St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Wandal Newsletter

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated across Queensland from 28 July – 3 August 2019.

This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.  The theme for this year’s celebrations is:  Many Voices. One Spirit.

Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

There are 306 Catholic schools in Queensland that educate around 149,000 students and employ more than 20,000 teachers and staff, and most will celebrate Catholic Education Week in some way.

Our school is planning a number of activities during the week and we hope you are able to join in the celebrations with us. These activities are outlined further in the newsletter.

I thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you during Catholic Education Week 2019.

Yours sincerely

 Kellie Jenkinson

Principal

What do you want to hear in five years time?

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” So ran the children’s taunt. Christians don’t believe that.  In fact we have a belief in the great power of words. One of the primary images used to describe the coming of God in Jesus is “The Word (of God) was made flesh.”  This gives us a clue to the impact that words can have in our lives.  Loving words can be better than a caress, harsh words worse than a blow and inspiring words can change the direction of a person’s life. 

What would you like your children’s words to sound like in five or ten years time? Watch how you speak now.  Yes, they will be influenced by their peers but your words will have more power in the long run.  Listening to you they could learn that people can be funny, witty, honest, forthright, assertive even passionate without vulgarity, bullying, ridicule or harshness.  Much is being said at present at the lowering of the standard of public discourse- but it can also be raised, one word, one person, one family, one school at a time.  It will take some effort. The cheap vulgar words come out so easily and it takes some thought to be witty, but in the long run it is much more fun.  Instead of being weapons of attack, our words can be a source of joy and delight. 

Loving God, help me to watch what I say and give an example to my child/ren.  In years to come, may I hear my language echoed back to me and may I delight in what I hear.  I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me. 

Sr Kym Harris osb

We have had a  very busy start to Term Three!

Congratulations to  our Challenge Cup Rugby League and Netball teams who played three days of competition at St Brendan's College, Yeppoon last week. The students must be commended on their perseverance, sportsmanship and 'have a go' attitude. I saw vast improvements in our teams over the course of the competition, and one of the children actually said to me, "Mrs Jenkinson! I didn't know our team was this GOOD!" Many thanks to Mrs Clark, Mr Lemeki, Mrs Riley and Mrs Pitt for supervising and coaching our teams. Thank you too, to all of the parents and grandparents who were able to either transport children to and from the carnival or stay and cheer our teams on.

I draw your attention to our upcoming feast day celebrations, which will be held at The Rockhampton Heritage Village. Mrs Starr is working hard to organise the activities on this day. We will have a Pizza and Chips lunch on this day. Ordering will only be available via Flexischools and the cut-off for ordering will be 2 August.  Please see further in the newsletter for more details.

This Friday marks the anniversary of our dear friend, Father Chris Schick's passing. Staff will gather for prayer on this day to remember and pray for Father Chris. 

Our Year Six Camp is now only three weeks away! Mrs Fishburn will be contacting families with outstanding paperwork over the next week. Please note, it is an expectation that EVERY child in Year 6 attends the camp. This is an important part of the children's  academic, spiritual, physical and social experience of Year 6. As we outlined at the Parent Information Session held late last term, we are more than happy to discuss any concerns you have, allay any fears and ensure your child has a wonderful experience. Please note that final numbers have now been given to both the transport and accommodation providers. 

As parents would have heard at the information session, I was planning on attending the camp this year. Unfortunately,  some unavoidable work and study commitments have popped up, which are not able to be rescheduled. Mrs Andrea Rutherford has excitedly agreed to attend camp, alongside Mrs Riley and Jourdan Novak.

Our 2020 Prep Parent Information Session will be held TOMORROW , Thursday 25 July at 5.15pm in the Hall. Children are not required at this Parent information Session and supervision will not be provided.

Our next P and F Meeting will be held in the Be-Hive, next Thursday 1 August at 5pm. The school board will meet immediately afterwards at 6pm.

Each year, as we celebrate Catholic Education Week, we are encouraged to participate in some “Acts of Kindness” to highlight the values of social justice and compassion that are integral to all Catholic Schools.  This year we celebrate Catholic Education Week from Sunday 28 July to Saturday 3 August.

At St Joseph's Wandal a small group of Mini Vinnies students will visit Blue Care to donate some blankets and share our gifts and talents with some of the residents.  

We also look forward to launching Catholic Education Week with a  prayer celebration led by Year 2B on Monday, a visit from Mini Vinnies Youth Co-ordinator Samara Thompson, a visual display in the Be-Hive of what it means to be a part of Catholic Education, mindfulness sessions, Under 8's Day activities and a community picnic on the oval.

We look forward to many families joining us as we celebrate Catholic Education Week.

On August 5 Ned’s Mindset Mission will be visiting the school for a performance at 8.35 am in the Hall.

What is Ned’s Mindset Mission?

N - Never give up  - Understand the Power of Yet

E - Encourage others - Spark Courage in other people

D - Do your best always be learning and growing

NED’s Mindset Mission is a positive behaviour assembly visiting our school!  A performer takes our students on a 45-minute journey filled with storytelling, illusions, yo-yo tricks and humour. The assembly introduces the character NED who is on a very important mission to find his mindset. Our students will be inspired by how NED faces unexpected challenges with a growth mindset. NED’s message and memorable friends inspire students, promote academic achievement, and support our school goals. NED will become a positive role model at both school and at home.

For over 25 years, Ned's Mindset Mission has used yo-yo tricks in their school performances. They  share that while yo-yoing is cool and simple, it’s not always easy. Everyone who learns to yo-yo will make mistakes along the way. Students are told that if they try yo-yoing, it’s important to learn from mistakes and never give up. Teachers and parents often see children practice persistence and find great fulfillment in doing their personal best as they learn to yo-yo with NED. Best of all, this “NED mindset” is infinitely transferable to school subjects!

Yo-yos let schools host the show without using money from their budget. If a school chooses to participate in the Pay it Forward, which St Joseph's Wandal is, they get the performance and follow-up teacher resources for free. Then, they host a Pay-It-Forward sale of NED yo-yos. When families choose to purchase a yo-yo, they don’t just get a tool for helping their child practice persistence, they’re also helping to send NED's Mindset Mission to the next school!

Our school will be having a NED sale of yo yos starting on Monday 5th August, the day of the performance, and will continue until Friday 9th. There will be a designated area in the office. There will also be a NED zone where the children can learn skills and practise with their yo yos. It would be great to support the NED show so that it can continue to spread the positive messages to other schools. More information will be sent home in the next newsletter regarding the sale of yo yos. 

Each year the children of  St Joseph's Wandal are invited to participate in the Procession of the Flags at the Multicultural Mass, 9.30am, Sunday 25 August. If you would like your child to participate in this procession at Mass, could you please let me know as soon as possible, so I can pass this information onto the parish, and ensure there is a flag available for them.

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.

The Year Five class will be attending the final rehearsal of Emmaus' 2019 Musical, 'Cats' on Thursday 25 July (9:30am -12:30pm). The cost of this has been added to school fees.  

Congratulations to our Award Winners. Follow this link details 

Please follow this link for term dates.

Our current meal of the month is homemade Beef Stroganoff. Ingredients are: 

Meals are available for $7 on Wednesday and Friday.

Mrs Brady is in need of more volunteers to assist in the Tuckshop. The Tuckshop's main purpose is to provide a service to our community, not to necessarily make huge profits for the school. Without volunteers, our Tuckshop cannot run effectively, and we may need to consider only opening on one day per week into the future. If you would like to offer your assistance, please contact the school office.

Whooping Cough

Queensland Health has advised Rockhampton Catholic Education that whooping cough is currently prevalent in the wider community.

Whooping cough is a contagious respiratory infection and can affect people of any age.  In some individuals, the infection may only cause a persistent cough, in others it may start like a cold with a runny nose, sneezing and tiredness, and then progress to the characteristic coughing bouts. 

It is suggested that parents remind children of the following hygiene practices:

·         stay home when you are sick;

·         wash your hands frequently with soap and water or hand sanitiser gel;

·         wash your hands before and after touching your eyes, nose and mouth;

·         when coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues which should be disposed of immediately;

·         don't share items such as glasses or cups, lipstick, toys or anything which could be contaminated with respiratory secretions;

·         maintain at least one metre distance from people who have flu-like symptoms such as coughing or sneezing

Vaccination, exclusion and early diagnosis is important to limit the spread of whooping cough in our community.  Anyone who displays symptoms of whooping cough is encouraged to seek medical advice.  For further information please contact Queensland Health on www.health.qld.gov.au or phone 13HEALTH (13 432584).

Thank you to all parents who have responded to the request for coaching and players.  Please see below, which teams are still requiring  players and coaches. Kindly email the school by Thursday 25 July sjwl@rok.catholic.edu.au if you would like to offer your assistance.

Under 12 Boys  -  10 Players (Full)             Coach – Kel O’Meara

Under 12 Mixed -  1 Girl and Five Boys – Require 4 Girls 

Under 10 Boys - 7 players – Require 1     Coach - Required

Under 10 Girls – 9 players – FULL     Coach – Ashley Price

Under 10 Mixed – 8 Players – Require 1 Girl and 1 Boy    Coach - Required

Under 8 Boys – 9 players – FULL       Coach - Required

Under 8 Girls – 6 players – Require 4       Coach - Required

Under 8 Mixed – 7 Players – Require 2 Girls and 1 Boy    Coach - Required

Under 6 Mixed – 12 Players FULL               Coach – Rob Lovegrove

Please see attached link.