St Joseph's Primary School Newsletter

Last Monday was the “Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord”. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him . . . might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) At the Annunciation, God revealed this good news to Mary. She was the first to hear and to believe that God would do what he promised. Her faith told her that nothing is impossible for God. Mary also heard God’s invitation calling her to be the Virgin Mother of his Son.

This call meant that as Jesus’ mother, Mary would nourish and care for him. This call meant that she had a special place in God’s plan for salvation. Mary replied, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) In saying yes, Mary agreed to God’s plan because she wanted what God wanted. She was willing to accept all the joy and pain, all the unexpected events. She was willing to bring Christ to a waiting world.

On Friday the 22nd of March, nine students from Stage Three represented our school at the Tamworth Winter Trials. Students were selected due to their proficient skill level in their nominated sport of Soccer, Netball or Hockey. We highly commend all students who competed on the day, with a special congratulations to Tessa Haire and Juliet Maxwell, who were selected by convenors to compete at the Polding Winter Trials for the Armidale Girl’s Netball Team. Also, Cassidy Welsh is to be congratulated for her selection as a part of the Armidale Girl’s Hockey Team for 2019. It was a wonderful day of friendly competition, and we look forward to hearing all about the success of our Polding Winter Trial athletes in the future.

Get ready for the egg-cellent Easter Hat Parade!

Prizes to be won in 4 egg-citing categories: Tallest Hat, Funniest Hat, Best Springtime Hat and Most Creative Story of Jesus Hat.

The Parade will be held on Friday the 12 April after the Easter Liturgy. Parents and friends welcome!

This fortnight Kindergarten has been continuing to show huge progress in their reading and writing skills. We have been practicing our writing of recounts and have now moved on to planning and writing well-structured discussions. We have also been extending their knowledge of sounds, with two new additions, 't' and 'a', as well as developing a deeper understanding of texts by reading and decoding the book ‘Granny Grommet and Me’. As always, our favourite Literacy activity of the week was getting creative with our focus story and creating a rockpool with many creepy crawlies.

Meanwhile, in Maths, we have been learning about time and patterns. We are all very excited that we can now read the time on an analog and digital clock. We thoroughly enjoy stopping Miss Theobald at every opportunity to tell her that the minute has changed!

Miss Brooke Theobald

Students in Stage One have been learning how to plan and compose original texts. The planning stage has involved discussions engaging their creative ideas. This learning environment allows the students to have adequate thinking time and a chance to share their responses. The students have also been working diligently to identify the purpose and structure of a Limerick Poem, becoming familiar with using a planning scaffold to write an entertaining and humorous text.  

Meanwhile, during mathematics, Stage One students have been learning to use mental strategies and concrete materials to solve multiplication problems. The students have enjoyed many hands-on and rotational learning experiences to consolidate their understanding of these mathematical concepts.

We would also like to congratulate our Year Two students who are preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and for their preparation of the Rite of Enrolment ceremony that was held during our Family Mass. Their enthusiasm and excitement are commendable attributes leading up to this very special day.

Well done Stage One for another wonderful week of learning!

Miss Lucy Suttor and Miss Elise Vinson

Inquiry learning has been our focus in Science this term. Learners have engaged in observing mould growth on bread and creating a powerpoint on the different strands of mould, how are they created and what happens to our body if ingested. The students have also been recording their observations in a shared document to gather information. Everyday, our class has been observing the changes and discussing our findings with our peers. We look forward to learning more about mould and food hygiene.

At home, you can have a discussion around food hygiene, the need for certain foods to always remain in a cold temperature (i,e milk) and the importance of having used by dates on our foods.

Mrs Karlee Hatton and Mr Mark Rottger

What a busy term! I cannot believe it is Week 9 already! In Maths, Year 5 have been busy working on adding and regrouping fractions in preparation to start their next investigation on Dynamic Dominoes. Meanwhile, Year 6 have been designing their zoos using mathematical skills such as area, mass and time. Students concluded that problem-solving was also a crucial part of the activity, especially when one of the groups realised visitors would have to run through the lion's cage to get to the bathrooms!

Our expositions have been a great success, and Stage 3, by their extraordinary use of persuasive devices, convinced me to hold an end of term party! We are now moving onto to the imaginative realm of poetry writing. We have been having a lot of fun with this by exploring a variety of texts, such as the rhyming rap from the fabulous movie Sister Act 2.

I would also like to commend Year 5 who completed their NAPLAN online practice tests yesterday. Well done! Finally, we have a very special idea planned for Religion for the last day of term. We would love for you to come and see it (stay tuned for details).

Miss Olivia Robertson