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| 28 May | Year 2 TOCAL Excursion |
| 5 June | Polding Cross Country |
| 10 June | Public Holiday |
| 13 June | Regional Athletics Carnival |
| 17 June | P&F Meeting |
| 27 June | School Disco |
| 3 July | Parent Teacher Interviews |
Catholic Schools Week
Last week we very much enjoyed celebrating Catholic Schools Week with you and reaffirming our commitment to providing a nurturing, faith-filled environment for all members of our school community. We hope you enjoyed spending time in classrooms and sharing in a wide range of contemporary educational experiences with your children. Thank you to those families who also came along to our liturgy which we celebrated to acknowledge the importance our faith has in our educational life. The prayers, singing and liturgical dance helped to convey this in a very meaningful way for us all.
Thank you for choosing a Catholic education for your children and for working alongside us to nurture your children academically, socially, emotionally, physically and most importantly, spiritually.
Pentecost Liturgy
On Monday, our Kindergarten students led the school in prayer with a beautiful liturgy celebrating the feast of Pentecost - the coming of the Holy Spirit. We heard that the Holy Spirit gave the apostles the gifts necessary for them to fulfill the great commission of going out and preaching the Gospel to all nations.
Pentecost is considered to be the birthday of the Church. Peter, the first pope, preached for the first time, and converted thousands of new believers. The apostles and believers, for the first time were united by common language, and a common zeal and purpose to go and preach and live out the Gospel.
We thank Kinder for helping us all to understand the importance and meaning of this special time in our Church’s history and we pray that we will continue to carry on the mission of the first apostles throughout our daily lives.
Confirmation
On Tuesday and Wednesday evening this week a number of our students were received into the church, as, in the words of the Bishop, “full time members”, when they received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Confirmation, or the receiving of the Holy Spirit, is when we receive God into our souls. The Holy Spirit makes us more like Jesus. It helps us to accept our mission in life. Bishop Michael encouraged the children to always keep the door open, and to let the Holy Spirit in to receive the gifts of, wisdom understanding, right judgement, courage, knowledge, reverence, and wonder and awe. It was an honour to be a part of such a special time in the faith lives of these children on Tuesday evening and I know the other teachers who came along also felt the same.
May our children always remember this sacrament as one of ‘Hello’ as Pope Francis describes it, rather than one of ‘Goodbye’.
ASPIRE
Last Thursday evening a number of staff went along to the finals of the Aspire Songwriting Competition to listen to Ava K perform the song she wrote for this competition. The theme for the primary age group was ‘Communication’ and Ava created a marvellous song about the communication of feelings. We were amazed with her talent and the poise and confidence she displayed. We are very proud of her and admire how she is always so ready to give things a go and to stretch herself.
National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS)
NSS is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses Key Learning Areas of the national curriculum.
On Wednesday the whole school, at the same time, read and listened to this year’s story, ‘Bowerbird Blues’. It stars a beautiful bowerbird on the search for BLUE! It's a moving story of longing and connection, that unfolds as the bowerbird's search sends him soaring across the sea, sky and city. He swoops and snatches vibrant treasures for his collection, and soon his bower attracts something greater and more fulfilling than he could ever have imagined. The children were so inspired by this story that they have begun to create their own bower in our school playground.
National Volunteer Week
To all our volunteers we would like to extend a huge thank you for everything you do. Your time and efforts in the canteen and the uniform shop, with sporting events and coaching, as class parents, with fundraising events and support in the classrooms, are all very much appreciated. Thank you for helping to make this community so special.
Regards from chilly Canberra,
Karen
Tell Them From Me Survey
The Tell Them From Me parent survey is now open. This survey provides the school with valuable information that is used for ongoing school improvement. We ask that you please take 15 minutes to contribute your thoughts and feedback.
Please click on this link and it will take you directly to the survey. The survey will close on Friday, 14th June 2024.
Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL)
Be Respectful: Use kind words and actions
In class and on the playground, our PBL focus for this fortnight is to use kind words and actions. Students are reflecting on the impact, on others and ourselves, when we use kind/unkind words. They will be identifying what these actions look like, sound like and feel like. Students will be looking at an example of a kindness grid, as shown below, and seeing if they can be creative and think of their own ways to show kindness towards others. Please keep this conversation going at home.
Students are enjoying taking their class tokens to the colour house boxes and watching the numbers rise. Special thanks to our dedicated Sports Captains for counting our tokens. The end of Week 5 will mark the next time we announce who the mid-term winning colour house will be.
Safeguarding ‘It’s everyone’s responsibility’
National Sorry Day 26th May
Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country.
This date precedes National Reconciliation Week which will run between May 27 to June 3. During this week students will participate in a variety of activities led by our Aboriginal Education teacher, Mrs Temple.
Nicole Charnock
Assistant Principal
This week celebrated the nineth anniversary of Laudato Si. Laudato Si week began to celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ papal encyclical letter, “Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.” Since then, the annual celebration has become a way for all Catholics to unite and rejoice in the progress we’ve made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life and to commit ourselves to further prayer and action for our common home. This year’s Laudato Si’ Week theme is inspired by the symbol for Season of Creation 2024, “first fruits.”
Pope Francis encourages us all to be seeds of hope in our lives and our world, rooted in faith and love. We are called to take care of our planet and be Stewards of Creation. We here, at St Joseph’s, have a passionate group of staff and students who care for the school garden, growing vegetables to be used within the community for cooking. As a school community we are all called to put our environment as a priority and to each take responsibility to clean up our play spaces, recycle and where possible reuse rubbish to lessen the impact on our earth.
Social Justice Update
Since teaming up with RePlay Charity, we have had our shoe drive which was a great success and we recently donated school equipment to communities in need in Tonga. Here is a message sent from Sarah last week updating the community on where your donations are going.
Thanks so much St Joseph's - we had a wonderful morning loading Sione up with the following:
- 50 summer uniforms
- 35 sport shorts
- 6 jumpers
- 36 grey shorts
- 100 small chairs
- 15 boxes of Library books
- 10 pairs of school shoes
He is sending a container to Tonga this week.
Thank you for your ongoing support of RePlay's mission to change the lives of children & youth in under-developed countries through the power of sport
Kind regards,
Sarah
Figure 1 https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/spelling2As we navigate the journey of supporting our children's literacy development, understanding the intricacies of spelling can be quite a challenge. One key aspect that is crucial for spelling proficiency is morphology. Morphology, the study of the structure and form of words, helps children understand how words are built and how they function within our language.
Jocelyn Seamer’s "Spelling Success in Action 2" provides a comprehensive framework for incorporating morphological awareness into spelling instruction. This term the framework has been implemented in Years 3 – 6.
Here are some comments from our students about their experience using Spelling Success in Action 2:
I like that it has lots of different activities and that it is really organised, which means it is easy to keep track of your learning.
It makes our learning more efficient. I also like the ‘we do’ and ‘you do’ sections to support our learning. It is good to have an example first, so we know how to do things.
I like how it makes learning easier with things that we don’t understand.
What is Morphology?
Morphology involves the study of morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language. Morphemes include roots, prefixes, and suffixes. For example, in the word "unhappiness," "un-" is a prefix meaning "not," "happy" is the root word, and "-ness" is a suffix indicating a state or condition. By breaking down words into these components, children can learn to spell and understand words more effectively.
Why is Morphological Awareness Important?
Research shows that morphological awareness is a strong predictor of reading and spelling success. Children who understand how words are formed can:
- Improve Spelling Accuracy: By recognising patterns and structures within words, children can spell more accurately. For instance, knowing that the suffix “-ed” is used to form past tense verbs helps children spell words like “jumped” or “played” correctly.
- Enhance Vocabulary: Understanding morphemes enables children to decipher the meanings of unfamiliar words. This boosts their vocabulary and comprehension skills.
- Support Reading Fluency: When children can break down complex words into manageable parts, they can read more fluently and with better comprehension.
Implementing Morphological Instruction: Insights from Spelling Success in Action 2
Jocelyn Seamer’s "Spelling Success in Action 2" emphasises a systematic approach to teaching morphology, tailored to different age groups and skill levels. Here are some strategies from the program that can be used at home when your child is reading or writing:
- Explicit Teaching of Morphemes: Introduce common prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Use visual aids and interactive activities to help children understand and remember these components.
- Contextual Learning: Encourage your child to identify morphemes in the books they read. Discuss how these morphemes change the meaning of words and help them understand new vocabulary in context.
- Writing Activities: Have your child practice writing sentences or short stories using words that share common morphemes. This not only reinforces their spelling skills but also enhances their writing fluency and creativity.
Incorporating morphological awareness into spelling instruction, as outlined in Jocelyn Seamer’s "Spelling Success in Action 2," can enhance your child’s literacy skills. By understanding the building blocks of words, children can become more confident and proficient in their spelling, reading, and writing endeavours.
Leanne Skinner
Primary Coordinator – Pedagogical Mentor
Diocesan Cross Country
Last Wednesday our distance runners competed in the Diocesan Cross Country in Maitland. It was a beautiful day to run the grueling track and our athletes showed great sportsmanship and persistence to get through the race.
We congratulate Sam G, Archie D and Eve D, on progressing to the next level to be held in Sydney at The Equestrian Centre. We wish you all the best.
St Joseph’s Merewether Productions Presents…
Ladies and gentlemen, gather 'round as we unveil the magical tale that has captured the hearts of St Joseph's Primary School!
On a crisp Monday morning, a mystical letter graced our classrooms, heralding the arrival of our 2024 Musical Production. Picture yourselves transported to a whimsical forest, where the Legend of Mythical Creatures convenes after a century's slumber to share their wondrous tales of adventure and intrigue!
Discussing the exciting announcement with sisters Sofia and Alex, Sofia bubbling with excitement, said, "I can't wait to perform with everyone on stage!" With Alex echoing the sentiment, "It's an incredible chance for our school to come together and showcase our creativity to the world!”.
Don't let this enchanting evening slip away! Mark your calendars for Thursday 19 September and be part of an unforgettable experience, where talent and camaraderie illuminate the stage like never before at The Factory Theatre in Adamstown. Prepare to be dazzled as every student takes the stage in a spectacle that will leave you spellbound!
We recently held the first meeting of our newly formed Student Wellbeing Team. The meeting was marked by a respectful exchange of thoughts and suggestions where the team demonstrated valuable insight and a strong commitment to creating a supportive and positive school environment.
School TV
Click here to view a special edition report on managing our connectivity to the digital world and how to avoid feeling overwhelmed. In a world where parents often juggle multiple responsibilities, SchoolTV serves as a reliable and comprehensive resource that helps you stay informed and proactive about your child’s wellbeing.
Chloe Coe
Wellbeing Coordinator
Term Planner
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