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Dear Parents and Carers,
2023 Captains
At last night’s Graduation Mass, I had the pleasure of announcing next year’s school leaders. Congratulations to the following students:
School Captains
Camilla Metcalfe and India Edwards
Augustine House Captains
Camilla Gibson and Ruby O’Brien
Dominic House Captain
Jack Protheroe
Dominic Vice House Captain
Saskia McLelland
Xavier House Captains
Stella Fanning and Tayla Smith
Year 6 Graduation Mass
Congratulations to our wonderful Year 6 leaders on their Graduation: William, Emma, Bethany, Aleisha, Cooper and Charlotte. Thank you for the contribution you have made to St Joseph’s, not only this year as school leaders but over the time you have been at St Joseph’s. Thank you also for your incredible care of your Kinder buddies throughout this year. We will miss Year 6 in so many ways but we know they are ready for the next part of their educational and life journey. We know they will take with them the values instilled in them over the past 7 years of education and hope that St Joseph’s will always have a special place in their hearts, as they do in ours.
Thank you to Mrs King for organising a beautiful Mass to celebrate our Year 6 students.
Departing Families
Farewell to our departing families - Best, Clifton, Ryan and Turner families. Thank you for all you have given to St Joseph’s in your time here. We have valued the contribution you and your children have made to our school and our very best wishes go with you for the future.
Friday 16th December (tomorrow) is the last day of 2022 for students and staff.
It’s hard to believe that my first year at St Joseph’s is coming to a close. It has been a wonderful year, filled with learning and laughter and I look forward to another fantastic year with you all next year!
I wish all families a restful and relaxing Christmas and New Year break. The first day of school for students in 2023 will be Wednesday 1st February.
Kind thoughts,
From the Religious Education Coordinator
It is with a tinge of sadness that I write my last newsletter entry as the Religious Education Coordinator of St Joseph’s School in Grenfell. It has been a real privilege over the years (2009-2022) to contribute to the Religious Education curriculum and religious life of the school. I have so many wonderful memories and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of them.
Opening masses set the tone for the year and helping the Kinders put their stars on the star banner to welcome them into the St Joseph’s School community was always a personal highlight for me.
Masses and prayer celebrations to mark important days, such as St Joseph’s Day, NAIDOC week and Mission Day help the students to understand a bit of our history and what we value as a Catholic school.
Dramatisation of important events in the church calendar, such as ‘The Stations of the Cross,’ helps students to remember and reflect on these stories in a personal way.
I have also walked with many sacramental candidates as their faith journeys led them to new chapters in their faith lives.
Showing students the importance of service, and social justice, through our Christmas food drives, Project Compassion and Socktober, has also been rewarding and has helped the students to be more aware of the importance of these groups in our own community and the wider world.
Graduation mass at the end of the year always brings mixed feelings but a real sense of pride at the achievements of our Year 6 students.
I am particularly grateful to the staff for the many and varying ways they have supported me in my role over the years and responded to the many faith formation opportunities. I have also supported and helped lead the teachers through the major changes in the Religious Education curriculum over the last few years. They have worked enthusiastically and collaboratively to overcome the inherent challenges and I sincerely appreciate their efforts.
Last, but not least, to the many principals and priests I have worked with over the years, and to the parents, grandparents, friends and parishioners, I sincerely thank you for your support. I am grateful for that I have had the opportunity to hold this role for so many years. It has certainly had its challenging moments, but it has been a truly rewarding chapter of my life and it has brought me great joy.
Finally, I leave you with a quote from Saint Teresa of Calcutta, a woman whose life and work has given me inspiration: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
Peace and blessings for a Christmas season full of love and laughter with family and friends. I look forward to seeing you in 2023.
Peace and Bessings,
Warm love and congratulations to Lachlan, Paige and Clementine on the birth of their beautiful baby girl - Sybil Florence. Born on 4th December, weighing a healthy 3.5kgs.
Wishing you much love and happiness at this joyous time.
Kindergarten/ Year One Class News
The year is fast drawing to a close. Time flies when you are having fun and indeed we have been!
The Kindergarten and Year One students have continued to make great progress this term. Kindergarten are enjoying developing their ability to spell trickier words, and even had the opportunity to learn about and write some compound sentences, which they published into books.
This term, in Mathematics, the students have been exploring a range of topics including fractions, three-dimensional objects, and chance and data. In addition, we have been honing our addition and subtraction skills and exploring coins and notes of our monetary system which we found interesting. We also borrowed Bee Bots from St Mary’s in Young which allowed us to explore the world of STEM. We had to program the Bee Bots to move from a starting line to a designated point, which was harder than we first thought. Lots of forethought and problem solving were needed to achieve this!
In Religious Education this term, our unit of work was integrated with the key area of Personal Development and Health (PDH). The students explored how to build healthy relationships and how we can best communicate with others. In doing so, they looked at the wonderful example of Jesus, and other stories in the New Testament, such as The Good Samaritan. The students explored the importance of treating others with kindness and respect and how they can do this in their own lives. We also created some beautiful artworks mimicking stained glass portraying scenes of The Nativity.
This term, in Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE), the students have been focusing on maps. The students were initially introduced to maps and how we use them to find places. They then explored and created maps of both familiar and new places. The unit of work this term included an introduction to the type of language used when using maps and a look at the world map and globe.
In Physical Education this term, the students learnt about basic ball handling skills essential for playing ball games. They explored how to control a ball when they are bouncing, throwing, and catching. They progressed from simple underarm catching to simple overarm throwing and other forms of throwing. They also worked on their tracking and receiving skills and learnt to move in different ways, changing direction, speed, and locomotors quickly. The students also took part in gymnastics sessions courtesy of Cowra PCYC. We thank Holly for helping us develop these skills!
As this is our final newsletter item for the year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents (and other helpers) for their support over the year. I would also like to wish you and your families a very happy and holy Christmas. I hope you enjoy the break, and hopefully some well-deserved downtime, and I look forward to seeing everyone again for the start of another great year!
- Religious Education (1)
- English (1)
- Mathematics (Ongoing)
- Science (1)
- Human Society and Its Environment (2)
- Creative Arts (2)
- Personal Development and Health (2)
- Physical Education (2)
Our students enjoyed a delicious pancake breakfast on Tuesday morning, thanks to the generous donations of pancakes from the Grenfell Food Hall.
Thank you also to our wonderful parents who were able to come and prepare the pancakes.
A huge thank you to all of our volunteers for this year's Breakfast Club.
We will commence Breakfast Club in week 2 of next year.
If you are able to help in 2023, please let the office know and you will be added to the roster.
Jack and Heidi received their awards this week as they were away on Presentation night.
Well done Jack & Heidi!