Week 6 Term 1 - 2023

Dear Families,

Throughout Lent, we try to remind the children as much as possible about the Lenten promises that they have made around these practices. We check in regularly to see how they are going. more as a reminder to keep working at them.
I think it is timely that Pope Francis has provided us, as adults with some food for thought about the practice of fasting to reflect upon.

What a wonderful night we had last Friday night.  We came together in force, as a community to reflect on the flood event that changed lives, acknowledge the new experiences that have weaved into our lives and give thanks to the many, many people, schools and groups who supported us along the way.  

The night started with a beautiful liturgy that began with the children processing in, to the song 'Lean on Me' holding their Memorial Mosiac tiles and words of thanks for all that we have received. The tiles represented the small acts of kindness given to us, the memories evoked, pictures of joy and the bringing together of broken pieces, to create beauty(Kintsugi). 

During the Liturgy led by the children, the blessing song gave the students an opportunity to bless the parents present, bless each other and in turn have the parents bless them. We ended the Liturgy with the song 'From little things big things grow', as the children handed out glass pebbles decorated with a cross to every student, parent and visitor, to remind us that we can get through tough times and that Jesus is with us always.

The night was a wonderful success and being together again in community was a joy.  We are grateful to Mrs Boyd for organising the Liturgy, to Mrs Denison and Mrs Jan Seymour for organising and assisting the children and staff in creating their mosaics, to Amy and Len for their tremendous help in ensuring the finished product, and to Ms Nilon for organising the pebbles and our school journey video. 

Following the liturgy, the night continued with music, food, conversation, laughter and the opportunity to just be together. The jumping castle was a huge success- thanks to Cassie and Jesse Flanagan for providing it.  

Our Parent-Teacher interviews  will be held on Wednesday 22 March 2023 between 3 pm and 7pm.  Bookings will be opened this coming week through the Compass App. We will notify parents as soon as the bookings are opened. 

These meetings provide the opportunity to meet individually with teachers to discuss any goals, concerns or queries you may have regarding your child’s education and I urge you all, if possible, to avail yourself of this opportunity. We look forward to sharing this time with you to further support your child's progress. Thank you for your cooperation.

From next week we want the children to start focussing on the correct school uniform. We currently have a considerable range of incorrect shoes and socks being worn and the range of jewellery and nail polish etc that definitely falls outside the scope of our uniform rules.  Please assist us by checking that your child/children are in the correct uniform. Respect and pride in our uniform are an important part of our school regardless of where we are. It tells people who we are and what we stand for.  I am acutely aware of the situation of many of our parents and families and do not want to cause any added stress in relation to uniforms. This is about our students knowing and taking responsibility for their own uniforms.  Please contact the office or me if you have any concerns about the uniform and/or require any support. 

Next week our Year 3 & Year 5 students will start to take part in the National Assessment Program  on 15, 21 & 22 March. The National Assessment Program assesses literacy and numeracy skills. 

Information relating to NAPLAN has been sent home to parents. 

If you have a child sitting the tests next week please make sure that they:

• have an early night the night before,
• eat a healthy breakfast and,
• arrive at school on time in order to be calm and relaxed for the tests.

We wish them well and know that they will do their best as they always do!

We look forward to our next Parent Forum Meeting to be held this coming Wednesday 15 March at 6pm.

• Saturday 11 March               -Sacrament of Penance Family Meeting 3:45 pm
• Wednesday 15 March            -NAPLAN - writing; PARENT FORUM MEETING
• Friday 17 March                   -St Patrick's Feast Day
• Sunday 19 March                 -St Joseph's Feast Day
• Monday 20 March                 -Celebration of St Joseph's Day with St Joseph's                                               Coraki
• Tuesday 21 March                - NAPLAN- Reading and Language Conventions
• Wednesday 22 March            - NAPLAN- Numeracy
• Wednesday 22 March            - PARENT TEACHER MEETINGS

• Our students preparing to make their First Reconciliation
• Our Staff
• The way we are growing in our temporary site
• Our weekly award winners
• Our students
• Our families

Have a wonderful weekend!
Jeanette

Principal

Why InitiaLit?

The InitiaLit program is a research-based program from MultiLit. It has been trialled in many schools and has shown positive results in helping children become successful readers and writers.

• The InitiaLit program uses a sound-by-sound synthetic phonics approach to teach reading. Children are taught the relationships between letters and sounds in a sequential and systematic way, starting with easier skills and working up to more complex skills, and are shown how to put sounds together (blend) to read words, and how to break words into sounds (segment) to assist with spelling words. This is opposed to having children guess or try to work out the alphabetic code themselves, by looking at lots of books.
• The InitiaLit program also includes rich vocabulary instruction, and develops children’s language and comprehension skills. This is done by using quality literature (children’s storybooks). These storybooks are also used as springboards for creative and writing activities. 
• Like any skill that we learn (playing soccer, learning a musical instrument), practice makes progress! Reading and writing are very complex skills, and it will take several years for children to develop into proficient readers and writers, so InitiaLit ensures lots of opportunities for practice are provided. A large variety of activities are included in InitiaLit, for reading, handwriting, spelling and writing, some done as a whole class, and others in small groups or independently.

What does InitiaLit do?

InitiaLit teaches children how to read and spell through daily lessons, using research-based teaching methods. It also uses a range of engaging storybooks to develop children’s vocabulary, oral language and writing. InitiaLit will be used daily during the time set aside for literacy. InitiaLit meets the requirements of the Australian National Curriculum.

How can I support my child at home?

Take the time to listen to your child read regularly. They may like to choose their own book, or they may have brought a book home from school. Even if your child can read well, it is still appropriate and pleasurable to read to your child. This is a way of exposing your child to books that they may find difficult to read themselves. Provide a mix of non-fiction and fiction books to enjoy together. Discuss the story, pointing out any new words that may enrich their vocabulary.

It is also useful to help your child learn to read and spell the tricky words taught in class. A list of these words is found at the back of the Home Reading Diary. Your child may also bring home spelling words to practise. In addition to supporting your child’s reading and spelling, there are many ways to build your child’s vocabulary and oral language. Talk about words in the environment: the way they are spelled, what they mean, and what they convey. Make up stories together, do a crossword, play I Spy, sing songs, answer riddles, visit the local library, and limit screen time.

On Friday we were fortunate to have Terry O'Connor and Rod Hatcher visit our morning assembly to talk about ANZAC day and the upcoming commemorative ceremony. Our School Captains and Vice Captains were gifted with a 'Light up the Dawn" candle that they will carry through the march on ANZAC day. We thank Terry and Rod for taking the time to come and speak to our students and share stories leading up to ANZAC day. 

St Joseph’s School Cross Country - a date for your diary.

We will hold our school cross country at Stan Payne Oval on Tuesday 28th March (Week 9). The races will commence at 9:30 am and finish at approximately 11.30am.  All students will be walking to and from the oval. Please ensure your child has returned their “Permission Details 2023”.  All students in K-6 will participate in this event. More information will be shared closer to the cross country.