Term 4 Week 8

Key Information

Term 4 Important Dates

• Swimming Sessions will continue this week. 
  
• Tuesday 21st November - Rehearsals - Cloncurry Shire Hall
• Wednesday 22nd November - Awards Evening & Christmas Concert - 5.30pm 
• Thursday 23rd November - Year 9 Graduation Dinner - 6pm
• Friday 24th November - 8.30am - MMS - End of Year Mass
• Friday 24th November - Last Day for Secondary Students at 2.50pm
• Friday 1st December - Last Day of School for Primary Students at 12pm.

Tuckshop News

Please email Jamie-Lea at jmcconachy@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au or call the office to let us know if you're available to volunteer!

Our special for Week 8 is: Baked Potato and Bownie Triffle 

Please have your orders in by WEDNESDAY 8:30 am.

To order: https://myschoolconnect.com.au/

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform Shop is now located in the new office space (old library). We are open to orders being placed via the app, https://myschoolconnect.com.au/

Please give us 24 hours to organise collection for your order, we generally contact you when your order is ready to collect.

As this is a new system for us, please be kind and considerate while we find our feet in the new office space.

Miss Heather 

End of Term Date Claimers

Awards Night & Christmas Concert Invitation

End of Year Mass Invitation

Week 8 Uniform Guide

Seniors Christmas Concert

Literacy at St Joseph's

Principal's News

Welcome to Week 8, 

Thank you to the members of our community that joined us last week at our ‘move up’ assembly and morning tea. It was one of the biggest crowds we have had at one of our assemblies this year. It was a great feeling to be surrounded by so many people as we celebrated the year the students have had and wished them well as they spent time in their 2024 classroom for the first time. Our students love to have their family and friends present at assemblies or as they perform on stage, so a big thank you from myself and the staff at St Joseph’s for coming along. 

Week 8 is a very exciting but emotional week as we celebrate the end of schooling at St Joseph’s Catholic School for our Year 9 students. The end is in sight for so many of our students as our Year 7 to 8 students are also celebrating their final week of school for 2023.

On Monday evening we also celebrated the graduation of our year 6 students. We joined together at 4.30pm in the Mary MacKillop Shed for some light refreshments, speeches, gifts and a video of the year 6 students schooling journey at St Joseph’s. Thank you to the family members and staff that joined us for this occasion. 

Today our students journeyed to The Cloncurry Shire Hall for the Christmas Concert and Awards Night Rehearsal. The rehearsals went well and as always students were on their best behaviour. 

2024 Leadership Speeches and Voting:
Tomorrow at 9.00am we will host the 2024 Student Leadership Speeches. I have had the pleasure of joining Mrs Schneekloth, our Pastoral Leader, in meeting with our future leaders and reading their speeches prior to the event. It has been inspiring to see the dedication of our students and the idea’s they have to lead their house or the school in 2024. 

Please join us at 9.00am in the Mary MacKillop Shed for the presentation of speeches. We will vote immediately after the speeches and announce the 2024 leaders at the Christmas Concert and Awards evening. This will be at 5.30pm at The Cloncurry Shire Hall. 

Awards Evening and Christmas Concert
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at St Joseph’s. We are very excited to join together with our community tomorrow evening (Wednesday 22nd November) to celebrate the achievements of our students and to watch each class perform their Christmas Carols. Students are encouraged to wear their best Christmas outfit on Wednesday evening. Students getting awards are asked to wear their formal uniform to school on Thursday (the following day) for photos. 

The awards ceremony and Christmas concert will go for approximately 1.5 hours. We ask that all guests arrive at The Cloncurry Shire Hall at 5.15pm for a 5.30pm start. The awards evening will include the following:

• St Mary MacKillop Award - P-9
• St Joseph the Worker Award - P-6
• Academic Diligence Award - 5-9
• Academic Excellence Award - 5-9
• Rotary Award - Year 6
• Citizen Award - Year 9
• Mark Mappas Medallion - 2023
• P-9 Christmas Carols
• Rock Pop Mime Awards
• OptiMinds Awards 

End of Year Mass
To make our busy week even busier, we will also be celebrating our End of Year Mass on Friday morning at 8.30am in the Mary MacKillop Shed. We would love for you to join our End of Year Mass. This mass will include the following:

• Acknowledgement of Prep’s first year of schooling
• Year 6 Rite of Passage
• Year 9 Graduation 
• Blessing and Farewell for departing students, families and staff
• Sport Awards 
• House Champions of 2023

2024 School Fees:
The 2024 School Fees will be confirmed in the coming week. We have a few book packs left to confirm pricing on and we can then release the 2024 fee structure. 

New Acting Principal - 2024 - Karen Good visit:
You may notice that Karen Good is onsite next Monday and Tuesday. Karen will join our board meeting on Monday evening and will make a trip to each class throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday to introduce herself to the students. Please make Karen feel welcome if you see her around the school. 

Enjoy your week, 

May God Bless you and your families for the week ahead,

Mrs Samantha Kelley
Principal 

APRE News

Welcome to Week 8! This Friday we celebrate as a whole school community our End of Year and Year 9 Graduation Mass. Please join us as we celebrate 2023 and bless our students, families, and staff who are leaving us.  

End of Year & Year 9 Graduation Mass

Friday 25th November 

8:30 am in the Mary MacKillop Shed

Seniors Christmas Concert:
Next week on Wednesday at 9:30am the students will re-perform their Christmas acts from the awards night at a special concert for the seniors of our community. We look forward to bringing some Christmas cheer to the elderly members of our community. Thank you to the Shire Council for assisting us to host this concert. 

Christ the King Feast Day
This Sunday is Christ the King Feast Day. Each year the Church celebrates this Feast on the last Sunday before Advent, also known as the last Sunday of the liturgical year. As Catholics, we’ve been recognizing Christ as our King for over 2,000 years. Each time we attend mass, genuflect in front of the altar, or receive a sacrament, we are honoring our King. The Feast of Christ the King is a wakeup call for all of us, to stop and assess our lives. Are we including our faith in all the decisions we make? Do we only remember to pray when we need something? When we attend mass do we actively listen to the Scripture readings and reflect on the messages? 

Have a blessed week!

Mrs Therese Curley
APRE

Pastoral Care

Last week, we held Move Up Day for 2024 with great success. As students moved to their new classes with some excitement, some curiosity and some nerves, we observed the students in their new classes begin to form bonds with familiar faces and some new peers. We welcomed a number of new students and also some new class teachers. Staff reported that students were enthusiastic and positive about the year ahead. Thank you to all the students on their optimistic approach to their new class and to the teachers for planning and preparing activities to begin building that vital safe and inclusive classroom environment. We look forward to 2024!

Well done to our Year 7, 8, 9 students for finishing up the 2023 school year this Friday. It has certainly been a fast-paced year, but you have all done exceptionally well.  We farewell our Year Nine students as they continue their learning journey at other schools across the state next year and we wish them every success. Please know that you are always welcome to visit and share stories of your new beginnings with us!  

Mrs Toni Schneekloth
Pastoral Leader

Teaching and Learning - Reports

Our teachers have been busy finalising assessment and preparing reports for our families. These reports cover students achievement across Semester 2. The reports will be released via the Compass app on Friday morning accompanied with a text message to let you know. 

Please try to access the Compass application throughout the week and if you have trouble doing so, make contact with the front office to re-set your password. 

Reports are a great time for children to sit with their parents and/or carers to reflect on the year that they have had. It is important for children to celebrate their success, but to also use the feedback to identify area's for improvement. 

Kind Regards, 

Mr Dean Kelley
Head of Teaching and Learning 

Prep

Welcome to Week 8, 

This week I am on leave, but the Prep class are in capable hands with Mrs Wendy Bates. The Prep students will also have the assistance of Miss Tamara from Monday to Thursday and Miss Brie on Friday. 

Home readers were sent home last Monday. These were the last lot of readers to be sent home. The readers should have been returned this week, however, if you have forgotten please send these back throughout the week so they can be scanned back in. 

Today the Prep students walked to The Cloncurry Shire Hall to practice for the Christmas Concert. They did a fantastic job! We have their costumes ready to go for the evening. Once your child arrives on Wednesday evening please have them go to the front of the stage. The students will sit in their class for the evening. Mrs Bates and Miss Tamara will have children get dressed in their costume on arrival to make for a smoother transition on stage. We can't wait to show you our performance.  

The Preps will be receiving graduation certificates at our Mass which is on Friday at 8.30am. We would love to see you there.

• Reminders:
  Tuesday - Swimming.
  Wednesday - A reminder to place tuckshop orders. Christmas Concert & Awards Night - 5.30pm. 
  Thursday - Tuckshop day and library. Christmas Free Dress. 
  Friday - End of Year Mass - 8.30am - MMS. 
  

Enjoy your week. 

Mrs Sharon McLauchlan, Mrs Wendy Bates, Miss Tamara Williams, and Miss Brie Thew

Year 1

Welcome to Week 8!

Over the next two weeks Year 1 will continue to revise all learnt concepts. We are perfecting our Christmas song for the end of year Christmas Concert for Wednesday night.

In English this week we are continuing to focus on using the prompt from the daily challenge in Writer's Toolbox and different sentence types to create either a story or make a connection to a prior experience. In math this week, Year 1 are consolidating their learning from the past year. Students have been busy revising taught concepts. 

Reminders:

• Homework- There will be no more homework due to timetable disruptions and unaccounted home readers! It will be appreciated if everyone can please bring back all home readers that have been sent home. 

• Just a reminder that we do have children in class with allergies/anaphylaxis to Kiwi Fruit and Watermelon. If your child does bring these fruits for brain break can you please just let us know so we can keep an eye where the children are sitting.

Wednesday: Swimming with Mrs Ellis 

Wednesday night Christmas concert- Wear something Christmasy if you have something. 

Thursday: Technology with Miss humes & Christmas Free Dress

Friday: End of year Mass (please wear formal uniform) & Resilience Project/Library

Have a wonderful week!

Miss Mae-Louise Brock, Miss Erin Haley and the always fun Year 1’s!

Year 2

Hi all,

This week we are engaging in our regular literacy and numeracy activities and are revising learnt concepts in preparation to WOW Miss Cook in the move up to Year 3.

Year 2 will be consolidating the learning from the term this week. Students will also be practicing our performance for the Christmas Concert on Wednesday evening. 

As the term is beginning to heat up, we have come up with a plan of attack for morning tea and lunch moving forward. In Year 2, I will monitor the heat each day to see what location is most suitable for students to eat at brain break, morning tea and lunch. If it is too hot for students to eat at the tables outside our classroom, students will eat in the Mary MacKillop Shed.

Reminders:

• Sport (Swimming) - Tuesday
• Library - Wednesday
• Homework due Wednesday
• Christmas Concert - Wednesday evening
• Christmas Free Dress - Thursday
• End of Year Mass - Friday

Kind regards,

Miss Leonie Ansell 

Year 3

Welcome to Week 8!

Last week the Year 3s had so much fun on their Aged Care Visit and they should all be so proud of how kind and respectful they were during this time!

Now.. the day that all the Year 3s have been waiting for is this Wednesday!! We are all very excited to perform our Christmas poem that we have been practising so hard for. 

The Christmas Concert & Awards Night will be at the Cloncurry Shire Hall on Wednesday 22nd of November from 5:30pm to 6:45pm. 

In class, we will conduct some working bees to prepare some props for our performance. If they are able to, students are also asked to wear something festive for our performance!

Here’s what we are learning this week:

English: This week, we will be continuing to practise our handwriting, as well as our comprehension and writing skills! 

Spelling: Students will be focusing on the sound ‘air’ as in chair, which is represented by the graphemes air and are. 

Maths: This week, we will be revisiting our unit on money to practise counting change from financial transactions. Students will also engage with activities to plan a budget for a fictitious Christmas party and investigate the cost of owning a pet!

Religion: Students will be participating in various prayer experiences including mindful meditation.

Reminders:

• Chaplaincy Breakfast - Tuesday & Thursday at 7:45am in MMS 
• Rehearsal Excursion @ Shire Hall (for Christmas Concert) - Tuesday 8:40am-9:40am
• Swimming - Tuesday in PE
• Spirit in Action - 3pm
• Tuckshop - Must be ordered before 8:30am Wednesday 
• Library - Wednesday 
• SRC Meeting - Wednesday First Lunch
• Christmas Concert & Awards Night 5:30pm Wednesday @ Shire Hall
• Christmas Free Dress - Thursday 
• End of Year Mass - Friday 8:30am
• Mass - Sunday 8:30am

Thank you. Have a great week!

Miss Laura Cook

Year 4

Hi all,

Writing: We are continuing with the same sentence focus this week as we had last week: The -Ing Start Sentence. This sentence slows writing down. And because -Ing Start Sentences slow things down, they help make your writing feel more thoughtful. To write an -Ing Start, begin with the -ing bit of your sentence (a verb ending in -ing like: walking, wondering, trying, sleeping) and then place a comma. After the comma, put your subject—that's who or what your sentence is about—and then finish your sentence. Check these out:

• Waving goodbye to her friends, Kate put on her coat and headed outside.
• Eating as fast as he could, Brian worked his way through the pile of hotdogs.
• Smiling to himself, Boris grabbed the custard pie from the pantry's top shelf. 

Spelling: Our spelling sound this week is the ‘air’ sound in chair. It can be represented by the graphemes: air and are.

• The words where, there and their are the most common words containing the chair sound.
• The graphemes ear and ere are also used to represent the ‘air’ sound in chair.

Reminders:

• SRC Donations - Our Student Representative Council have left a green tub in our classroom and are accepting non-perishable donations for their Christmas Appeal. This Thursday students are welcome to wear Christmas Free Dress and instead of a gold coin donation we would love for items to be brought in for the basket. 
• Christmas Concert & Awards Night - Wednesday - 5.30pm - Cloncurry Shire Hall. 
• Student Leader Elections - Thursday - 9am - MMS. 
• End of Year Mass - This will be held on Friday. Please ensure students are wearing their formal school uniform. All are welcome to attend. 
• Tuckshop - Please make sure Tuckshop orders are placed by Wednesday morning.
• PE - Students have PE on Wednesday. Please pack sunscreen in your childs swimming bag if you would like this to be applied before they walk to the pool.
• Library - Students have their last Library visit on Tuesday next week. Please make sure that any school library books you have at home are brought in by the end of this week for return. 

Have a great week,

Miss Mairin Borlase

Year 5

Dear families,

The penultimate week is here!

This week is a little bit of a catch up with assessments, finishing off our spelling programme and getting ready for our Christmas Performance on Wednesday night.

WEDNESDAY: Swimming lesson as normal (8:40am). Student Leader Elections at 9:00am. Students have been asked to wear either white top/black shorts or singlet, shorts and thongs for our performance. Please arrive at the Shire Hall by 5:15pm.

THURSDAY: Christmas Dress Up Day and Soccer Tournament in Lesson 2/3 (so please wear your team colours). We have a basket in our classroom for the Christmas Appeal that the SRC are running. We would love if students could bring an item in for the basket. 

FRIDAY: Mass is at 8:30am. Thank you to Mrs Kelley for organising some extra colour powder for Year 5. This Friday afternoon, we will have a little water fun and colour splash. Due to us having Mass on Friday morning, can students please bring a change of white/bright coloured clothes (stuff that you don’t mind if it gets slightly coloured!).

Enjoy your week,

Mr Mike Tarleton

Year 6

Week 8 has been the best one yet for Year 6!

We finished all of our assessment for the year, celebrated our Year 6 Graduation on Monday afternoon followed by a dinner at the Wagon Wheel with family and friends. 

We also had our secret Santa present opening which everyone was very excited about. The students are looking forward to the Christmas Concert and awards celebration on Wednesday night. 

Mr Purcell’s final day with the class is on Wednesday. I have absolutely loved this year in Cloncurry with the Year 6 class. 

We look forward to seeing everyone at the End of Year Mass on Friday, where the Year 6 students will be blessed by Fr Mick and Fr Emene to symbolise their transition into High school. 

• Tuesday - Christmas Concert & Awards Night Rehearsal - 9.40am
• Wednesday - Christmas Concert & Awards Night - 5.30pm - The Cloncurry Shire Council. 
• Thursday - Christmas Dress - Please bring in a pantry item for the SRC Christmas Appeal. 
• Friday - Formal Uniform for the End of Year Mass. 

Thanks for a great year!

Mr Dom Purcell.

Subject Spotlight

Yr 7 & 8 Music with Miss Humes 
The end of term is right upon us, and we really have done a lot in the last few weeks. We have been hands deep in the realms of music, which included a crash course on the seven elements of music, and another on composition through the online interface portal of Soundtrap. This term, students were challenged to create a mash-up of two existing songs of any genre, combining the lyrics to create a brand new song never heard before. To accompany their lyrical arrangement, students also had to develop a rhythm to serve as the beat in their new song, and a harmony to build it up into something a touch more interesting to listen to. I must say, having seen these compositions together, everyone did an admirable job and they should be proud of what has been achieved.

Yr 9 English and Religon with Mrs Delaney-Lovett 
This entry brings us not only to the close of your child’s year 9 journey in both English and Religious Education, but also their schooling journey at St Joseph’s. It has been a pleasure to teach your child across the last 3 years; seeing the growth in each and every one of them - as a whole person - has been so special to witness. I feel truly blessed to have played even a small part in their lives, and hope that I have taught them lessons that extend beyond the classroom and the curriculum. Lessons that they will hopefully carry with them throughout their futures. I wish them the absolute most success in whatever path they follow or endeavours they embark upon. I hope you are all so incredibly proud of the people your children are now, and will continue to become - I can wholeheartedly say that I am (as are all their teachers at Joey’s!). 

Have a blessed holiday break and I wish you all every success in the future!

Miss Lovett

Library

As this is the final week of the school year for the high school students, I yet again ask pleeeeease that ALL school texts are returned by Thursday, 23 November. Many books are still outstanding from last year, but it is never too late to return them! Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation in this regard.

Thanks,

Ms Gillian Gardiner 
Teacher Librarian

Emerging Leaders Presentation 2023

Student Wellbeing

Christmas means family, friends, parties, presents, food, music, lights, decorations, Santa and lots of hugs. Everything looks and sounds different, from decorations at home to Christmas music in the shops. Routines change at home and at school with parties, outings and concerts. There are lots of extra people about, from family and friends visiting to crowds in the shops. The routine of the days prior to Christmas and the day itself is different to the usual daily routine. Then there is the "surprise" of presents. This is exciting for most children but for a child on the autism spectrum it can mean anxiety and meltdowns.

Here are some strategies that may be helpful to reduce your child's stress and anxiety levels:

Prepare your child in advance

Help your child to know what is likely to happen as much as you can. You could do this by:

• making a calendar or visual schedule to show all the things that will happen leading up to Christmas day including school events, parties, the beginning of the holidays, shopping days, when you will put the decorations up, when family and visitors will arrive etc. Include when you will take down the decorations so your child can see when things get back to normal. Cross off the days and events as they pass.
• writing a social story about preparing for Christmas and what will happen on the day
• using visuals to show your child what things such as decorations, the Christmas tree, the Christmas lunch etc will look like. Be careful if your child is very literal and the pictures do not look exactly the same as this may upset them. You can use pictures from the internet or from magazines and catalogues or your own photos from past Christmases. Try to use pictures as close to the real thing as possible.

Dealing with shopping

If your child does not cope well with shopping the extra crowds, queues and sensory stimulation will not help. Consider the following options:

• - leaving your child with someone else if you can rather than taking them shopping
• - shopping well ahead before the crowds build up
• - shopping on-line
• - allowing your child to browse for presents from catalogues rather than in the shop
• - shopping in short bursts over a number of days or weeks rather than all at once, such as food one day, presents another.

Dealing with Santa

Santa can be scary for lots of kids, more so for kids with ASD.

• start with Santa from a distance, at a parade, from a distance at the shops, in pictures or on TV.
• be guided by your child's reactions as to when, if ever, it is time to move closer.
• you can always send a letter or email to Santa about presents.
• if you would like to have a photo of your child with Santa, here is a lovely video to help prepare your child for the visit.

Dealing with decorations

• - include in your calendar or visual schedule when the decorations will be put up, what they will look like and when they will come down
• - write a social story together about why we have decorations for Christmas
• - look at the decorations a few times before they are put up and talk about where they will go
• - include your child in choosing or making and putting up the decorations
• - make decorating a gradual process if this helps your child to adjust
• - think about your child's sensory needs. If you want lights, ones that are on all the time may be better than flashing ones. Very shiny things such as bright tinsel may be overwhelming for some children as can noisy, musical decorations.

Dealing with presents

Kids with ASD often do not like surprises. The following may help:

• - pre-warn them what their present will be so they will not worry that they will not get what they want
• - teaching them appropriate things to say when they are given presents, including what to say if they do not like the present they are given. A social story may help here.
• - tell relatives of suitable things to buy for your child
• - wrap your child's gift in cellophane so they can see what it is when it is under the tree to reduce the stress of the unknown
• - reduce the chances of your child being overwhelmed by too many gifts by giving them one at a time over a period or suggesting that relatives give your child money or vouchers to be used later on.

Dealing with people

• - let family know that your child is likely to be overwhelmed
• - keep visits to other people’s homes short if needed
• - take some things which help your child feel calm such as a favourite toy, DVD or electronic game
• - let people know if your child does not like to hug or kiss people. Explain that it does not mean they do not like people but that it makes their senses overwhelmed. Don't allow your child to be forced into doing this. Teach them to say please and thank you, or perhaps give a "hi five" or shake hands instead if they are more comfortable with that.
• - help your child to know of a place where they can withdraw at other people’s houses or take them somewhere quiet for a break if needed
• - agree with your child a quiet, safe place at home where they can go if you have visitors and they are feeling overwhelmed
• - dress your child for comfort rather than focusing on "looking good" If "going out clothes" means they are uncomfortable this will increase stress levels and make meltdowns more likely

Dealing with food issues

• if your child is on a special diet it may be best to tell other people not to give food to your child
• if your child is a fussy eater take some food with you that you know they will eat
• when having dinner at home allow your child to have familiar foods that they will eat rather than making an issue of trying unfamiliar foods. Christmas day is not the time to fight food battles or stress over nutrition.

Be realistic

Christmas may not be all smooth sailing. It may be about reducing some meltdowns and educating family and friends about the ones that you can't avoid.

Miss Bec Greaves
Guidance Officer 

Community Information