Term 3 Week 2 2023

Key Information

Term 3 Important Dates

• Monday 24th July and Friday 28th July - Catholic Education Week 
• Wednesday 26th July - Dress by Vinnies Free Dress Day
• Wednesday 2nd July - Bravehearts - Prep to Year 2 
• Friday 4th August - Merry Muster - IPRASS
• Monday 7th August - Earth Science Workshop - Year 7, 8 and 9
• Tuesday 8th August - Mary MacKillop Feast Day Activities and Mass
• Friday 11th August - Staff Appreciation Day
• Monday 14th August - Friday 18th August - Book Week & Science Week 
• Friday 18th August - Learning Breakfast and Book Week Dress Up
• Friday 25th August - School Fete 
• Thursday 31st August - Bush Dance 
• Friday 8th September - Cross Country

Tuckshop News

Please email Jamie-Lea on jmcconachy@sjctsv.catholic.edu.au or call the office to let us know if you're available to volunteer!

Our special for Week 2 is: Butter Chicken, Carrot Cake and a Popper

Please have your orders in by WEDNESDAY 8:30am.

To order: https://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 2, 

I pray that your first week went well and you have settled back into our St Joseph’s Community for Semester 2. We have had some new families joining us this term. A very big welcome to The Pomery, The Hartley and The McCallum families. We also welcome back The Fisher and The Bell families. 

Lockdown Drill:
Your child/children may come home this afternoon to mention the lockdown drill that we had today. We practise lockdown drills each term/semester to ensure our students and staff are well prepared in the event a lockdown needs to occur. 

The purpose of a lockdown drill is to notify our schooling community that there is a known danger in the school grounds or a threat of danger that we need to keep them safe from. This could be someone entering the grounds that shouldn’t be, or alternatively it could be that an animal is onsight that we don’t want students near. 

Students should not be frightened of a lockdown, however, they need to know what to do in the event of one. Students are to stay calm and follow the direction of their teacher in the classroom. The teacher will ensure students are out of sight from the windows. The teacher will also ensure students are silent and not talking. 

Please ask your child how they behaved during the lockdown today. It would be very helpful if you can support the message we provide at school, which is that they must remain calm, follow instruction, remain out of sight, sensible and silent for the duration of the lockdown. 

Mulkadee: 
9 of our St Joseph’s students have joined Miss Ansell at Mulkadee this week. Nika, Kayden, Charles, Kimberly, Ruby, Kate, Kim, Heidi and Knox will be representing St Joseph’s at this event. All of our students were selected into their first preference this year. The selection process requires the students to submit an audition. Well done to our students on their amazing achievement and we can’t wait to hear how their week goes.  

The Townsville Catholic Education facebook page will be used throughout the week to share photos and videos of what the students get up to. 

UMY Events - Week 2:
This week we have a few Upper Middle Years events happening, an email was sent to parents yesterday and included the below schedule:

• Tuesday: 1.50 - 2.10pm - Gideon Bibles presenting to Yr 7/8/9. Students do not have to take a bible and are welcome to leave it at school if they are not comfortable. Gideon Bibles like to stop into St Joseph's each year as they are travelling through outback towns. They provide time for students to ask questions if they would like to. 
• Wednesday: WATCO will be coming into St Joseph's on Wednesday to deliver the following presentations to our students.
  8.40 - 9.40: All UMY students welcome. Presentation on Road and Rail Safety in the library.
  9.40 - 10.40 - Year 9 Presentation on Rail Traineeships and Job Opportunities in Cloncurry. 

Save the Date - Family and Community Engagement Meeting - 3pm 
We will have our first Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Meeting next Tuesday the 25th of July. Please note the time change for this meeting. This term we will be rotating between our original time of 3pm and our new time of 5.30pm. We believe this is the best way forward to accomodate the our whole community.  

This meeting will be focused on our mission and vision statement. As you would be aware we have been reviewing our history, including our connection to our faith, which has been important in the planning towards our new buildings. This sparked a conversation of how relevant our mission and vision statement is. This Semester we will be reviewing our mission and vision statement and hoping to revitalise it by the end of the 2023 school year, ready for implementation in 2024. 

Your input is vital in this process. The mission and vision is one of the driving pillars in all school decisions and we must get this right. Please come along to not only listen to but to contribute to this journey.

We will also form a discussion around the Mark Mappas Medallion and our upcoming Fete! 

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

Mrs Samantha Kelley
Principal 

APRE News

Welcome to Week 2!

Gideons Bibles:
Today the Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 Classes had a visit from Gideons Bibles. Gideons Bibles is an international association that is dedicated to telling people about Jesus. Hence the giving out of free bibles. While they are often recognised for their work with hotels, they also place and distribute Scriptures in many strategic locations throughout our communities so they are available to those who want them, as well as to those who may not know they need them. Today bibles were handed out to students who wanted them. 

Cloncurry Aged Care Visits:
Last term St Joseph started taking classes to the Cloncurry Aged Care. During these visits the students engaged with the residents through conversation, games, colouring in and even exercise classes. The students really do give so much joy to the residents and our visits are eagerly awaited and much appreciated. The children really love going. This week we are taking the Year 6 class to visit Aged Care. In Week 8 we have invited the residents to school to view a pre showing of our Bush Dances.

Townsville Dioccesan Youth Team and St Vincent De Paul:
Thursday last week our Yr 5-9 students had a visit from The Townsville Dioccesan Youth Team. Gabrielle Tait and Isabella Melara traveled out west on a mission trip with Steven Gasparini the Youth coordinator for St Vincent De Paul. They talked to the students about programs such as Mini Vinnies and Ignite and how these programs give so much reward to all involved. Part of this trip was also to connect, build relationships and share resources with the schools and parishes. We have been in conversions about revitalising Mini Vinnies and hosting a Vinnies Hangout. So watch this space - more exciting things to come.

Mr Delany is also heading up workshops this term for the UMY’s students "Spirit In Action" to give students the opportunity to live out their faith beyond the classroom - More information is to follow.

In addition to these workshops Mr Delany is also looking into the possibility of our interested students attending the Ignite Conference that is held in Brisbane on the 21-24 September. Please take a moment to browse the website - it looks like an amazing gathering!

Good Shepherd College in Mount Isa is taking a group and we have the option of being included in their travel and accommodation plans - The conference, accommodation and most food is included, however there would be a travel cost. Please keep an eye out for emails from Mr Delaney. 

Have a blessed week!

Mrs Therese Curley
APRE

Pastoral Care

Parents and carers can play a crucial role in their children's mental health. As a result, staying informed on the current state of youth mental health is vital, as it not only affects individuals, but also families and communities. According to recent research, the frequency of mental health disorders among young people is increasing, with anxiety, depression, and self-harm being among the most common challenges.

One of the reasons being attributed to this rise is the heightened stress and anxiety that many young people face in today's society. Academic success, social media, and family issues are all influencing factors. Many young people are still suffering the long-term consequences of the pandemic, such as social isolation, uncertainty, and loss.

Parents can play an important role in their children's mental health. Creating a safe and open environment for your children to talk about their emotions, thoughts, and feelings is vital. Encouraging healthy habits like regular exercise, a balanced diet, and proper sleep can help reduce their stress levels and boost your child's overall mental health. There are also many resources and services available to children, adolescents, and their families, such as school counsellors, various mental health organisations, support lines, and of course, mental health professionals. It is important to remember that seeking help is a show of strength, not weakness, and that early intervention is critical in addressing young people's mental health difficulties.

This edition of SchoolTV, discusses some of the major mental health issues affecting young people and how to support a child experiencing them. 

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback.If you have any concerns about your child, please contact our Pastoral team of Mr Purcell, Acting Pastoral Care Leader, Miss Bec, Guidance Counsellor, or Miss Pete, School Chaplain, for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the The State of Youth Mental Health - AU edition of SchoolTV

https://sjctsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/state-youth-mental-health

Mr Dom Purcell
Acting Pastoral Care Leader

Prep

Week 2 news.

Our reading/writing this week will be based on the “Going on a Bear Hunt” story and will involve creating a story map for going on a made up hunt. For example going on a unicorn hunt. This fits with the HASS geography unit as the class will also be creating a “going around the school” story map which will use features from the school such as the playground, oval etc. The sounds learnt this week will be w,ck,ff,ll and ss. Our new Tricky words will be have, her and off. Please continue to practice these at home. During math the class will continue to consolidate teen numbers by showing these as 1 ten and some extras/ones, ordering the numbers and identifying what is before and after. During religion Prep will be exploring the story of creation and developing an understanding that God has entrusted us to care for the world and its creatures and also to care for each other.

The Merry Muster Rodeo street parade is only a few weeks away and Prep are going to be dressing as Bluey on the school float. We have made Bluey masks for them to wear, however you might want to think about what blue clothes your child has to wear.

Reminders:

• Tuesday -  Lock down drill and sport
• Wednesday - order tuckshop
• Thursday - Home reader folder to be returned so new books and homework can be sent home.

Yours in fun and learning,

Mrs Sharon McLauchlan, Miss Tamara Williams and Miss Brie Thew

Year 1

Welcome to week 2!

We hope everyone had a great first week back to term 3. 

Snapshot for the term ahead: 
English: Year 1 have enjoyed the start to english this term by identifying character traits and creating character profiles in the book ‘The Rainbow Fish’. The students will continue to look at other characters in other books this term. 

Math: At the end of term 2 students started looking at 2D shapes and 3D objects. The students are continuing to learn about 3D object attributes e.g. how many edges, vertices and faces they have. 

HASS: This term in HaSS we will be discussing natural, managed and constructed environments. 

Health: Students are looking at changes in the stages of life. This week we have started to identify differences and similarities from when we were infants to now in the childhood stage. 

Science: We are learning about materials and their properties. We will go on a hunt around our school environment to identify the materials we see and use daily. 

Religion: We are learning about Jesus’ mission and ministries. 

Dance: This term for the arts the students are focusing on learning about dance and specifically bush dances. The students will perform their dance at the bush dance night later in the week.  

• Reminders:
  Homework will be handed out Friday and to be returned the following Thursday please.
• Literacy Groups started this week. Please send an email if you are wanting to help out during this time.
• Just a reminder that we do have children in class with allergies/anaphylaxis to Kiwi Fruit and Watermelon. If your child does bring these fruits for brain break can you please just let us know so we can keep an eye where the children are sitting.
  

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

Year 2

Hi all,

This week I am away in Townsville with some of our students at Mulkadee Youth Arts Festival. The class will be taken by Ms Bates. 

During Writing this week, students are becoming more familiar with the structure of an Informative text. They will also begin to search for facts so they can collaboratively construct their own Informative text. In HASS this week, students will be looking at significant people in our community today. Our Maths topic for the next few weeks is fractions. Students have learned halves and quarters and will work at eighths this week. In Science, we are looking into Earth’s resources and how they are used in a variety of ways. We will also be examining messages and advertising during Health and communicating about music we hear and make.

Reminders:

Homework - Homework day is Wednesday

Library - Friday Week A (1, 3, 5, 7, 9)

Resilience Project - Friday Week B (2, 4, 6, 8, 10)

Have a great week,

Miss Leonie Ansell

Year 3

Welcome back to Week 2!

The Year 3s have all had a great start to term 3. It has been wonderful to see how much they have grown in terms of maturity and confidence. All the students are approaching their work with excitement and enthusiasm, which will help build on their progress.

In Maths this week we will be finishing our unit on multiplication and division. This week in English we will be starting a book club. The children can recommend a book to the rest of the class to encourage reading for enjoyment. In Science we will be looking at living and non-living things and in HASS we will be looking at Australia’s neighbours.

There are a few changes to our timetable please check below.

What’s on this week:

Monday: Homework will be set and Home Readers given out                 

Tuesday: Chaplain’s Breakfast in MMS at 7.45am

PE the children can wear their sports shirt 

Lockdown practice 10.30am

Wednesday: Tuckshop orders must be in by 8.30am

                       SRC meeting at morning tea HE room                    

Thursday: Chaplain’s Breakfast in MMS at  7.45am

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

             Children have Technology  

Friday:      NO Assembly 

                   As it is week B children have Resilience lesson                   

Thanks

Mrs Nicola Cullen

Year 4

Hi all,

Writing: Our sentence focus this week is The W-Start. The W-Start Sentence is a sentence that begins with a W-word. That doesn’t mean every W-word, like William, Weird, and Wallowing. No, it means these W-words: While, When, Whereas, and With.  

Check these out:

• With a massive boom, the alien spacecraft burst through the clouds. 
• While Dad made pizza for dinner, Suzie built a castle in Minecraft.
• When Fred Perkins walked through his front door, everyone yelled: “Surprise!"

Spelling: We have two spelling sounds this week. The ‘p’ sound like in pig, which can be represented by the following graphemes (letter combinations): p, pp; and the ‘r’ sound like in robot, which can be represented by the r, rr, wr graphemes.

Pig (p, pp)

• The P (pig) sound is most frequently represented by the grapheme p (e.g. play, repeat, beep).
• The grapheme pp for pig is seen in the middle of words, after short vowel sounds (e.g. puppy, slipper).

Robot (r, rr, wr)

• The R (robot) is most frequently represented by the grapheme r (e.g. rain, very).
• The grapheme rr for robot is seen in the middle of words, after short vowel sounds (e.g. carrot, sorry).
• The grapheme wr for robot is only used at the start of words (e.g. write, wrong).
• The grapheme rh can represent robot (e.g. rhinoceros, rhyme). Words containing rh for robot usually originate from Greek.

Reminders:

• Tuckshop - Please make sure Tuckshop orders are placed by Wednesday morning.

• Library - Students will be visiting the library this Friday. Please make sure any Library books at home are returned as there are a few students with long outstanding books.

• PE - Students have PE on Thursday

Have a great week,

Miss Mairin Borlase

Year 5

Dear families,

ENGLISH: This week we have continued to focus on implied meaning. Currently watching several short animated award winning stories without words that promote discussion about understanding the intended meaning. We have also investigated several poems with reference to previous authors like William Shakespeare and Robert Louis Stevenson who have inspired modern authors like Roald Dahl and JK Rowling. We are completing our work on apostrophe use - many, many examples of misuse within our world. There are three discussion points - omission for contractions (I’m and We’ll - letters omitted), POSSESSION when objects belong to or are owned by someone (Daniel’s house) and PLURALS - the one that most people misuse, plurals do not need apostrophes (chip’s and sweet’s do not need apostrophes). We are reading several shorter texts to assess understanding and comprehension of the texts - this supports our work with inferential questions and implied meaning. In spelling, we are investigating the phonemes for [p] and [pp], and [r], [rr] and [wr] as well as the Latin root of port (meaning - carried/moved) and the prefixes of pre- and re-.

MATHS: Our Think Mentals continue to investigate the four operations with a particular focus on division. The future weeks of the maths mentals will be revision of all areas of mathematics. Our main lesson objectives are investigating 2D and 3D shape - looking at shapes that create patterns and art within them. Our first Mission for 3D shape involves several Commanders who are currently investigating 3D software called TinkerCad which will allow them to create shapes on a plane and view from different angles. This software is excellent because it promotes many areas of mathematics - angles, shape/geometry, measurement of dimensions in millimetres as well as creative visualisation and manipulation of shapes.

SCIENCE/HASS: In our learning this week, we are investigating Earth and in particular the way satellites that orbit our planet assist us in navigating. We are locating places and mapping locations of lost parcels using Google My Maps. We will also continue our investigation of the International Space Station.

DANCE: We will start to prepare for our Bush Dance this week - using music to incorporate some dance moves and steps. On the night, we’d love you to join us for our dance - it’s definitely one you should all know.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

• MERRY MUSTER FLOAT: Our class voted for B1 and B2 (Bananas in Pyjamas) and will dress up on Friday 4th August. I will discuss ideas with the class to support families - basically blue and white striped pyjamas.
• ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL & ST COLMAN’S PARISH FETE: Donations of household items are encouraged for the Wheelbarrow Prize - please click this LINK to donate. To get a good spread of items, the list in the link will continually update, so get in early! The Fete is in Week 7 - Friday 25th August.

• PALUMA/GUMBURU CAMP: It is with great excitement that I announce the dates for our Paluma Camp in Term 4 - please be advised that Camp will commence early on Monday 30th October and we will return to Cloncurry on Friday 3rd November. The information from 2022 has been added to our Y5 website - please be aware that this will be finalised and updated closer to Term 4.

Have an amazing week,

Mr Mike Tarleton

Year 6

It has been a busy start to the Term!

In Math, our Year 6 students have been looking at how to find percentages and percentage discounts of different amounts. In English, we are beginning to analyse the different language features that we can find in a Newspaper Article and what kind of effect this can have on a reader. 

Year 6 has also begun designing their Art Canvas for the silent art auction to be sold at our school Fete. Everyone is very excited about the creation of their Hot Air Balloon Canvas. 

We will round out the week with a visit to the Aged Care facility on Friday to spend some time giving back to the elderly people of Cloncurry.

Hope everyone has a great week 2!

Mr Dom Purcell

UMY Spotlight

Yr 8 Geography with Ms Shara Humes
This term Year 8 gets to delve into another large unit of work as we shift our focus to learning about the landscapes and landforms of the world. So what are landscapes and landforms? Honestly, they’re very similar, but landforms can be described as the unique natural formations we come across in the world, and landscapes are areas of land made up of those features. Confusing, but maybe this will help: I imagine many of you have gone on holiday to the coast at some point, and probably holidayed at different locations too. Take a second to picture two beaches in your mind. Maybe it’s the Strand in Townsville, and the second from the Gold Coast. Are they the same? I mean, sand makes a mess regardless of where it is from, so maybe that was not the best example out there. Hopefully the following pictures of some different coastal landscapes across Australia will help you understand.

Moving on from landscapes and landforms, we’ll move onto exploring the wider world through the lens of changing nations. More specifically what is urbanisation, and why is it that more people seem to settle along the coast instead of inland like we are? We will talk about migration, and the larger cities other nations have - like New York City over in America - or even a megacity like Shanghai or Tokyo.

Yr 7 Design Technologies with Mr Dean Kelley
This term our Year 7 & 9 woodwork classes have joined forces. Our combined cohort will be creating a Carry All (seen below) this semester. Students will be introduced to a dovetail join and for those who wish to extend their competency a double dovetail.

Naturally, woodwork is exceptional for developing creative thinkers and increasing critical thinking skills. Students will need to lean on these skills along with time management, leadership and problem-solving skills to complete their Carry All.

Yr 9 Media Arts with Ms Shara Humes
Media Arts can be a confusing subject given how strongly it overlaps with the other areas of Arts, but Year 9 is up to the challenge. This term we will be focussing on movie trailers, and so far have looked at what their purpose is and discussed what makes a trailer good. While the exact answer is different for each individual, collectively we have agreed that it needs to build excitement and anticipation for the upcoming movie release. How exactly do we achieve this? Well that is more involved, but can be broken down into three steps: pre-production, production, and post-production. 

The first of these, pre-production, is all about planning and preparing for the next phase, production, when filming begins. Here you want to capture more than you need, of both audio and visual elements, for it is much easier to delete the excess than add what you do not have. Then, as that wraps up, the editing processes where the visual effects that create ‘movie magic’ are applied. This stage, post-production, is probably the most involved of them all as it takes time to put all the different audio clips together in a way that makes sense and is exciting for the audience, while also not giving away the full story. A challenge for sure, but I’m positive that Year 9 will rise to it and create some amazing trailers in the coming weeks.

Yr 8 English with Mrs Rachel Delaney-Lovett
This Term the students will be exploring the persuasive genre, focussing on constructing a review and a letter to the editor. The mentor, or central text, for the unit is the documentary The Final Quarter explores the story of Adam Goodes during 2012-2015. What is unique about this particular text is that it doesn’t follow the traditional format of a documentary, instead it weaves together archival media footage from Australian outlets across that period of time - showing both positive and negative sides to the story. The Final Quarter has opened up rich discussions amongst the students already - they all held very strong feelings and thoughts to what they were seeing and hearing. 

This week we have started exploring reviews - the structure, features and purposes as a form of persuasive text. I have been really impressed with the knowledge and understanding the class already holds in this space - I am really looking forward to their review of The Final Quarter, and I hope that the conviction in their text encourages a wide range of audiences to watch the documentary, too!

Yr 8 Religion with Mr James Delaney
This term in Religion, the students are focusing on the faith traditions of the monotheistic religions/Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). They are learning about the initiation rituals of each religion to determine how to acts as a foundation for further faith development in the lives of believers. In addition, we will be learning about Jewish practices that were continued by the early Christians and comparing the similarities and differences in the core beliefs of the monotheistic religions. 

Merry Muster Float

The theme of the Merry Muster Float this year is Australian Dynamic Duo's. Our classes 'Dynamic Duo is listed below:

Week 3 Dress by Vinnies

Book Week!

Term 3 is very special as we participate in National Book Week! Our school fete is during the actual designated week, so we’ll be celebrating the occasion the week prior, 14-18 August (Week 6). This year’s theme is ‘READ, GROW, Inspire’ and the costume parade will be on Friday 18 August. Come as your favourite book character, or your favourite author, or even your favourite book! Dress as whoever or whatever in the literary world inspires you to keep growing to be your best self.

Student Wellbeing

Mobile Phone Separation Anxiety
Many families are facing the very real challenge of addressing mobile phone separation anxiety in their children. Banning mobile phones in schools has become a topic of intense debate worldwide, including in Australia. Many schools have implemented comprehensive bans on mobile phones during school hours. Critics argue against the effectiveness of such bans, but numerous studies provide evidence of their positive impacts.

At St Joseph's students are not permitted to have or use a mobile phone whilst at school. If they bring a mobile phone to school they must hand this in to the school office. 

One such study conducted in 2016 revealed that schools with mobile phone bans experienced a significant increase in student performance, with test scores improving by approximately 6.4% of a standard deviation. This improvement was equivalent to adding five additional days to the school year or an extra hour of learning per week. The positive effects were particularly notable among low-achieving students. Similar studies conducted in Spain and Norway have consistently supported these findings.

It is crucial to acknowledge this issue and engage in open discussions about the negative effects of phone addiction. Parents and caregivers can use various strategies to help minimise the impact of such bans whilst safeguarding their child’s mental health and wellbeing. Maintaining open communication with your school is essential. It is important to stay informed and collaborate with educators to develop effective strategies for supporting children during the adjustment period.

While addressing mobile phone separation anxiety is challenging, implementing such bans in schools allows for better focus on teaching and learning, minimising distractions and interruptions. The evidence of improved student performance and the need to address the negative impacts of excessive phone use emphasise the importance of parental involvement in promoting healthy phone habits and supporting children through this transition.

https://sjctsv.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-mobile-phone-separation-anxiety - Same thing with the video/link issue

Mrs Bec Greaves
Guidance Counsellor

Chappy Chat

Good Morning Families!

Entering Week 2 with much gratitude for each day. What about you? Reading the Resilience Project on the holidays has reminded me of the amazing life and opportunities I have. Our students are very fortunate to be working with this organisation as a part of their pastoral care!

As the school chaplain I am open to support students and their families, through so many diverse situations. I am generally located in the office should you need to find me or alternatively call 47421633.

Tuesday & Thursday 7.30am - 8.15am - Chaplaincy Breakfast

Monday to Friday - 1st Lunch - Spark Club held in the MMS/Music Room

Cheers, Miss Pete

St Joseph's Catholic School & St Colman's Catholic Parish Fete - 25.8.2023

Multi Draw Raffle Tickets are available for purchase from students. There are some awesome prizes to be won!(multi Draw raffle poster) 
One student in Prep has sold 285 raffle tickets! Make sure you sell more if you want to win the Hoverboard.(student multi draw prize) 

Wheelbarrow Raffle Donations 

If you would like to donate to the assorted items wheelbarrow this year please click the link below or use the QR code to choose the item/s you want to donate and then bring them into the office. https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/5wkg7  

Community Information

St Joseph's School Blessing