Dear Parents,

Famous faces and glamour abounded at last night’s ‘Movie Stars’ themed disco. Children strutted their stuff down the red carpet, danced up a storm and posed for numerous shots at our photo booth!

The hall was decorated like no other, and the vibe in the air was magnificent. James Bond, Mario, Maverick, Nemo, and Elton John all graced us with their presence. Our guests dined on nothing but the best hotdogs and tomato sauce, washed down with colourful Zooper Doopers.

The night was a great success due to the incredible organisation by Priscilla Officer and Julian Johnson and our wonderful team of volunteers. Thank you all so very much for all you did and also to Ms Morgan for sharing in this special night with both the infants and primary children. Already the children are looking forward to our next disco at Halloween time.

Staffing Update

Kindergarten Blue: Mrs Casey Stewart will commence her maternity leave at the end of this term.  We are currently in the middle of the recruitment process for her replacement. 

Year 2 Blue: Mrs Gabriele Hawthorne will commence her maternity leave at the end of this term.  Ms Fiona McCalden will return from leave to teach 2 Blue for the remainder of the year.

Year 4 Gold: Ms Donna Morgan will be on leave for the last week of this term. Ms Renata Rozenfeld will be relinquishing her one day a week REC release day on the class for the remainder of the year, as she has been asked to assist with the writing of the new diocesan RE syllabus for Stage 2.

Hair

It has become quite apparent over the last few weeks that there are a lot of wild and woolly hairstyles and long locks hanging loose. From a safety perspective, from a uniform policy perspective, and most importantly, from the perspective of children being able to see clearly in order to read, we ask that you ensure that your children’s hair is brushed before coming to school, clipped back and tied back and haircuts undertaken, if necessary. Thank you for assisting us in this matter.

                              Examples of what we do not wish to see.

NAIDOC Week Grant

Next term, as part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations, we are  looking forward to once again having a whole day focused on increasing awareness of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in our country. Ms Leah Temple, along with the help of our previous ATSI teacher, Danielle Shaw, applied for a NAIDOC week grant, which was endorsed by the P&F. We are very pleased to announce that we have been successful in receiving $2000 to go towards the costs for this cultural day. We will share details about the  day on our return to school early next term.

Reports and Parent-Teacher Interviews

Semester One reports will go out at the end of next week. Followed by parent-teacher interviews the following week. We ask that prior to coming along to the interviews you have shared the children’s reports with them. We also acknowledge that there may be phrases that are a little unfamiliar to you, in the reports, depending on the subject or the stage that your children are in. Please highlight or note down any of these you may be unfamiliar with and would like the teachers to clarify for you. Students from Years 3 to 6 are invited to be part of the interviews. You may choose whether your child sits in for the whole interview or perhaps just part of it. Don’t forget to book your timeslots for an interview and to also complete the form if you wish for your child to accompany you. If you know that you are unable to make a time in that last week of school, please send an email to admin informing the class teacher of this so that an alternative arrangement for a conversation can be made.

Canteen Menu

Some recent additions to the canteen menu are Butter Chicken-both meat and plant-based varieties $4.00, Nude Juice popsicles for $0.50, (one per student) Harvest Snap Peas $1.00, Frozen fruit pieces – pineapple, mandarins, grapes for $0.50.  As a one off special next Wednesday 21 June, we will be offering a limited amount of Meatball Subs which can be ordered now via the Qkr App. The children are particularly loving the lower priced snack items for the taste as well as for the value. This has meant there is high demand for the canteen to be open at recess so if you have some time available, we would very much appreciate you adding your name to the canteen roster.  

Karen

Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) 

Our final PBL focus this term is Do Your Best – Be A Team Member. This is an important focus area as children learn the importance of contributing to a group goal, rather than an individual goal. They will be discussing the qualities of being a good team player such as sharing tasks equally, being fair, including others, encouraging others, demonstrating focus and displaying a commitment to the task. By evaluating several different scenarios, students will identify how they can become even better team players. If you have an opportunity, please discuss these concepts with your children at home. 

Being halfway through the token 5-week block, we look forward to giving students a progress report on a token count next week.   

Safeguarding - Refugee Week 

Refugee Week runs from Sunday 18 - Saturday 24 June. It is a unique opportunity for us all to experience and celebrate the rich diversity of refugee communities through theatre, music, dance, film and other events which take place all over Australia and highlight the aims of the Week.

Nicole Charnock
Assistant Principal 

A sizzling start is a punchy and exciting opening within a narrative that grabs the readers attention. Sizzling starts are essential to crafting engaging texts as they drop the reader right in the middle of the action and do not allow them to get bored or stop reading. Here are some examples of Sizzling Start techniques that we use to teach writing at St Joseph’s.

Technique: Humour

Ever cheered for your footy team with a pie in one hand and a drink in the other? Don’t. When that final goal happened, I wore both.

Technique: Start with a Sound (Onomatopoeia)

‘Buzzzzzz!’ The sound of my alarm clock echoed in my ears as I struggled to wake up. I sat straight up in my bed! This was my BIG day and I had to be on time.

Here is a before and after example of using “Action” to enhance writing.

Children often start their stories at the beginning of the day, the start of the week or even the first day of the school holidays. We encourage them to start where the action is or at a moment of change so they ‘hook’ the reader and engage the audience.

Before:

I leapt out of bed that morning and hurried to get dressed because today Dad was taking us to the zoo. I was really excited because they have this big monkey enclosure there and I am mad about monkeys. I also needed to get some really good photos for my science project.

After:

‘Here,’ I told my sister, ‘hold my backpack. I’m just going to get a bit closer to the monkey’s cage.’ A bit closer meant over the fence, past the ‘No Entry’ sign and right up to the wire. ‘You’re monkey mad,’ said my sister. Well, maybe I was, but I was also desperate for an A in my latest science project. A picture of a cute monkey, smiling right at the camera, would make all the difference, right?

Leanne Skinner
Primary Coordinator and Pedagogical Mentor

As previously mentioned in the last newsletter, Religious Literacy is important to develop an understanding of our core beliefs in our Catholic faith. Religious literacy in this diocese uses a three phase model to define the key components embedded in the RE curriculum: 

• KNOWING about the Catholic tradition 
• UNDERSTANDING what it means to be Catholic 
• APPLYING the Catholic worldview 

During Term 3, our students will be introduced to the profound knowledge contained within the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. The Hebrew scriptures, also referred to as the Old Testament, encompass a compilation of revered texts that depict the history and religious beliefs of the Hebrew people. In contrast, the Christian scriptures, known as the New Testament, provide narratives of Jesus' life, teachings, and ministry, as well as the establishment and growth of the Church. 

Through the study of scripture, our students will come to recognise that these texts are divinely inspired works of God. This recognition will enable them to gain valuable insights into the Catholic faith and deepen their spiritual understanding. They will be equipped with the skills to locate specific scripture passages and comprehend the teachings and messages conveyed in the Bible. 

Moreover, our students will come to understand that scripture reveals God's strong connection with the Hebrew people and His continuous revelation throughout history. This revelation serves as a guiding force, leading humanity towards spiritual enlightenment and fostering a closer bond with the Heavenly Father. 

Regional Athletics Carnival 

Last Friday a team of 64 athletes from St Joseph’s attended the Central Region Athletics Carnival at the Fearnley Dawes Athletics Track. Our students displayed great sportsmanship throughout the day. The students competed well and strived to do their best. We are delighted that some students have progressed to the next stage of competition and will compete at the Maitland Newcastle Diocesan Carnival in Term 3. Congratulations to all the students who participated at regional level, we are extremely proud of the way you represented our school.

Thank you to the teachers who attended as officials- Mrs Charnock and Miss Cook. A special thanks to Mrs Vervart for helping to supervise the team.

Regional Athletics results will be out next week. Please see the noticeboard near the library. 

Ms Mantach

Cross Country 

This past Tuesday, Ava K represented our school and Polding at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. This course was really going to test the best of the best! The terrain was tough and very challenging for all competitors, and Ava did so well to be competing on this course at such a young age.  

Ava has competed in many sporting events recently, with the cross Country, and both school and Regional Athletics Carnivals. Oh to be as fit and athletic as Ava! 

Well done, Ava, for demonstrating such grit and determination in what would have been a challenging run. We are all very proud of you! 

Year 6 Sport with Year 1 

Students in Year 1 have been very lucky during the past two weeks with our superstar AFL students from Year 6, Louis B, Jacob F and Callum V H, sharing their knowledge and skills of the game. The Year 6 boys were phenomenal in the way they captured the little one’s attention, how they engaged them in the activities and generally displayed amazing leadership skills. What brilliant role models they are for St Joseph’s students. With little to no help from any teacher, these three boys organised and structured the lesson themselves by warming up the students, creating skill-based activities, incorporating these skills into mini games, a cool down and a debrief at the end. The whole time they were extremely encouraging and supportive of the Year 1 students and simply made the whole experience fun!  

Futsal Competition 

Following on from their success at the regional gala day, our Under 12 Futsal boys competed at the State Championships in Maitland on Tuesday. It was a very competitive day with a win and two draws helping us reach the semi final where we unfortunately lost 1-0 to Hillsborough in an incredibly close game that could have gone either way. Congratulations to the boys for playing so well and a huge thank you to Chris and Steve for coaching them. Well done boys! 

Isaac Fogarty  

Netball Trials 

St Joseph’s will be submitting teams into the Netball NSW Gala day which will be held in Week 4 of Term 3. Netball trials will be held next week with Mrs Collins.  

Year 5 and Year 6 students: Wednesday 21 June 
Bring joggers on this day

Year 3 and Year 4 students: Thursday 22 June 
It will be a regular sport day for those trialing so they will not need to bring anything other than simply wearing their joggers and sport uniform for their normal sport day.

Rugby League Knights 9’s U 12’s 

Date: Wednesday 28th June 
Start Time: 8:30 am arrival 
Finish Time: 2:30pm 
Venue: Windale 

Permission notes have been emailed and handed out to students. They are due Wednesday, 21st June. Emma Cook will be the supervising teacher with Brett Hardy (Harry Hardy’s father) and Luke Jones (Jack Jones's father) have very generously offered their time to assist in coaching on the day. Good luck to the following boys who will be attending: 

Yr 6 Team: Louis B, Calllum V, Sidney M, Max L, Ollie H, Harry H, Jacob F and Harrison Scott (OLV). 

Yr 5 Team: Jack J, Max O, Dominic R, Toby B, Sterling P, Joe C, Gabe F, Felix P, Archie D, Hayden C and Evan B 

AFL Paul Kelly Cup Regional Carnival 

Date: Wednesday 21st June 
Start Time: 8:30 am arrival 
Finish Time: 2:30pm 
Venue: Warner’s Bay 

Please ensure the permission note has been returned ASAP if it has not already been submitted. Thank you to David Flynn and Mark Van Huisstede who have given their time in coaching our Joey’s AFL team. Their knowledge and experience of the game and how they encourage the boys to bond as a team is extremely valuable. The boys are very lucky. If we are successful on the day, we will have the opportunity to play in Sydney at the Giants Stadium which will be very exciting. 

Good luck to the following boys who will be competing: 

Jacob F, Callum VH, Harry H, Sidney M, Toby B, Max L, James S, Byron S, Darcy W, Ollie H, Jai B, Evan B, Max O, Louis B, Archie D and Harrison S. 

If you have indicated you are settling 2023 fees via a lump sum annual payment - this is due and payable by 30th June 2023. If your circumstances have changed and you cannot meet this due date please contact the school to make alternate payment plan arrangements.  June statements were emailed on 1st June 2023.

For those that have settled their fees in full we thank you for your ongoing support.

OOSH