Translate

Font Size

Term 1 Week 7 2023

Key Information

Term 1 Important Dates

Monday 13th March and Tuesday 14th March - Parent Teacher Interview Prep - 3
Tuesday 14th March - Harmony Day Dress Up
Monday 27th March and Tuesday 28th March - Parent Teacher Interview Year 4 to Year 9
Thursday 30th March - Good Friday Liturgy & Easter Hat Parade - 8.30am
Friday 31st March - IPRASS Day - No School

Tuckshop Menu:

Special: Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles, Tennis Biscuits and a Popper

Orders are to be in by 8.30am each 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 (07)47421633 Wednesday/Thursday, or alternatively on her email jmcconachy@sjctsv.catholic.com.au

Uniform Shop

Open Days:

Monday: 2.30pm-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 7,

Tomorrow is 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. Tomorrow we celebrate the incredible contribution that you make in this world, particularly to St Joseph’s and in the lives of your loved ones.

Your child/children may have come home last week mentioning the fire drill that we had on Tuesday. This was quite successful. We do a fire drill at the school each term to ensure we are prepared. Students remained calm, left all of their belongings in the classroom and followed their teacher to the Mary MacKillop Shed. It was great to have the Cloncurry Fire Department join us for this drill. We love inviting community groups into our school.

Speech Pathologist
You may have noticed that our wonderful Speech Pathologist, Grace Reid, hasn’t been onsite or working with your child this term. We sadly farewelled Grace at the beginning of the year as she opened her own practice in Mount Isa. We are waiting on our new Speech Pathologist, Lyndsay Miller, to commence with our school in May. In the meantime a Speech Pathologist from Townsville will support our students and staff. Last week we had a Speech Pathologist join our staff to unpack our Early Years Data and across the coming 2 days we have Henryette joining us to deliver the Read and Write Program from year 2 to year 9.

The employment of a Speech Pathologist was an initiative that our school joined with the Catholic Schools in Mount Isa to make possible. We saw a need to have ongoing support for both our students and our teachers. We are proud to offer this service.

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.

Midwest Sport:
The amount of representation we have had from St Joseph’s students at Mid West or North West sport this year has been incredible. See a happy snap below of two of our students Zaine Morris and Kale McKenzie at Rugby League. We love receiving photos from parents of our wonderful students - they should be so proud of their commitment and hard work.

Parent Teacher Student Interviews
The first round of Parent Teacher Student Interviews will take place next week for prep to year 3 students. It is important for your child to join you and their classroom teacher for these interviews. The partnership between students, parents / carers and the school is vital for success. These interviews are a great way to discuss the start of the new school year, goals, assessment tasks, and areas for improvement moving forward. If you have questions for your child’s classroom teacher please ask them at the interview. An email was sent to you with booking instructions, please go back and read this to make your bookings via Compass soon as possible.

NAPLAN:
Our NAPLAN window will commence next Wednesday. Communication (including a timetable) has been sent to all families with a child/children in a NAPLAN year level, being year 3, 5, 7 and 9.

There are a number of things parents can do to assist us in preparing students for NAPLAN:

Please ensure students get a good night's sleep prior to the tests, and a good breakfast the morning of.
Language surrounding NAPLAN is very important. We have been speaking positively about the tests at school, and it would be good if that could continue at home. Whilst it is important for students to try their best and 'give it a go', these tests take a small snap-shot of their overall capabilities and it's important for students to maintain a healthy perspective.
Students have been working towards these tests for over a term now, as our preparation started last year. Students have even experienced the platform that they will complete the test in and sample questions. Please reassure your child that they are well prepared and shouldn't be overwhelmed or nervous. However, if your child is particularly anxious please contact their classroom teacher to inform them.

Please note that there will be no assembly next week due to NAPLAN.

May God Bless you for the week ahead,

Mrs Samantha Kelley
Principal

APRE News

Welcome to week 7!

This week is the second week of Lent. Our focus story comes to you from Zimbabwe and is called Priscilla's story

Priscilla lives in the Hwange district in Zimbabwe with her husband, Charles, and her two grandsons. In Hwange, the impacts of climate change are exacerbating food insecurity in vulnerable communities. This can be seen in the erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged dry spells, poor agricultural soils and high temperatures in the region. With the support of Caritas Hwange, Priscilla learnt conservation farming skills to grow drought-resistant crops and started poultry farming to support her family during the current food crisis. Thanks to Caritas Pricilla now has the means to support her family.

Prayer for Lent

Lord God, You who breathed the spirit of life within me.

Draw out of me the light and life you created.

Help me to find my way back to you.

Help me to use my life to reflect your glory

and to serve others as your son Jesus did.

Amen.

Notices:

Children’s Mass: This Sunday 12th March 8:30 am
Sacremental Meeting after Mass this Sunday
Assembly this week - Year 8 to present a special Prayer for Harmony Day.

Have a blessed week!

Mrs Therese Curley
APRE

Pastoral Care

The Resilience Project - Part 4: Mindfulness.

Today’s article from The Resilience Project is all about Mindfulness.

Mindfulness is about practising a moment-to-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment – with curiosity, and without judgement.

Thousands of studies have proven benefits include reduced stress, reduced rumination, increased memory, increased cognitive function and physical health benefits through improved immunity.

View Part 4: Mindfulness of the series here: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/parent-and-carer-hub-hugh/

Mindfulness can be practiced through meditation, yoga, flow-states and daily activities such as cooking.

Source: UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science, American Psychological Association

For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.

Mrs Toni Schneekloth

Pastoral Care Leader

Prep

In Prep this week we will be exploring the sequence and duration of events during maths, while consolidating numbers to 10 and beyond.

During science the class will perform an investigation which involves testing sunscreen on sausages! Our language focus this week will be based on The Very hungry Caterpillar storybook and include sequencing words such as before, after and next. This compliments our Math learning. We will learn the sound and name of the letter "a" this week, while revising "m", "s" and "t". The class is also beginning to identify the sounds in small words. Prep will be practicing a song that we will sing at assembly this week. It would be great if you could come and watch!

Reminders:

Tuesday - sport
Wednesday - order tuckshop before 8.30am
Thursday - Library and tuckshop
Friday - Mrs McLauchlan will be away. Prep will be performing a song at assembly.

Yours in fun and learning,

Mrs Sharon McLauchlan and Miss Tamara Williams.

Year 1

Hello parents and carers,

Welcome to week 7! What a busy last few weeks we have before the end of term one. This week year ones are focusing on learning the Rainbow song for Harmony week and discussing that we are all different individuals that come from all walks of life but we come together as one community.

Here is a snapshot of the week ahead;

Literacy: We are continuing to learn about simple sentences and the four aspects that a simple sentence needs. A capital letter, a full stop, the sentence needs to be about something or someone and needs to make sense. We have been seeing students use their knowledge on simple sentences in their weekend recount each monday as they are progressively improving each week.

Math: We are learning to identify patterns over the next few weeks using numbers and objects, specifically number patterns, skip counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. We had the year 4 class join us on Thursday during our maths time. The year 4 students paired up with a year one student to create a skip counting kite in 2’s. They had lots of fun and they are displayed in our year one classroom on our sliding door.

Religion: We are learning to identify our gifts from God. How we can be stewards of God in everyday life. We also have a focus on the Easter story and the timeline in which the events happened leading up to Easter Sunday.

Reminders

Library: Monday (week 1,3,5,7,9)
Resilience Project: Monday (week 2,4,6,8,10)
Sport: Wednesday (every week) please have your child wear sports uniform
Technology: Thursday (every week)
Homework was sent out last Friday and is expected back on Thursday morning so readers can be changed over.

Just a reminder that we do have a child that is anaphylaxis to Watermelon and Kiwifruit in our class. Please be mindful of when you pack these items in your child's lunch box and please let me know.

Just letting you all know that Miss Brock will be out on Friday and Miss Haley will be taking the class for the day.

Have a wonderful week,

Miss Mae-Louise Brock, Miss Erin Haley and the always fun Year 1’s!

Year 2

Hi all,

During InitiaLit this week we are working on the comprehension strategy of prediction and are reviewing vowel digraphs and split digraphs. We have finished our Character Preferences and are now beginning to look at using a range of sentence types in our writing. This week we are looking at the adverb start sentence. In Maths, we are counting collections of coins. Along with this, we are looking at keeping ourselves healthy and safe in Health, God’s nature and relationship with his people in Religion, Mixtures in Science, where and why there is Drama as well as now and then during HASS.

A few reminders:

Technologies is on Tuesday each week.
Sport is on Friday each week. Students are to wear house shirts for this and we will wear our Sport shirt on Wednesday so we get to use all of our uniforms.
Library and Resilience Project will be on a fortnightly rotation on Mondays. Monday Week A (week 1, 3, 5, 7, 9) will be Resilience Project. Monday Week B (week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) will be Library.
Homework is due on Tuesday and will go out on Tuesday. We will start this week. Reading is the most important part of homework!

Have a fantastic week,

Miss Leonie Ansell

Year 3

Welcome to Week 7!

Next week is Harmony Week! This week gives us a great opportunity to celebrate the differences we bring to this world including our cultures. We will be discussing our cultural backgrounds and will be creating hands for each child. The children will then glue a small flag onto their hand. Each class has been given a rainbow colour and ours in Year 3 is green. The hands will then form rainbows in the Library and Office.

Maths: This week we are continuing to work on quick recall of addition and subtraction facts particularly within 20. The children are finding subtraction tricky but are all working hard on their strategies within Think Mentals to help with this.

English: We are working on language conventions: identifying misspelt words and correcting them, adding correct punctuation to sentences and choosing the correct tense for verbs.

Reminders:

Monday: Homework will be set and given out with Home Readers please ensure children complete their work as it is an important part of their learning.

Tuesday: Chaplain’s Breakfast in MMS 7.45am

PE the children can wear their sports shirt

As this is Week A the children have Resilience lesson

Wednesday: Tuckshop orders must be in by 8.30

Thursday: Tuckshop - if your child is having tuckshop please remember to send healthy snack for brain break and something for second lunch

Children have Technology with Miss Laffey

Friday: Assembly 8.30am MMS Year 8 leading Prayer

Homework to be returned.

Have a great week

Mrs Nicola Cullen

Year 4

Hi everyone,

Buddy Reading - Since the beginning of the term, Year Four have been working with the Year One class every Friday. So far we have completed buddy reading activities as well as some maths crafts where we practised our skip counting. Year Four really enjoys working with the early years students and it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to develop our leadership skills.

Reminders:

Homework - Homework was given out this Monday and it is to be returned on Friday.
Tuckshop - Tuckshop is on this week. Orders are due on Wednesday.

Library - Our library visit is this Thursday. Please make sure your child has their library folder at school.

PE - PE will be this Thursday. Please have your child wear their sports uniform.

Thank you and have a great week,

Miss Mairin Borlase

Year 5

Hi everyone,

Hopefully you have been able to make appointments for Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences on Compass - if you cannot make these dates and times, I will happily catch up with you early next term. I will be on leave for the remainder of Term 1 and Ms Carrie Kiernan will be taking the class.

ENGLISH - we are continuing our investigation of persuasive texts, following a basic structure which learners may choose to use if Persuasive Texts are part of NAPLAN. We will then return to Narrative Writing for the rest of term before returning to Persuasive Writing next term. Getting your child to discuss the structure with you is great preparation (even though there are no guarantees that it would be a persuasive writing task).

Title (essential for all texts)

Introductions:

Rhetorical Question
Definition of the issue (e.g. what is recycling?)
Global Statement - make the issue sound like it is affecting a lot of people!
Linking sentence - Explaining to the reader that there are at least three arguments to support your opinion.

3 Arguments:

Use adverb start sentences - Primarily, In addition, Furthermore,...
Research your arguments to sound like an expert.
Expand ideas with supporting facts and opinions.

Conclusion:

Restate your 3 arguments briefly (list the three in one sentence).
In conclusion, to start your sentence.
State opinion in strong terms - I strongly believe... It is strongly believed by many people that...
Include a rhetorical question.

Having around the dinner table discussions and debates has a significant impact on young writers. Table topics might include mining, farming practices, recycling, smoking, technology for young children etc. Allow children to form their own opinions on whether they agree or disagree with adults before challenging each argument.

MATHEMATICS - This week we are continuing to investigate subtraction strategies - both mental and written. The aim of all strategies is that eventually they become completely solvable in their heads. Initially we have looked at blank number lines with jumps counting back multiples of hundreds, tens and ones, with this progressing to the number splitting (this allows some negative values and discussions about borrowing from the bank or owing money). Please see several examples on our Class News Site. We also investigate the traditional algorithm which most parents would have learnt as the way to solve subtraction (this can be used once learners have demonstrated a sound application of their understanding of place value). Think Mentals focus on subtraction of two and three-digit numbers as well as decimal subtraction - using the concept of jumping back to a friendly number before taking away the rest.

HASS - we have continued to investigate the Gold Rush. We will be discussing what life would have been like to live in Canvas Town tents during the Gold Rush in Victoria in 1850s Australia. Learners will be encouraged to create an authentic diary entry which explains what miners/diggers would have seen, heard and felt when they found gold on the goldfields. There will also be discussions about Miner’s Rights and how miners would have felt with the regular licence checks. Learners will complete their mini-assessment using the Puppet Pals iPad app - which will allow them to record their understanding with a mini animated video.

RELIGION - we continue our investigations into the Gospels—looking at Knowing the Gospels of Mark and John and identifying the places mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible on a Google My Map. We will Hot Seat an eyewitness from the time - firstly considering which questions the learners would like to ask.

NAPLAN Writing (WEEK 8 - WEDNESDAY)
NAPLAN Reading Comprehension (WEEK 8 - THURSDAY)
NAPLAN Language Conventions & Spelling (WEEK 8 - THURSDAY)
NAPLAN Numeracy (WEEK 8 - FRIDAY)
Parent-Learner-Teacher Meetings Week 7 (MONDAY/TUESDAY).

Wishing you all an awesome week.

See you all next term.

Mr Mike Tarleton

Year 6

Welcome to Week 7!

This week in English and Maths we have started looking at our first assessment tasks. We have begun drafting and planning our Diary Entries which the students have been very enthusiastic about.

In Maths, we have been revising the different concepts we have covered this term in preparation for our summative assessment over the coming weeks.

In Science, the students have just come off a really exciting lab lesson where they created electrical circuits using light bulbs and buzzers! They had an amazing time!

In Health, we have continued looking at cyber safety- and how we can make positive decisions online in order to protect ourselves from harm.

It has been a very busy week in Year 6!

Mr Dom Purcell

UMY - Spotlight

Yr 7 & 8 Languages

This term the students will be creating a gakkou (school) tour video targeted at Japanese exchange students. In order to do so, we have been learning about key gakkou vocabulary, simple and complex sentence structures, including asking questions, and expressing thanks and deflecting praise. This learning has required the students to describe the location of places around the school, ask for directions, and reply with accurate information. I look forward to showcasing the virtual school tours!

See some examples of key vocab and sentence structure below:

Student Wellbeing

Being the parent or carer of a teenager who refuses to go to school can be incredibly challenging, putting a strain on your relationship with them and on your family and home life.

You may be unsure about how to act in the best interests of your teen while at the same time offering them effective support, but there are many things you can do to manage the situation and maintain a positive relationship. It’s also important to acknowledge your own feelings and to prioritise your own mental wellbeing.

What is school refusal?

School refusal is when a young person becomes very distressed and anxious about going to school, to the point that they refuse to attend.

The signs of school refusal can include distress before attending school, health complaints, skipping classes, leaving school or repeated absenteeism. In some cases, the thought of attending school can cause physical symptoms such as vomiting, refusal to eat, shaking, or panic attacks.

School refusal is different from regular truancy. When a student is ‘wagging’ school, they hide it from their parents or carers. School refusal isn’t concealed; it’s an adamant refusal to attend that stems from the teen’s belief that they are unable to cope with school.

School refusal is sometimes called ‘school can’t’ or ‘school phobia’. This is because it isn’t a mental health condition or a behavioural issue in itself, which the term ‘school refusal’ might imply. Rather, the condition is often an expression of underlying mental health conditions and emotional difficulties.

Young people don’t tend to use the term ‘school refusal’, and instead usually refer to the underlying causes or feelings they’re experiencing, such as being stressed, anxious or lonely.

There are many signs of school refusal. Some of the most common ones include:

crying or yelling related to attending school
frequent health complaints, such as stomach aches, headaches, dizziness or fatigue
repeated requests to go home from school
high levels of absenteeism or frequent lateness to school
difficulty falling asleep the night before school.

If you are noticing these behaviours in your teen, it’s important to speak to a GP. They will be able to work with your teen to rule out any health issues that may be causing these symptoms and suggest management and support options.

The reasons for school refusal are complex, and it can start gradually or happen suddenly.

School refusal can be related to mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, OCD or PTSD, or to experiences such as difficulties at school, bullying, or major life events (such as separation, divorce, moving, being away from family, or the death of a family member). It can also be caused by worrying about slipping grades or about keeping up with schoolwork.

Being the parent or carer of a teen who refuses to go to school can be emotionally challenging, bringing feelings of:

shock and disbelief that this is happening to your teen and family
fear and worry about your teen’s future
sadness for your teen
loneliness and isolation
guilt that you’re not doing ‘enough’
fear of being judged by others
confusion about what to do.

It’s crucial to acknowledge these feelings and to seek support if needed.

If your teen is refusing to go to school, you might worry that their interrupted education could prevent them from reaching their potential or living the life they want in the future. There can also be significant impacts on their social development as well as on their academic progress.

Parents and carers are often faced with a dilemma: should they be more forceful in making their teen attend school, or more empathetic and allow them to stay at home? Parents and carers may also experience stigma, with school refusal often not being recognised as a real issue.

School attendance is a legal requirement for all Australian school-aged children. The rules are different depending on the state or territory you live in, but there can be legal or financial implications for parents. It may help to find out about your school’s attendance policies and procedures to help you avoid any legal or financial penalties while you try to address the problem.

Your teen’s refusal to go to school may also require you to take time off work, reduce your hours or leave your job, which can have a significant impact on your and your family’s finances and wellbeing.

Please reach out to our school or read this article for ways to support your teen if you are concerned about school refusal

Harmony Week - Dress Up Day - Next Tuesday

This year students and staff at St Joseph's will be celebrating Harmony Week earlier due to NAPLAN. Harmony Day is the 21st of March which falls in our NAPLAN window. It is also the same week as our Feast Day Celebrations. To minimise disruptions or change to routine in the same week we will be celebrating Harmony Day next week.

Students are encouraged to dress in traditional dress or orange on Tuesday 14th of March (Week 8).

The theme for Harmony Week this year is 'Living in Harmony'. Our mission at St Joseph's is for all of our students, staff, and family members to feel included in our wonderful school. This is exactly what Harmony Day celebrates, the cultural diversity of us all.

School Chaplain

Week 7, where things get a little hairy and the little beings of our community start to get tired, scratchy, possibly sick and not even wanting to come to school. I get it! We are all in the same boat!

So, some tips.....if I may:

*Do not turn on the TV. Trust me.

*Play some music. It changes vibration and encourages dance, singing and possibly a great way to get the good vibes flowing.

*Make pancakes! Create a fun breaky that they could help with, add some choc chips or make funny shapes. Eat ice cream with it!

*Grounding. Take time in the morning or afternoon to just be outside and absorb all the goodness nature gives us. This is also a great time to look at the clouds and see if there are any shapes, animals or colours to see. Note: on wet days in Cloncurry, get out and play in the puddles, bring joy into your bodies with laughter and play.

*Aromatherapy is a great option to enhance sleep, allows a great dream state and saying a little prayer of gratitude or love to each other makes everyone feel fuzzy and warm. Lavender, Chamomile or Bergamot are lovely scents to sleep to.

Chaplaincy Breakfast is on Tuesday and Thursday too! Come for breaky, I am usually there from 7.30am. We have toast, cereal, fruit and the occasional homemade treat. Lots of kids come and chat, play basketball or be with their mates.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings I am in the office. Happy to chat or help if needed.

Take time today to thank yourself for being amazing. Repeat this everyday. One day you will believe me.

Miss Pete x