St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Wandal Newsletter

Food and drink are the obvious answers but we want so much more. A person who had rarely seen TV, commented after watching a few programmes with ads, ‘I never knew there was so much I needed!’ We all know that advertising plays on our emotions, turning wants into needs, making us hunger for things beyond our pay packet and then creating a sense of discontent. But even Jesus did a bit of advertising when he multiplied the bread and fish to feed the hungry crowds in the wilderness. The crowd missed the point, wanting to make Jesus king so he could become their 1st century fast food outlet – with no cost to themselves. Jesus had to escape from the crowds for a time for he wanted to give them something far deeper, and more important, than food and drink. He wanted to feed the heart, to sustain the depths of their being.

This is was the makers of ads play on: our deepest needs. We see contented families on holidays, a satisfied man driving a sports car (it is always a man) to surf mid-week, cats that come on call for the gourmet tined food – all of it unrealistic but still speaking to the profound need we have to love and to give ourselves in love. Last Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is Jesus’ multiplying of the food in the desert was really pointing to: him giving himself totally to us, loving us to the depths of our being and calling to give ourselves in love. Each Sunday this is what we celebrate at Mass. In the Eucharist, we believe that Jesus gives himself totally to us, inspiring and sustaining in our love for him, our family, friends and the community in which we live.

Loving Father, let me ponder on my wants and desires and let me realise that they really point to my deepest need: to love and be loved by you. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

Term Two has been an extremely busy term and, as always, I am most grateful to everyone for their very generous support. I wish all our students and their families a relaxing and refreshing two-week holiday break. The return to school looks to be busy already, with the following events scheduled:

·Tuesday 12 July –NAIDOC Mass at Holy Family Church for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander students

· Tuesday 12 July –Prep Parent Information Session

·Wednesday 13–Friday 15 July –Challenge Cup at St Brendan’s, Yeppoon

· Sunday 24 July –Catholic Education Week commences

Each week as a community of believers we celebrate through prayer and ritual what it means to be a Catholic. Prayers and rituals will be led by a whole class year level and the purpose is not to perform but to foster the development of our student's spiritual and faith journey. This may mean that not every child will speak or take an active part in leading the prayer assembly. The scripture reference from Matthew highlights and reminds us of the importance and purpose of our school Prayer Assemblies. Jesus said “Where two or three gather in my name, I am there with them” Matthew 18:20.

Next term I will hold an informal afternoon tea and I invite families to come along and have a chat about the Sacramental Program. I’d love to share the children’s experiences and commitment involved with the Sacramental Program, and how we as a school community can assist other families alongside the Rockhampton Southside Parish.

 With the holidays fast approaching it is a timely reminder to develop some safe gaming habits that help to keep our students informed of the possible risks online.  The link below has relevant information pertaining to online gaming with some tips that may be useful.  https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/big-issues/gaming

Our Year Five Students will be travelling to TCC tomorrow to see first-hand what High School is all about. Students will take part in Hospitality/Catering, Information Technology, Manual Arts, Drama, Art and Science lessons. Students are reminded to bring their school hat and water bottle. Lunch we be provided for students visiting The Cathedral College.

Parent Lounge and Report Cards -Semester One Report Cards will be available via Parent Lounge tomorrow 4pm (Thursday, 23 June). As always, school computers are available for parent use upon request.

In Year Three, students understood how traditional stories are used to assist with mapping the land. During our open classroom time we: 

• Retold a traditional story (which assisted with the creation of songlines told by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples).
• Drew this traditional story in the sand. This enhanced our understanding of narrative traditions and we recognised how this story helps to map the land.

Year Three also created our own picture books to share with our families. We enjoyed learning all about how to write imaginative stories this term. 

Mrs Hutchinson's Year One classes have been busy building bridges.  The students designed, tested and refined their bridges.  How amazing are these young engineers!

Year 6 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students from across the Rockhampton Region, came together for a Deadly Day Out. Students spent the day connecting, celebrating, and strengthening their cultural identity at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre.  The day also provided opportunities for students to connect with Emmaus College and The Cathedral College Indigenous Liaison Officers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. We were all very privileged to listen to Aunty Judy, a well respected Elder in our community, who shared her education journey and offered words of wisdom to everyone listening.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent together, it was a DEADLY Day Out!

Please take the opportunity over the two-week school break to ensure that your children have the correct uniform for the commencement of Term Three. This includes correct school hats, jumpers, socks, shoes, hair accessories and jewellery. If unsure about whether the choice of new uniform items are acceptable, we are only too happy to assist. Alternatively, the Uniform Policy is available on the school website or from the school office.

We wish to advise you that, during the past week, we have been notified of positive cases of COVID-19 in our school community.

St Joseph’s regularly consults with the Catholic Education Office and relevant authorities and continues to follow the advice of Queensland Health regarding cleaning requirements.

Queensland Health has advised that no quarantine of students or staff is required as a result of school-based contact.

As COVID-19 remains active in our community we ask you to continue to monitor your child’s/children’s health and if they develop any flu-like symptoms:

·         Keep your child/children at home

·         Seek a PCR or Rapid Antigen test where it is recommended and notify the school of positive results.

·         Follow the advice of Queensland Health

As we continue to navigate the pandemic, please remind your child/ren to:

·         maintain good hand hygiene at all times

·         cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of their elbow and dispose of tissues in the bin immediately.

·         practice social distancing from others where possible

·         wear masks when required

We will continue to work closely with health authorities to keep our school community informed of any developments and advice. Thank you once again for your ongoing support.

We are now accepting enrolments for Prep 2023. If you have a child who is eligible to commence Prep next year or know of others who may be interested in enrolling at St. Joseph’s, please visit the ‘Enrol Now’ section of the website to complete the application form. https://www.sjwlrok.catholic.edu.au/enrol

Siblings of existing students NEED to apply also and will be required to attend an interview.