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Dear Parents,
As we are all too aware, many families in the bushfire ravaged areas have been through devastating and traumatic times these last two weeks. Many of these families and their homes are in our region. You may personally know friends and family who have been affected. For this reason I would like you to consider the request from one of our families to help out those who have suffered losses in the Mid North coast area. They have family in Taree who have seen first hand how people have been affected and are assisting those who have lost everything as well as those volunteers who are helping to fight the fires.
To help local families affected by horrific bushfires, Rotary has launched the Taree and MidCoast Bushfires Appeal. Funds raised will go directly to those who lost their homes in the fires (most likely in the form of Eftpos cards distributed directly to families who have lost homes).
The appeal is registered as a Rotary Australia Compassionate Grant. This means that not only are donations tax-deductible but the first $15,000 donated will attract a dollar for dollar matching grant from funds donated by Dick Smith.
Anyone wanting to support those who lost their homes to the recent bushfires can donate to this appeal by clicking this link:
As a school we will also organise a collection for the RFS and bushfire victims in the coming weeks. A young Year 3 student approached Mrs Powell and I recently asking if we could do something and came with a list of ideas as to how this can be done.
We were very impressed by her selflessness and her proactive approach. Her ideas have been taken to the student council to discuss and further refine and will be shared with the school community over the next week.
Please keep those who have been affected by the fires in your thoughts and prayers. You may like to join together as a family to pray the following prayer together.
God Almighty giver and sustainer of life,
For those whose homes are threatened by fire,
We ask your mercy.
For those whose lives are threatened by flames,
We pray your protection.
For those who have lost all their possessions,
We pray your comfort.
For those whose health is impaired by smoke,
We pray your healing.
Be with those who respond,
Keep safe firefighters, police and volunteers.
Make their efforts effective.
God in your mercy,
Hear our prayers.
Amen.
Kinder Transition
This week saw the completion of our Kinder transition program. Over three weeks both the incoming Kinder children and their parents participated in this program which has been received very positively. I would like to thank all those parents, staff and Year 5 students who assisted in making this the great success it was. We couldn’t have done this without your help. Both the children and their parents are excited about this next big step in their lives and all are very much looking forward to being part of our Saint Joseph’s community. Our Year 5 students, in particular, stepped up and demonstrated the fine leaders they will be for our school next year. The children coming into Kinder were very excited about their buddies and were thrilled to be presented with a gift from them on the last transition morning.
OOSH
I recognise that many of you are concerned about the provision of before and after school care for next year. All I know at this stage is that there will be an OOSH service on site in 2020. As to who the provider is we do not know at this stage. The situation with the OOSH provision in our schools is not determined by the Catholic Schools Office nor the individual schools themselves hence our inability to supply you with any further information. The St Nicholas OOSH organisation is a service of the Maitland-Newcastle Diocese and they are responsible for the management of OOSH provision in our schools. As soon as any further information comes to hand I will share it with you. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.
Christmas Concert
All classes are very busily preparing for our upcoming whole school Christmas Concert on Wednesday 4th December. We are very grateful to the P&F for organising a barbecue on the evening, starting at 5:00pm so that we can connect as a community and celebrate the spirit of Christmas together as one large family.
We are aiming to start the performance on the night at 6:15pm -6:30pm, for those of you who are unable to make it to the picnic. We also look forward to the school band entertaining us on the evening. If your child is not able to participate on the night, in the concert, please inform their class teacher in advance in order to assist them with their rehearsal practices. The evening should conclude at approximately 7:15pm. We look forward to seeing you on the night. Please feel free to come dressed in the way of the Christmas theme.
Class teachers will send home notes next week with costume suggestions for each class.
Important Dates
22 November | Pupil Free Day |
25 November | P&F Meeting |
26 November | Diocesan Public Speaking |
29 November | Week 1 Advent |
3 December | Pupil Free Day |
4 December | Christmas Concert & BBQ |
Curriculum Corner - Renata Powell
Diocesan Spelling Bee Competition
On Wednesday 20th November Iris Scanlon and Marie Betts represented St Joseph’s and the Central Region at the Diocesan Spelling Bee in Singleton. The experience was a little nerve wrecking for the girls however they were supported by their families as they embraced the challenges of spelling. Iris, being in Kindergarten, was first up. She had to spell words such as cat, mat and sat. Iris made it through four rounds before finally being challenged by the word, cell. Overall, Iris came third in the Early Stage One competition. Marie participated in the Stage Two competition. She was asked to spell words such as against and dictionary. Marie was highly successful and was announced to be the overall winner in her division. We congratulate both girls on their success. Well done on facing the challenges and trying your hardest. Awesome work!
Diocesan Public Speaking Competition
Next Tuesday, 26th November, Christopher Mooney and Miriam Biswas will be representing our Central Region at the Public Speaking Competition. The day will take place at the Victor Peter’s Suite which is beside the Sacred Heart Cathedral. We wish Christopher and Miriam all the very best and look forward to hearing how their experience goes. Good luck!
Year 6 Retreat
Last week Year 6 participated in their end of year Retreat experience. After a quick venue change to Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club, the group gathered to reflect on their time at St Joseph’s. It was an opportunity to reinforce their relationship with their peers and strengthen their relationship with God. Activities included guided sessions as a large group before breaking off into smaller groups. We enjoyed our free time at Empire Park and down at the beach. We thank Mrs Collins for organising the great food! No one went hungry, especially after the seconds! Even though we did not go to Glenrock Scout Camp, retreat was definitely a time we will never forget. Thank you to the teachers for guiding us through our experience.
Felicity Hoskins and Cailen Moran
St. Pius Science Enrichment Day
On Thursday 14th November Year 5 Gold and Year 5 Blue got to go to the St. Pius Science Enrichment afternoon. We travelled by bus to St. Pius to take part in 8 different science activities.
Many students from Year 10 that do science at St. Pius and enjoy it, showed and explained the different activities. Mr Harrison was the teacher to welcome us and helped with the activities. We were very thankful for all the students and Mr Harrison as they made the afternoon very enjoyable.
Some of the activities were static electricity where we bent and curved water; there was a magnet activity where we saw a iron powder follow the magnet; the next station was called indicators where we dyed a liquid to different colours; then we went to the next station and we put different sizes of jars over lit candles and saw which jar had the light going for the longest and the largest jar kept the light going for the longest. We then got to look through a microscope; we classified different rocks; and we did a chemical reaction using Hydrochloric Acid and Magnesium. The Magnesium disappeared in the Acid. We added drops to a coin and saw how many drops it could hold on heads and tails. Heads with detergent and the head with no detergent held the most.
Year 5 had an excellent time and learnt a lot about science! - Poppy Wildschut.
In Activity 1 we did experiments based on static electricity. We learnt that static electricity effects running water, foam balls, hair and an electroscope. In Activity 2 we had 2 magnets and iron particles. We found out that 2 north magnets separate the particles but a north and south connect the particles. On the 3rd Activity we had different chemicals and when you put 3 drops of colour liquid in it, they change from clear to colourful. Each chemical had a different colour and if you mix them you can make a new colour. In Activity 4 we lit 3 candles and put different sized beakers over them. The bigger the beaker the longer it lasted because they have more oxygen to burn. In Activity 5 we had microscopes and looked at sand hair and newspaper printing. In Activity 6 we classified rocks by a little quiz. We can classify a rock by its colour layers holes and particles. Activity 7 was based on chemical reactions. We put magnesium in hydrochloric acid and the acid heated up and dissolved the magnesium. On the last activity we learnt about surface tension. We put drops of water on both sides of a 20 cent coin and counted the drops until the bubble popped. - Kolby Barr.
The Developing Brain
The last 20 years have been an explosion of brain research with new technologies allowing us to understand the inner workings of the brain like never before. Last week the K-2 teachers, EALD teacher, learning support teacher and all of the school leadership team attended a 1 day presentation on the Developing Brain presented by Nathan Wallis - leading neuroscience educator and child development expert from New Zealand. Nathan delivered a dynamic and engaging presentation on the developing brain. The day was fast paced and packed with information so to summarise seems nearly impossible but here are a few key messages.
Nathan refers to Perry’s neuro-sequential model and simplifies the neuroscience by talking about humans having 4 brains:
Brain 1 – is the survival brain, in charge of fear and anger and it’s primary function is protection. It’s our flight or fight reflex when we perceive danger
Brain 2- is the movement brain
Reptiles have brains 1 and 2 so it’s often referred to as the “reptilian brain”. Reptiles move, protect themselves (they eat their offspring if they are annoying) and are incapable of showing feelings. Think of how your pet lizard would greet you after you’ve been out all day compared to how your dog greets you!C
Brain 3 – is often referred to as the mammalian brain as it’s in charge of our emotions.
Brain 4 – is our thinking and learning brain. Nathan talks about this being the brain that your dog doesn’t have. It’s our ability to problem solve, think, interact and communicate using complex language. As adults, it also helps us to self-regulate our emotions which is a developing skill for most children.
So, what does this mean for us as educators?
- Children are children, they are not little adults. A child’s ability to regulate emotions, think, reason and communicate effectively is not fully developed.
- Children learn best when they are part of a respectful, calm relationship with adults who consistently have pro-social responses. This affirmed for us what we have always known at St Joseph’s – relationship is everything. It allows sharing of ideas, mutual respect, safety, comfort and support. When a child feels safe brains 1 and 2 are calm which allows brains 3 and 4 to work to their best ability.
- Research has repeatedly proven that play in the early years is the single most important educational “tool” for all children. The “pushing down” of academics, making our 4 and 5 year olds act as 7 year olds, has no positive long term academic result. In fact the opposite is true. Children who engage in play during the first 7 years of life are more likely to have a positive disposition towards themselves as learners; are more likely to have the resilience required to keep trying despite repeated failure and are more likely to be successful adults. So, when our teachers talk about play, playful experiences and project-based learning (as they often do) you can be assured that their practice is based on strong research that is supporting the development of your child’s brain.
- In order to be successful learners, students need four key elements. They need a strong rhythmic pattern (think about rocking your baby to sleep, nursery rhymes, swinging, dance and singing); they need a positive disposition to their gender (girls can do maths) and their culture and they need a positive disposition to themselves as learners. If students feel clever they are more likely to be academically successful.
If you would like to know more, Nathan Wallis has a number of videos on parenting, anxiety, the developing brain and learning which can be viewed on Youtube.
Belinda Pearson
Celebrating our Faith - Stephanie Colvin
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You are the King of Glory,
You are the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings.
Lord, we pray for your Kingdom to come here now,
bringing a kingdom of justice, righteousness, hope, love,
peace, mercy and grace for all.
Lord, we ask that you rule in our hearts,
lead in this world and govern over your kingdom.
Amen
Remembrance Day
St Joseph’s gathered last Monday to commemorate Remembrance Day. We joined as one community united in faith to pray for all those who have been affected by war. The students reflected on the sacrifice that so many Australian men and women have made and continue to make so that others may live in freedom.
Thank you to the Year 4 teachers and students who led our liturgy.
Our Year 6 leaders represented St Joseph’s at the Hamilton Remembrance Day Service at Gregson Park on Monday at 11am. The school leaders, Molly, Will, Genevieve and Jack represented our school beautifully; handing out programs and laying a wreath and Molly recited The Ode.
Christmas Appeal
We have decided this year to support two very worthy causes in our community this Advent and Christmas season – the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Appeal and The Little Juddies Christmas Drought Run. The Vinnie’s Hamper Appeal will provide food and drink for those in our local vicinity who for various reasons are doing it tough and will not be able to celebrate Christmas in the manner in which we all are able to. The Little Juddies appeal is for food, toys and gift cards for drought-stricken country families who are doing it tough.
Please ensure that any food items you send in are non-perishable. To uphold the dignity of those receiving the hampers, please also ensure that all food items are not due to expire for 6 months.
In order to support both causes we ask that all those in Blue classes bring in hamper items for the St Vincent de Paul appeal. For the Little Juddies Drought Run we ask that all those in the Gold and Kinder White classes bring in donations as outlined below. The Little Juddies items need to be at school no later than 11.00am on Monday 25th November and for the Vinnies Appeal, the following Thursday 28th November.
Diocesan Synod Celebration
All are invited and welcome to attend the Diocesan Synod on Saturday 23rd November, 9:30am-5pm, at the Catholic Schools Office and Sacred Heart Cathedral. The theme for the Synod is: Building the Kingdom of God Together in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
Please see the flyer attached for more details and registration.
Class Mass Timetable – Term 4 2019
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 4. Parents and grandparents are invited to join their children in prayer at this time.
Date | Class |
29th November | Kindergarten |
6th December | Year 1 |
________________________________________________________
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
Christmas Eve Mass Times
Sacred Heart Cathedral 5.30pm 7.30pm 10.00pm Midnight
St Joseph's, The Junction 6.00pm
Christmas Day Mass Times
Sacred Heart Cathedral 9.30am 11.30am
St Joseph's, The Junction 9.00am
St Mary's, Newcastle 7.30am
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Tighes Hill 8.00am
_________________________________________________________
Summer Sports Trials
The Summer Sports trials for both Tennis and Basketball were held last Friday 15th November. Congratulations to the following students who will now progress to the Diocesan trials on Friday 29th November:
Tennis: Nina Amidy & Isaac Flanagan
Basketball: Kaylah Broadhead
We wish all of these students the very best of luck for the upcoming trials.
Senior Cricket Gala Day
The Woolworths Cricket Blast School Cup Gala Days for Stage 3 was held today at Harker Oval.
Thank you to those parents of Senior students who have notified the school that their child will no longer be participating due to the Pupil Free Day. As a result of these changes, Miss Parish attended with three senior teams.
Thank you also to all the parents who have volunteered their time to support our students at these events. Your support is greatly appreciated.
The teams included:
Charles Boswell | Luca Pasvolsky | Ivy Kiem |
Patrick Burgess | Oliver Cockle | Billie Davies |
Flynn Chaston | Liam Doyle | Zoe Di Nardo |
Harry Green | Julian Dunn | Frankie Leach |
Alexander Mulley | Will Boyle | Ayla Flynn |
Cailen Moran | Kyle Burr | Ellen Moran |
Jahluvi Mtanda | Darcy Mitchell | Ruby Watson |
Timmy Collins | Arun Griffiths | Koko Minto |
Jonah Rheinberger | Kaden Stewart | Hannah Hazell |
Thomas Woods | Max Mitchell | Emily Simpson |
Ollie Russell |
Thank you to our three coaches Jamie Boswell, Nicole Doyle and Vaughan Watson.
Swimming Carnival Note
A reminder to all parents with children in Years 1-5, could you please ensure that you return your child’s swimming carnival entry form Monday 25 November. Late entries may not be accepted.
Upcoming Dates
Senior Cricket Gala Day – Friday 22nd November
Diocesan Summer Sports Trials – Friday 29th November
Last week I went to Melbourne with Miss Heath (Virtual Academy Educator), Mrs Brock (Education Officer, Gifted Education at the CSO), Mr Newman (Education Officer, Learning Technology at the CSO) and fellow Virtual academy student, Oscar Wildschut. We were presenting at a conference titled Challenge, Connect, Create. This conference was all about technology and using different resources and software in the classroom. Oscar and I co-presented in the second session of this conference. Our presentation was about the Virtual Academy and our experiences when learning online. Approximately 30 educators from all over Australia attended our workshop. We presented for 50 minutes and there was time for questions at the end. I learnt that the Virtual Academy is specific to our diocese and that there are no other programs like it. We were also lucky to be able to listen to the keynote speaker, Andrew Douch, who is a high school biology teacher. He showed the conference attendees the amazing ways to use technology in the classroom to engage and stimulate learning on a new level. Molly Boyle, Year 6
On Wednesday we went to the Powerhouse Museum. One of my favourite things at the museum was the moon rock because I thought it was really cool seeing a real part of the moon. My second favourite thing was The Wiggles area because we made pretty flowers and it was a lot of fun. By Halle Stewart
The Powerhouse Museum was really cool and we did loads of things. Some of my favourite things were The Wiggles and the illusion chamber. The Wiggles area exhibition was a favourite for a lot of our group. We made a fruit salad, got in the big red car and made flowers for Dorothy. By Edie Callinan
The Powerhouse Museum was awesome! In The Wiggles exhibition you could make roses. The space exhibition was all about Apollo 11. We talked about the moon and saw a real moon rock! There was also this illusion exhibition where the walls were moving but it felt like you were moving. By Eve Yuen
“Wow!” the moon model was amazing. The Powerhouse Museum was fantastic. The rocket simulator was my favourite. There were heaps of spaceships and even a zero gravity chamber. It was really cool. By Archie Stathis
The Powerhouse Museum was very interesting. Some of the displays were the Apollo 11 and transport. There was even a Wiggles centre. You could make roses there. One of the exhibitions called experimentations taught us about energy and magnets. I love the Powerhouse Museum. By Shloka Tummala
“I'm spinning!” In the Apollo 11 themed transport room the walls spun and it made an illusion that you were spinning around. That was my favourite part of the museum. By Leila Waddell
I absolutely loved the excursion to the Powerhouse Museum, it was awesome. My mum was the adult in our group. We called our group Apollo 9 because there were 9 people in our group. By Liam Clydesdale
My favourite part of the Powerhouse Museum was The Wiggles exhibition and my favourite objects in there were The Wiggles boat and seeing some of the actual clothes that they wore. By Heath Allan
The excursion to Sydney was so much fun. In the Powerhouse Museum there are lots of exciting things to do. Some of them were working with magnets, an electric chair and a Mars area. I sat in the electric chair and generated some electricity. I went in the transport area and stood on the train. By Hugh Mulley
On Wednesday Year 3 enjoyed a trip to Sydney to visit the Powerhouse Museum. We went to lots of sections. The sections we visited were The Wiggles area where we had lots of fun playing games. The ‘Landing on the moon’ exhibition was where they showed us how they got to the moon. By Harry Hillard
Year 3 headed off to Sydney for an excursion of a lifetime. My favourite part was inside a spaceship with all the radars, a keyboard and switches. There were glassed off bedrooms, a bathroom, and cameras, so that downstairs you could look at the people in the spaceship. Daisy Owens
Whoa! Look at all those buttons in the Apollo 11!! Year 3 went to the Powerhouse for an excursion. We had tonnes of fun looking at the exhibits and learning about Neil, Buzz and Michael. Isabella De Siqueira Mattes
With a touch screen tablet in my hand, I could feel the pressure of landing a multimillion-dollar spaceship precisely and not crash. Teddy Pasvolsky
Gold, gold and more gold. At 10mins to 11, I went to see a gold clock. It was not only a gold clock, but a gold astronomical clock. My favourite bit of the clock by far is the solar system. Elliot Mole
There was an experimentation room where there was a shock chair and a bicycle game where you could peddle it and it powered some sirens. Zenon Griffiths
One of my favourite parts of the day was watching all of our year playing together on the super playground equipment. Ms McCalden
On Thursday 21st November the St Joseph's Choir had the opportunity to perform in front of our friends at Playgroup. We performed some of our 2019 hits including; Diamonds, A Million Dreams, Sing along with Jingle Bells to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.
2020 Family Discount Form
Please ensure you return your 2020 Family Discount and Diocesan Pastoral Contribution form by Monday 2 December 2019.
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