Term 1 Week 5
Key Information
Term 1 Important Dates
- Week 6
- Monday 26th February - School Photos
- Friday 1st March - Assembly 8:30am; Clean Up Australia Day
- Week 7
- Monday 4th March - Spirit in Action 3-4:30pm MacKillop Room
- Thursday 7th March - Year 7 Vaccinations
- Monday 4th March - Spirit in Action 3-4:30pm MacKillop Room
- Week 8
- Wednesday 13th-22nd March - NAPLAN
- Friday 15th March - St Patricks's Day Free Dress (Gold Coin Donation)
- Week 9 (Harmony Week)
- Monday & Tuesday 18-19th March - Parent Teacher Interviews
- Wednesday 20th March - Harmony Day Orange Free Dress Day
- Friday 22nd March - National Ride to School Day; St Joseph's Feast Day; Assembly, 8:30am
- Week 10
- Wednesday 27th March - Good Friday Litugy & Easter Hat Parade 8:30am; Last Day of Term 1
Tuckshop News
Cadbury Fundraiser!
Thank you to everyone who has already supported my tuckshop fundraiser, it is greatly appreciated. We are making good progress towards our fundraising goal. I need your help to reach our goal, there are only 2 weeks left, please consider purchasing a box of goodies from our fundraiser.
Order forms attached below, also available at school reception.
Every little bit helps, Thank you.
Jamie-Lea
Our special for Week 6 is: Green Ham & Cheese Scrolls and “Green Eggs”
Please have your orders in by WEDNESDAY 8:30 am.
To order: https://myschoolconnect.com.au/
Please email Jamie-Lea at jmcconachy@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au or call the office to let us know if you're available to volunteer!
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.
If you are needing students to try on sizes we are available on Monday from 2:30-3pm and Wednesday from 8:10-8:30am.
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
School Photo Day
General News
Principal's News
Last week, Therese Curley and I participated in TCE-led training in Enhancing our Catholic School Identity (ECSI) in preparation for the launch of ECIS survey. The goal of this survey is to produce data about the beliefs and practices within our own school community. In addition, it will provide us with strategies and dialogue to continue the development of the Catholic identity of our school further. Developing an experience of Faith and Mission, which enriches students' lives and futures is one of the six key strategic directions for Townsville Catholic Education, and all Principals and APREs from the diocese took part in this training over the week.
Following on from the training this week, you would have received an email with a link, codes and a step-by-step instruction guide as an attachment to that email. I encourage you to participate in the parent surveys as part of our four-yearly cycle of participating in the ECSI project. This is an important data gathering event and is extremely important in helping us make decisions for the future direction of our school community. All parents/caregivers who complete the survey will go into a draw to win either a $200 Moselle Meat voucher or a $200 Shop Local voucher. This will be drawn at the conclusion of the survey period on 26 April. Please just print out your confirmation of completion and return to the school office to be entered into the draw. I have included the guide in this newsletter.
The students, parents and staff at St Joseph's have had a very productive week this week. Thank you to the parents and students who volunteered their time in our classrooms. It is lovely to see parents or caregivers working towards a common goal alongside our talented teachers.
Thank you to the parents who attended our first FACE meeting for 2024 on Tuesday. I was humbled by the enthusiasm of those who attended; it demonstrated that our school values are alive in our whole community. As a result, the organisation of our annual fete is now underway so stay tuned for more news! We look forward to getting to know even more families at future events, with the next meeting planned for Tuesday 26 March at 5.30pm.
For anyone who isn't aware, NAPLAN is fast approaching and will be held between March 13 and March 25. More information about this year's NAPLAN was provided in our previous newletter by Mr Kelley.
School photo day is this coming Monday. Please dress your child/children in their formal uniform and their best smile for the day.
Finally, some members of our School Board attended the TCE School Board Formation Day which was held Saturday 17 February. This event was quite informative as it outlined the TCE strategies and examples of implementation in schools in the diocese.
Blessings
Mrs Karen Good
Acting Principal
Deputy's News
And just like that, we are halfway through the term — it will be Easter before we know it. Last week in my news item, I focused on NAPLAN along with some key dates and information for parents. This week, I will focus on the Early Years (Prep - Year 2) and our reading and writing initiatives at school.
Over the past three weeks, our Early Years Teachers — Mrs McLauchlan, Miss Haley, and Miss Ansell — have been hard at work testing our Prep, Year 1, and Year 2 students on both literacy and numeracy concepts. Gathering data on students' foundational knowledge is important as it assists our Early Years Teachers in how to best support student learning in the classroom. Our classroom teachers use this information to identify learning gaps, track students' progress, evaluate instructional effectiveness, and promote a quality learning environment based on the cohort's needs. I encourage you to have a chat with the classroom teacher about your child/children's progress.
Reading and Writing time at St Joseph's
Each day at 8:30 am, students at St Joseph's write for 10 minutes using the daily challenge on The Writer's Toolbox (this is contextualised for our Prep - Year 2 students).
Over the past 18 months, we have seen tremendous growth in literacy across our school. Similar to our writing initiative, our students also engage in 10 minutes of silent reading after first lunch. Students are encouraged to find books/magazines of interest to them, as our goal is to instil a love of reading. It doesn't matter if it's a novel by J.K. Rowling or an autobiography by Sir Alex Ferguson or a fishing magazine on the latest Shimano reels. As long as the book/magazine is school-appropriate, we encourage students to bring them from home.
I look forward to celebrating our student's success/growth with "OWOW" and "Student of the Week" awards at our next assembly.
Mr Dean Kelley
Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning
APRE
125 Year Celebration Mass for St Colman’s Parish
St Colman’s Parish community is invited to come together to celebrate 125 Years of St Colman’s Parish. The community is invited to attend a celebration Mass and BBQ on Saturday 9th March at 5:30pm. We are reaching out to the community to send in any photos of special occasions that were celebrated in our parish, baptisms, weddings, confirmation photos would be very much appreciated. These photos will be used to create a slideshow during the mass. Please send any scanned photos to tcurley@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au or hand them into St Joseph’s school office.
How can your family help support Project Compassion this Lent?
As part of our fundraising efforts this year, families have the opportunity to purchase a 'water droplet' for $5 to help bring clean drinking water to those communities all over the world in need. Once you have purchased your droplet, we encourage families to write a prayer/message on them and they will be added to our 'Tapitas fundraising wall' in the office.
These donations will help assist people from vulnerable communities all around the world.
Congratulations to the Dancey family - Niamh, Toby, Erin and Frankie on the arrival of Arther and Sadie born on the 16th of February. Despite being born very little and still in ICU they are doing well. May we keep them in our thoughts and prayers.
ESCI Survey - I encourage all our families to please complete the ESCI (Enhancing School Catholic Identity) Survey. An information letter was emailed out on Wednesday - this survey is important to our school in guiding our Catholic Identity. All parents/caregivers who complete this survey will go into a draw to win either a Moselle Meats voucher or a Shop Local voucher to the value of $200. This will be drawn at the conclusion of the survey period in April.
ESCI Survey password: Ghj654
School Entry code: i1669 Group Access code: w2RT27
Notices:
- Next sacramental meetings:
- Sunday 25th February after mass
- Monday 24th February 3pm in St Mary MacKillop Room.
- Children's Liturgy: This Sunday 25th Feb at 8:30am. All families are welcome.
St Joseph's Feast Day: Friday 23rd March
Therese Curley
APRE
Pastoral Care
Half way through!
This term is flying fast and there are so many activities to pack into the last five weeks before the Easter school holidays. Listed below is a brief summary:
Upcoming Events
Week 6
Monday - Photo Day
Friday - Clean Up Australia Days for Schools
Week 7
Thursday - Year 7 Vaccinations at School, Years 7-9 Camp Presentation Evening
Week 8
Wednesday to Friday - NAPLAN
Wednesday - The Resilience Project Parents Live Session
Friday - St. Patrick’s Day Free Dress (wear green and gold coin donation for UMY Camp)
Week 9
Monday to Tuesday - Parent Teacher Interviews
Wednesday - Harmony Day Free Dress (wear orange)
Friday - Ride to School Day
Sunday - Races Clean Up for Years 7-9 Camp Fundraising
Week 10
Monday to Wednesday - Holy Week Activities
Tuesday - QMEA Year 7 Science Workshop
Wednesday - Easter Hat Parade with Good Friday Liturgy, World’s Greatest Shave & Crazy Hair Day
SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL REPUTATION
Social media has become such an integral part of a teenager’s life. However, many miss out on some critical social skills with most communicating whilst looking at a screen instead of another person! Statistics show that 60 percent of 10-11 year olds are using at least one social media site, with the majority using age-restricted platforms. What kids do, post and say online is permanent and most are not mature enough to manage their own digital footprint. Friendships, relationships and even future job prospects are all put at risk.
Parents need to be aware of what picture their children are painting of themselves online. Unfortunately, many parents do not see the dangers inherent of these sites, as they form opinions based on their own experience. But predators are usually not interested in grooming adults. Over the years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of primary schoolers owning mobile phones, highlighting the importance to teach kids about the dangers of social media and the implications it can have.
In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn how to talk to their children about the inherent dangers of social media and how to educate their kids to be responsible users in the online world we live in.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact Toni Schneekloth, Pastoral Care Leader or Marissa Madigan, Guidance Counsellor, for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to the Social Media & Digital Reputation edition of SchoolTV
Toni Schneekloth
Pastoral Leader
Prep
Week 6 in Prep.
In Week 6, the class will be practicing hearing words that begin with the “m” and “s” sound. We will also be learning about the sound and name for “t”. It would be great if you could practice identifying words that begin with these sounds at home. Please remember that the focus is on the sound not the name of the letter. It is the sound that is used when sounding out words; not the name.
It has been fun guessing the baby photos and learning about each child’s history/past (where they were born and have lived) as part of our HASS Unit. We have also been exploring the terms past and present, how the students have grown and changed and our families.
During Math, the class will explore patterns while revising numbers to 20.
Our guidance counsellor, Marissa, has been teaching the Preps about emotional regulation by using the Zones of Regulation. If you would like to learn more about these so you can discuss them at home here is a useful link.
Monday is school photo day. The Preps will have their photo taken at 8.30am. Please make sure you are at school on time. Sibling photos will be before this.
Please check that your Prep child has a hat. If they do not have a hat they cannot play at lunch times. We have a few that do not have hats.
Please continue to bring boxes into Prep for our craft area.
As you have probably noticed, Miss Tamara has been missing from our class. She has moved to Year 1 to support the students that we had last year. We will consistently have Miss Kylie on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and a new school officer, who will be in Prep everyday, will be starting soon.
Yours in fun and learning,
Mrs McLauchlan and Miss Kylie
Year 1
Hello Parents and Carers,
We have had a great week!
In Math this week, we continued to identify our teen and ty numbers. The students have started to create AB and ABB patterns using blocks. They are very excited about creating different patterns using different items.
In English, the students have been sequencing the events that happen in our focus book ‘Brother Moon’. They drew a lovely picture of the first main event, of Great-Grandpa Limen and Hippy Boy talking around the fire.
This week in Health, we joined with our Year 5 buddies to identify what body clues are when in each zone of regulation. The Year 5 students led the session through a website that had videos on each emotion. The Year 1 students drew on each zone the body clues that matched the emotion.
Here are some photos from the buddy session and also the students creating patterns in Math.
Reminders
Monday the 26th is school photo day! Our photo is at 8:55am
Art: Tuesday
House Shirts: Wednesday
Library/ Homework Due: Thursday
Sport: Thursday (sport uniform)
Technology: Friday
Have a wonderful week,
Miss Haley and the always fun Year 1s!
Year 2
Hi all,
This week we have continued our InitiaLit lessons. We have been looking at different text types and their features in Comprehension and are looking at bossy 'e', as well as different spelling combinations using ai, ay and a_e during spelling. We have also continued our Character Preferences based on ‘The Lizard Gang’ and have been typing our texts up on Writer’s Toolbox. We should have these finalised this week!
In Math, we have been continuing to look at three digit numbers in order to create a really strong foundational knowledge of place value to prepare us for other concepts throughout the year. Our assessment for this will take place on Friday.
We also covered our other subject areas which include:
Religion - Looking at God’s Nature and his relationship with his people
Science - Exploring mixtures and their different purposes. This week we made Oobleck!
HASS - The Past and Present
Next Week
- Homework is due on Mondays
Kind regards
Miss Ansel
Year 3
Hello all
Despite being out of class this week for both professional and personal reasons, the Year 3s have been busy with lots of learning tasks. I was very impressed by the students' efforts and commitment to learning on Wednesday when I was in class.
Here’s what we learnt in Week 5:
Mathematics
The students’ used number boards to practice the ‘break it up’ and ‘change and fix’ strategies when adding numbers. They also learned to use the ‘break it up’ and ‘change and fix’ strategies when subtracting numbers!
English
Last week the students completed their persuasive projects planning, so this week they started to draft their full persuasive writing text!
In reading groups, we have been practicing our visualizing skills when reading to help us understand what we are reading. We also practiced our handwriting skills and completed spelling tasks focussing on the ‘e’ sound which is represented by the letters e and ea.
Religion
This week, the students “expressed their hearts” using ICT to demonstrate what they have learnt and understood about God’s presence and God’s relationship with people. We also wrote prayers for St Mary MacKillop!
Science
Students become science investigators, exploring our school environment to find living things! Students practiced drawing and labelling their findings.
HASS
Students created their own community group and identified its key purpose and function.
NAPLAN Preparation
We completed a practice NAPLAN numeracy test.
Reminders for next week:
- School Photos - Monday
- Homework - Homework will be handed out Monday and is due Friday.
- PE uniform Tuesday
- Chaplain’s Breakfast - Tuesday & Thursday at 7:45am in MMS
- Tuckshop order due before Wednesday 8:30am
Thank you
Laura Cook
Year 4
Hi all
Below is a photo of the Year 4 class completing a mindfulness activity outside the Church this week. We have been enjoying learning about mindfulness as a way to support our Mental Wellbeing - Thanks Miss P! Next week the students are going to make Mindfulness Glitter Jars.
Could I ask all students to please bring a clean glass jar to school on Monday to use for this.
Our sentence focus this week is The Explore the Subject Sentence. The Explore the Subject Sentence makes your child's writing believable. It's the smartest way ever invented to show how much they know about a subject, and then takes the reader somewhere else. And it does all this in a single sentence. That’s why professional writers use this Sentence Style.
Here are some Explore the Subject Sentences:
- Napoleon, who was not very tall, led an army of 350,000 troops.
- The sun, which is 150 million kilometres away, is the star at the centre of our solar system.
Our spelling sound this week is ‘d’ as in duck. This sound can be represented by the following graphemes (letter combinations): d and dd. Here are some rules for our sound focus this week.
- The ‘d’ sound in duck is most frequently represented by the grapheme d (e.g. dog, garden, head).
- The grapheme dd for the ‘d’ sound in duck is seen in the middle of words, after short vowel sounds (e.g. paddle, ladder).
- The suffix ed can represent the ‘d’ sound in duck (e.g. called), the ‘t’ sound in tiger (e.g. helped) or the combined sounds ‘er’ and ‘d’ (e.g. wanted).
Reminders:
- School Photos are this Monday. Please make sure students are dressed tidily in their formal school uniform.
- Students need to bring a clean jar for Health on Monday.
- Chaplaincy breakfast is on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning at 7:45am.
- Library is on Friday
- PE is on Thursday
Have a great week
Mairin Borlase
Year 5
Welcome to Week 5!
Over the past week, our Year 5s have largely focused on creating and maintaining positive relationships with others. We have joined with peers, the Year 6 students and our buddies in Year 1, to work on building and forming a community.
HaSS - Civics and Citizenship
This term Year 5 learners will join with Year 6 to identify the importance of values and processes of Australia’s democracy system and describe the roles of different people in Australia’s legal system. We will work to recognise that choices need to be made when allocating resources. Learners will describe factors that influence their choices as consumers and identify strategies that can be used to inform these choice. We will work with others to generate alternative responses to an issue or challenge and reflect on their learning to independently propose action, describing the possible effects of their proposed action.
Also this week, our Year 5 learners again met with their Year 1 buddies. During this session, Year 5 lead by example teaching the Year 1s all about emotions and body clues. After the session, Year 5 then reflected upon what Elements For Success did they think were necessary to use with their Buddies. They also discussed what strategies/elements could they use to improve the delivery in the next session.
What’s on in Week Six
- School photos are on Monday
- Assembly on Friday the 1st of March
- Clean up Australia Day next Friday
Have a lovely Week Six!
Kind regards
Mae-Louise Brock
Year 6
#HALF-WAY THERE!
Working closely and creating a 'connected family' with our Year 5 team has been an aspect that Mae and I have seen as being a positive to start the year. Leaders are generated when knowledge and skills can be passed on within and across peer groups. We have worked together for our Civics and Citizenship learning (HASS) - inquiring into the Prime Minister and what Parliament is; generating questions that we could ask Anthony Albanese about government. We will participate in shared learning this term to prepare for our Queensland Parliament visit in March.
In English, we have continued our narrative text discussions - the most challenging aspect for many is generating ideas quickly. Previously, we have investigated the WHERE and WHO using the HAMMER PARAGRAPH structure. This programme is available for use at home too - I can reset the password to be used at home. Writer's Toolbox gives learners instant feedback about the quality of their sentence styles, precision (use of details like names and ages etc), and following a recent update, gives them the opportunity to improve sentences before sharing their writing with peers and adults. They can continually edit their writing to try to improve their quality and Writing Strength. The narrative structure has been engaging and I have loved watching their improvements. Please see several examples of their recent writing.
Spelling continues to investigate parts of speech - noun, verb, adjective and adverbs initially. The words that we are investigating are focus and extension words with e and ea, which are the most common graphemes (letters) to make the phoneme [e as in egg]. We have discussed Latin Roots - sect (meaning cut), cess (meaning 'go') and cep (meaning take or receive). We have investigated the prefixes kilo- (1000), cent- (100 or hundredth) and dec- (10).
In Science, we are continuing our investigation into energy as part of our Physical Sciences learning. Currently learners are watching videos and making notes about solar energy (to become an expert). They will use their facts to create a script for a podcast.
In Mathematics, we continue to discuss strategies for solving addition and subtraction of decimals including money amounts. It is often helpful to convert decimals into money for familiarity and to ensure all decimals are similar. We are adding and subtracting fractions with the same and similar/connected denominators. There is a need for learners to apply their understanding of equivalence - knowing that 1/5 is equal to 2/10. When learners reflected this week, there had been great growth with fractions and decimals.
Have a magnificent week.
Kindest regards
Mike Tarleton
Subject Spotlight
Year 7 History with Mr Matthew Timms
The Year 7s have begun their archaeology journey. This term's focus is the Ancient World. Our archaeological expedition kicked off with Otzi the Iceman, a remarkable relic of the Copper Age discovered frozen in the Alpine glaciers. Through engaging lessons and hands-on activities, our students have delved into Otzi's world, examining his belongings, deciphering clues about his lifestyle, and pondering the mysteries of his demise. From ancient tools to preserved clothing, Otzi's artifacts serve as windows into a vanished epoch, sparking curiosity and wonder in our young minds. Students are now moving onto their assessment where they are going to put their research skills to the test.
Year 9 Maths with Mrs Toni Schneekloth
Year 9 students are realising what a massive jump there is from Year 8 to Year 9 in Mathematics. So far we have looked at converting very large and very small numbers to scientific notation and sometimes whether all numbers are actually required to be written. Further, we have looked at what significant figures are and how they help with accuracy in the workplace. We are now moving on to binomial expansion; this is a bit trickier but I am sure the students will learn this easily!
Year 7 English with Mrs Rachel Delaney-Lovett
This term’s focus is all about persuasion–specifically, the influence that advertising and marketing has over consumers (their target audience). We have developed a strong understanding of the foundations of persuasion: Ethos, Pathos & Logos. The students have explored language features (alliteration, assonance and hyperbole) and their impact on influencing the audience. We are working on developing a power paragraph - selling/advertising a milkshake of our own creation. This activity will have the students applying the language and structural skills we have built so far. This activity generates so much excitement in the classroom because if they are effective and persuade me (as their audience), the class will make milkshakes as a treat! There will be much more to come across the next five weeks, so watch this space!
As a gentle reminder, NAPLAN will take place in Week 8 of this term. Over the coming weeks, there will be activities both in-class and to take home that will support the students in their understanding and application specifically of the conventions of language (spelling, grammar, punctuation). These components of the English curriculum are embedded into our learning, however I find that there are certain elements within this space that students come ‘unstuck’ with in an exam setting. My intention is to refresh their memory, build their confidence and strengthen their abilities through small, targeted tasks. If you have any questions or queries about our topic for the term or NAPLAN, please reach out via email: rlovett1@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au
Have a wonderful week!