Term 1 Week 6

Key Information

Term 1 Important Dates

• Week 7
  • Monday 4th March - Spirit in Action 3-4:30pm MacKillop Room
  • Thursday 7th March - Year 7 Vaccinations
    
• 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 1 week 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 7 is:  Asian Ground Beef Noodles & Smartie Cookie Bars

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 

General News

Attendance

Just a reminder that any absences should be entered into Compass (instrustions below).

However, if you are unable to use this method please ensure that you email not only the students teacher but also the office staff via clncry@tsv.catholic.edu.au or call the office on (07) 4742 1633.

Thank you 

Principal's News

Welcome to another great edition of our weekly newsletter. We are already past the halfway mark of Term 1 and it has certainly been a jam-packed week. 

Firstly, I want to congratulate the students and their parents who attended the North West Swimming Trials in Blackall last Thursday and Friday.  From all reports, our students represented the school admirably and personal best times were smashed, some quite significantly.  Congratulations to the following students: 

• Heidi Barker (Year 8)
• Mac Schneekloth (Year 7)
• Chelsea Saunders (Year 6)
• Cooper Williams (Year 6)
• Daniel Carstairs (Year 6)
• James Barker (Year 6)
• Indi Daniels (Year 5)
• Michael Curley (Year 5)
• Oliver O'Brien (Year 4)
• Vivienne Moore (Year 4)

On Tuesday, we held our first Fire Drill for 2024.  I must say I was impressed with the way students  remained calm as they made their way to the Mary MacKillop Shed.  All students were in the shed in just 3 minutes, and all rolls were marked and checked in 6 minutes.  A special mention must be made for our St Joey’s prep students, for their wonderful walking to the shed in their first ever fire drill.

Also on Tuesdays, I visit the Year 5 classroom to help Ms Brock in the students’ literacy lesson.  Over the past couple of weeks, I have read many imaginative stories that are produced from a visual stimulus.  The hour definitely is well spent reading highly descriptive  stories and listening to students as they think aloud their ideas.

On Thursday, the staff participated in their first Twilight session of the year.  They were given time to complete the ECSI survey and participated in a liturgy.  It was a time of great reflection and an opportunity to gather together as a Catholic community. 

On that note, I want to remind all parents and caregivers to complete the ECSI survey sent to you last week. It is a vitally important data gathering event for us as a community.  I have attached the guide to completing the survey again in this week’s newsletter, and the codes to access the survey are:

School: St Joseph’s Catholic School Cloncurry

Entry Code: i1669

Group Access Code: w2RT27

Password: Ghj654

Don’t forget to print or email your certificate of completion and return it to the school administration for a chance to win either a $200 Moselle Meats voucher or a $200 Shop Local voucher.

Next week I am in Townsville until Thursday afternoon at a Principal’s conference at Townsville Catholic Education.  For myself, these meetings are invaluable as both a source of information  and a chance to meet with principals from a variety of schools across our diocese.  It is also an opportunity for me to visit my family.  

May you have a blessed week

Mrs Karen Good 

Acting Principal 

Deputy's News

As Week 6 comes to a close, we look forward to the upcoming events in Week 7 and 8. Today I will focus my newsletter article on the quickly approaching NAPLAN schedule — including the parent information session — and hopefully give you some insight into the ongoing training our staff complete, to ensure the best for our St Joseph’s students and community.

NAPLAN 

Next Thursday, from 4:30 pm to 5 pm, I will be hosting a Parent Information session on all things NAPLAN. I will start with a short presentation of the ins and outs of NAPLAN, followed by a Q&A session — if you have any pressing questions this would be a great opportunity to have them answered/clarified. 

I have linked two NAPLAN documents below (from the Nap site). The first should give you a clear overview of NAPLAN with the second going into a little more depth.

Staff Meeting: Writer’s Toolbox Expansion and Precision

Our wonderful teaching staff are always looking for ways to further improve our fantastic school. Although I am unable to share all of the Professional Development (PD) our teachers engage in (I would need another section each week!), I wish to share with you a key PD our teaching staff will interact with on Wednesday.

On Wednesday next week, our teaching staff will engage in a PD in the hopes of further building their capacity to improve writing outcomes for students. This two hour workshop will centre around expansion and precision. Expansion and precision are important aspects of effective communication that involve adding depth, detail, and specificity to written expression. Teachers will not only deepen their knowledge of these critical elements of writing, but will also look at the best pedagogy — teacher-talk for how we deliver the information to students — to accompany these elements in the classroom. 

Mr Dean Kelley

Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

APRE

Palms Australia Global Mission

This week Bishop Tim Harris sent out a letter to all parishes, addressing the Palms Global Mission, this letter has been shared throughout our diocese urging us to engage in a Palms Global Mission. For more information please refer to the letter attached. 

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 please RSVP to the school office or myself by Wednesday 6th March.  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.

I will also send an email out next week seeking any students who would like to be involved in this mass. 

Aged care visits

Last Week our Year 9 students had the opportunity to visit the residents at Aged Care. This was the first visit for 2024. This program will run throughout the year where on a fortnightly basis (opposite to assembly weeks) classes will visit the residents to engage in conversation, games, and craft. This week the Year 9 students played balloon tennis. Next week Year 8 will have the opportunity to visit. Please keep an eye out for the Compass event to give permission for the visit. I also ask that all students are in good health at the time of their visit otherwise please let the office know. 

Life Education 

Life Education will be back in Week 9 to visit Year 4, 5, and 6. A letter was sent home this week to explain the program and give parents/carers the option to opt out. There is also a data consent form that needs to be returned by the 8th of March.  For parents wanting to know more about these programs please join the Talk About It session on Thursday 7th March at 5:30pm. This session will be delivered via zoom and run by Mia Boyd the Life Ed Educator. Please see the link below for access to the session. (This link will also be emailed to parents and carers for easy access).

Have blessed week,

Therese Curley

APRE

Pastoral Care

Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation framework used in our classrooms at St. Joseph’s teaches students scaffolded skills toward developing a metacognitive pathway to build awareness of their feelings/internal state and utilise a variety of tools and strategies for regulation, prosocial skills, self-care, and overall wellness. This includes exploring tools and strategies for mindfulness, sensory integration, movement, thinking strategies, wellness, and healthy connection with others. 

The Four Zones: Our Feelings and States Determine our Zone

The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions.  A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, devastation or terror when in the Red Zone.

The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions, however one has more control when they are in the Yellow Zone.  A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.  

The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone.  This is the zone where optimal learning occurs.  

The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings such as when one feels sad, tired, sick, or bored. 

Student Representative Council 

Students are currently considering if they would like to apply for a leadership position within the Student Representative Council (SRC) and elections will be held prior to the end of Term 1. Student representative councils (SRCs) work to represent students’ interests and needs in various ways. They take action to bring about positive changes that will benefit the students and the whole school community. 

Toni Schneekloth

Pastoral Leader

Prep

Week 7 in Prep.

The students will continue hearing and identifying the “s”, “m”  and “t” sounds in words. This week they will start to identify these sounds at the end of words, not just at the beginning. Our new sound for the week is “a”. Once this is learnt the class will start to identify the three sounds in words such as mat, sat, at, Sam. This will move onto reading these words. During our story lessons the class is focusing on retelling and what they like and do not like about a story.  In HASS the students will be exploring “Families” and creating pictorial data to show who is in their family. In math Prep will continue to explore numbers and amounts. 

Thank you for all the boxes that have come in for our craft area. These get used up as quickly as they come in, so keep sending them! I know it is annoying to take box constructions home but lots of learning occurs when creating these; negotiating resources and space with peers, fine motor skills such as cutting and drawing, problem solving in the choice of materials and how to use these and spatial and shape awareness.

I will be away Tuesday (and possibly Wednesday) due to medical appointments in Mount Isa.

Reminders:   

Tuesday - sport
Wednesday - wear house shirts
Thursday - library and tuckshop

Yours in fun and learning,

Mrs McLauchlan and Miss Kylie

Year 1

Hello Parents and Carers

In Math, we have continued to identify our 'teen' and 'ty' numbers. We had some fun this week creating some patterns. We made some bracelets and some patterns using paint and stamps. We have now started looking at skip counting in 10’s. 

In English, the students have been sequencing the events that happen in our focus book ‘Brother Moon’. We made some moon and sun plates that will be displayed on our wall along with each art piece we complete for each event. 

In Hass, we have been looking at what classrooms looked like then and how they have changed now. On Friday we will be having Mrs Chris Chaplain coming in to talk about what the classroom looked like when she was at school. If you have time please talk with your child about what school looked like when you were in primary school. 

See below for photos from Mathematics lessons:

Reminders

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 been looking at different text types and their features in Comprehension and are also looking at bossy e, as well as different spelling combinations using ee, ea and e_e. We have now completed our Character Preferences based on ‘The Lizard Gang’ and will now begin to engage in a little bit of poetry aligned to this text.

In Maths, we have revised halves from Year 1 and will begin to look at quarters and eighths.

We also covered our other subject areas which include:
Religion -  God’s Nature and his relationship with his people
Science - Mixtures and their different purposes.
HASS - This term we are looking at Past and Present

Next Week

• Homework is due on Mondays

Kind regards

Miss Ansel

Year 3

Hello all

Here’s what we learnt in Week 6:

Mathematics
The students continued to practice subtraction strategies including the ‘break it up’ strategy, the ‘change and fix’ strategy, and the ‘count on’ strategy. Students used numberlines and part-whole models to assist them in solving calculations. They learnt about the inverse nature of addition and subtraction and even solved word problems!

English
This week, the students were in the ‘revise & edit’ stage of writing for our persuasive writing project. Students peer edited and worked to improve their own writing.

In reading groups, students practiced their skills to connect to the text they read. For example, they connected personally to the text they read, as well as connecting ideas in the text to the real world and other books they have read. We also practiced our handwriting skills and completed spelling tasks focussing on the ‘d’ sound which is represented by the letters ‘d’ and ‘dd’.

Religion
This week, the students continued to “express their hearts” using ICT to demonstrate what they have learnt and understood about God’s presence and God’s relationship with people. Students also began a new unit of learning for religion which will explore Jesus as the Messiah. In class, students used their writing skills to recount stories they already knew about Jesus. 

Science
Last week, the students found living things in our school environment. This week, the students applied their prior learning of the characteristics of living things (MRS GREN) to justify how they knew the things they found outside were indeed living. For example, they claimed to know trees were living things because they move, respire, sense, grow, reproduce, excrete, and need nutrition (MRS GREN). 

HASS
Early in the week, the students completed a unit of learning in HASS where we explored communities and rules. They finished the unit by making rules for the community group they created last week. They also identified the consequences for breaking each rule and indicated if the consequences were natural or imposed.  

The students then began learning in a new unit of work for HASS. This new unit allows students to identify the importance of different celebrations and commemorations for different groups. In class, students identified the celebrations that are important in their personal lives. 

Reminders for next week:

• 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
• NAPLAN Parent Information Session - Thursday 4:30pm-5pm

Thank you,

Laura Cook

Year 4

Dear families,

This week the students completed a science experiment which explored gravity. Have a look at what we got up to.

This coming week we are continuing our 'Explore the Subject' sentence focus. The 'Explore the Subject' Sentence makes your writing believable. It's the smartest way ever invented to show how much you know about a subject, and then take your reader somewhere else.  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 is going to be the ‘i’ sound in igloo. This sound is represented by the one grapheme: i.

• The ‘i’ sound in igloo is used at the start and in the middle of words, but never at the end of words (e.g. it, quick).
• The grapheme y can represent the ‘i’ sound in igloo (e.g. syrup, myth). Words containing y for the ‘i’ sound usually originate from Greek.
• The grapheme o in the word women is an unusual way to represent the ‘i’ sound.
• The grapheme e is an unusual way to represent the ‘i’ sound (e.g. pretty, English).

Reminders:

• 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 6!

Writer's Toolbox:

Each morning Year 5 learners access the Writer's Toolbox Daily Challenge. When the access the app there is an image for them to generate a text from. In Term 1, students will use a planning template to plan out their writing before starting. It is good practice to regularly write - WRITER'S TOOLBOX is available for use at home too. 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.

This week we completed a collaborative activity revising the different sentence types that we have learnt to create a class display. The sentence types we have revised are a Simple, an Adverb Start, a W-Start and a Very Short Sentence. Students were broken into groups and using the sentence train they were to create 2 different sentences on the Daily Challenge Stimulus image. 

Health and Science:

This term in Science, the learners will classify substances according to their observable properties and behaviours. Students discuss how scientific developments have affected people’s lives, help us solve problems and how science knowledge develops from many people’s contributions. Students follow instructions to pose questions for investigation and predict the effect of changing variables when planning an investigation. This week in Science, Year 5 conducted the balloon experiment.

During Health this term, learners will recognise the influence of emotions on behaviours and discuss factors that influence how people interact. Students will describe their own and others’ contributions to health, physical activity, safety and wellbeing. Over the past week students have participated in skits showing positive and negative interactions. Students have been learning about relationships, posture, facial expressions, verbal and non-verbal body language. 

Have a lovely Week Seven!

Kind regards

Mae-Louise Brock

Year 6

Dear Families,

We have started to work on our Semester 1 performance - Treasure Island! The majority of our roles have been distributed and the songs are already stuck in our heads!!! The performance is truly a great way to combine learning for language and arts - dramatic, performing, musical and dance; it has been great that we have such keen performers - very impressed already! Louis in particular has become a pirate who has almost learned everyone's lines! 

Mrs Smith has kindly offered to support us throughout the rest of the semester and guide us towards several performances later next term. The aim for these performances is to again give something back to our community while making some funds towards our 2025 UMY Camp - please note there is an Information Session on Thursday 7th March.

In English, we are continuing to develop our narrative texts. Having already developed excellent paragraphs for the WHERE and WHO, the learners have begun to develop a series of events in their rising action towards the main conflict (problem). Please see several examples of their high quality texts on the website. We are currently reading The Black Cockatoo, which is an Indigenous narrative text about a girl called Mia who explores the fragile connections between family and culture. Our spelling this week is an assessment review of our first five units, including several word searches and crosswords. Learners must understand the definitions of words to be able to solve crossword clues.

In Mathematics, our work on subtracting fractions with the same and connected denominators has continued. Understanding the equivalence has enabled learners to develop their ability to add and subtract fractions. They are developing their awareness of the decimals connected with simple unit fractions and their multiples. Our Think Mentals has started to investigate subtraction of decimals including money. Learners are encouraged to use blank number lines to support their reasoning as a good strategy to solve problems visually.

We now have 3 boys taking part in the Greatest Shave on Wednesday 27th March - Tom, Tanner and Louis! Please click on the logo to access our TEAM PAGE and donate to this cause.

Have a great week.

Kindest regards,

Mike Tarleton

Subject Spotlight

Year 7/8/9 Physical Education with Mr Matthew Timms

Throughout this school term, our Year 7/8/9 Health class has been delving into the crucial topic of positive relationships. From understanding the intricate ways in which emotions influence behavior to navigating the complexities of peer pressure, our students have been actively engaged in exploring the dynamics of healthy interactions. Through thought-provoking discussions and reflective exercises, they've gained insights into what constitutes a positive relationship and the importance of mutual respect, communication, and empathy. As we continue to foster an environment that promotes emotional well-being and interpersonal skills, our students are equipped with the tools to cultivate meaningful connections both now and in the future. Additionally, in our Year 9 Physical Education class, we're not just learning about positive relationships in theory, but also putting these concepts into practice through engaging activities. Recently, our students had the opportunity to participate in a practical lesson focused on European handball. This hands-on experience not only promotes physical health but also fosters teamwork, communication, and cooperation—essential elements of positive relationships. By working together on the court, our students are not only honing their athletic skills but also reinforcing the importance of mutual support and respect, both on and off the field. 

Year 9 Science with Mr Matthew Timms

Over the course of this academic term, our Year 9 science class has been diving deep into the fascinating realm of chemistry. From unraveling the mysteries of the atom to exploring the intricacies of ionic bonding and mastering the art of balancing chemical reactions, our students have been actively engaged in hands-on experiments and thought-provoking discussions. Furthermore, as our exploration of chemistry continues to unfold, I'm excited to share that our Year 9 science class will soon be delving into more advanced topics, building upon the foundation laid by our studies of the atom, ionic bonding, and balancing reactions.

Year 9 History with Mr Timms

Throughout this academic term so far, our Year 9 history class has been immersed in the captivating study of World War One. From delving into the intricate political alliances that ignited the conflict to exploring the harrowing experiences of soldiers on the front lines, our students have engaged deeply with the tumultuous events that shaped the course of modern history. Additionally, our exploration of World War One has led us to examine pivotal moments such as the Gallipoli campaign, where our students have gained insights into the complexities of warfare and the human toll of battle. As we approach the end of this unit, I'm excited to announce that our students' hard work will culminate in an upcoming assessment scheduled for the end of next week. This assessment will not only test their understanding of the historical events we've studied but also their critical thinking skills in analyzing and interpreting primary sources from this tumultuous period. 

Community Information

Clean Up Australia Day

Calling all volunteers! Join us on Sunday 3^rd March for Clean Up Australia Day 2024. Let's come together to make a positive impact on our community. There will be exciting prizes to be won, and all participants will enjoy a complimentary BBQ breakfast. Don't miss out on this opportunity to contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment. Spread the word and bring your friends and family for a day of community spirit and positive change! See you there!