink bottles, paint shirts, devices and library bags are clearly marked with your child’s name. This applies to all children from Kinder through to Year 6. This will save you money and us valuable learning time as well as less distress all round.
It is important to remember in this hot weather to send a drink bottle to school each day. Children are encouraged to keep them in their classrooms and keep themselves
hydrated. We will be continuing with ‘Crunch and Sip’ this year. Crunch and Sip takes place in each classroom throughout the morning block. Remember to send small snack sized freshnb fruit or vegetables with your children that can be quickly and easily eaten whilst they continue on with their learning. It is important to have this snack packed separate from the children’s lunches.
Sick Bay
If your child is unwell prior to school starting of a morning please keep them at home
for the day. This is in the best interests of your child and other people’s children. If children need treatment such as cream on days old mosquito bites or lip balm for their dried lips the administration of these types of things needs to occur at home
CONGRATULATIONS
Felicity, or Flick as most of us know her, from KCA OOSH and her partner celebrated the birth of their first child, Harlan, this Wednesday 5th February. Harlan was born in the morning and weighed in at 3.2kg and 50cm in length. We offer Flick and her family all the very best wishes and hope that there are not too many sleepless nights coming their way!
Through Jesus Christ we Learn, Love and Live the truth.
Karen McGinlay, Principal
Important Dates
11 February | Netball & Soccer trials |
11 February | Called to Serve Mass @ SHC |
12 February | Central Region Swimming Carnival |
13 February | Beginning of Year Mass @ St Joseph's Church |
14 February | Regional Cricket trials |
18 February | Sacramental Program Information Night |
19 February | Parent Information Night |
Curriculum Corner - Renata Powell
Welcome back to what promises to be a very busy and exciting year. A special welcome to our new families, you now belong to our St Joseph’s school community and we’re very pleased that you’re here journeying with us. This year we continue the wonderful work around focusing on the learning and the children’s development in all that we do.
Our children are exceptionally fortunate to be a part of such a special environment. In our newsletters throughout the year we will endeavour to share some of the learning our students are partaking in with you. This is a wonderful avenue to ensure you are included in your child’s development and education and provide you with an insight into what goes on in the learning spaces.
Semester 1 Student Council
The following students have been elected to represent their class for Semester 1. Congratulations to all students.
The students will be presented with their badges at assembly on Monday morning.
Year 2 Gold |
Charlotte Hayes, Joseph Cootes |
Year 2 Blue |
Adelaide Morton, Thomas Boyle |
Year 3 Blue |
Rosa Leonard, Oliver Hatherly |
Year 3 Gold |
Hannah Webber, Jacob Flynn |
Year 4 Blue |
Skylar He, Christiaan Escobedo-Chateau |
Year 4 Gold |
Daisy Owens, Oliver Cruz |
Year 5 Blue |
Abby Booth, Dante Mtanda |
Year 5 Gold |
Abbie Hartnett, Oliver Moran |
Year 6 Blue |
Madeleine Gill, Liam Doyle |
Year 6 Gold |
Elki Long, Oscar Yuen |
New NSW PDHPE K-6 Syllabus
This year we are implementing the new Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6 Syllabus. The syllabus identifies the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes that students are expected to develop in PDHPE. As a guide, Primary schools should spend 6–10% of teaching time, approximately 1.5 to 2.5 hours in a typical school week, teaching PDHPE. Students will learn about a range of health, safety, wellbeing and physical education concepts.
PDHPE consists of three content strands:
- Health, Wellbeing and Relationships: K–6 examples include personal identity, growth and development, emotional responses, respectful and inclusive relationships, seeking help, protective actions.
- Movement Skill and Performance: K–6 examples include fundamental and specialised movement skills.
- Healthy, Safe and Active Lifestyles: K–6 examples include nutrition, mental wellbeing, personal safety, health and fitness.
The Stage Statements below summarise the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes that have been developed by students as a result of achieving the outcomes for the relevant Stage of learning.
Early Stage 1 (Kindergarten)
By the end of Early Stage 1, students identify personal characteristics and strengths, recognise how they are growing and changing and identify different parts of the body. They describe the different emotions people experience. Students practise interpersonal skills to interact positively with others. They identify people who can assist and recognise actions that help them to be resilient, healthy, safe and active. Students explore contextual factors that influence an individual’s health, safety, wellbeing and participation in physical activity. They identify skills and strategies to stay safe and be supported. With developing self-control, students explore emotional responses and cooperate positively with others in a variety of play and group situations.
Students explore how their body responds to movement. They practise body movement and control, demonstrating different ways the body can move in relation to space, time, objects, effort and people. Students compose and sequence simple movements. They show awareness and consideration of others during play situations. Students perform fundamental movement skills and explore possible solutions to movement challenges through participation in a range of activities.
Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2)
By the end of Stage 1, students describe changes that occur as they grow older, and recognise characteristics of personal identity and how these are influenced by strengths and achievements. They recognise and demonstrate positive ways to interact with others and identify how emotional responses have an impact on others’ feelings. Students explore different types of relationships and describe the qualities needed to develop and maintain respectful relationships. They understand contextual factors that influence health decisions and describe how to keep themselves and others healthy, safe and active. Students recognise environments which promote health, safety and physical activity and practise a range of protective strategies for responding to various situations. They follow instructions to keep themselves safe and are able to ask for help with tasks or problems.
Students identify areas where they can be active and participate in a range of opportunities that promote physical activity. They demonstrate movement skills in a variety of sequences and situations and propose alternatives to solve movement challenges. Students perform fundamental movement skills and apply movement concepts to perform simple sequences that incorporate the elements of space, time, objects, effort and people with developing competence. They demonstrate cooperation, fair play and positive ways to interact and include others
Stage 2 (Year 3 and Year 4)
By the end of Stage 2, students recognise physical and social changes and personal management strategies. They recognise individual strengths and apply these to a wide range of contexts. Students investigate the skills and qualities that build caring and respectful relationships and ways to improve their health, safety and wellbeing. They identify the rights and feelings of others and devise strategies to support themselves and others. Students explore health messages and describe the influences on healthy and safe choices. They recognise their responsibility to contribute to a healthy, safe and physically active environment. Students perform physical activities designed to enhance fitness and discuss the relationships between physical activity, health and fitness. They propose strategies that increase opportunities to develop and maintain healthy, safe and active lifestyles.
Students apply and refine movement skills and movement concepts in a range of physical activity contexts. They create and perform sequences using movement skills and concepts with consistency and control. Students demonstrate cooperation and collaboration in movement and physical activity. They select and demonstrate strategies that help them to solve movement challenges
Stage 3 (Year 5 and Year 6)
By the end of Stage 3, students investigate developmental changes and transitions. They examine the influence of people and places on identity and practise skills to establish and manage relationships. Students identify controllable and uncontrollable factors and recognise the influence of contextual factors on health, safety, wellbeing and participation in physical activity. They plan and practise responses, skills and strategies that protect and promote healthy, safe and active lives. Students examine the connections they have to their community and implement actions to increase physical activity levels. They access and interpret health information and apply skills to seek help to enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing.
Students participate in a wide variety of moderate to vigorous physical activities to apply, refine and adapt movement skills with increased confidence and consistency. They perform specialised movement skills and sequences in a variety of contexts. Students select, manipulate and modify movement concepts and strategies to achieve movement outcomes and solve movement challenges. PDHPE K–10 Syllabus 22 They demonstrate fair play and skills to work collaboratively. Students apply and adapt strategies and tactics when participating in individual and team activities.
Celebrating Birthdays
At St Joseph’s we value recognising and celebrating children’s birthdays. Turning a year older is significant and acknowledging this as a school and/or class is important. They ways we do this are at Monday morning assemblies where students receive a card at the beginning of their birthday week. Classes may also have different routines such as singing ‘Happy Birthday’ at the beginning of the day or the child wearing a special birthday badge. A gentle reminder to parents that we do not celebrate birthdays at school with food. Please save these scrumptious delights for the special events you may have at home. Thank you for your understanding.
Celebrating our Faith - Stephanie Colvin
Prayer
A Student's Prayer at the Beginning of the School Year
We give you praise, O God, for everything that is new and beautiful,
for everything which holds promise and brings us joy.
Bless us as we start this new year with our friends and teachers.
Help us to make the most of every chance we have to start afresh.
May we show love to one another and to all.
May the new beginning of this school year remind us that
you give us chances to start over again and again.
Help us to forgive others as we receive your forgiveness.
Help us to learn and to work together.
Help us to listen when we should and to know the
best words when we speak and when it is better not to speak.
We thank you for our friends and help us to be good friends this year.
Help us to be patient with ourselves and with others.
Bless our school and keep us safe.
Be with us as we travel each day.
Help us to be aware of your love shown to us in the people around us.
Bless all those who care for us in school and at home.
Help us show our care for them and to say sorry when we need to.
May the Blessed Mother Mary protect us and help us to live as well as we can,
Giving thanks and glory to God as she did.
Amen
Term 1 Class Mass Dates
Each class joins with the parish community once a term in the celebration of Mass. These Masses are held of a Friday and begin at 10:15am in St Joseph’s Church. Below is a list of dates when each class is attending in Term 1. Parents and grandparents are invited to join their children in prayer at this time.
Beginning of Year Mass
All are welcome to come and gather in prayer as one community to celebrate the new school year. This will also be our opportunity to induct our student leadership team for 2019. The Mass is on Thursday 13th of February beginning at 9:15am at St Joseph’s Church. There will be a cuppa for parents and grandparents afterwards in the school grounds. All are very welcome to join us for this celebration!
Season of Lent: Ash Wednesday
St Joseph’s will mark the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday Mass. It will be a time to gather as a school community to prepare for the journey leading up to Easter. The Mass will begin at St Joseph’s Church at 9:15am on Wednesday 26th February. All members of our school community are warmly to attend. Below is a family calendar for Lent 2020
Enrolments for Sacramental Program 2020
A child’s catholic faith journey begins with the sacrament of Baptism and continues with the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation and then celebrating their First Communion (completing the sacraments of initiation). The preparations for these sacraments in the region will run from February to June 2020. Preparations are completed as a family, with online activities and volunteer work within the community. Enrolments for 2020 are now open for any child aged seven and above. The program is mainly targeted at students in Year 4, however, if your child is in Year 5 or Year 6 and they would like to take part in the program this year it is not too late. For more information please visit the parish website link for the enrolment form or alternatively contact Miss Colvin at school.
An information meeting will be held at the Southern Cross Hall in Hunter St, Newcastle West (near the Sacred Heart Cathedral) at 7pm on Tuesday, 18th February.
Key Dates for the Sacramental Program for 2020 have been made available:
- 18th February information night Southern Cross Hall 7pm.
- 10th March Commitment Ceremony @ SHC 6pm.
Reconciliation modules begin.
- 29th March Reconciliation mini-Retreat @ SHC 4pm 45 mins then Mass and sausage sizzle post Mass.
- 31st March St Joseph’s, 1st April Stockton, 7th April SHC, 8th April Mayfield, 2nd rites with parishioners.
Confirmation modules begin after school holidays.
- 22nd May Confirmation Retreat SHC.
- 26th & 27th May Confirmation @ SHC all candidates together by Bishop Bill.
Holy Communion modules begin.
- 14th June FHC Mini Retreat @ SHC 4pm 45 mins then Mass and Pizza in Toohey room post Mass.
- 20th and 21st June first Holy Communion in their parish community.
For any further information please contact Anne Warren at the Regional Office on 4979 1101 or email anne.warren@mn.catholic.org.au
Upcoming Dates
Catholic Schools Week – Monday 2nd March marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. Student Council will be leading us in liturgy in the Hall beginning at 9:15am.
St Joseph’s Day – Our school feast day will be celebrated on Thursday 19th March beginning with a liturgy in the church at 9:15am. More information to come soon.
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Newcastle Inner City Catholic Community - Weekend Mass times
Sacred Heart Cathedral – Vigil Saturday 5:30pm, Sunday 9:30am and 5:00pm
St Joseph’s, The Junction – Sunday 9:00am
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Tighes Hill – Sunday 8:00am
St Mary’s, Newcastle – Sunday 7:30am
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Swimming Carnival
Our Swimming Carnival was a great success thanks to the staff, parent volunteers and of course our fabulous students. It was great to see everyone participating with such enthusiasm and determination. The students enjoyed the event and everyone had great team spirit. Special congratulations to Harrison Coppola (9 years) who broke the school record for 50m freestyle.
Regional Swimming Carnival
The Regional Swimming Carnival will be held next Wednesday 12th February at Lambton Pool. Congratulations to the following students who have made our Regional Squad and will represent our school at this event:
Ava Knox |
Hugh Hainsworth |
Ellen Moran |
Arun Griffiths |
Elizabeth Dinneen |
Xanda Whetham |
Ava Williams |
William Boyle |
Anderson Campbell |
Harrison Coppola |
Violet Lusby |
Jack Jones |
Mabel Hainsworth |
Archie Doyle |
Audrey Owens |
Evan Beacher |
Abigail Taber |
Elliot Mole |
Sophie Maher |
Jacob Flynn |
Lily Graham |
Luke Craft |
Lucy Webber |
Sidney Maxwell |
Ivy Jones |
Liam Doyle |
Ashley Heron |
Spencer Smith |
Bonnie Petersen |
Domenic Papichio |
Madeleine Gill |
Lucas Vickery |
Gizelle Griffiths |
Eli Wasley |
Ruby Watson |
Daisy Owens |
Bronte Bowker |
Ollie Russell |
Shiloh Flynn |
Georgia Reid |
Raphyte Molinia |
Marie Betts |
Lucia Minto |
Regional team members have been provided with the appropriate paper work providing further details for this event. Please ensure completed paper work is returned to school no later than Tuesday 11th February.
Mrs Mantach will be the team manager for this event. She has met with the Regional team this week to outline pertinent information and event expectations.
We wish all our Regional Swimmers the very best of luck for this event!
On Thursday the St Joseph School Choir had their first rehearsal for 2020! We started the year with some fantastic warm ups to get our voices ready for singing, we talked about the importance of posture and tried to walk around balancing pizzas on our head. We also used the rehearsal to talk about some exciting events planned for our dedicated performers throughout the year.
Choir rehearsals take place every Thursday with Senior Choir (Yrs 3 - 6) meeting at lunch and Junior Choir (Years 1-2) meeting at recess in the Music Room.
Our Choir always has fun learning about new things and going on great adventures. In 2019 one of our excursions was to the Apple Store to learn about composing and recording!
We would love to see some new singers join us this year so new members are always welcome!
School Fees
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