Term 2 Week 4 2023

Key Information

Term 2 Important Dates

• Tuesday 9th May - Writers Toolbox Professional Development for staff
• Book Fair 10th - 12th May - Located in the Library
• Thursday 11th May - QMEA STEM Unearted workshop - Year 8 and 9 students 
• Thursday 11th May - Mothers Day Breakfast 
• Friday 19th May - Under 8s Day and Athletics Carnival 
• Saturday 20th May - Open Day
  
• Tuesday 23rd May - Indigenous Education Advisory Committee Meeting - 3 to 4pm
• Monday 29th May - Reconciliation Week 
• Friday 16th June - Show Holiday Public Holiday
• Friday 23rd June - Last Day of Term 2

Tuckshop News

Miss Jamie-Lea is searching for some more volunteers if there are some available!  Please email Jamie-Lea on jmcconachy@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au or call the office to let us know you are keen.

Our Special for Week 4 is: Teriyaki Chicken with Rice, Banana Bread Bars and a Popper

Please have your orders in by WEDNESDAY 8:30am

To order: myschoolconnect.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's News

Welcome to Week 4, 

We are back into the swing of things after two short weeks. The public holidays were a nice way for us to stop and be still with our families.

Mother's Day:
We will be celebrating Mother's Day this Thursday with breakfast at 7.45 am in the Mary MacKillop Shed. Our students have been working on a song to present to you as an acknowledgment of all that you do. 

There will also be a Mother's Day stall all week in the front office. Classes will be invited to the stall during their first lunch break if they would like to purchase a gift. The gifts will be priced from $2 - $20.

School Feedback Survey
Townsville Catholic Education is working with all schools within the Diocese to improve the education experience provided to our students. As a way to gain this feedback, all staff and families within our school communities will be sent a survey to shape the future directions of our schools.

Your responses are very important in this process as we continue to strive to provide the best educational, social, spiritual and emotional resources and environment for our children. 

The surveys will be distributed via email on Wednesday 10 May and we ask that they are completed by Wednesday 31 May. If you have children and/or work at more than one Catholic school, you will receive a survey for each school.

I would like to thank you in advance for providing feedback and assisting us to improve our school.

Leave from School During Term Time
On a rare occasion, children may need to be absent from school due to travel. Families are asked to try and organise holiday plans around scheduled school holidays, but I understand that sometimes this is not possible. Please contact your child’s classroom teacher and the office to inform them of absences.

Open Day - Saturday 20th May - 9 to 11 am
You may have noticed that St Joseph’s Catholic School will be having an Open Day on Saturday 20th of May from 9 to 11 am. This is open to all families in Cloncurry that would like information about enrolment at St Joseph’s, or alternatively to families that would like to see the school and ask questions. We are excited to have our interested 2024 prep students joining us for their first visit to the prep classroom. 

There will be goodie bags, face painting, tours and a sausage sizzle. 

Please help us spread the word. 

May God Bless you and your families for the week ahead, 

Mrs Samantha Kelley
Principal

APRE News

Welcome to Week 4! Wishing all our mothers and mothering figures a very special Mother’s Day this Sunday! I hope this Mother’s Day all mothers will have the opportunity to feel every bit appreciated as they deserve. 

The month of May is also the time of the year when Catholics celebrate Our Lady as the perfection of motherhood. During May we honor Blessed Mary as the Mother of Jesus and our Heavenly Mother.  Like all of our mothers, Mary cared for and tended to her child despite all of the struggles in her world. To the mothers and mothering figures in our community, thank you for all that you do for us! May God bless you this Sunday and each day.  

Catholic Identity Advisory Committee

An email was sent out last Friday seeking interest from our school community to join our school's Catholic Identity Committee. This committee is an advisory group within our school community that supports the work of the school leadership team. The Committee supports the development of a deeper understanding of how the school's Catholic Identity is expressed and of how faith remains recognisable, credible, and meaningful for today. The Committee reflects, perceives, imagines, and expresses the distinctiveness of the Catholic Identity so that school-based strategies are adopted and outcomes realised. If you are interested in joining this committee please email me or contact the office. 

Notices:
School Mother’s Day Stall: the school will run a Mother’s Day stall this week. Thank you to our lovely office staff who assisted in ensuring we have so many lovely gifts for our beautiful mothers. Gifts are starting from $2 to $20 and will be on sale in the helpful hub. 

Mother’s Day Breakfast: Thursday 11th May from 7:45 am in the Mary MacKillop shed. Students will perform a special song at 8:10 am. 

Assembly Prayer: Year 4 will present our prayer this week. This will be a special prayer to all mothers. 

A Prayer in Gratitude for Our Mothers

- Author Unknown

Good and Gentle God,, we pray in gratitude for our mothers and for all the women of theory who have joined with you in the wonder of bringing forth new life. You who became human through a woman, grant to all mothers the courage they need to face the uncertain future that life with children always brings.
Give them the strength to live and to be loved in return, not perfectly, but humanly.
Give them the faithful support of husband, family and friends as they care for the physical and spiritual growth of their children.
Give them joy and delight in their children to sustain them through the trials of motherhood. Most of all, give them the wisdom to turn to you for help when they need it most.

Amen

Have a blessed week,

Mrs Therese Curley
APRE

Pastoral Care

Student Check In 

It is normal for young people to have ups and downs. However changes in mood, levels of participation and thinking patterns that continue for more than a couple of weeks may indicate that your young person needs extra support.

Changes in mood include:

• Being irritable or angry with friends or family for no apparent reason
• Feeling tense, restless, stressed or worried
• Crying for no apparent reason, feeling sad or down for long periods of time

Changes in activity include:

• Not enjoying or not wanting to be involved in things they would normally enjoy
• Being involved in risky behaviour they would normally avoid
• Unusual sleeping or eating habits

Changes in thinking include:

• Having a lot of negative thoughts
• Expressing distorted thoughts about themselves & the world (e.g everything seeming bad & pointless).

If you’re concerned about your child or young person, there are a number of ways you can seek help and advice. If you believe they are at risk of harm, you should seek professional support from your GP, mental health service such as Kids Help Line, Headspace or emergency department. Here at St. Joseph’s, we have our School Chaplain, Peta McIntyre and our Guidance Counsellor, Bec Greaves. Peta and Bec who are able to assist with students who may be having difficulties emotionally.

Uniform - Hair

St Joseph’s Catholic School family takes pride in its school uniform.  It is a highly visible symbol of who we are and students are required to wear the full school uniform neatly and with pride.

• Hair must be tidy and remain natural in colour and appearance while attending school. Students are permitted to have colours that are subtle and natural looking; our stance is one of moderation. 
• Long fringes, scraggly hair around the face, hair extensions, undercuts, mullets or other extremes of style are not permitted. 
• Hair is to be no shorter than a No. 3 cut for both males and females. 
• Long hair is to be worn neatly and fastened with a band and/or ribbon in navy blue or checkered scrunchie, if hair reaches the top of the collar. 
• All hair must be firmly tied and pinned off the face and above the collar. 
• Single ponytails or plaits must be held firmly in place beneath the crown.

Pastoral Care Leader

Mrs Toni Schneekloth

Prep

 Welcome to Week 4,

The class will add the letter/sound "e" to m, s, t, a, p, i, f, r, c, d this week. Our story focus will be Where the Wild Things Are-communicating what is liked and not liked about the story making connections to our own lives. The new "Tricky Word" is "to". Most of the class are remembering the first few words taught but need practice with "you" and "was". 

This week we welcomed 3 baby chickens to Prep. We still have 2 eggs to hatch. 

In Math, we will continue to revise shapes and move on to sorting and objects based on characteristics.  

On Thursday morning there will be a Mother's Day breakfast before school. It would be lovely if you could attend.

SPORT WILL BE CHANGED TO MONDAY  THIS WEEK.

Can you please bring your plastic folders back to school in readiness for us to send home readers home with students. 

A Mother's Day stall will be available in the front office for your child to buy a gift. These begin at  $2.

Reminders:

• Bring plastic folders back to school in readiness for readers to be sent home.
• Monday: Sport
• Wednesday: AFL session and order tuckshop
• Friday: Assembly 
• Thursday: Mother's Day breakfast, tuckshop and Book Fair

Yours in fun and learning, Mrs McLauchlan, Miss Tamara and Miss Brie.

Year 1

Welcome to week 4. Year 1 has settled back into our routine. It is amazing to see how hard the children have been working this week and the pride they are taking in their work. We have had two weeks of homework now and I would just like to remind you that homework is due on Thursdays to be handed back out on Friday.  Please also ensure that you send the readers in with your child as we are down quite a few books. 

This week in year 1 we are revising what we have learnt so far this term.  We have also started our folio task on Dinosaurs. 

Reminders

• Library: Monday (week 1,3,5,7,9)
• Resilience Project: Monday (week 2,4,6,8,10)
• Sport: Wednesday (every week)
• Technology: Thursday (every week)
• Literacy groups started on Tuesday this week. If you would like to help out on a day starting from 9 am, please feel free to send Miss Brock an email just letting us know so we can plan for you to have a group. mbrock3@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au  

Have a wonderful week,

Miss Brock and the always fun Year 1’s!

Year 2

Hi Year 2 Parents,

During Writing this week, we have begun writing our own imaginative texts. This week, we started writing about the setting of our story. During Maths, we are looking at Bridging through to 10 as a strategy to help us with Addition and Subtraction. We are also looking at changes to living things in Science, Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Religion and our world at different scales,  how we are connected to different places in HASS and Stop Motion animation in Media.

There will be some changes to our Homework day this term. Homework will now be due in and going back out on Wednesdays.

A few reminders:

• Technology is on Tuesday each week.
• Sport is on Friday each week. Students are to wear house shirts for this and we will wear our Sports 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 and will be sent back out on Wednesday

Have a fantastic week,

Miss Ansell

Year 3

Welcome to Week 4!

This week in writing we will be exploring how to make sensational settings in narrative texts. In Maths, we will be working on fractions. In Year 3 the children will work on ½, ⅓, ¼ and 1/5. We will be looking at not only fractions of shapes but also of amounts e.g. 1/3 of 12 is 4. Please continue to help the children at home to have rapid recall of 2,3,5 and 10 multiplication facts as they will help immensely with fractions.  In Religion, we will continue our topic 'Welcome to the Church' we will be looking at the Sacrament of Eucharist this week. We will also be continuing our Science topic on Night and Day. This week we will be looking at how the movement of the Earth around the Sun gives us 365 days in the year and also our seasons. 

This week’s events

Monday: 

• Mothers’ Day stall at front office all week prices from $2
• Homework will be set and will be sent home with Home Readers             

Tuesday:

• Chaplain’s Breakfast in MMS at 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 8.30am                    

Thursday:

• Mother's Day breakfast and performance 7.45 am MMS
• Tuckshop - if your child is having tuckshop please remember to send a healthy snack for brain break and something for second lunch
• Children have Technology with Miss Laffey  
• Scholastic Book Fair in Library

Friday:     

• Homework and Home Readers are to be returned today
•  Staff and school leader photo at 8am
• Assembly in MMS at 8.30 am Year 4 on prayer  this week

Have a great week,

Thanks

Nicola Cullen

Year 4

Hi everyone,

We have a Mother's Day breakfast this Thursday in the MMS from 7:45-8:15 am. Please come down and join us to celebrate all of the wonderful mums. Students are welcome to attend even if their mums can't. Thursday is proving to be a busy day with the Scholastic Book Fair also happening in the school library.  

Homework: Due to a technology blunder the link to the homework for Term 2 isn’t working. I have a new link here that should work indefinitely, fingers crossed it is successful: https://sites.google.com/view/year-4-homework/home 

Reminders:

• Tuckshop - Please make sure orders are placed by Wednesday morning.
• Library - Students won't be visiting the library during class time this week. Please encourage your child to visit the library during Tuesday or Thursday lunch breaks if they want to change their books.
• PE - We have PE this Thursday. Please make sure your child is wearing their PE uniform.
• Assembly - Assembly will begin at 8:30 am this week. Our class will be presenting a special prayer for mothers. Come down and support us if you get a chance!

Have a great week,

Mairin Borlase

Year 5

Dear Families,

Please visit the office with your child this week to check out the finished mosaics! They look fabulous - hopefully the last few will be completed soon. They were time consuming but the effort was worth the wait.

ENGLISH: In our lessons this week, we revise [h] and [j, g, ge and dge] sounds in our spelling focus time. We discussed -ject as a Latin root meaning to throw (project - throwing an image on screen). We continue to discuss a range of Informative Texts about Light (connected to Science) to identify key features and structure - headings, paragraphs of factually accurate information, labels, captions etc. Please check out the link to CSIRO below - the Double Helix Magazine is excellent if you were after a monthly informative subscription.

MATHS: We continue to investigate Multiplication strategies to help us solve problems quickly. This week, we are also investigating the relative size of fractions (units and multiples) and positioning them in size order using a number line. Playing Uno Flip to make a fraction and then creating a visual representation - counters, dots on paper, cakes, pizza, muffins, lollies etc - helps to consolidate learning about fractions and their size.

SCIENCE: In our science tasks this week we are investigating Light using torches. Talking about what we are still able to see when torches hit different surfaces. We will use a light simulation and light box to investigate what happens with a beam of light when it passes through transparent and more opaque materials. If you can spare a lava lamp, fairy lights or other sources of light for a few weeks, please send them into our classroom.

RELIGION: In our religious work this week, we will inquire into Acts to discover more about the power of the Holy Spirit as we are in the time of Pentecost. Listening to the story to build up a visual of what Jerusalem would have been like at that time - with so many visitors speaking in different languages. Locating many of the places named in the story on a map to develop a wider knowledge of the Bible Scripture.

ARTS/HASS: Many of the learners have begun to investigate simple embroidery stitches on practice fabric. Later this week, learners will begin to create a design for their fabric shopping bag. Once threading needles and finishing off become easier, learners will appreciate the therapeutic, calming nature of sewing in relaxing and focusing on their own thoughts. This connects back to our HASS learning about skills that would have been previously passed down from generation to generation. If you have time to share additional sewing stitches, please chat and practise with your child.

Have an awesome week,

Mike Tarleton

Year 6

It has been a very busy week 4 in the Year 6 classroom!

Students are analysing the important parts that are required for an effective short story. They have continued working on modules to improve their writing and are looking forward to starting their very own short stories for their assessment task for Term 2. 

In Maths, Year 6 have had a very action packed week of learning with Miss Menkins, our Year 6 Student Teacher. They have worked through different rotations in the class all about measurement and measuring the perimeter and length of different items. 

In Hass- Students are beginning to look at consumer choices in more detail. Understanding that whenever we spend money we need to make a decision on whether that item is something we need, or money we can afford to spend. 

In Religion this week, we have been researching great Australian Catholics- what things they have done that made them great people who have followed in the footsteps of Jesus, and our school’s very own patron saint, Mary MacKillop. 

It has been a huge week of learning!

Mr Dom Purcell

UMY - Spotlight

Yr 7 Science with Miss Humes

This unit is probably my favourite of all the science ones, and I’m pleased to say that students are finding it equally fascinating. How many times have you looked up at the sky, or the world around us, and marvelled at what you observe? The passing of seasons and the changes they bring, or perhaps more recently, the partial solar eclipse we experienced on April 20, 2023? This term, students are given the opportunity to explore these phenomena and more as we ask why and how they occur. The answer? Well it all comes back to the positions of the Sun, Moon and Earth and how, when certain conditions are met, they interact to create what we observe. Take the recent solar eclipse for example: we all know how Earth orbits the Sun, and the Moon orbits Earth. Well, what happened on that day is the moon passed in front of the sun, and this created a shadow on Earth. If you wish to understand more, including why we only experienced a partial eclipse vs a total eclipse that day like those in Exmouth, WA - ask your students! We’ve just talked about the different shadows involved in this phenomenon.

Sport & Extra Curricular

It's coming into the busy time of the term for Sport at St Joseph's. Next Friday, we will have our St Joseph's Athletics Carnival- with the details for those events and rough times to be released this week.
It's also a great time to put the feelers out to any parents or carers who may wish to volunteer to help on the day. If this is something that you would be happy to do, please email me and let me know. There will be a BBQ Sausage sizzle to cook, and different events throughout the day that we would really appreciate support with.
Please contact me at: dpurcell6@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au

I'd also like to take this time to congratulate Phillip Booth, Harry Douglas, and former student Ruby King, on their selection in the Qld Outback Rugby League teams on the weekend in Charleville. It is a terrific effort and the school community is very proud of your achievements. We would like to wish you the best of luck. 

Lastly, On Tuesday and Thursday mornings there have been a number of students attending morning cross-country training before school. Congratulations to those who have attended and put in the extra effort during the cool mornings. For those interested in trialling for MW Cross Country (10 years and above), This will take place in the middle of next week (with a time to be confirmed). 

Spark Club

Well, the cold wind has certainly arrived, and students are starting to feel it. 
I am going to bring back hot milo's (not too hot), so if anyone has some big tins of milo they would like to donate, feel free! You can send it with your child, leave it at the office, or drop it into breaky on a Tuesday or Thursday!

The Chaplaincy breakfast is a time to connect. A time to connect with peers, teachers, and school staff. Please encourage your child/children to grab a bite to eat and take the time to sit and enjoy our St Joseph's community - there will always be time for handball at lunch. 
Lastly, we have our Mother's Day Breakfast on Thursday. There will be croissants, fruit, juice, toast, cereal, and tea/coffee being served. Please come, I know your children would love to have you present!

To ALL Mothers:

I sure hope you have a great week and spoil yourself or the lovely lady in your life.

Miss Pete

Mothers Day Stall

There will be a Mother's Day stall all week in the front office. Students will be invited to the stall during their first lunch break to purchase a gift for this Sunday's celebration of Mums!

Scholatic Book Fair

It is all happening this week! Come and visit our Library to purchase a book or 2! We love seeing our students be so interested in reading whether fiction or non fictional books.

Ms Gardiner is excited to see you all!

Student Wellbeing

For parents, please feel free to share the below information and ideas if they are not sure how to proceed with the day:

Any day can be difficult for a grieving child, but for a child who has lost their mum, occasions such as Mother’s Day can be particularly challenging. There are Mother’s Day Cards and gifts in shops, friends may be planning how to celebrate, or perhaps the class are making something special for their Mums…it’s no wonder that the run up to Mother’s Day can leave a child whose mother has died feeling sad, alone, and unsure.

Because grief is individual to each child, what helps one child may not be useful for another. However, you can help. Grieving children may feel particularly sad on Mother’s Day. We should not try to take these feelings away, or to distract a child. Instead, acknowledge their (often very strong) emotions, and listen to how things are for the child. Although their mother is no longer with them, children often want to think and talk about her. This can help children to feel their special person has not been forgotten.

Children should always have a choice in what they do. Along with any ideas the child might have, some ways you can help a child remember his or her mum are:

•         Visit her grave.
•         Go for a walk in a place she liked.
•         Have her favourite meal.
•         Bake a cake.
•         Talk about her.
•         Release a balloon with a message tied to it.
•         Write down favourite memories.
•         Plant bulbs to flower in summer.
•         Buy or make a Mother’s Day card.
•         Light a candle.
•         Say a prayer.
• Make time to think about her.

Indigenous News

Bob McDonald Library

Poetry Competition

Save the Date!

Cloncurry PCYC Netball