St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Wandal Newsletter

15 July 2020

Casting the Net - Weekly Prayer Reflection

Children Grow You Up

Children grow you up – that was one of my mother’s aphorisms. Entering into the challenge of rearing children, we take on one of the most powerful forces for personal growth that we will ever be given. But it is not easy.  Last year, I took care of my brother’s family while he went overseas for medical treatment, with his wife.  At first, I messed up and almost wrecked myself but then I found a better rhythm – both for the children and for me.

Last Sunday’s parable, The Parable of the Sower, Mt 13:1-23, should really be called the Parable of the Seed.  It about how the Kingdom of God grows in the lives of people.  You can read it as being about how parenting makes you grow – or not.  There are four scenarios: three ways growth fails to take place and one in which it flourishes.  Simply put, I summarise them as distractions, life too hard, life too easy and the right balance.   We can fail to grow in our parenting if we allow ourselves to be distracted by too many things.  We can fail to grow in our parenting by allowing our children’s needs and wants to dominate our lives.  We can fail to grow in our parenting by taking it too easy and not being involved in their lives. 

Growth will take place within us when we give parenting its rightful place in our lives. Occasionally we need to stop and reflect on the balance we have in our lives with regard to our child/ren.  This is the place where God wants to meet you and give you the love and wisdom you need.  God wants to parent you and through you your children.  Take the time to stop, reflect, pray and accept the wisdom you will be given.

Loving Father, you know how much my child/ren mean to me.  Send me your wise Spirit that I may have a good balance in my life that fosters growth in them and in me.  I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.   

Sr Kym Harris osb


From the Principal

Welcome back to Term Three

Welcome back to the second semester of the school year, 2020. I hope that our students have had an enjoyable two-week winter break and are back refreshed and ready to go for what promises to be another busy term. 

We welcome two new students, Anya and Aria Broadbent who join our Year 6 and 4 classes. Welcome too, to Mrs Jessica Capra who joins our staff as a Teacher Assistant, working across a number of year levels.  I know these students and staff, and their families, will be made to feel most welcome by the school community.

Congratulations to Mrs Jorgensen and Mrs Pitt (Teacher Assistants), who both became first-time grandmothers over the school holiday break. The Pitt family has welcomed baby William, and the Jorgensen family has welcomed baby Vincent. We send best wishes and blessings to both families.

Thank you to the many families who utilised our Vacation Care services over the break. I heard that lots of fun was had by all! My thanks too to Hailey Svensen and her team of OSHC assistants for the wonderful activities that were organised for the children.

I am on long service leave this week, completing some postgraduate study. I look forward to catching up with you all when I return next Tuesday. In the meantime, please contact Mrs Starr or Miss McLennan should you have any concerns or queries.

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 Updates

COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, however please be aware that many control measures must still be maintained. Parents and volunteers are once again welcomed into the school (we've missed you), unless you are unwell. A physical distance of 1.5 metres must be maintained between adults and good health and hygiene etiquette should be practiced. Visitors must sign in and out at the school office.

Please do not congregate in areas around the school, for example the quadrangle or near classrooms.

All classes have returned to finishing at 3pm. Please display your surname signs in our pickup lines to assist us with getting your children into their cars and safely and as quickly as we can.

Parent Lounge and Report Cards

Semester One Report Cards will be available via Parent Lounge this Friday, 17 July. It is the responsibility of all parents to ensure that you have access (including your parent code and password) to Parent Lounge before this time. As always, school computers are available for parent use upon request. Paper copies of Report Cards will not be distributed.

 

Prep Parent 2021 Information Session (for families new to our school)

Emails have been distributed inviting prospective families to attend our Prep Parent Information Session on Thursday 23 July at 5.30pm. If you know of anyone interested in enrolling their children at our wonderful school for 2021, please urge them to complete the necessary paperwork as soon as possible.

House Days


This term we will have three House Days. Children will sit in mixed age, house groupings for their lunchtimes. There will be a ‘special’ lunchtime activity for the students to participate in, chosen by the Year 6 House Captains.

Our first House Day is next Friday, 24 July. MacKillop House, led by Sports Captains, Marshall and Maia are organising this day. Instead of the normal Tuck-shop Menu, Pizza is available for our students’ lunches. Please order and pay, via Flexischools. Please note that the cut-off for ordering will be Wednesday 22 July at 3pm. A staff vs student ‘dodgeball’ game has been organized for some lunchtime entertainment.

All students, no matter which house or year level they are in will be able participate in the fun and have the option to order the ‘special’ lunch.

Two more House Days will follow later in the term:

Friday Week 6, 21/8/20 - organised by Tenison

Friday Week 10, 18/9/20 - organised by Penola


Implementation of Child Safety Curriculum

All classes will undertake their Child Safety Curriculum studies this term.

 The Child Safety Curriculum became mandatory for all Diocesan Catholic Education Office schools from 2015.

 The curriculum is based on principles of best practice in child safety education and centres around three key messages: Recognise, React and Report. Through a series of lessons, students will learn how to recognise, react and report when they are unsafe or find themselves in situations that can have a significant detrimental effect on their physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing.

The content included in the Child Safety Curriculum aligns with what has been included in the Personal Development Education in our schools over the past 15 years. All content has been approved by our Bishop Michael McCarthy and by our Diocesan Director, Miss Leesa Jeffcoat.

Please follow the link for a detailed overview of the concepts and terminology your children will have exposure to. Research has told us that the correct use of anatomical names is important in preventing child sex abuse. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please see your child’s teacher.

No Hat, No Play


A reminder that we have a 'no hat, no play' rule here at St Joseph's Wandal.  Please ensure your child has a clearly named school hat each and every day.

 

Homework Club - recommencing Week 2

Homework Club will recommence next week and will operate every Tuesday afternoon in the Be-Hive (3.20-4.20pm.) Homework Club is available for children in Years 3-6 and is supervised by senior students from The Cathedral College. Parents (and students) who wish to take advantage of this service will need to book in by contacting the school office by 10am each Tuesday. Students are welcome to bring a small snack and will need to be collected from the Be-Hive promptly at 4:20 pm.

 

Important Dates Term 3

Please check the parent lounge portal for details.

Have a great week,

Kellie Jenkinson

From the Assistant to the Principal: Religious Education (APRE)

Prayer Reflection - Gospel focus

Jesus tells the parable of the sower whose grain fell on a path, on rocky ground, among thorns and finally on good soil where it thrived. It was only the last lot of seeds that survived, but they were all part of the one sowing. Jesus was alluding to the success (or not) of his message; but we can read it as a metaphor for our faith journey, which goes through all the experiences mentioned above – bad times and good. Sometimes our spiritual experience gets swallowed up by our consuming worldly interests, sometimes it can feel shallow and dry, at other times it gets choked by all the negativity in life and then there are the times when it thrives. All these experiences are a real part of our faith life and the fertile moments help us to weather the rest.

© Jenny Close (Liturgy Help)

Prayer Assembly and Awards

As restrictions begin to ease we look forward to inviting parents and grandparents to once again join us for our Friday prayer celebrations, which will generally be held in the Hall. To reduce the number of people in the Hall we have decided that students and teachers from Year 1, 3, 5 and 6 will attend assembly this Friday and the following Friday students and teachers from Prep, 2, 4, and 6 will attend prayer assembly.  In an effort to ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in prayer, the assembly will be recorded and distributed to classes. 

This Friday Year 6 will lead prayer and Year 1, 3 and 5 will attend.

Next Friday  the 24 July, Year 5 will lead prayer and Prep, 2, 4 and 6 will attend.


Teachers will present their student awards each fortnight during the assembly the class attends.


NAIDOC WEEK

Traditionally NAIDOC WEEK is acknowledged and celebrated  in the first week of Term Three.  On Tuesday we joined the NAIDOC Mass via live stream.  This Friday, Year 6 prayer focus will acknowledge NAIDOC Week during our assembly.

We have decided to move our NAIDOC celebrations to later in the term.  In doing this we are able to have have guest speakers and a local indigenous artists visit and work with our students.

This week we were fortunate enough to have Diocesan Indigenous Liason Officer Cas Burgen visit classes and help our students create art that highlighted the importance of NAIDOC week.

 



Catholic Education Week

Free Webinar to help raise your kids

Fitzroy Basin Survey - a chance for us to win $5000 funding for an environmental project

Fitzroy Basin Association is awarding over $15,000 to be invested towards environmental projects. $5,000+ of this will be given to a local business, $5,000+ to a local education provider and $5,000+ to a local community group. Every time someone completes a survey they get to nominate a local organisation of their choice to win and Fitzroy Basin Association add another dollar to the prize pool.

To increase our chances of winning (and increase the amount of money there is to win), please fill in the survey and nominate St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wandal.

This survey is Fitzroy Basin residents one in five year opportunity to have a say about the natural assets and how they are managed.

 Follow this link to start the survey – https://www.fba.org.au/2020-natural-assets-survey/

Parish Bulletin 11 - 12 July

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Have a great week,

Rheanna Starr

Curriculum Update: From the APC

Semester One Report Cards

Semester One Report Cards will be available via Parent Lounge on Friday 17 July.  I wanted to remind you that these reports may look a little different to those that we have issued previously, and not contain results for every key learning area. 

Advice from the Diocesan Catholic Education Office and the Queensland government has been that the curriculum (during the period of 'learning from home') was narrowed to focus on Religious Education, English, Mathematics and Science or HaSS. Other learning areas were addressed in Semester One, but a focus was placed on the learning areas outlined.

These reports will provide a level of achievement for Religion, Mathematics, English and either Science or HaSS, but I would emphasise that the results are indicative and reflect reduced assessment information.  Classes will report on either Science or HaSS, not both.  This has been a choice left up to each year level.

Our reports will include a comment about the learning experiences your child engaged in (only in the learning areas of Religion, Mathematics and English).  The reports will also include a brief general comment. The same work habits we have described previously will also be assessed.  In keeping with advice provided by the Queensland government and our Diocesan Catholic Education Office, attendance data will not be reported for Semester One.

Flexischools

As you would have seen (via the message distributed yesterday on the app) Flexischools online ording system is changing the cut-off time for tuckshop orders.  All orders are due by 8:00a.m. each tuckshop day.

After School Pickup Locations

Parents are reminded that the car park and the drive-through are the only places students are to wait for parents.  The bus pickup in Rundle Street is for students who are travelling from school by bus only.

Term Three PE Information

In P.E. this term we are very lucky to have Jamie Simpson from Darumbal Community Youth Services visiting us to deliver some programs. Students in Years 3-6 will be participating in the Tackle6 program. This program runs across 6 weeks and aims to use rugby league as a vehicle to address issues that may hinder students’ ability to learn in primary school. Students will ‘tackle’ bullying, teamwork, leadership, communication, physical activity and self-awareness.

Students in Prep-2 will be participating in the Traditional Indigenous Games – Yimba Bira Program. This 3 week program focuses on increasing physical activity using traditional game techniques and creating an  awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

​Following the Tackle6 and Yimba Bira programs we will be working on athletics skills including high jump, long jump, shot put, relays and ball games. This will culminate in a fun event in Week 10 P.E. times (much like we did for our Cross Country Obstacle Course in Term Two) in lieu of our Athletics Carnival.

Looking forward to an action packed Term 3!

Brittany Hinz

P.E. Teacher

Calling all Film Makers

Create a one minute film encouraging your community to recycle their old mobile phones. The theme for the 2020 competition is Small actions. Big Impact.

You don’t have to be an experienced filmmaker to take part – all you need is an idea, imagination and motivation. Winning films will receive a $5000 JB Hi-Fi vochure to further develop their film career.

Entry is free and is open to all primary, secondary and tertiary students in Australia. Take a look at our previous winners and education resources for inspiration. Film entries are due 21 September 2020. Finalists will be announced 19 October and winners 5 November 2020.

This year there will be a People’s Choice Award. The community will be able to vote for their favourite film between 19 to 30 October. Winners will be showcased during National Recycling Week in November. Good luck!

Excellence in Art Design Competition

Premier's Coding Challenge

Outside School Hours Care Updates and Reminders

CHANGES TO DROP OFF / COLLECTION PROCEDURES

 Welcome back to Term 3, 2020! OSHC staff are excited to be welcoming you back into the service this week (Monday 13th July 2020), unless you are unwell. COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, however please be aware that many control measures must still be maintained. A physical distance of 1.5 metres must be maintained between adults and good health hygiene etiquette should be practiced.

Please do not congregate in areas around OSHC or the school grounds while dropping or collecting your children at the service (for example our sign in/out space, the OSHC room, undercover area etc.).

Our sign in/out desk will be re-located to the undercover area (just outside the room) to be more accessible for families and assist in current social distancing practices.

OSHC FEES

A reminder that OSHC fees are back to normal as of this week, with statements being sent out of a Monday afternoon and payments being processed on the Tuesday.

VACATION CARE

Our June/July Vacation care break was extremely busy with the children being offered a huge range of activities. The favourite activities were our messy play options (paper Mache) and gardening constructions.

After lots of planning and a long wait, we finally have our garden in operation and have planted some vegetables. Throughout our planning process, we discovered ‘companion plants’ as well as plants that are natural bug deterrents and have planted these alongside our vegetables.

There is still lots to do however the children are very proud of the transformation of their garden in such a short time.

If you have any questions or concerns or have any vacation care activity ideas to pass along for our next holiday break, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0429 316 543.

Premier's Reading Challenge

UPDATE:  MacKillop is currently in the lead!

Have you seen the videos on facebook from our house captains?  The Premier's reading challenge is on.  We want to see as many forms completed as possible.  Let's all get reading and may the best house win!

Premier's Reading Challenge - Reader Record form

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Have a great week,

Janette McLennan

Outside School Hours Care & Vacation Care Event Schedule

Parents/Carers,

 Please be advised that as of Monday the 12th of July 2020, OSHC fees are scheduled to return to normal (the emergency relief package will no longer be applied to your OSHC fees).

You will then have your statements emailed out to you each Monday of your nominated payment cycle, with your payment being processed on the Tuesday and coming out of your account on your nominated day of the week. We will keep you updated if there are any changes to this information, closer to the date.

 If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.


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Weekly Awards

Congratulations to our award weekly award winners.  Click on the  link for further details

Parking Around Schools

Important information from Road Safety
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Triple P - Raising Resilient Children

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