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Dear Parents and Carers,
Work Placement
This week we have had the pleasure of welcoming ex-St Joseph’s student Hamish Baker back to the school for work placement. Hamish has been very helpful and is learning all the workings of a school. The students have especially enjoyed his company on the playground!
New programs for students in 2023
For the past two years, St Joseph’s has embarked on a professional development journey led by Catholic Education, known as Catalyst.
Catalyst has two bold goals:
- Every student is a competent reader
- High Impact Teaching Practices visible in every classroom
I have communicated with you a number of times this year outlining how staff are engaged with these goals. You may have noticed your child talking about ‘Daily Review’ and ‘Explicit Direct Instruction’ in Mathematics.
To build upon this, we have embedded further programs in our 2023 Annual Improvement Plan to meet the needs of our students. This decision is based upon student data from standardised assessments (eg NAPLAN and PAT assessments) as well as consultation with C.E staff. These programs are known as Spelling Mastery and Connecting Maths Concepts. Further information explaining each of these programs was shared with parents on Compass earlier this week.
Christmas Family Fun Day
We look forward to the Christmas Family Fun Day tomorrow. Students are invited to come to school dressed in a Christmas outfit/ colours/hat etc.
Families are invited to join us for the Talent Quest at 11:45am, followed by a sausage sizzle lunch. We need volunteers to assist cooking the BBQ, so please let the office know if you can help.
Students will do Secret Santa sharing this day in their classes also. This is an opportunity for students to participate in the festive season by thinking of others. Students are invited to bring a gift to the value of $5-$10 (no more please) for someone of the same gender in their class. Students will draw a name from a hat to give their gift to.
Chicken Call Out
Are there any families that might be able to care for the school chickens in the upcoming holidays? If possible, can someone care for them at home? If not are you able to go on a roster to come to school and feed them etc? Please complete this short survey here to let us know. Thank you.
Playgroup
Next year we will be running a community playgroup at St Joseph’s for children aged 0-4 years and their parents. We are looking for donations of good quality, second hand toys to suit children aged 0-4 years (e.g blocks/duplo, cars/trucks, train sets, dolls, imaginative play etc). Please drop into the office anything you might be able to donate.
Library Books
Please remember to return any Library books for home this week.
Upcoming events:
Friday 9 th December - Christmas Family Fun Day & Talent Quest
Tuesday 13th December - Breakfast Club Pancake Breakfast
Thanks to the generous donation of pancake mix from the Grenfell Food Hall, we will be holding a pancake breakfast. Donations of fresh berries and syrup would be appreciated please. We need volunteers to assist cooking the pancakes, so please let the office know if you can help.
Wednesday 14th December - Graduation Mass 6pm
Year 6 students and their families are required to attend. All other students are invited to support and celebrate the Year 6 students. Captains and House Captains will be announced at the Mass for 2023.
Thursday 15th December - Pool Fun Day
Whole school reward day. Please provide consent on Compass.
Friday 16th December - Last day of 2022 for students and staff
The first day of school for students in 2023 will be Wednesday 1st February.
Please contact the office if you have any questions about upcoming events.
Kind thoughts,
Melissa Hotham
Principal
Christmas Food Drive
This year your response to our Grenfell Food Hall Christmas drive has been generous indeed. I thank you, and the Grenfell Food Hall thanks you for your generosity. I am sure there will be many smiles at Christmas as the hampers are delivered.
Graduation Mass 2022
Our last mass for the year will be held on the 14th of December at 6 pm at St Joseph’s Church. I invite you to join with us as we remember and farewell the current Year 6 students at this special mass. Next year’s school leaders will also be announced. Please join us if you can.
Prayer for Advent
Loving God,
You kept a promise and sent Jesus your son to live on earth and teach us about you.
We thank you for the gift of Jesus to the world.
May we wait for Christmas with patience and use this special waiting time to think about and do good for others.
Peace and blessings,
The school holidays are nearly here again! Holidays may be a welcome respite from school work and commitments, but can quickly become a drag if you and your child are stumped for things to do. Here are some ideas to keep your child meaningfully engaged during the school holidays.
- Plan fun activities & pick up new skills
Connect with your child and their hobbies. Seek out fun activities that they’d like to do, such as a cooking or baking session, a dance workout, board games night, or even venturing out and exploring new or familiar places. Doing activities with your child is also a great way to bond and spend quality time together. If you are spending time in a new environment, share the available opportunities with your child and have them offer input on at least one of the activities.
- Get active
Without the need to head to school and participate in activities, your child’s physical activity may decrease drastically during the school holidays. To counter that, make a conscious effort to incorporate physical activity into your child’s daily routine. It could take the form of daily walks in the neighbourhood park, dance sessions at home, visits to the swimming pool, family hikes – anything works as long as it’s enjoyable for your child, and helps them get moving!
Most importantly, enjoy the break from the school routine and spend some precious time with your children. You will be surprised at how quickly they grow.
Retrieved and adapted from https://blog.prep.works/blog/6-meaningful-ways-to-engage-your-child-during-the-holidays/
At our last meeting, the St Joseph’s P & F decided to create a simple, no-work Christmas fundraiser to finish off our fundraising for the year. Thanks to generous donations, we are holding a 100 Club with the draw to be taken place at the school Christmas Family Fun Day on the 9th of December 2022.
Tickets are $20 each for the selection of 1 number or purchase more numbers if you would like to increase your chances! Numbers available are between 1-100 subject to availability.
Prizes are:
1st Prize $500 Cash donated by Crutcher Developments
2nd Prize $300 Cash donated by GGM Lawyers
3rd Prize $100 Cash donated by The McLelland Family
4th Prize $50 Cash donated by Hunter Carriers
5th Prize $50 Cash donated by Hunter Carriers
Contact the school to secure your lucky number/s and let us know if you are available to sell tickets, we always love a helping hand!
