Term 2 Week 3 - May 9th, 2023
From the Principals Desk
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to week 3! May I begin by congratulating our St Joseph’s Cross Country team that represented our school so well at the Zone carnival on Friday. We had some pleasing success in all age divisions, with all competitors from our school performing admirably! A big improvement from our previous few years, testament to the training and efforts of our sport Coordinator, Ms Daly, and the students. Those early morning beep tests and Saturday running club have made a huge difference to the fitness of the students. Well done!
Mother’s Day Friday - Friday afternoon tea and liturgy
It is that time of year when we take a special day to place focus on our mums. We invite you to join us this Friday for an afternoon tea and liturgy to express our gratitude and to show you how much we care! Full details are in today’s newsletter.
Canteen Coordinator - Urgently needed!
We thank our Canteen coordinator, Alanna Mooney, for getting our canteen up and running for 2023. Unfortunately, Alanna is unable to continue in this capacity so we are again on the hunt for a Canteen Coordinator. Our sincerest gratitude goes to Trish Kent (past parent) who is still supporting our canteen coordination this year until we find a coordinator. Thanks Trish!
The role is simply to order the necessary food supplies and arrange the volunteer roster for Wednesdays and Fridays. If anyone is interested, or even a couple of people, in taking on the role please contact the school.
Tell Them From Me - Parent survey
As you are aware the Parent survey seeking feedback on our school is currently available to families. We value your feedback and would love you to have your say! So far we have only had 8 responses, we need atleast 30! It closes on 12th May! The link to the survey:
http://tellthemfromme.com/stjosephsmbah
Have a great week!
Peace and blessings,
Jason Clarke
Principal
"You Can Do It!" Awards
CELEBRATING SUCCESS
Kinder
Hudson Neale for Persistence and “I Can Do It” Thinking.
Bronson Roe for Persistence and “I Can Do It” Thinking.
Year 1
Millie Anderson for Organisation and Planning my Time.
Luca Campbell for Confidence and "I Can Do It" Thinking.
Year 2
Kobe Robinson for Confidence and “I Can Do It” Thinking.
Braxton Neale for Organisation and Planning my Time.
Year 3
Sonny Moore for displaying Confidence and 'I Can Do It" Thinking.
Amelia Bedser for displaying Confidence and 'I Can Do It" Thinking.
Year 4
Isla Alley for Organisation, Planning her Time wisely and having a Growth Mindset.
Jaxon Mann for Persistence, Giving Effort and having a Growth Mindset.
Year 5
Zilli Hatton for Persistence and Giving Effort.
Max Bourke for Persistence and Giving Effort.
Year 5
For Getting Along and having a Growth Mindset at their 1st Leadership Day.
Year 6
Ethan Donatini for Resilience and Thinking First.
Damon Woodward for Resilience and Thinking First.
Living the Gospel
Mini Vinnies Taking Off
Minyma bought a new lease on life to the mission of St Vincent de Paul in our school. We called all students inspired by social justice to join our Mini Vinnies team. We have our largest team of young disciples who are called to action. The team met for the first time on Thursday and have already co-created a plan for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal.
We aim to reach an $850 target so we can purchase the items voted for during Minyma to support the Murwillumbah community. Ask your child about this voting as all students participated in this process with Mrs Sidorko during her Minyma activity.
The Mini Vinnies team wishes to thank you in advance for supporting us in this worthwhile mission, we couldn't do it without you!
Our Winter Appeal Fundraising opportunities are as follows:
Week 4: Tuesday 16th May - iceblocks $1 (until none left)
Week 4: Friday 19th May - Dress up day - gold coin donation
Week 5: Tuesday 26th May - cake stall - all items are either 50c or $1
Grandparents are most welcome to attend!
Curriculum News
Kinder has learnt 9 sounds!
The excitement is MASSIVE in Kindergarten!
Kindergarten have officially learnt 9 sounds! We have been reading books and writing words using the sounds m, s, t, a, p, i, f, r and o. Lots of students have said that it feels pretty amazing and identified that when they started Kinder, they really only knew how to read and write their names. What a wonderful achievement! Only a short time of learning has gone by and this is a skill they will be using for the rest of their lives. As they say, from little things big things grow. Now…time to learn the rest!
Well done Kindergarten! We are SO proud of you.
Stage 3 attended the musical "Back to the 80's...the totally awsome musical!"
Below are some recounts from students.
Back to the 80's by MSPC
The Back to the 80s play was thrilling! It was amazing, there were plot twists that you would never know were coming. It had drama, love and it was interesting to see what clothes they wore in the 80s. Tiffany loved Michael but then Tiffany saw that Michael was breaking hearts so she broke up with him and was getting together with Cory. There were lots of songs that the band helped with, there were songs that they sang by themselves or there were song overs. I think I enjoyed the play too much and really recommend it! Thanks to MSPC for letting us come and for the band for a great play!
MSPC Musical - Back to the 80’s
Back to the 80’s was amazing because it was different to all the other back to the 80’s musicals because of the story. They are also good at singing and dancing and it looked like it was very well practiced and was pretty hilarious. I liked the music they chose, they were good songs. They were all wearing fluro or flannel and leopard print. A lot of the girls had curled or crimped hair and most of the actors/actresses fit their characters really well. The roles they play fit them perfectly. Their costumes were very interesting there was also a lot of sound effects but that just added to the performance. The main character was Corey and he liked a girl called Tiffany and they introduced her very dramatically. Tiffany liked the most popular guy in school, Michael and they became a couple. So over all the play was great and worth watching
The Mt St Pat’s Musical
The Mt Saint Pat’s musical play, it was like no other musical I've seen. With amazing acting, performance, characters and unexpected twists, with the story no character was left out. The theme was Back to the 80s. With a flashback style with the main character narrating the story as he goes on in his school life. It had the instrumental to your left with humor and drama in the story. With no boring parts at all, it hyped up the whole crowd with slow motion effects smoke effects as well as flashing lights. Now we have the detail with the characters, there were the technology kids, the mean girls, the main character group which included Cory and his two friends, and also the popular boys that the girls admired (also bullies as well.)
It had an amazing happy ending. I would most certainly watch it again, and we rate it a 10/10.
Sports News
ZONE CROSS COUNTRY:
Last Friday on the 5th May, our St Joseph’s Zone Cross Country team competed at the Murwillumbah Showground. There were eight schools in total from our Tweed Zone with 50 competitors in every age group! Our team did extremely well with all runners looking very strong and fit! Congratulations to our Joey’s team: Sam Stovold, Eli Rudman, Kaden Jandura, Eli Reed, Lorenzo Pahlow, William Polson, Ruby Carter, Esther Cambridge, Shelby Walsh, Tahan Heterick, Ella Hunt, Peggy Wilkinson, Misha Reed, Nate Linkins, Nakoha Heterick, William Hoffman, Frank Ahrens, Noah Bowley, Lyla McMahon, Imogen Rudman, Indigo Cleak, Pearl Wilkinson, Amira Folkers, Lalyta Brockbank, Max Bourke, Caleb Bourke, Luke Stovold, Damon Woodward, Archie Anderson, Zilli Hatton, Ava Hunt, Ava Bray, Eadie Workman, Indi Asanuma, Bella Higgins, Amelia
Alley, Zac Stuart, Kody Smith, Fynn Bloomfield, Daniel Hoffman, Ethan Donatini, Asha Pahlow and Amy Pham; for the way they represented our school with outstanding sportsmanship and great school spirit! You were all an absolute credit to your school!!
An extra big congratulations to the following students who have qualified to compete at Diocesan Cross Country! Indi Asanuma 10th (second reserved), Ava Hunt 9th (first reserve), Lyla McMahan 8th , Max Bourke 8th , Zac Stuart 8th , Sam Stovold 7th , Ruby Carter 2nd and Runner Up Age Champion!! We wish these students the best of luck as they prepare for their upcoming race on Tuesday 30th May in Grafton!
Library News
General News
GOD MOMENT
When Arlo C helped pick up the sports equipment without being asked.
MISSING JACKETS AND HATS
Please check your child's zip jackets and hats to ensure they have their name on them. Some students are missing these items as they may have been mistakenly taken home by another child.
Canteen News
Orders - All lunch orders will now close at 3:30pm the day before the canteen day. i.e. If you are ordering for Wednesday’s canteen then the orders will close on Tuesday at 3:30pm. For Friday, the orders will be closed on Thursday at 3:30pm.
Cancellations - If you have ordered lunch for your child and they won’t be attending school that day, you are able to cancel your order up until 8:45am on the day of the order.
Reimbursements of cancelled orders - If you cancel an order, or if the school cancels an order, the funds from the order will be transferred to your Compass Wallet.
You can access the funds in your wallet when you go to finalise your order in the Compass app.
Reminder - The canteen is cashless and therefore items cannot be ordered at the canteen, including snacks after lunch. These can be ordered with their lunch order.
Parent News
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING
The safety of our students, families and staff is our highest priority. In order to best ensure this, the St Joseph’s leadership and staff, supported by the Catholic Schools Office, plan for a number of possible incidents, emergencies or natural disasters that could take place at school or during the school term. The events of recent years have reinforced how important this planning is and we all have a role to play when it comes to emergency management, including families.
Our students participate in various safety drills and staff participate through training and safety drills. We’d like to share with you the role of parents and families in emergency management.
School Lockdown
A number of the situations we plan for include a school lockdown as one of the immediate safety actions to ensure the safety of our students and staff. We understand that some may understand the word ‘lockdown’ to mean there is an immediate safety risk to all students. It is important to understand that when a school initiates a lockdown this may not be the case.
Depending on the situation, the purpose of a school lockdown will differ. A school lockdown may be a preparation step for an evacuation, or a school lockdown may allow emergency services access to an area of the school without having to navigate past students. Regardless of the purpose of a school lockdown, no one can be admitted to the school grounds other than emergency services.
Should we initiate a school lockdown, parents and families will be informed via a Compass notification. We will also inform parents and families as soon as the school lockdown has been lifted or if there are any actions required of parents and families. It is important that you do not attempt to attend the school during a school lockdown. We understand that you may be concerned however attending the school may also add risk to a possible emergency situation, block emergency services or impede an evacuation.
Natural Disaster
In the event of a natural disaster, such as flood or bushfire, the school leadership, supported by the Catholic Schools Office, will determine if it is safe for the school to open. If there is a probability the school may have to close part way through the day, the school will not open for that day as it is extremely difficult to evacuate a school site and ensure all students are able to go directly home safely.
In a bush fire or flood event it is important that parents and families have a plan to get your child/ren home from school, or into your care, at short notice. Please be aware that school buses may not be running and the school cannot allow your child/ren to go home to an empty house or home with another parent without your permission.
Family Preparedness
How can you help us prepare for emergency situations? Please ensure that:
● You have downloaded the Compass app and have allowed notifications.
● Any changes to your contact details or custodial arrangements have been updated with the school.
● You have a bush fire/flood plan in place that all members of your family understand.
● In the event of a school lockdown or evacuation, directions in the parent notifications are followed.
It is always our hope that these measures will never be needed but it is also our responsibility to ensure our school community is prepared and informed should the need arise. We thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.
Jason Clarke and Nigel McIntyre, Work Health and Safety Manager, Catholic Schools Office
Child Safeguarding Commitment Statement
Our school as part of the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Limited (DLCSL), like all child-safe organisations, is implementing the Child Safe Standards (see attached flyer below). As a part of this work, we share our Child Safeguarding Commitment Statement which reinforces our dedication to the safety and wellbeing of all children.
Please take the time to read the commitment statement and if you have any questions please discuss with the school leadership team. We will continue to engage with you on this important matter.
Parish News
Tuesday 9 5:30 pm - Mass
6:30 pm - First Holy Communion Parent Meeting
7:00 pm - Baptism Preparation Meeting
Wednesday 10 5:30 pm - Mass
Thursday 11 8:15 am - Mass
Friday 12 12 noon - Mass
Saturday 13 8:30 am - Rosary
5:30 pm - Rosary
6:00 pm - Vigil Mass
Sunday 14 SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
8:30 am - Rosary
9:00 am - Mass
Health & Wellbeing
Community News
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