Latest Newsletter Term 2 | Week 2

Key Information

Term 2 - Important Dates

Week 1

• Wednesday 23rd April - Bishop visit for School Opening and Blessing of the new building
  
• Wednesday 23rd April - Communion and Confirmation
• Thursday 24th April - Anzac Day Liturgy and Prayer 10am
• Friday 25th April - ANZAC Day - School Closed

Week 2

• Tuesday 29th April - Mid West 10-12 Yrs  league and Touch Trials - Julia Creek
• Tuesday 29th April - FACE Meeting - Library 3pm.
• Wednesday 30th April - CROSS COUNTRY - 8.30am
• Thursday - Assembly 8.30am
• Friday 2nd May - Pupil Free Day - Teaching and Learning
  

Week 3

• Monday 5th May - Labour Day Public Holiday - NO SCHOOL
• Mother's Day Stall - Tuesday - Friday
• Thursday 8th May - Mother's Day Breakfast
• Friday 9th May - Day for Dolly

Week 4

• Monday 12th May - Friday 16th May - Scholastic Book Fair
• Wednesday - Professional Photo Shoot & Virtual Tour Video - Formal Uniform
• Friday 16th May - Assembly 8.30am - CROSS COUNTRY AWARDS
  

Week 5

• Tuesday 20th May - FACE Meeting - Library 3pm
• Friday Term 2 Ride to School Day

Week 6 - National Reconciliation Week

• Monday 26th May - National Sorry Day
• Friday Assembly 8.30
  

Week 7

• Tuesday 3rd - Thursday 5th June - Aspiring Leaders

• Tuesday 3rd June - Shake & Stir Performance & Workshop - George’s Marvellous Medicine - 9am

• Friday 6th June - Athletics Carnival

Week 8 

• Tuesday 10th June - FACE Meeting - 3pm - Library
• Wednesday 11th June - School Officer Day
• Thursday 12th June - Assembly 8.30 - ATHLETICS AWARDS
  
• Friday 13th June - Show Public Holiday - NO SCHOOL

Week 9

• Thursday 19th June - Bush Dance - 5.30pm

Week 10

• Friday 27th June - Assembly 8.30 - Dress Like Your Teacher Day - LAST DAY OF TERM 2
  

Entering & Exiting - Friendly Reminder

We kindly ask all parents and carers to ensure that the gates are securely closed when entering or exiting the school, especially the gate closest to the Prep classroom, which is on Ham St. This gate is in close proximity to our younger classrooms, and keeping it closed helps ensure the safety of all our students.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school community safe!

Opening & Blessing Painting - Please Contribute

To celebrate the opening of our new school buildings and to honour the stories, laughter, memories, and learning that occurred in our old school buildings we have created a special artwork. You’ll notice from the photos that the tree in our courtyard has been painted, made up of fingerprints from students, staff and invited guests present at the Opening and Blessing. 

We invite our community members, past staff and students to come into the school office throughout the term and add your fingerprint to the tree. In doing so, you honour your connection to our wonderful school – your memories, your impact, your story.

A big thank you to Mrs Jill Smith and Miss Shara Humes for bringing this vision to life! 

Tuckshop News

 Tuckshop is up and running with Miss Samie. Please ensure orders are placed on https://myschoolconnect.com.au/ by Wednesday at 8.30am. 

Our tuckshop relies on the generosity of volunteers each week. If you would like to volunteer in our tuckshop please join the school's tuckshop facebook group - St Joseph's Tuckshop Crew. 

Please keep an eye out on our Facebook page and future Newsletters for the Menu and any upcoming specials for Term 2. 

Please see the office if you need any help with ordering through the app or website. 

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 of your order; we usually 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 the first official newsletter of Term 2! We hope the holiday period provided a restful and enjoyable break spent with your loved ones. Whether you travelled, rested at home, or spent time reconnecting with family and friends, we trust it was a refreshing time for all.

Last week, a welcome back email was sent to all families to help kick-start the term. If you did not receive this email, please contact the office to ensure your contact details are up to date so we can keep you informed throughout the term.

Although Week 1 was a short week, it was filled with many wonderful moments and events that brought our community together.

• Tuesday saw our whole school join in prayer for the passing of our beloved Pope Francis — a beautiful way for us to celebrate the life of Pope Francis and the incredible impact he has made, particularly to those vulnerable or marginalised. 

• Wednesday was a very special day as we celebrated the blessing and official opening of our new school building. Thank you to the parents and community members who joined us. A special mention goes to everyone who helped with the last-minute relocation of the event — we are truly lucky to have such a supportive community. Your help did not go unnoticed and was deeply appreciated. A huge thank you also to DJ and her team for the hours and hours that went into preparing the courtyard for the event, MMG for donating the sound system, James Brown for assisting with the preparation of the grounds, and to Brodie Hardwares for providing the gazebo — your generosity helped make the day even more special.

• On Thursday, we held our ANZAC Day service in the courtyard. We were honoured to be joined by Unit 51 from Mount Isa and Kane Burgess, President of the Cloncurry RSL, for this respectful and moving commemoration.

This week, we’re diving straight into a busy and exciting schedule:

• Monday: Our First Nations Advisory Committee Meeting was held this afternoon in our library. 

• Tuesday: Students will travel to Julia Creek for the Mid-West trials in league and touch football. We wish them all the best! Also on Tuesday afternoon, our FACE Meeting will take place at 3pm in the library, where a FETE update will be shared.

• Wednesday: Cross Country will kick off at 8:30am in the Mary MacKillop Shed, followed by a Year 8 Retreat during periods 3, 4, and 5.

• Thursday: We’ll gather for our weekly assembly at 8:30am in the Mary MacKillop Shed.

• Friday: Please note that Friday will be a pupil free day. This day allows our staff to come together and continue unpacking Version 9 of the curriculum. We understand that pupil free days can present challenges for families arranging care, and we thank you for your understanding. These days are incredibly valuable for supporting our teachers’ professional development and enhancing learning outcomes for your children.

St Colman's Parish Repairs:
You may notice Auzscot Construction onsite this week, this is due to work being carried out on our parish roof. Please be mindful of this when dropping off and picking up your child/ren. 

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.

In Week 3 I will be absent from Tuesday to Friday as I will be travelling to Townsville to join other Principal's from all schools across the Diocese to further develop. Dean Kelley will be deputising for me during this time, however, if you would like to get in contact with me please feel free to email on skelley2@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au. 

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

God Bless you and your families for the week ahead, 

Mrs Samantha Kelley,
Principal 

Deputy's News/Curriculum

Welcome to the first newsletter of the term, 

As we begin Term 2, I’d like to take a moment to share some important updates from the Teaching and Learning space.

This Friday will be a pupil free day as all staff engage in a valuable Professional Development session. These sessions are vital opportunities for our educators to come together to grow in their professional practice, reflect on the learning needs of our students, and collaborate on key priorities.

A central focus of this Friday’s session will be Version 9 of The Australian Curriculum, which is currently being implemented across Queensland schools, including here at St Joseph’s. Like all schools in our Diocese, we are adopting the new curriculum and its changes in a staged manner. Staff will spend time unpacking the changes and refining our school’s implementation plan to ensure a smooth and effective transition.

In addition to curriculum planning, our session will also focus on high impact teaching strategies—evidence-based approaches that significantly improve student learning outcomes. We’ll explore how these strategies can be applied across different year levels and learning areas to support both academic growth and student engagement in the classroom.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce that the Premier’s Reading Challenge will commence next week. This initiative is a wonderful opportunity to foster a love of reading in our students and to build those essential literacy skills that underpin all learning. A big thank you to Mrs Jamie-Lea McConachy for her dedication in coordinating this program.

Reading is one of the most important habits our young learners can build, and we encourage families to support this at home. For younger children, this may mean enjoying books read aloud to them, while older students may enjoy reading independently or discussing texts with family members. Every minute spent engaging with books helps to strengthen comprehension, vocabulary, and imagination.

Thank you for your continued support in all areas of teaching and learning. Wishing you and your children a happy and successful start to the term.

Mr Dean Kelley
Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

Assistant Principal Religious Education

Welcome back to School

Welcome back! Week 2 and we have already experienced so much.  We are not only returning from a refreshing break but also entering into one of the most joyful seasons in the Church’s calendar—the Easter season. This is a special time when we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, not just as an event in history, but as a living reality that shapes who we are and how we live.

Easter is the heart of our faith. The resurrection of Jesus is more than just the conclusion to the story of Good Friday—it is the beginning of something new and transformative. Jesus’ victory over death is a promise for each of us: that no darkness, no hardship, no failure is final. He is risen; He is risen indeed, Alleluia! Alleluia!

In rising from the dead, Christ opens the door to hope, to forgiveness, and to eternal life.  At yesterday’s Mass, Father Mick shared the importance of us all appreciating the presence of Christ in our lives.  Easter reminds us that God is always offering us a fresh start. We are never stuck in our past. With Christ, there is always new life. There is always the opportunity to offer forgiveness and to be forgiven. So, let us continue to Pilgrims of Hope—encouraging one another, striving for kindness, and finding the courage to start again when things are hard. Let’s remember that we are Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.

The death of our Pontiff, Pope Francis, came as a surprise to many, especially after it seemed his recovery was progressing well.  A humble and courageous leader who inspired millions around the world and this was clear with the togetherness of our world leaders coming together at his funeral to unite and be thankful for his life and leadership.

Last Wednesday we came together as a community of past and present students, staff, and community members celebrating a joyful Blessing and Opening Ceremony of our new learning spaces and buildings. It was wonderful to meet and speak with many people who hold many fond memories of their time at St Joseph’s.

On Thursday, we came together to observe Anzac Day, taking a moment to honor the bravery and sacrifice of those who have served our country. Our school united in reflection and prayer to remember their legacy and reaffirm our commitment to the values of peace, courage, and unity.

Wishing everyone a joyous and peaceful week ahead, filled with the blessings of new beginnings and renewed faith.

Congratulations to our newly Confirmed!
Last week, we joyfully celebrated a significant milestone in the faith journey of several students and Miss Borlase within our community, as they completed the Sacraments of Initiation co-celebrated with Bishop Timothy Harris, Fr Mick Lowcock, Fr Nnaemeka Njezi and Fr Will Brennan.

In Confirmation, they were sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, equipping them with strength and grace for the journey ahead. And through their First Holy Communion, they shared fully in the Eucharist, receiving Christ in a personal and profound way.

We congratulated each of our candidates for their commitment and openness to God’s call, and we gave thanks for the families, sponsors, teachers, and parish members who supported and guided them along the way.

It was a beautiful and faith-filled moment for our whole community. May the joy and peace that came from these celebrations continue to shape and inspire their lives—and ours—as we all grow in faith together.

Congratulations to our newly initiated members!  

St Joseph the Worker Feast Day
Each year, the Catholic Church honors St. Joseph, one of our cherished patron saints, with two special feast days. On March 19, we celebrated St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, recognising his role as the beloved spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and earthly father of Jesus. Then, on May 1, this Thursday, we commemorate St. Joseph the Worker, highlighting his example of dignity in labor and devotion in daily life.

As we mark this special occasion, we extend our heartfelt appreciation and best wishes to all workers. May you be blessed in your efforts and find joy in the work you do.

God Bless,

Lei Nelson

Assistant Principal - Religious Education

First Nations

Dear Families,

Our First Nations students from Years 3-9 have been invited to participate in the Deadly Dancers program at Cloncurry State School. This program will be run by Uncle Hombre Major and Lyndsie McDermott (CSS performing arts teacher). I am seeking expressions of interest for students who may be interested in participating.

During Terms 2 and 3, there will be rehearsals every second Thursday afternoon from 2:45 - 3:45 pm. These rehearsals will begin in Week 2 (4, 6, 8, and 10 following) and will be held in the Cloncurry State School’s Performing Arts room. Students will perform at various events in Cloncurry including the Term 3 NAIDOC Day event, after the town march. 

Students will depart St Joseph’s at 2:30pm and walk to Cloncurry State School, arriving by 2:45pm. They will need to be picked up from the front office of Cloncurry State School at 3:45 pm.

By joining Deadly Dancers, students must be committed to the program and are required to attend all rehearsals. Students that do not attend rehearsals will not be allowed to take part in future performances.

Please confirm your child/ren’s expression of interest by sending me an email by Tuesday 29th of April.

If you have any questions, please contact me (lansell5@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au)

Miss Leonie Ansell

Pastoral Care

Welcome Back to Term 2. 

Mothers’ Day Stall

🌸 Our Mother's Day Stall is happening in Week 3! 🌸

Students can purchase gifts during First Lunch from Tuesday to Friday.

Prices range from $3 to $15 (cash only).

All proceeds will support our UMY Canberra Camp 2025!

To celebrate our wonderful Mother’s we will also be having a Mother’s Day breakfast on Thursday the 8th of May starting at 7:45am.

UMY Homework Club Term 2

Homework Club starting up again this week for Year 7 to 9 students. Afternoon Tea is provided for the students.

Best regards,

Miss Hannah McCall
Pastoral Leader

Youth Ministry

Welcome back to a jam-packed term of being guided by God’s spirit!

I hope everyone’s holidays and Easter period were relaxing, fun, and faith-filled. 

Spirit in Action (SIA)
This term, the UMY students who are a part of SIA have some exciting projects to undertake. This week (Tuesday 29/04) Sr Lyn is coming into the school to show them how to make rags out of old garments. In the following fortnights, they will be walking down to the local Vinnies shop to help out. More information to come - keep an eye out Year 6 parents. SIA parents, please make sure you give consent via Compass for students to attend. 

Mini Vinnies 
Our Mini Vinnies group will continue to meet fortnightly on Wednesday during First Lunch playtime. We will be working out some ideas for fundraising this term, in addition to leading and participating in prayers!

Year 8 Retreat
This Wednesday, the Year 8 students will be engaging in a retreat experience from 12:00 PM. This will give them the opportunity to reflect on their identity and self-image, and their faith journey. We will take this opportunity to connect with each other, play some games, and participate in a shared liturgy experience. 

Youth Mass
On Saturday evening of Week 4 (17/05), beginning at 5:30 PM, we will be hosting a youth Mass at St Colman’s parish. I will send out further communication about this next week to gauge student interest. If you would like to attend and your child would like a role in the Mass, please contact me via email. There will be a BBQ to follow, under the Mary MacKillop Shed. 

Yours in faith, hope & love!

Mr James Delaney ❤️‍🔥
Youth Ministry Middle Leader

Library News

On behalf of St Joseph's, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Evolution Mining - Ernest Henry Mine for their generous support of the Books in Homes program. Their sponsorship provided our primary school students with three free books in Term 1. Evolution Mining’s commitment to the Books in Homes program shows their dedication to empowering young minds through literacy and their incredible support will undoubtedly inspire a love of reading and lifelong learning in our students.

2025 Premier's Reading Challenge:
We're excited to announce that St Joseph's Catholic School, Cloncurry, will be participating in the Premier's Reading Challenge again this year. This is a fantastic initiative that encourages children to read and engage with text's at home. Each student who completed this challenge will receive a certificate. The challenge commences on Tuesday the 6th of May. Keep an eye out for a letter which will be sent home with your child this week/early next week. 

Mrs Jamie-Lea McConachy
School Librarian 

Prep

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope everyone had a lovely break, I was excited to hear from all our Little Learners last week about what they got up to. 

We have had a lovely start back to the Term, settling back into our routine and hitting the ground running, learning the vowel letter O and starting our Math unit all about Shapes. 

Looking forward into Week 2, we will learn the new sound and letter /c/ (Cody Camel). In math we will continue to explore shape and begin to describe attributes. During our Religion lessons, we will complete our learning on the Story of Easter. 

During our Science unit, we have been exploring the features of plants and animals. Last week we set up our class vet clinic as well as our florist. We planted flowers and began to look at the life cycle of chickens.  As part of  our Science learning, we will be hatching chickens in an incubator. We hope to incubate about 10 eggs. I would like to put these in the incubator by the middle of Week 3. Please let me know if you have any suitable eggs.

Little Leaders Website
Unfortunately, we have had some trouble with our Little Leaders Website, I will try and get this up and running this afternoon. This Term I have created a website as a one stop shop for information on what is happening in the Prep space. On the Website you will be able to access two pages, a Semester One Page with general information as well as a Home Learning Page. Later this Term we will begin to send readers home to each student as well as letter and number tracing cards, however, If you would like some ideas on activities you can do at home with your child please feel free to read through this page. 

Staffing Changes
Mrs Renee McConachy will be returning to St Joseph's from Maternity Leave this term. Mrs McConachy will be taking over from Miss Pucciarmati in Prep each Thursday. We're excited to welcome Mrs McConachy back from leave.

Reminders:

• Monday: Mrs Jill Smith will take our little learners for Art in Period 5.
• Tuesday: Miss Borlase will take our students for Sport in Period 5
• Wednesday: Miss Pucciarmati will take our Prep students for Technology in Period 5
• Thursday: Mrs McConachy will be the classroom teacher
• Friday: Every second Friday we will have an assembly at the Mary MacKillop Shed (Week 2,4,6,8,10) On Thursday this week due to the Pupil Free Day on Friday!

Yours in fun and learning,

Miss Mae-Louise Brock, Mrs Maggie Doody, Miss Renee McConachy, Miss Josie, and Miss Rachel.

Year 1

Hello parents and carers,

Welcome back to Term 2! 

The students had an exciting first week back looking at topic specific ANZAC books. The students loved reading ANZAC Ted and bringing in a teddy for our picnic. 

This term the students will continue to look at new digraphs, trigraphs and tricky words.  The students will continue to look at storytelling with different books. The first book that we will be looking at this term is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They will be looking at the recount of the story and sequencing the events. 

This term in math the students will continue looking at skip counting/ patterns as well as shape.  They will be looking at their features to help identify different 2D shapes and 3D objects. 

Here are some photos from week 1:

Reminders: 

• Homework will go out on Thursday due to the pupil free day on Friday. 
• Cross Country on Wednesday! 
• Tuesday: Technology and Art
• Wednesday: House Shirt
• Thursday: Sport (Sport uniform) 

Have a wonderful week,

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

Year 2

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Welcome to Term 2! I hope you all had a lovely Easter break. Even though it was a short week, it was certainly busy. To start this week students shared what they did on their Easter Break with a writing activity. It was so great to see all of the different adventures they went on. We also started to look at the Solar System and Space in Science, learning about the different planets and what makes them unique. In Maths we were practising and revising skip counting in 2s, 5s, 10s and 3s. For ANZAC day we focused on two books, the first book was ‘Pidge’s Poppies’. This book discusses the importance of the role that carrier Pigeons had during the World War. The second book we focused on was ‘ANZAC Biscuits’. This story focused on a family whose dad was at War but brought back together through the simplicity of ANZAC biscuits. Students coloured in and made their own carrier Pigeon, writing one fact they have learnt about ANZAC day. They also ate ANZAC biscuits which were kindly made by the Year 1 students. During Week 1 Year 2 joined the whole school for the blessing and opening of the new buildings as well as the ANZAC ceremony. Students were also lucky enough to go for a look around and in some of the Army Trucks after the ceremony. It has been an awesome start to Term 2!

Reminders: 

• Cross Country: Wednesday, 30th of April. 
• Monday: Art 
• Tuesday: Library 
• Wednesday: House Shirts 
• Thursday: Sport
• Friday: Technologies 

Miss Tess Motti

Year 3

Welcome back to term 2! We are so looking forward to creating and sharing learning opportunities for our year 3 class.

Welcome to Frankie McKie, our newest learner. We hope that Frankie is already settled in and excited about his new class.

Biggest news for this term is that Ms McLauchlan is joining our group. As you are aware, myself and Ms Mclauchlan will be sharing the class for English and Mathematic lessons, starting Monday 28 April. The other subjects, RE, Hass and Science will still be taught by myself. Our hope is that the smaller groups will better facilitate learning, which will allow our children to thrive. During this transition time we would appreciate your assistance in reassuring the children if they are feeling unsure about anything. Please contact us with questions or to notify us should  your child have difficulties with the transition period. 

For Religion: we were privileged that Bishop Tim spent some time with our class on Wednesday. As we will be doing an assessment on the different role players within our parish and diocese, we grabbed the opportunity to gather some information first hand from the Bishop. The learners had an interesting interview with the Bishop, and some questions really had him scratching his head. 

For mathematics: we have started with Angles and Objects, and learners will soon be completing their assessment on this topic. Please feel free to assist them by pointing out right angles vs acute angles and obtuse angles in ordinary life. The same for the different 2D and 3D shapes.

In English: we are putting in a lot of work to get the learners ready for their assessment on persuasive text writing. Most of our focus in the next week or two will be on this, by providing guidance and helpful tips on how to improve their writing.

For Science: we will start learning about the Sun, Moon, and Earth and the orbit around each other.

In Hass: we will be finishing off our section of different celebrations in Australia and around the world. Learners are going to receive a template for completion. This is on any inspiring woman, (their choice), which they have to research and present back to class as the final part of their assessment. 

Homework: As in term 1, homework will go out weekly on Monday, and need to be returned on Friday. It is not compulsory that the learners need to complete all the homework, as I do provide additional work for some learners who enjoy the challenge. I would however ask that where possible, have the learners do a little bit of every task, so as to get the full exposure. Math will still be provided on the IXL, while other tasks will be emailed weekly to the parents, and the learners will receive a hard copy in class.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Mrs Deirdre Koekemoer

Year 4

Welcome back to Term 2! I am excited for another term of learning with your children. We welcome Kate Henning who is on placement as she studies her teaching degree. Kate has already settled into our classroom and the students are keen to work with her. The extra pair of hands will benefit the students greatly.

We also welcome a new student, Jayde Hoddinott. The students have taken Jayde under their wings to ensure she has had a smooth transition into our classroom.

Here are some of the topics we will be covering this term-

English- In English we will be looking at information texts. Students will be learning how to locate reliable information, take notes and write information in their own words. They will be investigating a biome (a geographical area) and presenting their findings in a written report. At the conclusion of this unit, students will present their reports at an Expo and we will be inviting parents to join us. I will share the date for this later in the term.

Maths- We are beginning the term with the unit ‘Multiplication Facts and Related Division Facts’. We will be investigating fact families, patterns in multiplication and division and word problems.

HaSS-In HaSS, students will recognise the importance of environments and their impact on people and animals. They will develop questions to progress investigations and identify sustainable practices to protect our environment.

Science- In Science we will be learning about the water cycle. Students will identify sources of water and describe key processes in the water cycle, including movement of water through the sky, landscape and ocean; precipitation; evaporation; and condensation.

For our investigation this week we need some empty water/soft drink bottles. If you have any, could you please send them in by Thursday.

WE NEED THESE PLEASE

Have a great week,

Mrs Lesley Wall

Year 5

Hi Year 5 Parents and Carers,

I hope you had a restful school holiday.

Week 1
This fortnight, our students have been busy revising important skills from Term 1, strengthening their knowledge and preparing for an exciting Term 2 ahead. It has been wonderful to see the students approach their revision with focus and enthusiasm, setting strong foundations for future learning.

In addition to our revision work, students have been learning about the significance of ANZAC Day. Through class discussions, stories, and activities, they have deepened their understanding of the bravery, sacrifice, and spirit of the ANZACs. To further commemorate this important event, students enjoyed making traditional ANZAC biscuits — a hands-on experience that connected them to the history and meaning behind this national tradition.

Reminders - There have been a few changes to specialist lesson days and teachers.

• Sport uniform: Tuesday
• Technologies: Tuesday
• Arts: Tuesday
• HASS: Tuesday and Wednesday
• House shirt: Wednesday
• Sport: Wednesday - taught by Miss B
• Health: Thursday - taught by Miss Humes
• Languages: Friday

Have a great rest of your week!

Miss Leonie Ansell

Year 6

Dear Families, 

We hope you all had a good break from the normal routines and the children are geared up for another busy and fun-filled term.

We started the term with a shorter week, but seemed to cram an awful lot in. We had our Buildings blessed by Bishop Tim and also commemorated Anzac Day. Much of our opening work last week was about Gallipoli, war, conflict, and refugees. We spent some time meeting and working with our Prep Buddies - this is something that I value highly, as it helps to connect our two communities. We had a shorter session to complete some reading on Tuesday before reconnecting with our buddies on Wednesday to bake Anzac Biscuits. We were also fortunate to have Mr Kane Burgess from the Cloncurry RSL speak with us and four service people from the 51st Mount Isa Unit visit us. They brought their army trucks onto the oval and answered many, many questions from the Year 6 students. We thanked them for their service while also spending some time reflecting while planting our 3D printed poppies.

English/HASS - in the next few weeks, our English will connect with our HASS as we discover more about the First World War, Anne Frank, Ahn Do, refugees, displacement and immigration. We will complete our next STAR Reading to set personal targets for our Term 2 Accelerated Reading. The class expectation for reading at home is a minimum of 20 minutes a night - if students read more that is brilliant. If you can include some reading aloud to parents that may spark conversations about reading and improve fluency, comprehension and pronunciation. Our writing will initially continue with narrative texts, with some time on biographical recounts before commencing on persuasive writing. Our spelling continues to focus on common graphemes which represent the sounds in the English language - h, j, ai, l, ea, mm, igh, nn, oa, p and wr. There will also continue to be a focus on prefixes, suffixes and word origins - Greek and Latin roots.

Mathematics - in the next few weeks, our Maths time will continue to focus on fractions and decimals in practical contexts - the baking in Week 1 did give us the opportunity to reflect on our learning. We will also commence work on percentages and how they connect to our fractions and decimals learning. We will investigate different household items and their sugar/salt content. There will be some development of our decimal addition and subtraction strategies - the aim of many of these strategies is that they eventually become mental strategies (without the need for a calculator or paper and pencil).

Religion - we have started to inquire into prophets and voices from the past, reading the scriptures from Samuel in the Old Testament. Students will learn to identify and describe many ways in which faith is lived out in the lives of believers past and present, while analysing the key messages and contexts of some Old Testament prophets. They will participate respectfully in a variety of personal and communal prayer experiences including spiritual exercises and meditative prayer practices.

Science - we have a few science activities to conclude from last term's Chemical Sciences learning. Later this term, we will focus on Physical Sciences: electricity.

FEDERAL ELECTION - For learning purposes, it would be helpful if you could take your child to the polling station and discuss the process of voting with them.

Wishing you a great week,

Mr Mike Tarleton & Mr Larry Cullen

UMY Subject Spotlight

Year 7 Maths: Students plan and conduct statistical investigations involving discrete and continuous numerical data, using appropriate displays. Students interpret data in terms of the shape of distribution and summary statistics, identifying possible outliers. They decide which measure of central tendency is most suitable and explain their reasoning. Students list sample spaces for single step experiments, assign probabilities to outcomes and predict relative frequencies for related events. They conduct repeated single-step chance experiments and run simulations using digital tools, giving reasons for differences between predicted and observed results. They calculate the range, median, mean and mode; make and justify decisions about which measures of central tendency provide useful insights into the nature of the distribution of data.

Year 8 Maths: Students conduct statistical investigations and explain the implications of obtaining data through sampling. Students analyse and describe the distribution of data. They compare the variation in distributions of random samples of the same and different size from a given population with respect to shape, measures of central tendency and range. Students represent the possible combinations of 2 events with tables and diagrams, and determine related probabilities to solve practical problems. They conduct experiments and simulations using digital tools to determine related probabilities of compound events.

Year 9 Maths: Students compare and analyse the distributions of multiple numerical data sets, choose representations, describe features of these data sets using summary statistics and the shape of distributions, and consider the effect of outliers. Students explain how sampling techniques and representation can be used to support or question conclusions or to promote a point of view. They determine sets of outcomes for compound events and represent these in various ways by assigning probabilities to the outcomes of compound events. They design and conduct experiments or simulations for combined events using digital tools. Students calculate relative frequencies from given or collected data to estimate probabilities of events involving “and”, inclusive “or” and exclusive “or."

Mr Rob Grehan

Year 8 Religion: This term, the Year 8 students are introduced to the theme of covenant, as a unique relationship between God and God's people, through an exploration of the actions and messages of some Old Testament prophets. They explore the Christian belief in God's saving plan for all creation and ways in which believers past and present are part of God's saving plan through their faith and action in the world. 

Year 9 Religion: The Year 9 students will be wrapping up their Church history unit titled Church in Action over the coming weeks before beginning a new unit!
This new unit requires them to learn about the priestly, prophetic and kingly work of Jesus Christ and ways in which believers live their Christian vocation by participation in this work. They consider sources of inspiration, strength and guidance for believers today, including Catholic social teaching, the three forms of penance (prayer, fasting and almsgiving), Scripture, celebration of the Sacraments of Healing (Penance and Anointing of the Sick), and personal and communal prayer experiences.

Mr James Delaney

Mothers Day Stall & Breakfast Invitation

Save the Date - Copper & Cattle FETE 2025

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