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Dear Parents,
Thank you
What a lovely surprise it was for us all to come into work last Friday on International Teachers Day and be welcomed with personalised bags of sweet treats and vouchers for The Hood. This very thoughtful gesture from our parent community is so very much appreciated and it means a lot to us. We love what we do, even though it is challenging and demanding, and we certainly don’t do it for accolades or recognition but to receive your token of appreciation was a real mood booster and counted for a lot. Thank you
Kinder Orientation
Thanks to revised COVID regulations we were able to hold our first Kinder orientation morning for our 2021 Kinders on Thursday morning. Parents unfortunately are not able to be part of the on-site program this year but it is so terrific that the children can come along and begin to familiarise themselves with the school environment and the staff and older students.
Despite many of our families not even having entered our school prior to this orientation session due to COVID, the morning went seamlessly and the children adjusted to school incredibly well. We are very pleased with the mature and engaged manner our Year 5 students showed in working with our new Kinders. They certainly helped to make the children’s first experience of ‘big school’ a happy and memorable one. Over the next month we will have two more sessions at school for the children as well as a Zoom session for the parents.
School Crossing Supervisor
A short while ago I applied for a NSW Government funded school crossing supervisor for Farquhar St. We recently heard that we have qualified for this and are extremely pleased with this outcome. With the increase in traffic along Farquhar St we feel this is a necessity for the safety of our students and their families. Transport for NSW will recruit and train the supervisor, who will be in attendance at the crossing from 8.20am – 9.20am and 2.30pm-3.30pm on each school day of the term. I anticipate that the supervisor will commence in their role at the start of the 2021 school year, however, we will keep you updated as we receive further information.
ASPIRE
ASPIRE is the Maitland/Newcastle Catholic Schools Office creative and performing arts program. It has an emphasis on fostering creativity, and we are very proud to announce that five of our students were successful in their auditions for ASPIRE 2021. We cannot wait to see what creativity flows from these students:
Cate Hayes, Ivy Jones and Peter Higgins, who will be part of the Vocal Ensemble; along with Miller Charnock and Miriam Biswas, who are in the Drama group and Daniel Stone who is in the Band Ensemble.
Congratulations to you all. We are very proud of you for ‘having a go’.
Student Teachers
From this coming Monday we are very fortunate to have five young student teachers, from the Australian Catholic University and Newcastle University, joining us for the next four weeks.
Monique Gilbert will be working in Kinder Gold, Maddalyn Onslow and Maeve McCallum will be in Year 1 Blue and Benjamin Moffatt and Jade Hayman will be in Year 4 Blue.
This is the first placement for these students and we wish them all well. I am particularly grateful to Miss Carney, Mrs Skinner and Mrs McMillan for offering to work with these students in a supervising teacher mentor role along with regular classroom teaching as it is a big commitment. Providing support for these young teachers in training is something which I consider is part of our service to our education system in order to help prepare the next generation of Catholic school teachers to be the best they can be for the future generations of students who will be coming through our schools. With the quality of our teachers here at St Joseph’s, what a great start to their career they will be having!
2021 Class Groups
Teachers are soon to embark on the work of creating class lists for next year and many hours are spent on this task. Please be assured that teachers use their professional knowledge of students and their judgement of what is best for each individual child when considering groupings.
In assigning students to classes, teachers are asked to consider the following criteria to ensure an even spread of:
- learning abilities
- gender
- grade levels
- learning partners - these are not necessarily social friends but students they enjoy and work well with. Students may be asked for their input in this area.
- friendship groups - it is uncommon for students not to be with at least one of their chosen friends
A great deal of consultation occurs in grade teams and with the leadership team before lists are finalised. If you have thoughts regarding your child’s learning needs and placement for next year, please share these in writing. I ask that these are sent to the school admin email (admin@merewether.catholic.edu.au) by no later than Friday 13th November.
Writing an email of consideration does not guarantee that the class lists will reflect your requests as we also have faith in the judgement and decisions made by the teachers who best know these children in the learning environment. Please do not make requests based on teacher preferences.
If your child/children will be leaving us at the end of this year and moving to a different school for 2021 please email us at admin@merewether.catholic.edu.au, once again by Friday 13th November, to let us know so that teachers are aware of this prior to them sorting out class groups for next year. It is a legal requirement that if a child changes schools the parents/carers inform us of the change including the name of the new school where they will be enrolled. Thank you for your assistance with this.
Step Up
We are aiming to hold our ‘step up’ afternoon where the students get to meet their 2021 teachers and mix with their new class group, in the last week of school.
Karen
Curriculum Corner - Renata Powell
Movie Club
On Wednesday, 18th November (Week 6) we will be gathering for Movie Club again. The movie this time is Early Man and is available on iView. We invite children from K-6 to join us for popcorn, great reflection and conversation.
Year 6 Retreat
Following the easing of government and Catholic Schools Office COVID guidelines we have been able to organise a Year 6 Retreat. This experience is part of the children’s rite of passage to high school. Unlike a camp or previous school excursion this experience has as its focus a spiritual reflection upon the journey the children have undertaken to date. They will have the opportunity to reflect, pray, connect with others and have fun! Our experience is that students generally have great appreciation of this experience. The retreat will be held at Riverwood Downs from Tuesday, 24th November until Wednesday, 25th November. Please keep the students in your prayers as they prepare for their special experience.
World Teachers' Day
Every day, teachers are making a positive difference – creating opportunities for their students, empowering minds of young people and proudly teaching our future leaders, innovators and influencers. World Teachers' Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and thank all teachers for the important role they play – inside our classrooms and out in the community. Celebrated in more than 100 countries world-wide, World Teachers' Day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1994 to recognise the role of teachers in society. World Teachers' Day is held internationally on the 5th of October each year. As the day usually falls during the school holidays, we celebrated it here at St Joseph’s last week on Friday, 30th October. Thank you to the school P&F who acknowledged the work of our staff. It was very special to receive a chocolate sweet and a small gift. It was very thoughtful!
Calling all budding journalists!
The Young Journalist Award is an opportunity for young people to explore the interesting and inspiring stories that are everywhere around them, and share those stories with the wider community. The competition is run each year by the Australian Catholics magazine and the theme for this year was “Stories of celebration”. This year all students in Year 6 at St Joseph’s Merewether entered the Young Journalist Award competition. There was such a broad range of entries as students thought about people in their own family or others in the community who really have achieved something extraordinary. An exciting initiative this year was that it was the first-time students had the choice of how they’d like to present their journalistic work. They could select out of either print, photography or a digital medium.
At St Joseph’s one of our students was fortunate to win the digital category. Maddi Gill created a podcast, “Living Immediately”, by interviewing podcaster Mike Campbell. She was inspired after hearing about what Mike does for a living and wanted to share that with others. From the experience Maddi has realised that you can live a great life without needing the big things, the most important things are love, friends, and family.
Ivy Kiem and Will Boyle were also acknowledged for their work as being runners-up in their respective category. Ivy recorded an interview with her neighbour, Rick Owen who is in the Air Force, and was inspired by realising you can do whatever you dream of. Will wrote an inspiring article about how hard work pays off. He interviewed his neighbour, Grant Nickel who he often saw out on the road training for his wheelchair cycling competitions. Well done to all students at St Joseph’s for entering the competition. Congratulations to Maddi, Ivy and Will who have been acknowledged in this special way! To see their entries, please click here.
ICAS
Distinction | Credit |
Emma Shrewsbury | Charlie Whittaker |
Liam Clydesdale | Abbie Hartnett |
Eva Cootes | |
Daisy Owens | |
Skylar He |
Celebrating our Faith - Stephanie Colvin
Prayer
Aboriginal Our Father
You are our Father, you live in heaven,
We talk to you. Father you are good.
You are our Father, you live in heaven,
We talk to you. Father you are good.
We believe your word, Father,
We are your children, give us bread today.
We believe your word, Father,
We are your children, give us bread today.
We have done wrong, we are sorry,
Teach us, Father, all about your Word.
We have done wrong, we are sorry,
Teach us, Father, all about your Word.
Others have done wrong to us,
And we are sorry for them, Father, today.
Others have done wrong to us,
And we are sorry for them, Father, today.
Stop us from doing wrong, Father,
Save us all from the evil one.
Stop us from doing wrong, Father,
Save us all from the Evil One.
You are our Father, you live in heaven,
We talk to you, Father, you are good.
You are our Father, you live in heaven,
We talk to you, Father, you are good
You are our Father, you live in heaven,
We talk to you, Father, you are good
NAIDOC Week
On Monday, 9th November our school community will gather in their classrooms for their NAIDOC Week liturgy. NAIDOC Week this year is celebrated between November 8-15 due to COVID changes. NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Celebration. It is a week when the country celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year’s theme for NAIDOC WEEK is “Always Was, Always Will Be.” The 2020 National NAIDOC Week theme has been developed to shine a focus on the length of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander occupation of Australia. In our narratives Aboriginal people talk of continuous occupation of being here when time began, we are part of the Dreaming – past, present and future. Anthropologists and archaeologists have dated our sites to being hundreds of thousands of years old, in fact recording some of these sites as being the oldest on this planet.
You and your family might like to join an online Weaving and Yarning Circle event for NAIDOC Week this Saturday 7th November online 2-4pm. Please click here for details.
Remembrance Day
On Wednesday 11th November, the whole school will gather for a 15-minute liturgy under the COLA for Remembrance Day. We greatly appreciate the Year 4 students and teachers who have prepared to lead us in this liturgy of remembrance.
The Ode comes from For the Fallen, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. This verse, which became the Ode for the Returned and Services League, has been used in association with commemoration services in Australia since 1921.
St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal
This year, Christmas will be like no other. After the year that no one saw coming, many families are without jobs and under increased financial stress, some for the first time in their lives. With more families facing uncertainty, no one knows what to expect for Christmas Day. Family feasts, presents and festive gatherings with loved ones will all look incredibly different for many people this year as we celebrate Christmas. But Vinnies is committed to making Christmas a time to renew hope. Vinnies continues to provide shelter, food, clothing, financial support, friendship and care for tens of thousands of people in NSW, but the need is still great, and we need YOUR help. Together, we can renew hope this Christmas. Next week will be asking each class to donate food items for Christmas Hampers or Gift Cards. Mini Vinnies will also be performing simple acts of kindness by making some Christmas Cards of Hope. We are so thankful for your continued and unfailing generous support to Mini Vinnies in their work to support people in our local community. If you or someone you love is struggling right now, please call Vinnies helpline on 13 18 12. Vinnies is always ready to help, no eligibility required.
Please read David’s story to understand the power of our giving this Christmas.
Year 6 Graduation
Looking ahead to the end of the year, we are planning special graduation for Year 6 that will look a little different in this year of 2020. We are still in the planning stages and will share more information soon. This graduation event will be live streamed to parents and family. Stay tuned
Upcoming liturgies in Week 5
- NAIDOC Week Nov 8-15
- Remembrance Day Nov 11
Mass
Find out all about attending Mass at the St Benedict’s Parish website https://www.newcastlecatholic.org.au/ or by viewing the latest edition of their bulletin https://www.newcastlecatholic.org.au/?p=4468
5G News
The importance of buddies
It’s nearing the end of our learning as a year 5. Furthermore, we are beginning to learn increasingly more about becoming a responsible, welcoming, and understanding Year 6 buddy. As much as we like to convince ourselves that children will always flourish and thrive in a social environment, it is undeniable some find it hard, which is why it's so crucial that we prepare, practice, and learn to be a buddy and to listen to the advice we are given. I appreciate that we are given buddy preparation for the bettering of older buddies, kindergarten children, and the community as a whole. I hope we can apply these traits and communication skills for everyone in need of guiding. - Miriam Biswas
Amazing Space
In 5G we're always having a blast and Science has been one of those moments. This term in 5 Gold, we have been learning about 'Earth's place in Space.' First, we learnt about our solar system, and then we got to the fun part. We split into teams and chose our planet we wanted to learn more about. Then on Science Day, we brought in our art supplies and started working. We paper mached planets, created a poster and made presentations. It was an action-packed day, but it was so fun, we didn't mind. We had no idea how much fun was going to ‘COMET’ us.
This week we had an amazing Webinar with Karlie Noon, an Indigenous Astronomer. It was an informational and inspiring Webinar. She described her life story, and answered questions, which taught us a lot of amazing new things, like the 'Celestial Emu,' a constellation that the Indigenous people believe in. She also explained the difference between astronomy and Indigenous astronomy. We were even lucky enough to get a shout out! It was really great experience. - Meera Sinha
Meeting 2021 Kindergartens
Having new Kindergartens in school is a thrilling experience for everyone, but especially for Year 5! On Thursday morning, we nervously sat in the COLA area awaiting their arrival. The first tiny new Kindergarten kid popped into sight and one by one the group of year five started disappearing into the Kindergarten room. The adorable 'little people' were all smiling from ear to ear. Watching, waiting and finally... My buddy was here! I introduced myself and strode over to the table to get a badge. We headed to Kindergarten where the fun really began. We played and drew pictures onto a special bag that they will have for years to come. A sense of pride rushed through me. A little person to care for, remember forever and be proud of. We are seniors now. Better start acting like it! - Peter Higgins
Maths
This term in Mathematics we have been completing engaging challenges involving our fraction skills and problem solving abilities. In Week 3, we learnt about percentages and how to convert them into fractions and decimals. It took a lot of persistence but we persevered and now we are all pros with PFD (percentages, fractions and decimals). So far this term has been awesome! - Zach McGready
Waste Committee update
Just a reminder about the return and earn bin! Keep bringing bottles and cans in that have the 10¢ refund symbol on them.
It is a massive help to the school, and we would love for everyone to continue to help.
If for some reason you can’t bring the bottles and cans in on a weekday, bring them in on the weekend! It’s easy! Go around to the back of the school to where the carpark is and just slot them through the gate.
Thank for your input in the school. The return bin has been a success and we know that every little bit will help the school and the environment. - Xavier Mulley and Daniel Stone (on behalf of the waste committee)
School Musical 2021
St Joseph’s Primary School Merewether proudly presents our 2021 original musical production “An Unexpected Night at the Zoo”. The entire school community are setting off on our latest theatrical journey unlike any other with classes set to sing, dance and act their way to our performances in September next year.
The sun is setting on another beautiful day at Pleasantville Zoo and guests are saying their final goodbyes to the animals for the night. As Zookeepers close the gates before they end their day something unexpected happens. The power goes out! Are the animals safe? Are they still in their enclosures? What could possible have caused the blackout?
“This zoo is about to have another animal addition because I’m feeling pretty chicken right about now” – Night Security Guard Ralph
With the help of Pleasantville Zoo staff, audiences will be taken on an exciting adventure through the zoo to ensure all is quiet and race to turn the power back on before morning.
Cricket Gala Days
Year 6 and Year 4 students will be participating in the upcoming Senior & Junior Cricket Gala Days.
This event provides students to chance to be exposed to modified games of cricket in a fun, inclusive, learning environment. This event is designed to enhance fundamental movements that are building blocks for a healthy and active lifestyle.
Please see event information below:
Senior Cricket Gala Day – Year 6 |
Junior Cricket Gala Day – Year 4 |
Length of Day: Arrive at 9am for a 9.30am start. Finish at 2pm. Teams: Teams consist of 8-10 players. Games will be 8 a side. Clothing: Sports Uniform Equipment: Equipment is provided by Cricket NSW. Students can bring their own bats (plastic) Transport: Students will be transported by bus to and from the event. Supervising Teacher/s: Mrs Powell, Miss Cook |
Length of Day: Arrive at 9am for a 9.30am start. Finish at 2pm. Teams: Teams consist of 8-10 players. Games will be 8 a side. Clothing: Sports Uniform Equipment: Equipment is provided by Cricket NSW. Students can bring their own bats (plastic) Transport: Students will be transported by bus to and from the event. Supervising Teacher/s: Mrs McMillan, Miss Casey |
Summer Sports Trials
Regional Sports trials for both Basketball and Tennis were held today. These trials will determine selections for the upcoming Diocesan Sport trials.
We congratulate Isaac Flanagan & Harry Hillard for being successful in Tennis.
Canteen
The canteen will be open at recess on Monday, Wednesday & Thursday for the purchase of ice blocks only.
Items for sale are
Lemonade icy poles (GF) $1.00, Moosies $1.00, Bulla Frozen Yoghurt $1.50, and Bulla Ice cream cups (GF, Nut Free) $1.00
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