Term 4 Week 6

Key Information

Term 4 Important Dates

• Remembrance Day Liturgy - Friday 11th November
• Prep Transition Day - Tuesday 15th November 
• Move Up Morning - Friday 18th November 
• 2023 Student Leader Elections - Tuesday 22nd November 
• Year 9 Graduation Dinner - Thursday 24th November 
• End of Year Mass - Friday 25th November
• Year 6 Graduation Evening - Wednesday 30th November 

Please note that students in years 7 to 9 conclude term 4 on Friday 25th of November. Students in prep to year 6 conclude term 4 on Friday 2nd of December. 

Tuckshop Menu:

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

https://myschoolconnect.com.au/

A little note for all Parents & Friends -
If you are needing to contact Miss Jamie-Lea, please call the office on 47421633 Wednesday/Thursday, or alternatively on her email jmcconachy@sjctsv.catholic.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/

Orders have been placed with stockists and we are confident that all items will be available for purchase in January. Please keep an eye out for new information towards the end of term relating to uniforms.

Principal News

Welcome to Week 6, 

Remembrance Day 
This Friday the 11th of November our School Leaders, House Captains and Year 9 students will be participating in the Cloncurry Council’s Remembrance Day Service. It is a privilege to be able to involve our students in this service as we pay our respects to soldiers that sacrificed their lives for the world that we know today. 

Students will be discussing remembrance day in classes this week and will join together with their classmates on Friday for 1 minute of silence. We will also be paying our respect at the Whole School Assembly on Friday with a Remembrance Day Liturgy.  

Move Up Day 
We are very excited about ‘Move Up Day’ next Friday (18th of November), which will begin after our assembly. This is such a great opportunity for students to go into their new classrooms and meet their teachers for 2023. Students are to attend class as normal in the morning, however, will depart assembly with their 2023 teacher. 

The transition to a new school year is an important milestone for both children and their families. We do however acknowledge that transitioning to a new year level, classroom and teacher can bring with it a different level of anxiety and uncertainty for many of our students and families. The ‘Move Up Day’ event next Friday is in place to foster a positive environment for students in preparation for 2023, it allows students to move into their new classrooms, meet their new teachers and establish relationships before they conclude the school year, which in return will make the transition easier for many. 

We are very excited to be welcoming our new Prep Students for 2023 to our transition morning on Friday and invite all family members to join us for morning tea following the assembly. In the morning tea there will be presentations from Grace Reid our Speech Pathologist on ‘Tips for Prep’ and Bec Greaves our Guidance Officer. 

Staffing:
I am very excited to inform our schooling community that Ms Gillian Gardiner will be returning to Cloncurry in 2023 and will be our Teacher Librarian at St Joseph’s. See below a blurb from Gillian - she is very excited to be joining us. 

 While a ‘late bloomer’ to the teaching field, 2023 marks my tenth year as a teacher. I have been classified as a Secondary School general teacher in the profession, but my key subject areas are English (Yrs9-12), History (Yrs9-10), Geography (Yrs7, 9-10) and Economics and Business (mainly Yrs9-10). For nine years of the past decade, however, I worked at Cloncurry State School P-12 and hence have much experience with relating to students in all year levels, doing supervisions across that school as required and working with Preppies in particular regarding reading engagement and ‘oracy’ (that’s what it read on my timetable!).

I am not only a bibliophile, but actually addicted to printed literature. During my years volunteering at Vinnies, sorting the donated books was one of my domains and I was most particular about their arrangement in the shop, as Sr Lyn can confirm! I believe that being taught to read is the greatest educational gift I have ever been given. This in turn has led to my passion for reading that allows me to travel through time and space to learn and often be entertained, too, as I become immersed in worlds outside my own reality. I hope to share and instill that passion in students (and staff) through my upcoming role at St Joseph’s - as guided by God’s Spirit.

2023 Enrolments
Our enrolments for 2023 are looking very positive. If your child isn’t returning to St Joseph’s in 2023 could you please let the office know as soon as possible. This will assist us in our planning for the new school year. A reminder that the school year finishes on Friday the 25th of November for 7 to 9 students and at 12pm on Friday the 2nd of December for Prep to Year 6 students. 

God Bless,

Mrs Samantha Kelley 
Principal

APRE News

Welcome to week 6!

Last Friday we celebrated Catholic Mission with a Liturgy and a Socktober Shootout. Our Socktober Challenge was such a great event. Mrs Kelley was very brave and skillfully took on the role as goalkeeper. Each class had a representative from Flinders and Kennedy and were given two attempts to kick for goal. Each goal was awarded 20 points to go towards their house. At the end of the morning both houses gained 100 points. 

The icon of Socktober, a tattered, oddly shaped ball, bound with string and filled with odd socks and recycled materials, has become a recognised symbol within Catholic schools communities across Australia. 

At St Joseph’s each class participated in creating a socktober ball as a fun interactive way to connect with the young people with whom we are supporting. The hope is that this process of making the ball, wearing free dress and participating in the shootout challenge will form a sense of connection for our students, but more importantly, it illustrates the concept of the “have and have nots”: what other advantages do we enjoy, and what can we do to even the balance. Icy Poles will again be on sale after school on Friday. 

In our Call to Action Assembly yesterday the students watched some videos and read some books on Remembrance Day. A really beautiful book we read was “Lest We Forget” by Kerry Brown. This story tells the tale of a young boy who visits his granddad and thinks about the important days in his life: his first day of school, playing soccer with his team, the day his baby sister was born. Yet through the illustrations the reader sees a parallel story of the grandfather’s experiences at war: wearing his brand-new soldier’s uniform, with his fellow diggers in the field, looking at a photo of the baby he’s never met. With the beautiful illustrations this powerful story helps children understand the significance and importance of our national day of remembrance. It is well worth the read.

Our Year 7 class will present our Remembrance Day Liturgy at Assembly this Friday. The Leaders will also attend the town service.

Mrs Therese Curley
APRE

Pastoral Care

School Uniform
The uniform is designed to be safe and comfortable for students and affordable for all families. The wearing of the school uniform promotes our school’s image in the community as well as school spirit and pride in our school. 

Recognised religious head coverings and arm and leg coverings may be worn. Coverings should be plain navy blue. Arm and leg coverings should be worn under the school uniform. 

It is a requirement that all students wear the full correct school uniform on all school occasions, including excursions (unless changes have been stipulated by the classroom teacher). Parents are requested to co-operate in ensuring all students are dressed appropriately for school in the full uniform as outlined below.

It is a requirement that all parts of the students' school uniform is in “Good Condition”. Good Condition constitutes as the following:

• Free from any stains and clean.
• Free from any tears, holes, scuffs and/or unapproved markings.
• Complete with the School Logo and School Markings where applicable.
• Intact with all buttons.

Please be aware, St Joseph’s Catholic School, Cloncurry operates an alternating timetable. Therefore, days where your child/children may wear a particular uniform may alter the following week. 

• Academic Uniform
• The St Joseph’s Cloncurry Academic uniform is to be worn all days of the school week except when students have Physical Education days.
• Sports Uniform
• The St Joseph’s Cloncurry Sports Uniform is to be worn only on days that students are scheduled to have Physical Education lessons.
• House Uniform
• The St Joseph’s Cloncurry House Uniform is only to be worn on Fridays and at Sports Carnivals. These uniforms are not in place of the Sports Shirts and should not be worn for Physical Education lessons, unless the students' lessons fall on a Friday.
• Representative Uniform
• The St Joseph’s Cloncurry Representative Sports Uniforms are to be worn at the discretion and direction of the Senior Leadership Team, and Sports & Extra Curricular Coordinator.

Shoes

Academic Shoes
Academic shoes are to be Lace-up or Velcro, fully enclosed shoes and black in colour with NO other colours/markings. 

Appropriate shoes include cross trainers, runners or joggers or traditional leather school shoes. 

Years 7-9 students are to have black shoes with leather uppers.

Academic Shoes are worn every day and whenever representing the school unless:

• Explicitly informed by the School with written consent from the Principal.
• The student has their Physical Education Lesson on that day.

Sports Shoes 
Sports shoes are to be Lace-up or Velcro, fully enclosed shoes and can be of any colour. Appropriate shoes include cross trainers, runners or joggers.

Sport Shoes are worn ONLY on days that the students has:

• Their Physical Education Lesson.
• School Sports Carnivals 
• Attending Representative School Sport and explicitly directed to where 

All other Footwear will be considered as a Breach of Policy. This includes but is not limited to, boots and casual footwear such as thongs, sandals, canvas shoes, high-top shoes that cover the ankle, ballet flats etc are not acceptable footwear. 

Socks
Plain white/navy blue socks that cover the ankles.

No brand names or logos permitted on socks.

Mrs Toni Schneekloth 
Pastoral Leader

Prep

Week 6 news!

This week we will finish our Initial Lit lessons for the year by learning about using an "s" at the end of words to show "more than one" or plural. The class will also learn our last few Tricky Words. We will continue to have literacy rotations this week so any help is appreciated. In Math the class has been working on consolidating fluency in counting back from 20 (for some students from 50) and identifying the number which comes before and after. We have been busy practicing Going on a Bear Hunt in preparation for our performance during assembly next week (Week 7). Lots of creating and writing has been happening in Santa's workshop as lists are written and toys made! We would love to decorate gingerbread men as a Xmas activity which then leads into a writing activity. I'm looking for a volunteer (that is a better cook than me) to make us 30 gingerbread cookies. Let me know if you can help!

We have a few Prep students who do not have hats and therefore cannot play at lunchtimes. Can you please check in with your child to make sure that they have a hat?

 Reminders:

• Literacy groups - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday after assembly.
• Wednesday - Swimming and order tuckshop
• Thursday - Tuckshop and library

Yours in fun and learning,

Miss Tamara Williams and Mrs Sharon McLauchlan

Year 1

What a busy week ahead!

This week in Year One we are finishing off our Religion, Mathematics  and HASS units of work. We are spending time revising our digraphs and trigraphs as well as our spelling rules. Over the next four weeks we will spend time revising all concepts throughout the year to consolidate our learning.

Reminders:

• Wednesday: Sport with Mr Murray, we are swimming!
• Thursday: Library, Homework due
• Friday: Assembly and Remembrance Day

Have a fantastic week,

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

Year 2

Hi all,

This week we are learning:

English: We have been working on including different sentence types in our writing. Our tricky words are: favourite, should, shouldn’t

Maths: During maths rotations this week we will be interpreting data and continuing to work on addition and subtraction strategies

Religion: We have just finished our assessment on healing Relationships through reconciliation and prayer. We will now look at Saints and how they apply forgiveness and reconciliation to their lives

Science: Push and Pull

HASS: Significant sites and why we need to take care of them - We are going to John Flynn place on Thursday!

Health: Mindfulness

Reminders

• Swimming is on Wednesdays. Due to this, our Sport day has been moved to Wednesday.
• Drama on Tuesdays
• Library is on Thursdays
• Our Homework day is Wednesday. Please make sure homework is brought back in so I can have new readers checked out and a new sheet glued in.

Miss Leonie Ansell

Year 3

Welcome to week 6 - I am not sure where the time is going but it sure is passing quickly.

We still have a few assessments to complete but they are going well. Our students have also been preparing their song for the Christmas concert - led by Mia. I hope you enjoy their hard work.

Homework  - 0This week’s homework is a piece of postcard writing .

HASS - the students have designed a research question, researched the answer and will present their findings to me. They have used the RFDS museum website and the Cloncurry 100 years booklet to support their answers.

Maths - as we have now completed our unit on angles, we will be revising place value. Place Value is important because it provides the foundation for regrouping, multiple-digit multiplication, and more in the decimal system, as well as a starting point for the understanding of other base systems. 

Literacy - We are focusing on fluency - recording ourselves reading and listening to the recording. Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. 

Reminders

• Wednesday - Swimming
• Thursday - Library

We hope you have a fabulous week

Mrs Deb McCann

Year 4

Hi Everyone,

The students are well into their assessment tasks and are all working really hard to showcase their bestwork. I have been so impressed by their independence and willingness to stay on task.

HaSS- Students have almost completed their investigation and will then go on to create a diorama of their animal enclosure. Could all students please bring in a box eg shoe box, drink carton to complete this task. We also need a box each for our Christmas concert act please.

Secret Santa- This year our class would like to participate in Secret Santa. Students will choose another name out of a hat and then buy a present under $10. If you do not want your child to participate, please let me know before this Friday when we will draw out names.

Have a great week!

Mrs Lesley Wall

Year 5

Hello all,

What a week! Your children were fantastic and hopefully they have some special memories that they will be able to reflect on. Thank you for encouraging your children to manage risks and begin their journey into their adult life. Many challenges were faced head on and overcome - the main one being away from home for 5 days and realising that you have instilled good morals and organisational skills that have prepared them for their lives.

English: We will be writing informative texts to prepare next year’s Year 5 students for their Camp experience at Paluma, while reflecting on our own experiences with a plethora of photos and videos which have been shared with all students on Google Drive (get them to show you!)

Maths: We continue our work on transformations and angles - developing an understanding of acute (less than 900) and obtuse (90-1800) as well as measuring the angles accurately. We will also continue to work on our recall of multiplication facts and begin investigating financial planning for our end of year celebration.

Science: Having investigated many creatures and plant life on camp, students will continue to inquire into birds and their nests - constructing nests using twigs, sticks and leaf litter.

Key Dates/Times:

• Swimming/PE Lesson: Tuesdays

Enjoy your week,

Mr Mike Tarleton

Year 6

Welcome to Week 6!

This week’s learning focuses:

Religion: Students are consolidating their knowledge of the works of mercy before exploring Jesus’ New Law. 

English: This week, we begin playing our modified role playing game and using this to write our fantasy narratives. Students will also use our mentor text, Fireborn, to map the text within ‘the Hero’s Journey’ structure. 

Maths: We have started a new unit of learning - where students will be learning about the Order of Operations. 

HaSS: We will be exploring Australia’s parliament, including the roles and responsibilities of ministers. 

Our PE day has changed to every Tuesday for this term. This will be for water safety and familiarisation lessons. Library is still on Wednesdays. 

Keep an eye out for any homework that comes home with students. Encourage them to bring their diary back into class and sign their entries. When asking students about their day, please feel free to ask them some questions based on the learning focuses above! This is a great way for them to communicate what they are learning about and to consolidate the learning that is taking place in the classroom. 

Have a blessed week!

Mr. James Delaney and the Year 6 Legends!

UMY Spotlight

Year 7, 8 & 9 HPE with Mr Murray 
Students this term have been working towards completeing their E-Learning Bronze course online. This see’s our students become familiar with water safety through virtual courses, scenarios and questions. 

Students do this through three stages;

1. Recognise and describe key water safety messages.
2. Explore and explain key water safety messages.
3. Investigate and evaluate key water safety messages.

Finally, students apply this learning in different scenarios in the pool weekly. This week, students look at rescuing one another at varying levels of difficulty based on the classes year level.

Year 9 Business and Economics with Mr Kelley
This term students have been focusing on how businesses seek to gain a competitive edge over their competition through innovation and change. Students have also looked at Australia’s Gross Domestic Product and the contributing factors. Students spent time researching Ponzi and Pyramid schemes and identified key elements to watch out for in business.

Library News

Welcome to Term 4,

A busy term ahead with the Reading Challenge, Books in Homes and all the Christmas festivities coming towards the end of term.

For those eager to join the Reading Challenge we are having at school, I ask you to come and borrow some books from the Library. As it is a school Reading Challenge, books from the library are only allowed. We have plenty to offer all ages.

I hope this will bring enjoyment for our children and encourage them to read more.

Mrs Chris Chaplain

Teacher/Librarian.

Student Wellbeing

Adolescence is the transitional stage of development that is usually associated with the teenage years. In 2018, the Australian Curriculum Assessment Authority, redefined adolescence as affecting young people aged between 10-24 years. During this time, they experience rapid physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth which affects how teenagers feel, think, make decisions and interact with the world around them.

During adolescence, a child's brain can be considered as being “under-construction”. The rate at which this progresses will vary depending on the individual and also their gender. As a result, some parents may view adolescence as stressful or difficult. However, it does not need to be. Setting boundaries, implementing consistent monitoring and maintaining a strong and loving connection will help families adjust during this time.

It is also an important time to keep the communication lines open through clear and age appropriate conversations. Speak openly about changes that they are experiencing and be conscious of their mental health as many of the conditions people confront in adulthood, can begin to manifest in adolescence.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers can learn how to guide and best support their young person as they transition through adolescence.

Here is the link to the Understanding Adolescence edition of SchoolTV

https://sjctsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/understanding-adolescence

From Miss Pete

A very busy term and there have been multiple days of no Chaplaincy Breakfast! This Thursday we are on!! So from 7.30am - 8.15am we will have some fruit, toast and banana muffins on offer. That being said, next Tuesday there won't be any breaky either sorry! Family duties!

Please see the recipe for the muffins that I usually make. Yes, a family recipe from my mum's side! Though I use all white flour.....this is an updated version of my old cookbook. https://edmondscooking.co.nz/recipes/cupcakes-and-muffins/banana-muffins/

I was fortunate enough in Week 5 to go with the Year 5 class to Gumburu at Paluma. What a magical place! The rainforest and weather was perfect and even though uphill made me puff, I had a terrific time with lots of laughing, adventure and conversations with everyone.

As we all know it is now hot in Cloncurry and as the temperatures rise, so should the water intake and perhaps the intake of foods in your childs lunchbox? The office has been a hotspot for extra food handed out. We generally do have fruit and veg to give to students if they don't have enough in their lunchboxes, though it seems to be constant and increasing at present. Perhaps you can add an extra piece of fruit, veg or muesli bar to your child's lunchbox so they can be full, hydrated and eat the food you provide. Don't forget the water bottle!!

That is about it for now, have a wonderful week and smile as much as you can!

Miss Pete 

Friday Afternoon Fundraiser

We will have Icy Poles for sale each Friday to help raise funds for Catholic Mission. Please keep an eye out in the primary eating area. Door will open around 2.50pm. 

Save the Date - Awards Night & Christmas Concert

We will be trialing a new way to acknowledge the achievement of our students and celebrate christmas this year. We have booked the Cloncurry Shire Council for this evening. We hope that this change will make the end of year mass a little bit shorter - due to our school numbers growing we can no longer fit in the Church for this celebration and it is quite hot under the shed.

Week 8/9 Events - Save the Date

Road Safety & Parking

Parents and Carers, 

You may have noticed that we have had police assistance on the Sheaffe Street crossing. Please note that this has been requested as we have had a number of concerns raised about cars travelling quite fast along Sheaffe Street and children not looking before they walk across the road. 

A road safety session was conducted this morning with students in our primary school by Constable Lauchy. Please spend some time this weekend speaking with your child / children about the importance of stopping, looking and listening before they cross the road. It is also important that they don't start to cross the road until the car approaching has come to a full stop. 

If your child is in prep, year 1 or year 2 we kindly ask that they are accompanied across the road by either an older sibling and/or a parent/carer. 

There are also designated 'no standing zones' on either side of the crossing. Please do not park in these zones at anytime, regardless of how quick you will be. These zones are there to ensure drivers have visibility of the crossing. If parents / carers are parking here it limits visibility for oncoming cars. 

Parking and Road Rules

Parking and stopping rules apply at all times unless the signed area lets you know otherwise. You may receive a fine if you commit one of the following offences:

• Park or stop along the length of the road indicated by a no stopping sign.
• Park or stop where there is a no parking sign
• Park or stop within 10m of any intersection without traffic lights unless:
• there are road signs that tell you that you can
• or it is a T-intersection and you are parking along the continuous side of the continuing road
• Park or stop within 20m before, or 10m after, a pedestrian crossing (unless there are signs telling you different).
• Park or stop on a bicycle path, footpath, shared path, dividing strip, nature strip, or painted island, unless signs tell you otherwise.

The yellow painted zone along Ham Street next to the school is for drop and go, or pick up and go. This area is not for parking and leaving your car.For parents that need to walk into the school grounds please park on either Sheaffe Street or George Street, or alternatively on the opposite side of Ham Street and utilize the crossing.

Please also remember that parking within 20m before, or 10m after a pedestrian crossing may incur a fine from QLD Police if caught doing so.

Community Notices -

Family Day Care Vacancies