Term 2 - 2022 - Week 1

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, we certainly could not complain about the weather.  The season of Easter continues now until Pentecost (forty days after Jesus rose from the dead.)  On Wednesday, May 18^th at 9:15 in the Auditorium, our Year 6 students will present the ending to the Easter Play, the Resurrection that you are all invited to attend.

 The Passion, suffering and death of Jesus seemed to have concluded with the burial of Jesus into the tomb. We all live with tombs, where parts of us have died. Memories of being hurt. Memories of hurting others. Self-destructive behaviours. Our world has tombs too. Pockets of war and poverty. Nursing homes or hospitals where the old and sick lie alone.  At the moment the world must feel like it is living in a tomb with the social distancing and lockdowns as we try to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.
 
But God removed the rock from Jesus’ tomb and raised him. By doing that, God told all humanity that there is new life after the painful things we have suffered through. But you have to enter the tomb to see and believe.
 
We do that by facing our painful memories and mistakes. We allow ourselves to cry when recalling how we've been hurt instead of gutting it out. We apologise instead of being proud. We also do that by facing our world’s pain. We turn toward the people and places that many people ignore because they are afraid or too busy. We turn toward them whether they live in our homes, neighbourhoods or in different countries.
 
But we don’t have to enter these tombs alone. We can bring God’s power with us. We bring it when we pray or seek guidance from the Scriptures about our painful memories or mistakes. We bring it when we seek help from friends, family, or professionals. We bring it when we respond to our world’s pain with Jesus’ compassion and non-violence.
 
Those who suffered abuse or grief and enter their tomb, seek help from counsellors and their faith to face the abuse they suffered. As a result, they can become stronger and happier people who make a real difference in the lives of others.
 
Once again, God rolled back the stone and raised someone to new life. Jesus’ Resurrection was only the beginning. I've seen and I believe.

Deb Holland - APRIM
 

Welcome back from what I am sure was a much-needed holiday for the St Joseph's staff, students, and families.  I want to acknowledge the outstanding commitment teachers and support staff demonstrated the last term.  The number of lessons prepared and taken by others through illness and isolation was a tangible sign of the commitment of all of us to quality learning in these challenging times.  I would also like to acknowledge the difficult circumstances many families faced.  Their cooperation with St Joseph's School helped to ensure all students were supported during the term.  Term 2 will pose its own challenges, and we will continue to prioritise safety and learning.  Effective communication, trust, goodwill, and humour will, I'm sure, play their part in our vital community.  I wish to welcome a number of new families to our school this term.  All the new students have settled in very well to our school environment.  

Staffing Announcements

Mrs Margherita Pardoe, our Year 3 classroom teacher, has been appointed two days per week as St Joseph's Leader of Learning.  This appointment begins Term 2, and I am pleased to welcome Mrs Lynley Driver, who has previously been a teacher at the school, teaching the Year 3P class on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Mrs Debbie Driver will be taking leave for all of Term 2, and I am pleased to share that Miss Caitlin O'Brien, who was working with Mr James McLaren, will be the full-time class teacher for all of Term 2.  Miss Jane Lane has also been employed full-time for the rest of this year to fill teaching vacancies across many year levels.  We welcome back, after long service leave, Education Support Officer, Mrs Gabby Merritt. 

Thank you to Mrs Leesa Angove and our student leaders, Ella Ireland, Charlie Ireland and Parker South, who were involved in what was a fantastic dawn service ANZAC Day at the Sturt Reserve in Murray Bridge.  Thank you to all serving St Joseph's School parent and alumni community members.  The qualities of sacrifice, courage, and duty should never be forgotten, and 25 April reminds us each year of the significance of these qualities to the life and progress of the Nation.  Lest we forget.

Principal

Ros Oates

Attached to the newsletter is a letter to the community outlining the management of COVID-19 in our school community.  Please read this carefully.

2022 The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.  It tests the types of skills that are essential for every student to progress through school and life.  The tests cover reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy skills.  As a school, we value the NAPLAN testing for various reasons.  We are provided with detailed data about individual students and the respective cohorts, which assist in informing teachers about areas of student strength and areas for development.
NAPLAN 2022 is scheduled to take place between Tuesday 10 and Friday 13 May 2022 for our Year 3, 5 and Year 7 students.  All testing will occur using the online testing platform.
If students are sick on the day of NAPLAN, please keep them at home.  They will be offered the opportunity to undertake catchup testing (depending on their return to school date).

Parent/carers and students can access more information about the testing at: https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site
or refer to the attached handout. 

If any parents/carers would like to discuss any aspect of NAPLAN 2022, please make email contact with Sonja Smith, Deputy Principal, in the first instance at: sonja.@stjomb.catholic.edu.au

May 9-15, 2022 - Catholic Education Week celebrates the excellent teaching and learning across Catholic Education SA.  This year the theme is looking for ways to say 'thank you'!  It is a perfect opportunity for families to explore the benefits of a Catholic Education.

During Catholic Education Week 2022, we say 'thank you' to the dedicated, caring, hard-working staff and students who make Catholic schools in SA so special!

Garden to Kitchen Project – Ella, Caitlin and I met this week in the school garden to discuss how we can begin to improve our school garden. The girls would like to prioritise their ideas by starting with a couple of garden beds that need some structural maintenance, weeding, turning over of the soil, and potentially some new soil and compost, before planting a range of seasonal vegetable seedlings.

The girls were wondering if anyone else in our school community may have a passion for gardening and be able and willing to help by volunteering some of their time on a Tuesday or Thursday during lunch from 1:00-1:40pm. If you are free and would like to work in partnership with us or would like to donate any helpful resources to our Garden to Kitchen Project, please contact me directly via email, Sonja.smith@stjomb.catholic.edu.au or call the school office on 8534 2000.

Please remember all volunteers need to have a current Catholic Police Clearance. Louise O’Neil and Michael Gates in our school office can help organise this if you need to either update your clearance or start this process. Having a Catholic Police Clearance is a fantastic way to also volunteer in other capacities across the school, for example, in your child’s classroom, helping with excursions/camps, in our school canteen and with many other school events. Working in positive partnerships with families and building relationships with your support is always warmly welcomed.

School Uniform – Winter Months  

With Term 2 bringing a change in weather, we ask that families consider the uniform requirements for the season. Students in Reception to Year 6 should now be wearing either the previous winter uniform or the Smart Play uniform. We understand the ongoing unavoidable delays with some items of the Smart Play uniform are continuing to impact families, and we thank you for your patience and understanding. We appreciate this is not ideal and acknowledge this is affecting many school communities across the state and in fact Australia. We are continuing to work with St Vincent de Paul and the uniform suppliers to ensure our community is prioritised. The latest update I have received this week, is that the much-anticipated track suit fabric has been sitting on a ship out at sea for some time and will hopefully be docked very soon, before being transported to manufacturing.

The previous old uniform can still be worn by students and purchased from Grandisons in Murray Bridge during the 12-month transition phase. Alternatively, the school has second-hand jumpers available at no cost to families if this is something you might like to consider.

In the meantime, if you are waiting for any of the new uniform items, either the Reception-Year 6 Smart Play or Year 7-9 Sporting and Formal Uniform we encourage families to dress their child/ren in comfortable alternatives with colours as close as possible to the school colours. We hope this will help support families, and children in having a sense of normalcy. The education of your child/ren is always our priority and as such their attendance at school is vital. Our school community will continue to support all students as we transition to the new uniform in its entirety by 2023.  

St Joseph's School uses two leading online platforms for teachers and parents to communicate.   These are Seesaw and Microsoft Teams. 

Facebook has minimal use due to cybersafety considerations and is only utilised for information and celebration events.  For Administrative purposes, we also use email and distribute the fortnightly newsletter through SchoolStream. 
In preparation for any extraordinary circumstances and essential information, parents must inform classroom teachers if they cannot access Seesaw or are not receiving the school newsletter fortnightly via email or SchoolStream.

After several weeks of training and preparation, the Year 5/6 SAPSASA Knockout Cricket team journeyed to Aldgate to take on the home team in Round 2 of the competition. Surprisingly, we were gifted a mild and dry autumn day, perfect for a game of cricket.  

Aldgate won the toss and elected to bat and were able to bat out the 20 overs to record a score of 6/102. Highest scorer for Aldgate was ‘Wides’ (58), however Mason Rowland bowled three very tight overs claiming 2 wickets at a cost of 8 runs also managing a run out.  

It was then St Joseph’s turn to bat, also managing to bat out the 20 overs. Ultimately, we were unsuccessful in chasing down the opponent’s target, finishing an agonisingly 4 runs short. Top scorer for St Joseph’s was also ‘Wides’ (48) followed by Kaden Meers (11).  

Thank you to Aldgate for hosting the fixture and Mrs Oates who volunteered to drive the team bus.  

Please pray for the following children who are preparing to become fully initiated into the Catholic Church through the celebration of the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion in May and June.

Isaac, Guadelupe, Isaac, Leo, Elena, Fritz and Patreece.

Kiss and drop of students in cars remains on McHenry Street ONLY.  Florence Street school entrance is open, and we are waiting for the Murray Bridge Council to change the parking signs on both sides of the road.  There is no longer a kiss and drop.  Parents are permitted to park cars on both sides of the road and utilise the road crossing to enter the school.  Please be careful walking on the path nearest the front entrance door to the administration building.  A new retaining wall and the completion of the paving are happening over the coming weeks. 

The Florence Street entrance is now open and access to the grounds via this entrance is available.

PLEASE ensure your children are clear where you are going to collect them from at the end of the day as there has been a number of children confused this week. 

As part of HASS, Year 4 students study the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples their connection to place and their contact with other societies.

In Year 4O, we researched Indigenous culture and natural land features of Australia.

We chose Uluru as a natural land feature and created a Visual Arts piece using oil pastels and dot painting.

In Term 1 we researched how Indigenous people lived prior to settlement. Our class looked at the book ‘When I Was Little, Like you’ by Mary Malbunka. Our focus was on how people would gather vegetables, seeds and leaves to make medicine. We also looked at how fire was utilised to cook, provide warmth and for a place for people to share stories. Our class went out to the garden and re-enacted what life would have been like and then created journal/picture books detailing how they lived in this time.

As part of our HASS Indigenous Studies, we made Rain Makers. We researched different types of dot paintings. We decorated a brown piece of card with our own designs and folded the card to make a cylinder. We filled the cylinder with rice and then secured the ends. Finally, we decorated with feathers. 

Hello friends and families,

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At St Joseph's School, we are fortunate to have our experienced and employed Canteen manager, Wilma O'Sullivan.  Now that our restrictions have eased, we are asking for parent volunteers to ensure the successful daily distribution of orders in the canteen.  Volunteers supporting Wilma, allow us to provide a quality service at very reasonable prices.

Being a Canteen volunteer is not at all hard work, but a great way to meet other parents in the school. 
 

All volunteers at St Joseph's School Canteen need to have completed the following:

▪ Working with Children Check (Free through the school)

▪ Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect – Education and Care (2 hrs online - Free)
https://www.plink.sa.edu.au/pages/externaldashboard.jsf?menuId=1104&locale=enGB&showbundlekeys=false#/?dashboardId=6
▪ Watch Food Handling Clip (Bug Busters) https://youtu.be/6WJXSy4o1tc