Latest Newsletter Term 1 | Week 7

Key Information

Term 1 - Important Dates

Week 7

• Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Week 7 NAPLAN

Week 8

• Wednesday 19th March Year 7 School Immunisations
• Wednesday 19th-20th March Prep Vision Screening
• Friday 21st March St. Patrick's Disco (Prep to Year 4: 5.30pm-6.30pm; Year 5 to Year 9: 6.30pm-7.30pm)
• Friday 21st March Harmony Day - Free Dress (Wear orange or Cultural dress)

Week 9

• Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th March - Parent Teacher Interviews
• Friday 28th March - Cross Country
• Friday 28th March - St. Joseph's Feast Day

Week 10

• Thursday  3rd April - Cross Country Presentations, Easter Liturgy and Last Day of Term 1
• Thursday 3rd April - Easter Bonnet Parade

Reminder Friday 4th April is a pupil free day. Term 1 ends on Thursday 3rd April, returning for Term 2 on Tuesday 22nd April.

Easter Bonnet Parade

Please join us in Week 10 for our Easter Bonnet Parade following our last Assembly for Term 1. We look forward to seeing all the wonderful creations. 

Opening & Blessing - Save the Date

Please save the date and help spread the word for our Opening and Blessing on Wednesday 23rd of April at 9.30am.

Tuckshop News

We are pleased to announce that Samantha McKie will be joining us as our new Tuckshop Convenor for the remainder of the year. The tuckshop will be up and running in Week 1 of Term 2. There is a possibility of having the tuckshop open in Week 10, however this is not guaranteed at the moment.

Please keep an eye out on our Facebook page and future Newsletters for any updates. 

All orders will continue to be placed on: https://myschoolconnect.com.au/ 

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform Shop is 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 would like to try on sizes, the Uniform shop will be open on Wednesday mornings from 8.10-8.30 and Wednesday afternoons from 2.30-3.00.

Miss Heather 

Principal's News

Welcome to Week 7,

Last Saturday was International Women's Day. I would like to start my newsletter article this week by thanking all of the wonderful ladies that we have in our community. 

Reminder - Expectations 
At this time of each term, we tend to see an increase in students making poor choices. Our goal is not to solely stop or decrease irresponsible behaviour, but to enable our students to learn to behave responsibly. It would be amazing if you can engage in conversation with your child/ren over the coming weekend/week about our school expectations - to show respect to themselves, their teachers, to one another and to school property. It is also important to highlight that we're a hands off school. At St Joseph's we will be implementing URStrong from Prep to Year 9. This was trialled in year 3 and year 4 last year with great success. This program focuses on empowering students with friendship skills and tools to regulate and their emotions. Keep an eye on our pastoral newsletter for updates, there will also be a parent/carer information session in Term 2. 

NAPLAN - Year 3, 5, 7 & 9
What a wonderful and smooth week we had this week for NAPLAN. You may have noticed that we decreased the amount of direction and information that went home this year about NAPLAN. We reflected on the amount of communication that went home in previous years and wondered if this led to increased anxiety in our students. Anxiety around NAPLAN isn’t what we want, however, it is common as it is out of routine for our students. Our students are well-prepared for these tests and we are excited to see their growth. The students responded very well to NAPLAN this year. We are very proud of their resilience and hard work throughout the test sessions. 

NAPLAN helps school’s determine whether young Australians are reaching important literacy and numeracy goals. It provides information about how education programs are working, areas for improvement, and which schools need support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.

Our previous results in NAPLAN are a big driving force behind the implementation of Writers Toolbox in 2023 and in Accelerated Reader this year. We’re always looking for ways to improve the teaching and learning at school and we utilise this data to ensure we’re targeting the right area’s at the right time. 

Drop Off / Pick Up / Visiting
It is important that all carers, parents, family members and friends are abiding by the signs when stopping their vehicle to collect a student or visiting the school. The parking spaces along Ham Street are a stop and go zone. A car should not be parked in this zone if the parent or carer gets out of the vehicle and leaves it to enter the school or collect a child. If you would like to stop and come into the school grounds please park along George Street or Sheaffe Street. 

We have also had several cars stopping past the no stopping zone on Sheaffe Street. This has meant that these cars are close to the crossing. It is important that these zone’s are left clear to ensure that oncoming traffic can see students who are about to walk out onto the road. The safety of our students, families and staff is our number one priority and we would appreciate your cooperation with this.

Parent Teacher Interviews:
Our first round of Parent Teacher Interviews will start on Monday and Tuesday of Week 9 (24th - 25th March). These interviews are a great way for three of our most important stakeholders to come together in partnership for success, our students, parents and staff. If your child's classroom teacher is absent in Week 9 you will receive an email from them alerting you to this and an alternate date. 

Research demonstrates that effective schools with high engagement and academic outcomes also have high levels of parent engagement and community involvement. This involvement is strongly related to improved learning, attendance and behaviour. As parents and carers you are the first and most influential teacher in your child’s life. Parent Teacher Interviews are a perfect way for us to join together in unity for the benefit of both your own child/children and for all children at St Joseph’s Catholic School. 

Please know that this partnership and involvement extends far beyond Parent Teacher Interviews. If you would like to come into the school to join in on reading groups, literacy or numeracy rotations, or lunch time activities we would love to hear from you - please contact your child’s classroom teacher or the office.

School Fete:
A big thank you to the parents and carers that joined at our FACE Meeting on Tuesday afternoon in the library. It was great to get your ideas and help for our upcoming fete. The fete is a big event, not only for our school, but for our community.

This year we will be fundraising for the installation of solar panels.  

Due to the new buildings the energy consumption at St Joseph’s has increased significantly, moving our school to a large business tariff. 

Week 8 Events:
We have a busy week next week, which you will see from the other newsletter articles. On Monday we will have our first First Nations Advisory Committee Meeting at 3pm (all welcome to attend), followed by our Emerging Leaders Information Night (year 7 to 9 students), on Wednesday our prep vision screening will begin, year 7 students will have their immunisations and students will travel to Julia Creek for the Touch and League trials, Thursday our school will participate in activities to bring awareness to National Close the Gap Day and on Friday we will end the week with Harmony Day Free Dress, an  assembly to start the day and a St Patrick’s Disco in the evening.

Please ensure you take note of the What's on Document published on Sunday to Facebook and Compass Newsfeed to stay up to date. 

Kind Regards,

Mrs Samantha Kelley
Principal 

Deputy's News/Curriculum

Welcome to Week 7

NAPLAN 2025: Thank You to Our Students and Families
A huge thank you to all our students for their efforts in completing NAPLAN this year. We acknowledge that this is a different experience from everyday schooling, and we are proud of the resilience and determination shown by each student. Your engagement and willingness to approach these assessments with a positive mindset was commendable.

We also extend our gratitude to our parents and carers for supporting their children through this process. Your encouragement and guidance play a vital role in helping students navigate the experience with confidence.

As a school, we will begin to receive student results as early as mid-June, with individual reports for students expected in August. These results provide valuable insights, helping us identify strengths and areas for growth in student learning.

NAPLAN is more than just an individual assessment—it plays a significant role in shaping education across Australia. The data collected informs schools, state education authorities, and policy makers, guiding decisions on curriculum development, resource allocation, and broader educational strategies. It allows us to reflect on our teaching approaches and ensure that we continue providing high-quality learning experiences for all students.

We appreciate the collective efforts of students, staff, and families in making this process a smooth and positive one. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Term 1 Parent/Teacher Interviews
Parent/Teacher Interviews will be held on Monday 24th March, and Tuesday 25th March (Week 9). These interviews are an important opportunity to strengthen the home-school partnership, and we encourage all Parents/Carers to attend. We also strongly recommend that students accompany their parents, ensuring a shared understanding of their progress and goals.

Interview Details:

• Primary: Interviews will take place in the students’ classrooms.
• Secondary: Interviews will be held in the Lowcock and MacKillop rooms.
• Duration: Each interview will run for 15 minutes.

Booking Information: If booking via the Compass App on your phone, please ensure you are using the latest version, as recent updates may require you to manually update the app.

Bookings are now available via the Compass app.

Mr Dean Kelley
Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Resisting Temptation
In the Gospel last Sunday, we were reminded of Jesus’ time in the desert fasting and his efforts to resist temptation. The Gospel tells us that the devil tempted Jesus with food, power, and personal gain yet, Jesus stayed faithful and chose God’s will over earthly desires.

Lent is a time for us to reflect on our own lives and the temptations we may face. While our needs and gifts are important, Lent calls us to practice self-discipline, trust in God, and focus on what truly matters— virtues of faith, love, and service.

This week, let us ask ourselves:

• Are we letting our wants and desires distract us from what is right?
• Do we rely on God in times of struggle, as Jesus did in the desert?
• How can we use this season of Lent to grow in faith and strengthen our hearts?

Let us take this opportunity to pray, fast, and give with a spirit of humility, remembering that true fulfillment comes not from what we have, but from how we love and serve.  Wishing you all a blessed and reflective Lenten journey.

Project Compassion
During Lent, Project Compassion is the key fundraising initiative of Caritas Australia each year. It inspires Australians to come together and raise essential funds to combat poverty, support justice, and protect the dignity of the most vulnerable and marginalized people worldwide. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Project Compassion, a significant milestone in its ongoing mission to make a difference in the lives of those in need.

The theme of Project Compassion this year is ‘Unite Against Poverty’, with Caritas Australia highlighting the inspiring journeys of three resilient people from Samoa, Vietnam and Congo.

The first focus story is on Toefuata'iga - (Toy-foo-ah-tah-ing-ah) a 13-year-old primary school student from Samoa. Samoa may be a country surrounded by water, but access to clean drinking water is scarce in some areas, with many families facing extreme hardship as a result.

Toefuata’iga’s school community struggled without reliable access to clean water, which impacted students’ education and hygiene. Teachers often had to leave the school to fetch water from nearby homes, disrupting lessons and adding strain to the community. When the water ran out at the school, students were sent home which meant they missed out on valuable learning time.

Thanks to the support of Caritas Australia in partnership with Caritas Samoa, Toefuata’iga’s school now has a 10,000 L water tank through a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program. Teachers and students are now able to focus on education and improved hygiene.

“Now that we have the water tank, things are so much better, we can stay at school all day, and I get to spend more time learning and playing with my friends. I’m happy that we don’t have to go home early anymore.” – said Toefuata'iga.

This transformative story is just one example of how Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion creates waves of change around the world. 

Watch Toefuata'iga’s story here.

Feast of St Joseph
The Feast of St. Joseph is a significant Catholic celebration honouring St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. Observed each year on March 19, it is recognised as a solemnity, meaning it is one of the most important feast days in the Church.

St. Joseph is a model of faith, humility, and devotion. He played a vital role in God’s plan, protecting and providing for the Holy Family. As a carpenter, he is also honoured as the patron saint of workers, fathers, and the universal Church.

This year, we will gather for a liturgy to celebrate St. Joseph and participate in special activities. This will take place in Week 9, following our cross-country event. We look forward to coming together as a community to honour St. Joseph’s example of faith and service.

Harmony Day
Next Friday, 21st March, our school will come together for our fortnightly assembly. In recognition of Harmony Day, our Year 7 and 8 students will lead our prayer assembly with the theme “We Are All God’s Children.” This celebration will emphasise the importance of unity, respect, and inclusion, reminding us that despite our differences, we are all part of God’s family.

Harmony Day also coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, providing an opportunity to reflect on how we can contribute to a more just and compassionate world. We warmly invite families to join us as we celebrate the richness of diversity in our Australian community and reaffirm our commitment to building a world of peace and harmony.

Message of his Holiness Pope Francis for Lent 2025

Pope Francis's Lenten message for 2025, titled "Let us travel together in hope," encourages believers to perceive their lives as a path of transformation toward God. He highlights the significance of unity, a synodal spirit, and unwavering faith in God's assurance of everlasting life. 

God Bless,

Ms Lei Nelson
Assistant Principal - Religious Education

Pastoral Care

Friendships and URSTRONG 
At St. Joseph’s, we are commencing the URSTRONG program. URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million kids, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. We are proud to be a URSTRONG School and are committed to empowering your children with friendship skills.

You are invited to take advantage of a FREE Parent Membership to access hundreds of resources – including an 8 session video series. This will allow you to learn the same language & strategies being taught in the classroom through the Friendology 101 curriculum. We hope that, as a URSTRONG Family, you will reinforce the important messages of empowerment, self-compassion, & kindness at home.

As a next step, we would recommend:

• Click here to view an overview of URSTRONG.
• Activate your FREE Parent Membership and explore all the resources available to your family.
• Explore the hundreds of resources available to you!
• We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope that, together, we can support your children to have healthy, feel-good friendships.

School Disco – Friday, March 21st

We’re excited to invite all students to our Upper Middle Years Camp Fundraiser School Disco! This is a fantastic opportunity for students to have fun, enjoy music, and celebrate together.

📅 Date: Friday, March 21st
📍 Location: Mary MacKillop Shed
💲 Entry Fee: Gold Coin Donation
🎶 Theme/Dress Code: St Patrick’s Day

🕠 Session Times:

• Prep – Year 4: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
• Year 5 – Year 9: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Important Information:
✅ Sign-in & Sign-out: Parents/caregivers must sign students in and out.
🍭 Food & Drinks: Lollies and drinks available for purchase (cash only). Hot dogs and poppers can be pre-ordered via the School Connect App by Thursday, March 20th at 8am.

👀 Supervision:

• Prep & Year 1 parents must stay on site.
• Year 5 – 9 students arriving early will wait in the library.
• Any Prep – Year 4 students not collected by 6:30 PM will wait in the library until signed out.
  🚗 Pick-Up: Please ensure students are collected promptly at the session’s end.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. Let’s make it a great event for our students!

In this edition of SchoolTV - Resilience
Resilience is one of those skills that all kids need and should have. It refers to their ability to cope and adapt in situations when confronted with challenges such as adversity, trauma, tragedy, or even stress. It is essential to their mental health and wellbeing as part of their journey to adulthood. It is a skill that can be learned from an early age through the support of an adult role model.

However, being resilient does not mean your child won't experience any difficulties, but it will better equip them to manage those situations. Overprotective parenting can be viewed as being unhelpful towards the building of resilience. Although this may be a natural instinct, potentially experiencing failure is all part of the process. Encouraging children to take healthy risks will help them trust their capacity to deal with uncomfortable situations and increase their capacity for courage.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will gain an understanding of how to support their child’s brave behaviour to help them adapt and build resilience.

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 the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Resilience edition of SchoolTV
https://sjctsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/resilience

Helping Students Speak Up
We want to encourage our students to take ownership of their experiences at school by speaking directly to their teachers if they have any concerns or problems. 

If something happens during the day, we’d love for students to chat with their teacher about it first, rather than it coming through parents later on. 

This helps build confidence and problem-solving skills while making sure issues are sorted quickly. Of course, if extra support is needed, we’re always happy to chat! 

Thanks for helping us support our students in becoming great communicators.

Harmony Day
Harmony Day on the 21st of March celebrates Australia’s amazing cultural diversity. On this day, schools celebrate inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for all Australians, from the traditional custodians of the land to those who have come from many countries around the world.

With the motto ‘Everyone belongs’, Harmony Day encourages us to appreciate our differences and similarities, promote inclusiveness, and show mutual respect for everyone, regardless of race, colour, religion, or background.

At St Joseph’s we are celebrating Harmony Day on Friday the 21st of March with a Free Dress Day. Students can come to school wearing orange, the official colour of Harmony Day or they can come in a cultural dress that is significant to them. During the lunch breaks on Friday, the library will be open for activities to promote diversity and inclusiveness. 

Best Regards,

Miss Hannah McCall
Pastoral Care Leader

Inclusive Education

Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day & Harmony Day Together on 21 March

March 21st is a day to celebrate both inclusion and diversity as this day is recognised as World Down Syndrome Day and Australia's Harmony Day.

World Down Syndrome Day is on March 21st every year. It is a global awareness day which has been celebrated since 2012. The goal is to help people understand, support, and accept individuals with Down syndrome. The 21st day of the 3rd month was chosen because the most common type of Down syndrome is the triplication of the 21st chromosome. 

The Down syndrome community generally prefer to say “a person/student with Down syndrome” or “my student, Mary, who has Down syndrome”. Therefore, we do not refer to people with Down syndrome as “the Down syndrome student”, because Down syndrome does not define who they are! Look beyond the diagnosis to see a remarkable individual with purpose and value, just like everyone else.

Harmony Day is also on March 21st and is held every year in Australia. On this day we celebrate diversity! A day of cultural respect for everyone who calls Australia home, from the traditional custodians of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world.

I hope you have great weekend,

Mrs Nicola Cullen
Inclusive Practices Middle Leader

Youth Ministry

Welcome to this week’s youth ministry update. The Spirit is alive and well at SJC!

Important dates/reminders:

• Little Joey’s - lunchtime Scripture: every Monday, first playtime in the library (P-3 students)
• Chaplaincy Breakfast: every Tuesday & Thursday from 7:45 to 8:10
• Spirit in Action: Week 10 Monday (31/03) - 3:00 to 4:30 PM
• Staff & Student Prayer: Week 9 Wednesday (26/03) - 8:10 AM in the church - all teachers, students, and families welcome!
• Mini Vinnies: Week 8 Wednesday (19/03) First Lunch (playtime)
• Year 9 Retreat: Week 9 Thursday (27/03)

PROJECT COMPASSION

Our Mini Vinnies are spearheading the fundraising for Caritas’ Project Compassion. 

The main fundraisers (aside from the individual class boxes) are:

• Icy cups sold after school today (14/03) & after Cross Country on Week 9 Friday (28/03) - a gold coin each!
• Chocolate Toss will be running during both lunch breaks on Friday of Week 8 (21/03) - $2 per go, or $5 for three!
• Finally, as some of you may have seen, we have a 5L jar of Easter eggs in the office. Pay $2 to have a guess as to how many are in the jar and the entirety could be yours! The winner will be announced in Week 10.

Yours in faith, hope & love!

Mr James Delaney ❤️‍🔥
Youth Ministry Middle Leader

First Nations Education

On Monday 17th of March from 3 - 4pm, we will be holding our first First Nations Advisory Committee (FNAC) meeting for 2025. At FNAC meetings, we receive advice from stakeholders on items such as our Reconciliation Action Plan and work together to achieve desired outcomes for First Nations Education and St Joseph’s as a whole. New members are more than welcome to come along.

This meeting will be followed with our Parent Information Night (PIN) for prospective Emerging Leaders. The PIN will be presented by Emerging Leaders Project Officer, Lauren Newman, and First Nations Education Adviser, Krista Hobbs. Our program Mentors, Mairin Borlase, Lesley Wall, and Mike Tarleton will also join us. The PIN will begin at 4:30pm and is a compulsory event for Emerging Leaders students.

Upcoming events:

• First Nations Advisory Committee meeting - 3pm Monday 17th of March
• Emerging Leaders PIN session - Monday 17th of March (more information to be shared soon)
• National Close the Gap Day - Thursday 20th of March

Miss Leonie Ansell
First Nations Teacher and Emerging Leaders Coordinator 

League Tag Gala Day

On Thursday, 13th March, our students participated in the League Tag Gala Day in Mount Isa. The students showed exceptional effort, attitude, and behaviour, and we are grateful for how they represented our school.

A big thank you to all the parents and carers who assisted with transport, making the event possible. Your support was greatly appreciated.

To celebrate their hard work, the students shared a small treat today with Miss B and Mr Timms. We are looking forward to offering more opportunities like this in the future!

Prep

Welcome to Week Eight!

During our literacy block the students will continue to revise the letter sounds for m, s, t and a. Over the coming weeks, we will add the letter p and the vowel i to our growing bank of letters. Please practice hearing these sounds in words at home. For example, say “What sound do you hear at the front of mouse?” Our Little Learners are also identifying the letter sounds in written words such as “tap” and using this to blend the sounds to read the words. 

In Week 8, our Little Learners will continue to learn about different religious celebrations with the upcoming St Joseph’s Feast Day. We will also celebrate this day as a school in Week 9 after the Cross Country. 

In Week 9, St Joseph's will be holding Parent Teacher Conferences. As I am away on leave during this time, later this week you will have access to book a session in Week 8. The situation is a little different in Prep as I have the opportunity to see most of you on a daily basis and can check in regularly. If you would still like to organise a meeting please feel free to book a time to discuss how your child has settled into the Prep space.

Reminders:

• Stop and Go Zone: Please ensure when picking up your child that you are not parking in the Stop and Go Zone. 
• Monday: Mrs Jill Smith will take our little learners for Art in Period 5. 
• Tuesday: Miss Pucciarmati will take our Prep students for Technology in Period 5
• Wednesday: Miss Borlase will take our students for Sport in Period 5. Every second Wednesday we will also go to the library to borrow books (9)
• Thursday: Miss Pucciarmati will be the classroom teacher
• Friday: Every second Friday we will have an assembly at the Mary MacKillop Shed (Week 8 & 10)
  

Upcoming Events:

• Harmony Free Dress Day (Orange or Cultural Dress) - Friday 21st.
• Disco Friday the 21st- 5:30-6:30pm. Order food on my school connect before Thursday 20th 8am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews - Week 8.
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March 

Yours in fun and learning,

Miss Mae-Louise Brock, Miss Lisa Pucciarmati, Miss Josie, and Miss Rachel

Year 1

Hello parents and carers,

The students have been busy the past two weeks learning new concepts!

In Math the students are consolidating their knowledge on skip counting in 10’s. They have all gotten very good at going forwards and backwards. The last two weeks we have started skip counting in 5’s. The students have loved singing, creating posters and using the chalk to practice their skip counting. Each lesson they have loved competing for the skip counting champion. 

In English the students have been looking at compound words and nouns. They have played some matching games and created some amazing sentences. The students have also been busy sequencing and retelling the story Brother Moon. They have created some amazing pictures that will be hung up on our wall for retelling purposes. 

Here are some photos of their amazing sentences:

Reminders:

Homework was handed out on Friday (extension words are optional), please bring it back on Thursday. 

• Monday: Library Bags 
• Tuesday: Technology and Art
• Wednesday: House Shirt
• Thursday: Sport (Sport uniform) 

Upcoming Events:

• Harmony Free Dress Day (Orange or Cultural Dress) - Friday 21st.
• Disco Friday the 21st- 5:30-6:30pm. Order food on my school connect before Thursday 20th 8am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews - Week 9 - now open in Compass Portal.
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March 

Have a wonderful week,

Miss Erin Haley and the always fun Year 1’s!

Year 2

Dear Parents and Carers, 

We are over halfway through Term 1! We have finished our character preferences in English and we have started learning about Poems looking at the different rhyming involved in poems and the other elements that create poems.

In Maths we have continued to learn about fractions and how to represent fractions. One lesson we made Fairy Bread to help us to represent halves and quarters. Next Week, we will be looking at Data Collection and Representation.

In HASS we looked at the word significant and significant places of the students. It was lovely to hear all of the places that were significant to students and why they hold a special place in their memories.

In Science we have continued to look at Sound and how it is made. In Religion, we collaborated with Year 1 and learnt about the meaning of Shrove Tuesday and why the day is recognised. Additionally, we also learnt about Lent and the importance of this period in the Bible. As a class we also chose and wrote down our Lenten Promises. 

Upcoming Events:

• Harmony Free Dress Day (Orange or Cultural Dress) - Friday 21st.
• Disco Friday the 21st- 5:30-6:30pm. Order food on my school connect before Thursday 20th 8am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews - information to come about parent-teacher interview date due to my absence in Week 9.
  
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March 

Reminders:

• Monday: Art
• Tuesday: Technologies and Library
• Wednesday: House Shirts
• Thursday: Sport

Kind Regards, 

Miss Tess Motti 

Year 3

Happy Week 7,

NAPLAN has been on everybody’s lips and our year 3 students enjoyed celebrating the occasion with cake after their final test this morning. The year 3’s had a very positive attitude and showed a lot of excitement for the tests, I couldn't have been more proud of them. Please congratulate your child this weekend on how well they behaved in the examination and how well they adjusted to a chance in routine.  

Over the past few weeks, we have been keeping busy with NAPLAN preparations in between all other normal school activities. Our Year 3 assessments have been starting and will be ramping up from week 8. In general I am satisfied with the learners' performance and/or dedication to learning thus far, and am hoping they will continue improving.

In  week 8 we will be doing an assessment for Maths and Humanities, as well as for writing. All work on these assessments will be covered in class, and parents will also receive some guidelines on what we will be assessing should you want to help prepare their learners.

Reminders:

• Monday: Art with Miss Jill 
• Tuesday: Technologies with Miss P
• Friday: Physical Education with Miss B

Upcoming Events:

• Harmony Free Dress Day (Orange or Cultural Dress) - Friday 21st.
• Disco Friday the 21st- 5:30-6:30pm. Order food on my school connect before Thursday 20th 8am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews - information to come about parent-teacher interview date due to my absence in Week 9.
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March 

Ms Deirdre Koekemoer and Miss Sonnie

Year 4

Hi Everyone,

As week 7 comes to a close we have begun working on some of our assessment pieces, our major piece being the historical recounts about the life of a convict. These are coming along really well and I’m very impressed by the standard of writing in the Year 4 classroom. The students are really showing that they understand what life was like as a convict and they are showing great empathy towards those who had to endure that life.

Maths- This week we have been looking at rounding and addition strategies. I love how the students are seeking extra help when they are not quite understanding the concepts we are covering and work with me to get a better understanding. We will continue with addition and then subtraction until the end of term.

Health- Yesterday I sent an email about our healthy eating unit and a request for students to bring a healthy snack next Friday that we can share or, if it’s fruit or vegetables, we can cut up and present in an appetising way. We will be doing this straight after assembly.

Pastoral Care- Last week Ms McCall came in to deliver the first lesson of the ‘UR Strong’ program which focuses on developing healthy friendships and relationships. In addition to this I have been leading the students in Circle Time sessions where we have been focussing on being respectful to our classmates and other people in our lives. I will continue with both these sessions as I feel the students and our classroom environment will positively benefit from actively thinking about how we speak and treat each other.

Congratulations to Owen, Levi, Frankie, Chayton, Chilla, Xander, Thomas, Callum who travelled to Mount Isa this week for the League Tag Gala Day.

Congratulations to Anika and Kruz who won our Values Awards last week.

Upcoming Events:

• Harmony Free Dress Day (Orange or Cultural Dress) - Friday 21st.
• Disco Friday the 21st- 5:30-6:30pm. Order food on my school connect before Thursday 20th 8am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews - information to come about parent-teacher interview date due to my absence in Week 9.
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs Lesley Wall and Miss Sonnie

Year 5

Hi Year 5 Parents and Carers,

I hope you have all had a great week.

Week 6 and 7
Over the past fortnight in Writing, the Year 5s have been working super hard in preparation for NAPLAN. We practiced both Persuasive and Narrative writing and sat this test on Wednesday morning. In Maths, we have worked at the Friendly Balance subtraction strategy and practiced lots of NAPLAN style questions. We have also completed our learning and assessment on Factors and Multiples. 

During Science, we are looking at states of matter. We completed an experiment called ‘Tissue in a cup’ where we had to put a tissue inside the bottom of a cup and submerge it in water. The students discovered that the space inside a cup isn’t nothing, its air - and that’s with the tissue stayed dry after being put in the water!

Reminders

• Technologies: Monday
• Sport uniform: Tuesday
  
• Arts: Tuesday
• HASS: Tuesday and Wednesday
• House shirt: Wednesday
• Sport: Wednesday
• Languages: Friday
• Health: Friday

What’s on in Week 8 on Friday 21st of March:

• Harmony Day Free Dress - Orange or Cultural Free Dress
• St Patrick’s day disco 6:30 - 7:30pm

What's on in Week 9:

• Parent Teacher Interviews - information to come about parent-teacher interview date due to my absence in Week 9.
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March
  

Have a great rest of your week!

Miss Leonie Ansell

Year 6

Dear Families, 

Firstly, thank you for contributing towards our celebration party for Kaley. She said that she'd had the best last day, which is what we love to hear. Kaley and her family are a huge loss to our Y6 community and we're sure you'll join us in wishing their family well on their new adventure.

Working in partnership with families is our best way to improve student outcomes. Gone are the days where school was the source of all learning and teachers the fountain of all knowledge. We all want what is best for our children and creating the best conditions for learning at school and home will have the greatest impact. Home learning must include a minimum of 20 minutes of reading every day. Even at 11 years old, children need to read with their adults - there can be so much rich discussion about vocabulary, pronunciation and how authors create scenes and characters, not to mention the factual discussions when reading informative texts. We can appreciate the challenges in getting children to read for 20 minutes and the five-ten minutes of reading with adults at home, however please know that it does have a massive impact - you have the power to make the biggest difference to your child's learning.

During the last few weeks, we have begun to use a software program called Renaissance (or Accelerated Reader). This is a reading programme which the whole school will eventually access. We are currently trialling this and have completed baseline assessments to set book levels. The assessment placed them within a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which our library is being moulded towards supporting students with book choices that will give them reading and comprehension points towards their goal. We are in the infancy stage and will give you more information as this progresses. This is another application which can be used for reading at home.

In English, we have continued to investigate narrative writing; we've been looking at the climax and resolution of stories. We have spent some time discussing the semicolon and em-dash sentence styles, while also improving our paragraph with the Hammer Paragraph structure. In spelling, we have inquired into words which contain the common graphemes for the [f, ff, ph] phoneme. We have investigated the Latin Roots - flex, flect (meaning to bend) frag and fract (meaning to break). We continued our work on prefixes mis (meaning wrong), dis (not/opposite of) and then il, ir, in and im - which all meant not!

In our mathematics learning, we continue to investigate addition and subtraction of fractions. We have begun to look into Mixed Number fractions, discussing equivalence and improper fractions (where the numerator is larger than the denominator) and how these can support our calculations.

In our science, we had the messiest time making slime in the lab. Teams again worked together investigating the mixing of substances to make new materials. We are using the investigative terms Independent and dependent variable and control variable when discussing what we change, measure and keep the same respectively. Learners followed a procedure to create their slime and we also had some fun glow in the dark and thermochromic powders to add to our slimes. Cleaning up in the lab was not as much fun but the memories and messiness were probably still worth the experience!

In our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning, we have been using the online application TinkerCAD, which allows students to develop their skills in combining and manipulating 3D shapes, rotation and measurement. This has been awesome learning and we had our first winner with the pentomino shape manipulation dinosaur and kangaroo challenges - congratulations to Mica! She was the first to use the school's new 3D printer with her Tetris shapes creation. These challenges, like all challenges faced in life, were excellent in testing patience through trial and error, developing perseverance, critical thinking, reasoning, language and processing speed. This project will continue throughout the year with plenty of exciting learning and self-reflection ahead!

Upcoming Events:

• Harmony Free Dress Day (Orange or Cultural Dress) - Friday 21st.
• Disco Friday the 21st- 5:30-6:30pm. Order food on my school connect before Thursday 20th 8am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews - information to come about parent-teacher interview date due to my absence in Week 9.
• Cross Country & St Joseph's Feast Day Activities - Friday 28th March 

Have a great week!

Mr Mike Tarleton and Mr Larry

UMY - 7 to 9 Updates

Year 7/8 Design and Technologies with Miss B

Our Year 7 and 8 Digital Technologies students have been off to a great start this term, recently completing their first assessment task! Students demonstrated their creativity and technical skills by producing informative videos that explained how binary code is used to represent text, images, and sound in digital systems. This task challenged them to break down complex concepts into engaging and easy-to-understand explanations, while also developing their digital literacy and communication skills.

As we move into the next unit, students will be introduced to general-purpose programming. They will begin by learning how to design and test algorithms, building up their problem-solving skills before moving on to coding using languages like Python or JavaScript. This unit will cover key programming concepts such as nested control structures and functions, preparing students for more advanced coding challenges in the future.

We look forward to seeing students apply their creativity and logic to their programming projects!

Miss Mairin Borlase

Year 9 Design and Technologies with Mr Delaney

This semester, our Year 9 Design and Technologies students have embarked on an exciting "From Seed to Stall" journey—combining sustainability, food production, and entrepreneurial thinking. This hands-on unit has challenged students to explore the entire process of growing, designing, marketing, and selling their own food products, bringing together science, creativity, and business skills.

Students began by investigating optimal conditions for growing seedlings, conducting experiments to determine the best environment for healthy plant growth. From there, they explored sustainable food practices, comparing traditional farming, hydroponics, and First Nations agricultural knowledge to inform their decision-making. 

As their crops flourished, students will conduct recipe trials, experimenting with flavours and refining their products through testing and peer feedback. They also developed branding, packaging, and marketing strategies, using market research surveys and business planning to shape their final product offerings.

The project will culminate in a Market Day showcase, where students will present and sell their products to the school community—demonstrating their skills in food innovation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. I look forward to seeing their creativity and hard work in action!

Mr James Delaney

7/8/9 Art with Ms Humes

This Term, all classes have delved into Visual Arts. We began by recapping the seven Elements of Art: line, shape, space, colour, texture, value, and form. You could refer to these as the building blocks to any art piece, though not all need to be present in order to create an artwork. For this reason, the beginning of every lesson has had a focus on building our practical skills and deepening our understanding through exploring these elements.

From there, it diverges as our 7/8 cohort has spent the term exploring Street Art, and how it can be more than just graffiti tags that we often associate with it. As part of this unit we have researched well known artists including Banksy and Keith Haring, taking time to then explore their methods. We’ve examined how street art is often used as a way to communicate with a broader audience about topics of interest, and how this is achieved through a range of symbols to help represent ideas and meaning.

Meanwhile, our Year 9 students have taken a brave step in exploring portraiture. We began with a self portrait as a starting point, and from there have spent time looking at how faces are structured and how things are proportioned. Take our ears for example: the top of it should be approximately the same height as our eyebrows, while the bottom lines up with the tip of our nose. Knowing little tricks like this can help a lot with portraiture. We’ve also explored the grid method as another way of drawing or enlarging an artwork, and had a little bit of fun by throwing all the realism out the window while researching Picasso and his cubism style of portraiture. 

Throughout this time, all students have been using their sketchbook to create a portfolio of work that forms their assessment for this term. All their research, practice, and hard work has been documented week by week as we’ve delved further into their respective units. It has been a joy seeing everyone’s creativity shine in new ways across this term, and I can only imagine how this will grow across the year.

Ms Shara Humes

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