Term 3 Week 8

Key Information

Fathers Day Stall - Remainder of this week.
Fathers Day Breakfast - Thursday 1st September - 7.45am - MMS
Indigenous Education Advisory Committee Meeting - Thursday 1st September 
Melbourne Cup Visit - Monday 5th September 
Child Protection Week - Monday 5th September - Friday 9th September
Headspace Visit Yr 7 to 9 - Wednesday 7th September
Bush Dance - Thursday 8th September
Cross Country - Friday 9th September 

Pupil Free Days Term 3
Week 8 Friday - 2nd September 2022
Week 10 Friday - 16th September 2022

Upcoming Board Meetings
Week 10 Tuesday - 13th September 2022 

Upcoming P&F Meetings
Week 9 Monday - 5th September 2022 (fete wrap up)

Tuckshop Menu:

Orders to be in by 8.30am Wednesday morning! Click the link to order!

https://myschoolconnect.com.au/

Uniform Shop

Open Days:

• Monday 2.30-3pm
• Wednesday: 8:10am-8:30am

Any requests for uniforms outside of these days MUST be done via the link below. Please click the link to access the Uniform shop! https://myschoolconnect.com.au/

Principal News

Welcome to Week 8, 

As I reflect on the time that has passed since my last newsletter article I am filled with gratitude. Firstly I think of our learning breakfast and book week parade last Thursday - what a turnout. I have had several staff members and parents mention that it was our biggest one yet and I have to agree. It was nice to be able to join the two celebrations together. We have reflected on this and have decided that we will keep them together in future years, however, move this celebration further away from the fete so these events aren't in such a busy week. Thank you for joining us and a big thank you to the family members that stayed for our whole assembly, it was an extra long one (apologies, this was not our intention!). If you can only come to a section of our assembly each week it is not a problem that you duck out early, don't let this stop you from coming. 

Then I move to our fete. I would like to thank our St Joey’s community, especially for every single one of you that assisted in making our Annual Fete such a successful evening. To Mrs Shelley Curry who was the mastermind behind this event and to our P&F President Mrs Rene Winner-Harrison for supporting her every step of the way. It is impossible for me to thank everyone that came together for this event or the clean up on the following day, but please know just how thankful I am. The funds raised at the event will go such a long way as we upgrade the sound system in the Mary MacKillop Shed and purchase a drop down screen for the area. It will also help our local Parish who will be replacing the carpet this year. Although the fundraising assists the school in completing projects, the event is about more than that, it is about community. I had the opportunity to stop and talk to so many different people on Friday night, some new to town looking to meet others and some passing through on a holidaying adventure. I love that our schooling community can come together each year and provide an opportunity for others to join us. 

Fathers Day Breakfast - Thursday 1st September
There will be no school on Friday as our staff will be joining together in professional development so we would like to invite all of our wonderful fathers and fatherly figures to a celebratory breakfast on Thursday morning in the MMS at 7.45am. Our students have been working on a special Fathers Day song and dance to perform for you. I have also let student's know that they don't need to bring a parent with them on Thursday to join in on the breakfast and dance, we would love everyone to join in. 

Prep Enrolment Interviews 2023
I am excited to be joining Mrs Sharon McLauchlan next Monday and Tuesday to interview our 2023 Prep students. I always enjoy these interviews. It is so nice to hear about the aspirations and goals of our future prep students and their families. If you have friends or family members wanting to join Prep in 2023 please remind them to return their enrolment forms as soon as possible to book an interview spot for next Monday or Tuesday. 

Dance through the Decades - Thursday 8th September (next week)
Our Bush Dance has had a change of name this year and is coming up next week on Thursday the 8th of September. Join us at 6pm in the Mary MacKillop Shed to Dance through the Decades. Families are welcome to bring a picnic along with them to not only watch the dances our classes have been preparing, but to join in. At this stage there will be no food or drinks for sale on the night.

We ask that families set up in a circle on the evening, please leave the middle free for our dancers to perform. 

God Bless, 

Mrs Samantha Kelley
Principal 

APRE News

Welcome to Week 8!

This week I am writing to you from Brisbane. Mr Dean Kelley and myself have spent the past two days unpacking a new program that supports students' writing. Writer’s Toolbox⁠ is an advanced tool that offers a complete writing system where students receive continuous feedback on their writing. Not only does the tool provide individualised learning goals, but encourages involvement by continuously assessing their writing and updating their progress on a report page. I look forward to further exploring this program with the teachers on our return.

Fathers Day
This weekend we celebrate Fathers Day. A day to thank and show our love to all our fathers, grandfathers and father figures in our lives. Being a short week we will not have an assembly, however we still wanted the opportunity to acknowledge all the wonderful fathers and father figures we have at our school. To celebrate this day we will combine our Chaplaincy Breakfast on Thursday with a Fathers Day Breakfast. The students will also sing a song for the dads. Hope to see you there.

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask our community to pray for the health of Fr Mick. Fr Mick is undergoing treatment in Brisbane over the next two months. I ask that our community keep him in their prayers as he makes the journey back to good health. Fr Mick is certainly a father figure for the whole Northwest. Offering care, support and guidance to us all.  - May God bless you, Father Mick and hold you in the palm of His hand.

Mrs Therese Curley
APRE

Pastoral Care

Action for Happiness
The mission of Action for Happiness is ‘Let's create a wave of kindness to spread around the world.’ I have shared many of these calendars over the last few years but did you know you can have these sent as reminders in your Google calendar or through the app available for both iOS and Android. The free Action for Happiness app gives you friendly nudges with an action idea each day, sends you inspiring messages to give you a boost and helps you connect & share ideas with like-minded people. Check it out today!

Beyond Blue: Anxiety Management Strategies

There are a range of strategies you can try to manage anxiety. What works is different for everyone, and it can take time to find the strategies that work best. But remember, if anxiety is proving difficult to manage, seek support from a professional. Below are ten strategies to try to manage anxiety.

1. Slow breathing. When you’re anxious, your breathing becomes faster and shallower. Try deliberately slowing down your breathing. Count to three as you breathe in slowly – then count to three as you breathe out slowly.
2. Progressive muscle relaxation. Find a quiet location. Close your eyes and slowly tense and then relax each of your muscle groups from your toes to your head. Hold the tension for three seconds and then release quickly. This can help reduce the feelings of muscle tension that often comes with anxiety.
3. Stay in the present moment. Anxiety can make your thoughts live in a terrible future that hasn’t happened yet. Try to bring yourself back to where you are. Practising meditation can help.
4. Healthy lifestyle. Keeping active, eating well, going out into nature, spending time with family and friends, reducing stress and doing the activities you enjoy are all effective in reducing anxiety and improving your wellbeing.   
5. Take small acts of bravery. Avoiding what makes you anxious provides some relief in the short term, but can make you more anxious in the long term. Try approaching something that makes you anxious – even in a small way. The way through anxiety is by learning that what you fear isn’t likely to happen – and if it does, you’ll be able to cope with it.
6. Challenge your self-talk. How you think affects how you feel. Anxiety can make you overestimate the danger in a situation and underestimate your ability to handle it. Try to think of different interpretations to a situation that’s making you anxious, rather than jumping to the worst-case scenario. Look at the facts for and against your thought being true.
7. Plan worry time. It’s hard to stop worrying entirely so set aside some time to indulge your worries. Even 10 minutes each evening to write them down or go over them in your head can help stop your worries from taking over at other times.
8. Get to know your anxiety. Keep a diary of when it’s at it’s best – and worst. Find the patterns and plan your week – or day – to proactively manage your anxiety.
9. Learn from others. Talking with others who also experience anxiety – or are going through something similar – can help you feel less alone. Visit the Beyond Blue Online Forums to connect with others.
10. Be kind to yourself. Remember that you are not your anxiety. You are not weak. You are not inferior. You have a mental health condition. It’s called anxiety. 

For more information, check out the resources available at https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/treatments-for-anxiety/anxiety-management-strategies

Mrs Toni Schneekloth 
Pastoral Leader

Prep

This week I aim to finish Literacy testing with each student. Literacy groups will also be back this week. Any help with these is appreciated.

In math we are exploring addition. We are using activities based on the book "One is snail. Ten is crab" for our explorations.  

Our chicken eggs have started to hatch! We have discussed how the chicken meets its survival needs in the eggs and once hatched we will explore how these needs are met outside of the egg.

The class has made Shrinky Keyrings for fathers day. Hopefully I will get time to "cook" these today.

Reminders:

• Tuesday - sport
• Wednesday - order tuckshop
• Thursday - Tuckshop and library
• Friday - pupil free day

Yours in fun and learning,

Mrs Sharon Mclauchlan and Miss Tamara Williams

Year 1

Hello everyone,

Welcome to week 8!

As we are getting to the pointy end of the term, this week we are again consolidating our learning. 

Here is a snapshot of our week ahead; 

English: We are learning to identify and describe characters and settings in different types of texts. We have had the opportunity to read and listen to different texts and use setting prompts in our daily writing. 

Mathematics: We are learning to identify 2D shapes and 3D objects. This week we are becoming familiar with vocabulary used to describe and identify different 2D and 3D shapes. 

Science: This week in Science we are predicting and constructing boats that can hold a marble. We have been learning  to describe the different effects of interacting with materials and objects.

Reminders

Wednesday

• Students may wear their sports uniform on Wednesdays.
• AFL Australia will be visiting our class.
• Homework: Please ensure your childs’ is handed in so readers can be swapped. 

Thursday

• Library with Mrs Chaplain. Please make sure your childs’ library bag is at school.

Friday

• Friday the 2nd of September will be a pupil free day. 

Literacy Groups: As the rest of the term is jam, with a few disruptions, we will no longer be having literacy groups in the mornings. Thank you to all the parents who have helped out this term, You have been a lifesaver!

Have a great week,

Miss Mae-Louise Brock and the always fun Year 1’s

Year 2

Hi all,

Our bottle stall went so wonderfully at the fete. Thank you for all of your contributions to this!

This week we are learning:

English: Persuasive Texts. Our tricky words are: minutes, great, these

Maths: Addition and Subtraction Strategies

Religion: Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Science: Water is a resource

HASS: Significant people in our community

Media: Stop Motion Animation

Reminders:

• Wear sport uniform on Wednesdays 
• Tuckshop orders due Wednesday
• We have Library on Thursdays
• Friday is a Pupil Free Day. 

Have a great week!

Miss Leonie Ansell

Year 3

Welcome to Week 8, 

As Mrs McCann is in The UK attending her daughter's delayed graduation, our year 3 students have been blessed with Mrs Barbara Bryne. Mrs Barb is a familiar face to our year 3’s as they were lucky enough to have her in the lead up to Mrs McCanns arrival. Have a look below at what our year 3’s have been getting up to with Mrs Barb:

Thank you to our families for joining us at the fete last Friday night. Year 3 spent time making posters last Friday for their Pluck a Duck stall and there was so much chocolate handed out. We had a great time. 

The year 3 students will be spending the week working on their math as they explore chance and data. They will also work on subtraction strategies. In English students will work on their imaginative story writing, today student’s wrote about flying a kite. We will also be looking at contractions and irregular past tense verbs “Oo” and “U” sounds. 

The students have been working well and endeavouring to focus on their work. I am looking forward to a great week in year 4. 

Mrs Barb Bryne

Year 4

Hi Everyone,

Fete
Congratulations to our Year 4 students on raising $500 by selling our art piece at the Fete. This was a great achievement and I’m sure the students’ artwork will bring joy to its new family.

Thanks also to everyone who donated lollies for our stall. We had a great roll-up to Mini Putt Putt and the lollies were a great incentive to try for a hole in one.

Excursion
We had a fun and very educational time on our excursion on Friday. Our geologist guides, Ben and Hans, were very engaging and a wealth of knowledge. Thanks also to our friendly bus driver, Barry, from Ernest Henry Mines, who put up with our bad singing in a calm and happy manner. The bus trip was half the fun of the trip!

Thanks also to the staff of Cloncurry Unleashed for allowing us to look through the museum.

Assessment
As we begin to wrap up our units in most subject areas, we are now working on assessment tasks. If your child will be away over the next 2 weeks, could you please let me know.

Have a great week!

Mrs Lesley Wall

Year 5

Welcome to Week 8!

Maths: Students are investigating grid referencing and will begin to develop their understanding of longitude and latitude in connection with mapping skills in HaSS.

English: Students will begin to investigate Informative texts - focusing on the structure and common features. They will begin discovery about places in North America and Europe starting with Barrow in Alaska, comparing and contrasting with Cloncurry.

HaSS: Students are continuing to investigate maps and are making their own My Maps in Google. Learning about Legends and how to add information to places of interest.

PE: Monday

Library: Wednesday

Homework: Homework is handed out on Monday and is to be returned on Friday. Homework is a chance to revise concepts taught in class. Well done to our Year 5 students, who have been consistently completing their homework. 

A reminder that this Friday is a Pupil Free day for students. 

Have a great week,

Mr Mike Tarleton

Year 6

Welcome to Week 8!

Wow! The students did an awesome job at the fete. It was great to see them take on so much responsibility!

This week’s learning focuses are:

Religion: We are starting to learn about the Church’s liturgical year and making connections between Jewish passover to the Eucharist. 

English: This week, the students will start planning and structuring their informative text on federation. 

Mathematics: We are learning about dividing decimals by whole numbers and then will do a bunch of revising regarding operations with decimals. 

HaSS: The students will apply their learning of women’s suffrage by using Writer’s Toolbox. Then, we will be learning about the constitution. 

PE and Library are on Wednesday. 

Homework: For the remainder of the year I will be encouraging students to utilise their student diaries. They will be bringing these home to be signed. Students are encouraged to read each night. At key intervals throughout the week and/or based on the progression of content covered in class, students will have maths homework to consolidate their learning from class. On some occasions, their may be some class work or assessment work that can be completed at home. This will be communicated with parents and students. 

Have a blessed week!

Mr. James Delaney and the Year 6 Legends!

UMY Spotlight

Year 7/8 Language with Mr Delaney
At the beginning of the term, using the UMY camp as inspiration, the students were tasked with writing three separate diary entries from their trip. The sentence structures they learned varied as a means to express information about their experiences. They learned about how to represent different tenses and positive-negative forms. Once again, they explained the use of katakana for foreign/borrowed words. 

After they wrote their diary entries, they chose one to practice and speak. Based on this, their peers responded by answering prompting questions to assess their listening and comprehending skills. 

To close out the term, we are learning about kanji. Kanji comes from Chinese characters and are used to represent meaning in the Japanese language. The students will be participating in various activities to learn and practice the most common kanji - including some calligraphy. 

Library & Book Week

Congratulations to all our amazing students & staff who dressed up for our Book Week celebrations. What an outstanding array of characters from so many books. I was truly touched that so many participated.

Thank you to the parents also for making it all happen, I know that without your help, the students would not be able to make it all happen.

Mrs Chaplain

Teacher Librarian

Fathers Day Celebrations

Lunch boxes, sun safety and arrival times

Lunch boxes:
All students should be packing a piece of fruit or healthy option for brain break (Prep to Year 6), a meal for morning tea and a snack for afternoon tea. We have had an increase in students coming to the office this week requesting fruit or a muesli bar for second break. Please have a chat to your child/children about the snacks they are packing for a full day at school. 

Sun Safety:
St Joseph's Catholic School is a sunsafe school with a no hat, no play rule. Students can collect a happy hat from the office in the instance that they forget their hat, but it is important that students remember to bring their hat each day. 

Arrival Times:
Please note that the school grounds are not staffed prior to 8.10am. Although our teachers and school officers arrive early, this is to prepare for the day ahead. If your child needs to arrive prior to 8.10am please phone the office and let us know. 

Medication at St Joseph's

Hi Parents,

We are touching base with you in regards to Emergency Medications. Such as Panadol/Ibuprofen for those times like headaches, period pain and growing pains.

You are more than welcome to have medication left at school, administered here by our office staff. We kindly ask that you fill in a form that details how much to be administered and when. If the medication is ongoing a Dr's letter is needed. 

This will be returned or disposed of at the end of the year. Forms do need to be filled in annually if continuing on with emergency medication also.

Indigenous Education Advisory Meeting

Spark Club & Chaplaincy Breakfast

I want to say where did Week 7 go?? Fete occupied and a mixed grill of work type things on, I now find us in Week 8!! I can smell the holidays! Saying that with enthusiasm as I love being with my kids and doing things with them, though I am still liking my role as School Chaplain.

Something that was brought to my attention discussing with staff about my role here at school. They thought I was just for the kids, NOPE! I am for the whole schooling community. My role is to support, guide, comfort and help our Staff, Students, Families and Volunteers. I do like interacting with everyone (those who wish to), and just have a chat about whatever. Sometimes it is nice to know that there is a friendly face to say g'day to. All our staff are friendly and generally available to chat with, always an email or phone call away too. So, I hope that settles some wondering what a School Chaplain does. 

Miss Pete McIntyre 

Raising Resilient Children - Free Parenting Seminar

Student Wellbeing

Young people today face a multitude of stresses in many areas of their life. Some of these stresses are the result of negative experiences. Unfortunately, as a coping mechanism, some young people resort to self-harm. The reason for this behaviour will vary for each individual, but generally, those that self-harm do not necessarily wish to commit suicide.

Tragically, suicide is the biggest killer of Australian youth and the statistics are alarming. Studies have shown that nearly 1 in 5, Year 12 students, have considered suicide or self-harm, because of exam and homework pressures. Self-harm in girls has increased by 200% over the last decade, and suicide calls to Kids Helpline have increased by 22%.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn to understand and recognise the warning signs in order to prevent the unthinkable from happening. The focus for parents should always be on identifying the underlying difficulty the child may be facing and be proactive in finding the best preventative measure.

Here is the link to the Suicide & Self-harm edition of SchoolTV

https://sjctsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/suicide-self-harm

Community Notices - Music Lessons

Casual Employment Opportunities - Cloncurry Shire Council