St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Wandal Newsletter

13 November 2019

Casting the Net - Weekly Prayer Reflection

Best or Worse

I live at Tanby, a locality of Yeppoon, but am presently in Perth looking after my brother’s family while he has cancer treatment overseas. Most people reading this will realise that Yeppoon has bad fires at the moment, very bad fires.  I am following from afar, mostly through the Yeppoon Families Facebook page and I have been moved to tears by the courage and generosity that my community is showing towards those in need.  Our community is big enough that many do not personally know the people they are helping.  That doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that this situation is calling for the ‘Best’ from people and they are responding.  Yes, there are some for whom this situation will bring out the ‘Worse’ but I don’t want to dwell on them. 

What is happening in my community is being done right across Australia at present, yes even here in WA, and will continue to be done for some time.  We know it is going to be a long, hard summer.  And we will respond with our ‘Best’. That’s what challenges can do: bring out the best in us.

And so can the ordinary challenges we face in daily life: getting the kids out the door to school, dealing with illness, caring for our elderly.  Each day, every day we have choices to make as to whether we will go with our best or worse.  And sometimes it can be hard.  Even the smallest things can need courage to face.  And it is in those situations, we mostly need God.  A relative joked the other day that my prayer life now must be, ‘God, get me through this day!’ True, as it would be for any parent.  So, let us hang in there, and with God’s grace, give it our best shot.  And if it doesn’t look ‘pretty’ that doesn’t matter, we will have tried our best.

 

Loving Father, you alone all the challenges I face every day.  You know when I am weak and feel overwhelmed.  Give me the wisdom and courage to do my best in each situation and let me not worry about the rest.  Give your strength and courage to those facing and fighting fires at this time.  I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.  

Sr Kym Harris osb

From the Principal

Congratulations to Year 2B teacher, Mrs Brightman, on the birth of her second grandchild, a baby girl, Ava.

 

On Sunday, the fourth and final Chamber Music Concert for 2019 was held. Over 100 parents, friends and students attended the concert. Congratulations to the Instrumental Music students from St Joseph’s Wandal who performed at this event.

Congratulations too to our Year 4 Instrumental Music students and the Year 5 and 6 mentors who participated in the final Primary Music Workshop for the year on Monday. They performed to a full house on Monday evening and it was wonderful to hear the progress our musicians have made this year. We thank The Cathedral College and the music staff for the ongoing support they provide to our school and students.

Instrumental Music

Important Message Regarding School Fees

Unfortunately there are a number of outstanding school fee accounts at this point in time. If these outstanding amounts are not reduced, this has the potential to have a significant impact on our 2020 budget. This in turn may cause budget cutbacks with regards to school and classroom resourcing. I do wish to thank those families who consistently pay within the required time frame and those of you who will address this matter in the next couple of days. As always, please make an appointment to see me if you are having difficulty meeting the due date for your account.

 

Assessment and Reporting

Report cards will be distributed via Parent Lounge in the last week of term on Thursday 5th December. Please ensure you have access to Parent Lounge and know how to access these documents ahead of time. A reminder too, that it is the responsibility of parents to provide copies of these reports and any other requested information (for example NAPLAN reports), not the school’s, when filling out applications and enrolment forms for secondary schools. 

End of Year Christmas Concert

Plans are underway with regards to our end-of-year Christmas function which will be held on Friday, 29 November. Our P and F organizes the food and bar on this night and it is always a lovely, informal way to finish off the school year as a community.

 

Each class prepares a small item to perform on the night and we count on the majority of our students and families attending. Please inform your child’s teachers if they will be absent on the night as this may interfere with plans for ‘performances.’ Class items will commence at 6pm sharp. Please be advised that food will not be served until after the children’s performances. Children are to wear ‘Christmassy’ type clothes. Towards the end of the night, we often have a special, very jolly guest pop in to say hello to the children!

Pre-ordering and payment for the BBQ and for the Bill’s Amusements rides are NOW OPEN via Flexischools. As always, we will be reliant on parent assistance on this night, please consider giving half an hour of your time to assist in some way.

Christmas Card and Candy Canes

As children begin to write their Christmas cards we ask that you refrain from sending along candy cane lollies. Please encourage your children to write thoughtful messages as they spread some Christmas cheer through card giving. Supporting projects in our school and community such as the St Vinnie’s Christmas Hamper Appeal is an alternative way to give, with quite a different message for children.

Tuckshop

As we near the end of the year, our Tuckshop will decrease the stock kept on hand. Some items may become unavailable for the last few weeks of school. The Flexischools site will be kept up to date, and you will be able to see which items are no longer available.

Confirmation of Enrolments for 2020 – *Response is required by every family*

Decisions regarding class groupings and staffing of classes cannot be finalised until this data is received (via the e-from on our app). If we do not receive confirmation that your family is returning in 2020, we will assume you no longer require a place at our school and will offer this to families on our wait lists.

New Outdoor Learning and Play Areas

Our new breakout spaces are proving to be a huge hit with our students! I have also received the plans for our outdoor Playspace which will be constructed, outside the Prep rooms, over the Christmas holiday break. I look forward to sharing these plans at the upcoming P and F and Board Meetings. Our P and F Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 21 November at 5pm in the staffroom. All are welcome! The School Board will meet immediately afterwards at 6.30pm.

At Play in our new Breakout Areas

Have a great week,

Kellie Jenkinson.

From the APRE

Prayer Corner

"With humility, charity and truth on our part, all will in the end be well."

 Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop



Remembrance Day

Thank you to Year 5, Mrs Hutchinson and Miss McLennan who led prayer on Monday to honour those who have died in war.  Remembrance Day marks the day World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. Lest We Forget!

St Vincent De Paul Society Christmas Appeal

The St Vincent De Paul Society have launched their Christmas Appeal and the community of St Joseph’s Wandal are once again called to live out our school motto, “To love is to serve”. We are collecting donations of non-perishable items, which include tinned vegetables, cereals, long life milk, soft drinks, juice, and snacks such as chips, nuts, biscuits and lollies.  Christmas themed items for donation may include Christmas puddings, Christmas cakes, mince pies, bon bons and long life custard.  The hampers will be kept in classrooms.  Thank you in advance, for your generosity to this worthy cause. 

Continuing the Journey in the Catholic Faith - Sacramental Dates

On Tuesday 12 November or Wednesday 13 November parents are required to attend one of the information sessions at Kevin Castles Centre from 5.30 - 7pm.  This session will assist parents to prepare their children to receive the Sacraments of Christian Initiation.


Catholic Mission Prep Fundraiser

When discussing Catholic Mission in class the Prep students wondered about how they could raise money to donate.  After lots of brainstorming they have come up with the idea to sell Christmas cards. The Prep students have created cards which they will be selling outside Prep before school each morning until sold out.  We would appreciate any monetary donation you are able to give when purchasing your card. Come and visit our shop to get a handmade bargain!

Thank you to our school families for so generously supporting Crazy Sock Day to raise funds for Catholic Mission.  Our school families' generosity meant we were able to donate $555 to support the vital, life giving gifts that Catholic Mission provide through their various projects.

Parenting Ideas

The topic for this week is, "Why validation is the best parenting skill of all." The article provides parents with an insight into the importance of children knowing that an adult they value truly understands them.  

Parent Insight

Download

Children's Liturgy of the Word

A reminder that Children’s Liturgy is held most Sundays at St Joseph’s Cathedral at 9.30am during the school term.   Please click on the link to access Mass times.

With gratitude,

Rheanna Starr.

From the APC

Volunteers' Morning Tea

At St Joseph's Wandal we are so lucky to have wonderful volunteers who have helped us throughout the year.  We would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported us by inviting you to a morning tea.  The Year Five students will be hosting a morning tea for our volunteers on 15 November at 9:30 a.m.  If you are planning to join us, please let the office know by close of business 14 November 2019.  Thank you!

Homework Club is back!

Homework Club is now available one afternoon after school per week. This is supervised by Year 10 & 11 students from The Cathedral College.

When: Tuesday afternoons 3.20- 4.20pm 

Where: The ‘Be-Hive’ - St Joseph’s Wandal

Who: Years 3-6 students

Parents are required to book their children into Homework Club by midday Tuesday of each week by contacting the school office via email or phone.

Hurry! Register Now!

Click here to register to attend!

Would you like to gain some more knowledge and skills about how to support your child’s reading?  Queensland Ready Reading is an initiative of the Queensland Government that aims to improve literacy skills across the State.  The Department of Education is partnering with Volunteering Queensland to recruit and train up to 3000 volunteers to support children’s reading.

An opportunity to attend Ready Reading training at our school has been organised. We invite our parents and our current volunteers to attend.  For parents, there is no obligation to commit to volunteering, but we encourage you to come and learn strategies to support your own child with their reading at home. If you do wish to volunteer in our school, we would welcome your involvement.  

The training involves attending two modules of two hours each.

  • Module 1 – Learning to read
  • how and why reading is taught in particular ways
  • essential components for learning to read: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and text comprehension
  •  building a bank of strategies to support reading and knowing when and how to use them
  • sight words and high-frequency words and how they are used when learning to read.
  • Module 2 – Supporting readers
  • overview of the stages of reading and the behaviours typically displayed during these stages
  • how to support readers before, during and after reading
  • how to use pause, prompt, praise strategy
  • using prompts for reading such as sounding out, reading on, chunking, re-reading and using pictures and visual cues
  •  how to give effective feedback.

You will have opportunities to see strategies modelled, and to practise these in pairs and receive feedback so that you feel confident to support a child’s reading to become a more confident and independent reader.

There is no cost for this training, and support materials will be provided by the Department of Education.

Thanks!

Have a wonderful week of learning!

Janette

Weekly Awards

Congratulations to our award winners.  Please click on link.

Term 4 Calendar

Download

Preps' Exciting Mail Delivery

Prep have been using their writing skills to write letters.  Last term we studied the author, Mem Fox and decided to write her a letter to ask her some questions.  We were very excited to receive a reply this week.  We were even impressed with her stationery!  

The Preps also received letters from students in Brisbane who will be our Pen Pals and we are now working on our reply letters.