Nikki Norley

Principal

Curriculum

In week 6 this term, Mrs Norley and myself attended Professional Learning with guest speaker Michael McDowell. The focus over the two days was about empowering our students to lead their own inquiry, discover knowledge, and construct approaches to solving real-life challenges. A big part of this day was centered around creating ‘conditions for learning’. Research continually finds that certain conditions and behaviours are essential to learning. These conditions include safety and a rigorous learning environment.

Conditions for learning at SJKB
• Increased learning time over the week. 1 hour and 10 minutes created by heading straight to class after breaks!
• Focus on PBL- creating a consistent approach to the safety and wellbeing of all students.
• Increased adult density in classrooms- providing more support in core learning times.
• Uninterrupted literacy and numeracy blocks
• Student goals identified
• Developing growth mindsets- grit, perseverance and determination through whole class lessons and targeted support

We recognise that creating optimal conditions for learning may take time, but we are all dedicated to providing the very best possible learning culture for students in which they can thrive.

Pupil Free Day

On April 29th (first day of term 2) there will be a whole school learning focus on writing for all staff. This day is a PUPIL FREE DAY for students. The staff will learn how to raise the standards in writing in a fun and interactive way for both the student and the teacher with a focus on Big Writes and VCOP.

What is Big Write and VCOP?

A Big Write is the chance for the students to celebrate their writing and show off the learning goals they have achieved for the week. They will learn how to up-level their work and create a ‘writer’s voice’ by using their VCOP skills (vocabulary, connectives, openers and punctuation).
This is very exciting for our teachers and students!

Appropriate Use of Digital Devices (Mobile Phones/Smart Watches)

As technology continues to become more advanced, we have noticed that an increasing number of students are wearing a smart watch to school each day. Smart watches are a form of a digital device and students who wear these to school must agree to our ‘Appropriate Use of Digital Devices (Mobile Phones/Smart Watches)’ policy. You can read the rationale from this policy below:

St Joseph’s Primary School accepts that parents give their children mobile phones/smart watches for their security and personal safety from everyday risks. There is also ever-increasing concern about children travelling unaccompanied. With parents having to work shift hours as well as organise busy afternoon schedules for their children, we acknowledge that providing a child with a mobile phone/smart watch gives parents reassurance that they can contact their child outside school hours.

If your child wears a smart watch to school, they MUST sign this agreement and return it to school ASAP. Smart watches must be on ‘home’ mode throughout the day. It is not necessary for students to be sending or receiving texts throughout the day as all communication messages can be given through the office. If a student does not comply with the ‘Appropriate Use of Digital Devices’ policy, they will need to hand in the device to the office and collect it at the end of the school day. This is to ensure your child is not distracted during learning time and does not engage with anything inappropriate.

Please send your child’s teacher an email if you require your child to wear a smart watch to school and they will send home a copy of the agreement for you to sign.

PBL

This week’s PBL focus is ‘Make Jesus Real’ The elements of this SJKB value are:
• Use kind words and actions
• Honesty is the best policy &
• Make good choices
Each Monday the students are reminded of the weekly focus and this message is reinforced in the classroom. Students who show that they are following the PBL focus are awarded at Friday’s assembly.

Thanks,

Courtney Porter

Assistant Principal

Feast Day of St Joseph - 19th March

Year 2 did a beautiful job in leading us in the liturgy for the Feast Day of St Joseph. It was lovely seeing many Parishers and families come together with us to celebrate St Joseph. St Joseph is often thought of as just a simple carpenter. However, through his decision to become Jesus' earthly father, we can see he is a man of faith, honour, courage and integrity. All great qualities to live our lives by and strive for.

All students at SJKB took part in our annual St Joseph's Art and Prayer Competition, in the lead up to the Feast of St Joseph, and the winners from each class were announced after our liturgy. Well done to all of the SJKB students for taking part in the competition, it was lovely to come into your classroom, see your artworks and discuss with teachers how well you worked to create your artworks.

Congratulations to the winners! Your artworks and prayers will be displayed in our school foyer for the whole year. Please make sure you check them out next time you come into the school office!

Holy Week - (24th March - 30th March) - Short Summary

The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, Holy Week, is the most sacred and important time of year for Christians. During this special time, we enter into the passion of Christ — his crucifixion, death and resurrection. Lent (the lead up to Holy Week which started on Ash Wednesday on 14th Feb) has been a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving which helps us to prepare for the three days of the Triduum.

What is the Triduum?

The three days of the Triduum are counted as the Hebrews counted their days, from dusk to dusk. Lent officially ends and the Triduum begins at dusk on Holy Thursday and continues through dusk on Easter Sunday. Because we cannot separate Jesus’ death from his resurrection, the Church teaches that the Triduum is really one celebration that lasts for three days. However, in the liturgy, each day has its unique qualities and different focuses.

Holy Thursday

So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realise what I have done for you?” ~ John 13:12

On this night we remember the Last Supper and celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Good Friday

He said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. ~ John 19:30

Good Friday is a somber remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross. It is a day of fasting and penance and a time to examine all of the places in our lives where we need to work on following Christ more closely. We often reflect on the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.

Easter Sunday

“The Lord is risen indeed” ~ Luke 24:34

Easter Sunday is a time when we celebrate the risen Lord with songs of alleluia. It is a day of thankfulness, joy and bring hope of salvation.

We will be celebrating Holy Week and would love it if you could join us in the church on the following days;

26th March 1:10pm Palm Sunday Liturgy, lead by 2M
27th March 1:10pm Holy Thursday Liturgy, lead by 3/4M
28th March 12:00pm Good Friday Liturgy, lead by Stage 3
2nd April 1:10pm Easter Monday Liturgy, lead by 3/4B

Caritas - Project Compassion

Every year during Lent and Term 1, we raise money for Caritas’ Project Compassion. The funds raised go to assisting people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world.

For more information; https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/

Each class has a project compassion box in their classroom and if you have any loose change hiding in the car, lounge or around the house that you could donate every bit counts!

During Week 11, we are planning to have a cake stall and an out-of-unit day with all money going towards Caritas. More information to come in the coming weeks!

Blessings,

Taylor James

RE Co-ordinator

5/6 White have been really enjoying their sport and PE activities!! The gymnastics sessions provided by Primarily Active have built upon skills learned in prior years and taught us new skills. We have also learned to step outside our comfort zone and try new things even when they may be challenging. We've also enjoyed the beautiful environment in which our school is set and have beenout and about on the trails. Our first cardio boxing session with Mrs Woollett was a hit and we are looking forward to more.

The Children’s University Program is up and running for 2024.

Unfortunately, numbers have been capped for this year at 20 (even though we managed to convince the organisers to allow us a few more,) so it had to be restricted to Stage 3 students only.

The program is an opportunity for students to pursue learning interests outside school and it allows them to “shine” in areas that interest them.

Students log their hours of learning in their individual passports and if they accrue enough hours, they get to graduate in full gowns and mortars at the conclusion of the program.

We had a visitor from the university last week to talk to the children and we are ready to go! (As soon as we receive our passports!)

Good luck to all those enrolled.

Happy learning!!

Mr. York

Welcome to St Joseph’s Library.

This term we have enjoyed some terrific stories from the Premier’s Reading Challenge collection.
Stage 1 classes have also been exploring coding using Scratch Junior.
Stage 3 are having fun with poetry and stage 2 are using the library collection to research.

I would like to encourage all students to enter the PRC, which began on
Monday February 26th.
The PRC is an initiative by the NSW Government that encourages a love of reading in students from Kinder to Year 10. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read widely and enjoy reading.
The PRC runs until Friday 23rd August.
Students who complete the challenge will have their names displayed in the library and the newsletter. They will receive a certificate to show their achievement. At St Joey’s we also like to celebrate with a Pizza Party for those who complete the challenge.
Any student who would like to participate can return their note to their classroom teacher.

St Joseph’s has a subscription to SORA. Sora is an eBook and audio book Library. As part of the Australian Catholic Education Network (ACEN) member collection, your child can access eBooks and audio books through the Maitland Newcastle Diocese.
All you need to do is to download the SORA app or go to the website and sign in using the
ACEN membership and your child’s Maitland Newcastle username and password.
(you can get this from your child’s teacher)
then you and your child can enjoy some terrific books on your devices at home.
One of the great features of SORA is the inclusion of a Premier Reading Challenge book section.

Graphic novels, Fiction and Non-Fiction books are also available.
Log in and explore today.

If you have any questions about anything in the Library, feel free to send me an email.

Happy reading,

Leah Hannan
leah.hannan@mn.catholic.edu.au

Term One is certainly flying by. See below for some resources that I recommend.

School Holidays Program

These school holidays Red Frog For Families have a number of school holiday programs. See the link below for details.

https://www.rf4f.com.au/whats-on

Books

Lessons of a Lac- is a series of books, that have been written specifically by a clinical psychologist Lynn Jenkins, and illustrated by illustrator/art therapist Kirrili Lonergan. Lessons of a LAC provides children a very simple way to understand their anxious thoughts and feelings.

Lessons of a LAC http://www.lessonsofalac.com/

Wishing you and your family a blessed Easter.

Courtney Albury

Learning Support Teacher

SJKB Cultural Immersion Day – Friday 5th April

Parents and caregivers are most welcome to join us for our SJKB Cultural Immersion Day on Friday 5th April. The program for students in K-2 will commence at 10:50 am with a combined male/female dance workshop. This will be followed by separate workshops for boys and girls that include dance moves/face painting, digeridoo lesson and weaving from 11:25 am.

The program for students in Yrs 3-6 will commence at 12:50 pm with a combined male/female dance workshop. This will be followed by separate workshops for boys and girls that include dance moves/face painting, digeridoo lesson and weaving from 1:20 pm.

Kind regards

John Hession

Aboriginal Education Teacher

For any questions relating to school events or operational matters please don’t hesitate to call the school office. We are very fortunate to have two amazing office staff Susie and Linda who are more than happy to answer your questions. Often a question you have is similar to that of other parents and we can address these in a timely manner. This way we can also ensure accurate and relevant information is shared with our school community.

We are now accepting enrolment applications for Kinder 2025.

We have a very high number of new families enquiring this year, so if you have a younger child who will be beginning school next year, please complete and submit an enrolment application as soon as possible. Please contact the office for an application pack.

Please note the diocese has implemented the following timeline for enrolments in Catholic Primary and Secondary schools this year:

In recent years the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has received unprecedented demand for school entry across our Diocesan schools.

This demand, combined with the desire to offer families a pathway for their children from Kindergarten through to Year 12, has led to the Diocese revising and adjusting the Enrolment Policy.

In the mornings we operate a staffed kiss and drop zone. Parents pull into the drop off area in front of the hall. Students exit the car from the passenger side.

Please note that this is operational from 8:13am.

If you arrive before this time please kindly reverse park and wait till we have staff onsite to adequately supervise our beautiful students.

Please also use the crossing at all times.

We can see potential for near misses and we want to ensure our children are supervised and safe.

The before and after school care at St Joseph’s is provided by St Nicholas OOSH, Diocese of Maitland Newcastle.  Open Monday - Friday 6:30am - 8:45 am and 2:45pm - 6:00pm.

Please contact Kristy for further information.

KRISTY MARNEY
NOMINATED SUPERVISOR | ST NICHOLAS OOSH
P 0437 664 070    
140 Wangi Rd | Kilaben Bay NSW 2283 

Email  Kristy.Marney@stnicholasmn.org.au Visit us online www.stnicks.org.au

P&F Meeting- Tuesday 26 March @ 5:30pm

At our next P&F meeting the President of the Federation, Bev Bailey, and Lizzie Watkin (Professional Officer- Family Engagement CSO) are presenting information about the transition to the Diocesan Family and Community Engagement Model (FACE). Following this will be the AGM.

All welcome!

Billing for the 2024 fees has been completed and your account can be viewed in Compass. The Fee Statements were sent home over the first weekend in March. Please check your junk mail if you can not see it, then contact the school office.

It is important to get your payments established early in the year, so we suggest you organise your automated payments with your Bank, with whatever fee frequency you have nominated. Your Bpay details can be seen on your statement and remain the same as last year.

If you would like help calculating amounts to pay on a weekly/fortnightly/monthly basis please phone the school office and we can provide you with a Fee Calculator Report.

The payment of school fees is crucial to our ability to effectively provide quality education for our students.

To assist families with limited resources, discounted tuition fees are provided to Health Care and Pension card holders. Please contact the school office if you have not already made this arrangement..

Additionally, any family experiencing financial difficulty is most welcome to contact Mrs Norley for a confidential discussion.

Linda Garreffa
Administration Officer

SJKB have several students each year that have been diagnosed with a food allergy.

Therefore, considerations in how our school implements risk minimisation for our at risk children are as follows:

• Food may not be shared between students and washing hands before and after eating is encouraged.
• We discourage food with high risk of allergic reactions or known allergic reactions to individual students, being brought to school eg- nuts
• Food rewards are discouraged and non-food rewards encouraged.

These are just some of the ways that SJKB is working to ensure that duty of care obligations to our students are in place, to ensure all students feel safe and supported at school.

Parents are asked to please consider these obligations when sending food along to school with your child.

We regularly need volunteers for various roles within our school. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer at our school, please follow the instructions on the link below:

If you have been a volunteer in the past and your WWCC has expired, you can renew it for free at Service NSW.

Once you have been cleared, you will need to come in for a site induction (approx. 40mins). We appreciate you all so much!

courtney.porter@mn.catholic.edu.au 

Thank you for all your donations this year. We are in desperate need of small sizes, especially the girls pinafores.

Please leave any donations at the School Office.

How to Order

Thanks to everyone who has placed orders via the link for second hand school items (link below)

PLUS second hand uniform request

Hats can also be ordered via our system please specify new or used in the comments.

PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR CHILD'S NAME AND CLASS in the message as our volunteers do not have access to the different family surnames to make connections to students - therefore use your child's name first, then your name, especially if different surname.  Payment is via the Qkr! app. 

Thank you!

THE PLUS TEAM

The children continue to enjoy their guitar lessons so if you would like your child to learn guitar:  We have a guitar group here at St Joseph's where children receive tuition from professional teachers at school each week on a Tuesday between 1-3pm.  For more information, please contact Ricky direct on 0407 534 944: