Week 10 - Term 4 Newsletter 2021

Principal's Message

Dear Families and Friends,
It has been a busy couple of weeks to finish off our year, from our Year 5 Leadership Speeches to the filming of our Christmas Concert performances and this week where we held our Year 6 Graduation Dinner & 'live-streamed' our End of Year Prize Giving. Thank you to all of our families for your support this year, whilst 2021 has certainly again  tested us all and challenged our ability to maintain that sense of belonging and community on which we we pride ourselves, this year has still been a wonderful year of learning where we as a school have continued to strengthen our Vision for Learning - "Learning Begins with Me - Head Heart & Hands".  Hopefully, dare I say, 2022 will be a more settled year in which we are able to have parents & families back within the school environment and holding our school community events.

2022 School Leaders

A special mention to both Hugh Bell & Emily Upston who, after conducting Year 5 Leadership Speeches last week, were appointed School Captains for 2022 along with Matias Ward & Josie Chapman who were appointed as Vice Captains. I look forward to working alongside these students and the rest of our Year 6 leaders in ensuring student voice continues to develop in our school. Please see below our other leadership appointments for 2022. A reminder that SRC Leaders from Year 2-5 will be selected in Week 3 - Term 1 next year.

• School Captains - Hugh Bell & Emily Upston
• Vice Captains - Matias Ward & Josie Chapman
• Bundjalung Captains -Ryley Bultitude & Jack Robinson
• Gibraltar Captains -  Jai Adamson & Tasmyn Norris
• Yuriygur Captains - Ethan McLean & Beau Green
• SRC Captains - Kayla Ellis, Xavier Adamson & Mackenzee Dahlenburg
• Community Captains - Emma Senz, Sam Carroll, Nathaniel Frame & Aiden Wells
• Mission Captains - Sonny Bennett, Dane Campbell, Jason Maitz & Luca Quarello

End of Year Awards & Prize Giving

Yesterday we were able to hold our End of Year Awards & Prize Giving, which was a wonderful time as a school parish community to acknowledge our school leaders for 2021 and recognise students in all classes under the following categories: Academic Achievement, Faith in Action and Learning Begins with Me. For those parents that were unable to view our 'live streaming' of this event, please see below for our 2021 Award Winners:

• Year 6 - St Joseph's Award - Mahala Hitchings
• Year 6 - Faith in Action Award - Ella Boon
• Year 6 - Leadership Award - Jemima Adamson
• Year 6 - Sportsmanship Award - Reuben Lewis
• Year 6 - Dux - Mahala Hitchings
  

• Year 5 - 'Academic Achievement' Award - Emily Upston
• Year 5 - 'Faith In Action' Award - Jack Robinson
• Year 5 - 'Learning Begins with Me' Award - Kayla Ellis

• Year 4 - 'Academic Achievement' Award - Thomas Hourigan
• Year 4 - 'Faith In Action' Award - Dayla Chapman
• Year 4 - 'Learning Begins with Me' Award - Olive Ardrey

• Year 3 - 'Academic Achievement' Award - Sarah Afzal
• Year 3 - 'Faith In Action' Award - Meesha Ellis
• Year 3 - 'Learning Begins with Me' Award - Sahara Cook

• Year 2 - 'Academic Achievement' Award - Caide Schlyder
• Year 2 - 'Faith In Action' Award - Lily Hancock
• Year 2 - 'Learning Begins with Me' Award - Marlie Cook
  

• Year 1 - 'Academic Achievement' Award - Alice Davis
• Year 1 - 'Faith In Action' Award - Sophia Wright
• Year 1 - 'Learning Begins with Me' Award - Sophie Green

• Kindy - 'Academic Achievement' Award - Lawson Bell
• Kindy - 'Faith In Action' Award - Bellla Camilleri
• Kindy - 'Learning Begins with Me' Award - Kahiah Cook
  

Compass- School Communication APP

A reminder that moving forward in the 2022 School Year, that St Joey's shall be moving to a new communication & school management platform called - COMPASS School Manager. As mentioned in last fortnights Newsletter that  I can confirm Compass to be far more effective and useful as a school management platform  with additional functions when compared to SchoolsZine, and the Compass platform will become our school community communication tool from the 1st January 2022.  

The Compass platform is a web-based system that is accessible on any modern web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome & Safari) or by using the Compass School Manager iOS or Android App.  Every family receives a separate login to Compass which we will provide to you. 

Can I encourage any families to yet to be connected to Compass to do so.  Each parent should have received a username and login  both via email in hard copy form pending that we have a valid email or your correct email address. Please see below further instructions regarding installing Compass.  If you are yet to receive any instructions please phone the School Front Office ASAP.

2022 School Starting Dates

• Years 1 - 6 : Tuesday 1st February
• Kindergarten : Monday 7th February

Just a reminder for all families to please note our starting date for students (Year 1 - Year 6) next year will be Tuesday 1st February, 2022. The preferred and suggested model from Catholic Schools Office is for schools to have a staggered start for 2022 school year, with students to come in for a scheduled Maths Assessment Interview, and for students not to begin back until Friday 4th February. However we are conscious of the stress & complications this model places on our families (particularly after a lengthy summer holiday).

Similar to this year, during Weeks 1/2, students will be withdrawn from classroom learning to participate in a Maths Assessment Interview. Teaching staff will schedule these interviews during normal school hours. Please note that for this to occur, students may not have their regular classroom teacher for the full day.

Please note the the starting date for all Kindergarten students will Monday be 7th February. 

Departing Families

Lastly, I would like to thank  and farewell the following departing families who will be leaving our school community at the end of the year. A couple of these families, who have Year 6 students moving onto to secondary education, have been with us for over 10 + years. We wish all of them well in their new school communities and thank them for their involvement and partnership with the school : Afzal family (Sarah - Year 3), Allison-Eckersley family (Austin - Year 6), Boon family (Ella - Year 6), Connolly family (Mia - Year 6), Lewis family (Reuben - Year 6),  Maitz family (Jason - Year 5), O'Grady family (Hailey - Year 6).

Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable Christmas break with your familes & I look forward to working alongside everyone in 2022.

Kind regards,

Dale

Leaders of Learning

Learning in Infants

The spirit of Christmas is alive and well in the Early Years here at St Joey’s. Over the past week, Kindy and Stage 1 have been getting creative. Students have been:

• retelling the Nativity
• making Advent wreaths
• enjoying Advent calendars
• making Christmas decorations
• writing letters to Santa, Mum and Dad with wish lists attached
• learning Christmas poems and
• singing Christmas songs!

This is truly a wonderful time of the year where students and teachers get to enjoy being together and share the magic of Christmas. We celebrate all they have done over the past year and help them realise how far they have come in their education. I love seeing the kids realise how much they have grown and changed. Wishing you all a very happy, holy Christmas. I can’t wait to see you all next year!

Mrs Bailey

Christmas Creativity!

Learning in Primary

As we head towards the final days of the school year, it's always nice to take time and reflect on the both the growth and achievement of our students which we formally celebrate as a school through our End of Year Awards; Academic and Learning Begins with Me. However, as one of the Leaders of Learning, I would like to acknowledge the learning and growth our teachers have made this year.  They too, are learners, who must continually update their knowledge and skills to continue to be great teachers, and we certainly have great teachers at St Joey's!  

Over the year they have learned to teach whilst wearing masks, successfully learned how to attend professional learning via Zoom, allowed times during the beginning of lessons for handwashing and at the end of the day, cleaning their classrooms.  The digital skills which they have mastered is nothing short of extraordinary, and I am very proud and lucky to have worked with such dedicated staff who love their students. So thank you St Joeys' teachers. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with you this year.

Mrs Mullins

Mission & Values

Mercy in Action  

St Teresa of  Avila said, 'Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.'

This week I would like to acknowledge the students who received the for Faith in Action award at our End of Year Awards Ceremony yesterday.  These students are selected based on the consistent and authentic way they live their life like Jesus, showing their love for others through their thoughts, words and actions.

Thank you to the following students who are a living example of Jesus in Action; Bella Camilleri, Sophia Wright, Lily Hancock, Meesha Ellis, Dayla Chapman, Jack Robinson, and Ella Boon.

We are so lucky to have you here with us at St Joseph's.

Mrs Mullins

Just like Jesus

Advent - Week 3: JOY

This week we are heading into our third week of Advent which is represented by a pink candle on the Advent wreath for JOY, and nothing shows joy more than this photo of our Year 6 graduates for 2021:  Hailey, Mia, Mahala, Reuben, Ella, Jemima and Austin.  As you prepare for the next part of your educational journey, on behalf of all the St Joseph's staff and students we wish you all the best and offer you this prayer; 

May God's blessing follow you all as you find new journeys to travel. 

May you walk safely along the pathways of your dreams.

May His gentle hand guide the decisions you will take and the pasions you will follow.

May your hearts and lives always reflect His love and truh.

May today be a memory that burns bright wihin you as you embark on life's great adventrues.

And may hope be a light within you that you carry into each new day.

Amen

Pastoral Care - School Counsellor

Exploring Character Strengths – F L E X I B I L I T Y

What is F L E X I B I L I T Y?

Flexibility means being open to the need for change. If you are growing. Flexibility you try to understand that things can change and that things don’t always have to go your way.

What does it look like in practice?

• We can be a traffic light when we notice we are upset, frustrated or angry. Am I red, amber or green?
• If a friend is mean on purpose, we may feel hurt, but we can deal with it in a calm way 
• When someone upsets us, we can walk away or get help
• When we notice we are angry we can take big breaths
• If we are being excluded, we can notice how we feel and decide how we are going to deal with it by chatting to our Wise Owl 

How can we encourage F L E X I B I L I T Y in our children? 

To help children develop F L E X I B I L I T Y this is a great resource.

To learn more about character strengths and to access the resource that these “Exploring Character Strengths” Newsletter articles have come from visit https://growyourmind.life/

Kate Naylor – School Counsellor & Art Therapist

Pastoral Care - School Chaplain

Student Representative Council

We wish to congratulate all of our 2021 members of the SRC/ Minnie Vinnies on a remarkable year of leadership particularly given the challenges of restrictions. The students have continued to lead their year groups, enthusiastically coordinated a number of highly successful fundraising initiatives and participated in leadership opportunities. 

An overview of their achievements in 2021 are; 

• Project Compassion 
• Pancake Tuesday
• St Vincent De Paul’s Winter Appeal; Soup Day
• Mother’s Day High Tea
• Participated in R U OK? Day
• Catholic Mission; Socktober

The SRC is supporting the St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal as our final project for 2021. Thirteen hampers were presented to our local St Vincent De Paul representatives yesterday.  Given the year that was, we thank each and every SRC member for all they have given to their school community, local community and the global community.

Well done!

Ms Juana Mead - School Chaplain

Library News

Premiers Reading Challenge certificates were sent home this week for all participating students...just in the nick of time! Books logged by St Joseph’s students reached 1320 books, which is a wonderful effort, and I’m happy to say that every Kindergarten and Stage 1 student completed this year's challenge.

We also have a number of children  who received a Gold Certificate, which means they have completed the Premiers Reading Challenge for 4 years in a row.

Congratulations to Sarah Afzal, Olive Ardrey, Meesha Ellis and Reece Bennett on this achievement.   

The Clarence Valley Library has some great Christmas and January school holiday events happening in the upcoming weeks. Our town libraries are wonderful places kids love to visit and explore, and we encourage everyone to make the most of these free resources during the holidays to keep the magic of reading alive.  

Wishing all the wonderful families and friends of our St Joey’s school community a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!        

You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.    

- Dr Seuss

Mrs Waghorn 

Notes Sent Home

Community Notices