Dear Families

And so begins Term 3. The children have settled into their learning and Term 3 with ease. It's always a joy to witness their initial excitement at seeing each other and being back together again. I hope that the holiday break was an enjoyable and fruitful one for you all. We look forward to returning to full learning across all the Key Learning Areas this term.

Over the holidays we were very fortunate to receive 2 more demountable classrooms. and a newly cemented walking area. Thanks to Kym Griffiths (CSO), James Rix and Matt Painter for the amazing efforts over the holidays to bring it all together for us. The new concrete was the big hit with the children.  This week we are having data and electricity connected to the classrooms and hope to move in towards the end of next week. 

Year 5 and Year 6 will move into the new classrooms. 

We are working to convert the current Year 5/6 room into a meeting room,  a counsellor room and a reading intervention room (Part of our wish list).

We are pleased to be working towards the following excursions:

STAGE 2 

Will be going on an excursion to the  Coffs Coast Adventure Centre. The excursion has been planned for Wed 17 August to Fri 19 August, Term 3. 

The activities students will participate in are designed to positively impact student learning and development, in fun and exciting ways. Students take part in fun group challenges and activities that promote key learning through: Relationships - developing skills in communication, problem-solving, cooperation, negotiation, respect and care; Outdoors – nurturing an appreciation of the natural environment and sustainability; Action – reinforcing the importance of physical activity for wellbeing; Resilience –collaborating, negotiating and reflecting on difficult challenges to build courage and strength.

The  Curriculum areas addressed on this excursion: include Science and Technology - The Living World, Geography - The Earth’s Environment and Religion: -  One with God’s Creation.

STAGE 3 

The Stage 3 excursion to Canberra for 2022 is being organised for Term 4 (24 -27 October 2022).  The excursion is designed to support the classroom learning of the Stage 3 HSIE- History unit ‘Australia as a Nation’ (History).

The Excursion includes visits to, immersion and learning about: 

• Parliament House 
• The National Australian Museum
• The Electoral Commission 
•  Museum of Australian Democracy 
•  Australian Institute of Sport  
• The Australian War Memorial 
• The National Arboretum
•  Mt Ainslie and Duntroon
• The National Capital Exhibition 

An expression of interest has been sent home to be returned by Monday 25 July.

A reminder to our current families who would like to enrol siblings for next year, we are enrolling students now. You can enrol online or download an enrolment pack from our school website. I will commence enrolment interviews from August 1-5 so that acceptance letters can be sent out as soon as possible before Junior Joeys.
Please make sure that you spread the word to friends and relatives who are looking to start their child in Kindergarten in 2023.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Regards

Principal 

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION: 

Year C - The 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Gospel Reading: Luke 11:1-13

In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus teaches us that God our Father is always accessible and that prayer is one of the most important ways that we can communicate with him. Jesus gave his disciples and us the words we can use to talk to God in prayer, that is the most famous Christian prayer, the Our Father, or the Lord's Prayer. The prayer incorporates the important elements of praise, the need for nourishment, forgiveness and protection.

STORMBIRDS: Growing through natural disaster 

We were very pleased with the number of families who have made the decision to support our Stormbirds program. We are in the process of organising the small groups and further information will be sent home to families very soon.

The Stormbirds small group program of 4 sessions (50-60 minutes) aims to support children

• Manage the personal impact of the changes they have experienced
• Understand that their reactions are normal
• To “take charge” of their attitudes, feelings and behaviours
• Develop skills for coping, problem-solving and decision making
• Build their support network with families, friends, teachers and others

 Resilience building and strengthening supportive relationships are vital aspects of recovering from such large-scale change events as natural disasters and the challenges that have had to be faced in their wake.

Stormbirds: will commence in Term 3 Stormbirds will be organised and facilitated by Ms Danielle Nilon, Mrs Amy Bolkum and Mrs Megan Boyd

St Joseph’s is pleased to be able to offer this important program and we are confident that it will be a valuable learning experience for those who request to be involved.

Important Dates: 

* Friday 5th August: Stage 2 Mass - and the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation of Ayla Stahl at 9:30 am at the St John's Anglican Church Evans Head All Welcome 

* Monday 8th August: the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop - Founder of the Josephite Sisters who started our school

* Monday 15 August: Feast of the Assumption of Mary

* Friday 2nd September: Stage One and Early Stage One Mass- Father's Day 9:30 am at the St John's Anglican Church Evans Head All Welcome

* Thursday 22nd September:  Stage 3 Mass 9:30 am at the St John's Anglican Church Evans Head All Welcome

Richmond Zone Athletics

Next  Thursday, the Zone Athletics Carnival is going ahead at St John’s College Woodlawn. For your child to attend this event, permission needs to occur via the Compass event. It is extremely important that the information in this event is read. Information includes the order of events, canteen price list and venue map.

If your child is unable to attend, please decline the event as withdrawals need to be made prior to the carnival.  

Join us in a judgment-free environment, for an engaging + impactful workshop. We will take some timeout and share some laughs, maybe shed a tear, and talk about what’s going on for all of us.
After two hours you’ll leave a little lighter with some tools to help you check in, in real and honest ways with your friends, family and loved ones.

Baby sitting will be available at the Woodburn Preschool from 5:00pm to 7:45pm (dinner provided).
Limited babysitting available. Apply via email by Friday 12/8/22.
evansheadwoodburnpreschool@gmail.com

This FREE @tomorrowwoman_au event is proudly brought to you by Evans Head Preschool Association, with thanks to Richmond Valley Council Community Recovery and Resilience Fund, Healthy North Coast.