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Dear parents and carers,
Lunch with Mum and Dad
All parents, grandparents and carers are welcome to attend the “Lunch with Mum and Dad” event tomorrow commencing 1:20pm. For those who may not have attended previously, it simply involves having lunch with your child /children so you have the chance to appreciate this aspect of the life of the school. I understand in previous years it has been an enjoyable occasion. Maybe you could bring what you would have had for lunch when you were a child. Could be a talking point with the students! Looking forward to seeing you.
Advertisement for New Principal
The Catholic Education Office has advertised for the new Principal of St Joseph’s. If you feel there is someone you know who could fill the role, please forward the link to them.
We are hoping for a competitive set of candidates for the role.
Community Consultation – New Principal
Reminder that tomorrow there will be a Community Consultation meeting with Mrs Mary-Jane Carroll-Fajarda from Catholic Education seeking your views on the qualities needed in the new principal.
The meeting will be in the School Library commencing 2:00pm following the “Lunch with Mum and Dad” event.
If you are unable to attend and would like to contribute please contact Mrs Carroll-Fajarda on mary-jane@cg.catholic.edu.au
End of Semester Student Report
During 2021, the Catholic Education Office is reorganising the student reports across the Archdiocese. Student reports will be distributed through the Parent Portal in a format that is consistent across the schools.
For Kindergarten students:
Achievement in each subject will be reported using a four-point scale - Well Above Expectations, Above Expectations, Meeting Expectations and Working Towards Expectations.
For Year 1 to Year 6 students:
Academic grades for each subject using a five-point scale from A-E will be reported using the NSW Common Grade Scale.
For all students:
Strand Achievement will be reported in English, Mathematics, Human Society and its Environment, PDHPE and Creative Arts using a five-point scale (Excellent, High, Sound, Basic, Elementary).
Engagement with Learning statements, which are taken directly from the Australian Curriculum, will provide specific information about your child’s Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Responsibility, using a three-point scale (Beginning, Developing, Consistently).
Individual student comments will not be used in the Semester 1 Reports, however it is expected that individual student comments will be reintroduced in Semester 2 reports. The Reports are expected to be sent home on Thursday 10 June.
The Semester Report is the entry point for parent-teacher interviews about your child’s strengths, challenges, effort and areas for growth.
Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews
The parent-teacher-student interviews will be scheduled from Tuesday 15 June to Thursday 17 June. Parents are encouraged to have their child present for the interviews.
Annual Parent Satisfaction Survey - Tell Them From Me.
Each year CE organises parents of all schools to be surveyed about aspects of school life. In 2021 CE has adopted a new survey tool call Tell Them From Me.
The link to the parent survey will be sent to you early next week. The survey will be open until Wednesday 11 June.
National Simultaneous Storytime
On Wednesday, St Joseph’s welcomed the children from the Grenfell Preschool to be part of the National Simultaneous Storytime reading session. This involved St Joseph’s students reading with the preschool children. This year we read Give Me Some Space by Philip Bunting. The book is about space and exploration. Most appropriately it was read by a female astronaut from the Space Station as she floated around in zero gravity, to the amazement of the children.
Mass with Fr Yoseph Wednesday 26 May
There will be a full school Mass at 10:00am on Wednesday 26 May with Fr Yoseph. Parents are welcome to attend.
Kind regards
Peter Hamill
Acting Principal
Next Wednesday we will be celebrating a whole school mass with Father Yoseph. Father Yoseph (or Father Joe as he likes to be called) is really looking forward to getting to know the children and families in our school community. As well as celebrating Mass with us, he plans to visit the children in their classrooms and do some teaching related to our Religious Education units.
The K/1/2 children will be presenting the readings and prayers at the mass next week. Father Joe and K/1/2 would really like you to join them at 10 o’clock for this mass if you can.
Covid 19 has changed our whole world in so many unforeseen ways. Eighteen months ago, I would have described the world as quite small because I could (when it was financially feasible) visit my family in Canada whenever I liked. Now, I am left wondering when I might ever be able to go there again.
This week my chosen prayer goes out to all people around the world who are suffering with, or caring for someone with, or dealing with any issues related to Covid 19.
A Prayer for Our Uncertain Times
May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
May we who are just carrying on with our normal routines remember those who have lost their jobs.
May we who have colleagues, family or friends to help us get through the challenges remember those who are suffering with anxiety, depression and loneliness.
May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health and paying their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close remember those who have no options.
May we who have had to cancel our trips remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who may have lost some money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settled in for a quarantine period at home remember those who have no home.
As fear of the severity of the pandemic continues to wreak havoc in countries around the world, let us choose hope for the future.
And during this time when we may not be able to physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbours. Amen.
Written by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
retrieved and adapted from https://www.xavier.edu/jesuitresource/online-resources/prayer-index/coronavirus-prayers
The K/1/2 students have been keeping busy this term. By all accounts, the students thoroughly enjoyed their excursion to Canberra to visit the National Zoo & Aquarium and National Portrait Gallery. They also enthusiastically took part in a trip to our local art gallery and the Athletics Carnival. National Simultaneous Storytime also proved a big hit with primary and preschool children alike!
This term, Religious Education and Geography will be studied together. The students will focus on the diversity and richness of places of significance and ways in which humans use and interact with them. Notably, this lens emphasises the need to care for and live responsibly with the environment. We were also fortunate to have a visit from Sister Mary Corcoran to provide us with more insights!
In English this term, the literacy learning of students is continuing to progress well as a result of participation in their respective InitiaLit programs. The students have been learning about a variety of letter and sound combinations and are working to apply these in their written texts. They are also developing their reading skills. In particular, Kindergarten have been learning ‘tricky’ words that cannot be sounded out. The students have also been focusing on how to write informative texts.
This term, in Mathematics, the students have been learning to recognise, continue and create repeating patterns using shapes or objects, and describe accordingly. They have been counting by twos, threes, fives, and tens, and finding the total number using repeated addition. The students modelled equal groups and modelling multiplication as repeated addition and an array of equal groups. They have also been examining the commutative property of multiplication. The students are also learning about ‘time’, including calendars and seasons, and reading analogue clock times.
In Japanese this term the students are continuing to develop their language acquisition. They have been continuing to learn to exchange greetings and introduce and share information about themselves with their teachers and peers using simple language and gestures. The students have been reinforcing their knowledge of Japanese numbers through fun group activities. They have also focused on Japanese words used for various sports and discussed the future Tokyo Olympic Games.
This term in Science the students are developing an understanding of properties of materials and their uses. They have investigated the effects of mixing specific materials together and ended up making playdough! In doing so, the students worked to identify that materials can be changed or combined for a particular purpose. They are now investigating ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples use different materials to create utensils and are planning a utensil of their own. The scientific skills they are focusing on are predicting, observing, investigating, and communicating.
Although the Henry Lawson Festival will not be held in its normal format this year, the expressive talents of primary school age students within the community will be showcased in the coming weeks. The students are looking forward to the opportunity to perform a class play titled ‘Humpty Dumpty’. We look forward to keeping you up to date with the play and all other class happenings!