Term 3 Week 9 - September 17th, 2025
From the Principal's Desk
Dear Parents and Carers,
Book Week!! Book Fair!! Character Dress Up!! Library and Author Visits!!
What an exciting and eventful time it is at St Joseph’s when we celebrate our Book Week.
My gratitude goes out to all families for the way our Book Week activities have been supported and celebrated, with special mention of the Casagrande family’s performance during the character dress up parade!
I congratulate everyone who supported the events and book fair; students, families and staff. I know I had it said to me numerous times throughout the week, ‘this is the best book week I have ever seen!’
Our sincerest gratitude and appreciation is extended to our wonderful library coordinator, Mrs Fraser, what a legend you are! Every year has a surprise in store, and the myriad of experiences availed to our students is always very carefully organised to create a week truly celebratory of books and literacy! Thank you, Mrs Fraser!!!
Enjoy this special edition newsletter provided to you in honour of another extremely successful Book Week at St Joseph’s!
Peace and blessings,
Jason Clarke
Principal
Sharing the Gospel
GOD MOMENT
We saw a God moment this week when Mrs Fraser worked so hard to make Book Week amazing. She made it fun and special for all of us, showing God’s love through her care and creativity.
"S.O.L.E Superstar" Awards
Learning Gallery
~ Kinder Chefs in Action! ~
Kinder have continued their delicious learning journey with recipes over the last few weeks. After learning some important lessons from the Nutella sandwich mishaps, we're happy to report their smoothie making adventures were a big success...and no one ended up wearing a smoothie! Kinder used descriptive language to give Mrs Traise clear instructions on how to make the perfect smoothie and they were DELICIOUS!
Well done Kinder!
Curriculum News
STATE LIBRARY NSW
FAR Out! Treasures to the Bush
On Tuesday Stage 2 we’re lucky enough to be a part of an incursion held by the State Library of NSW. The students learnt about Navigators who mapped the Australian Coastline.
The presentation focused on early navigators who visited the west coast of Australia including Dirk Hartog and William Dampier. Susan and Michelle bought in a rare collection of items that the students were able to view. Some of these being 400 years old! Some of the kids were invited up to be part of the show, with props, costumes and even some acting!
The presentation was designed to answer the key inquiry questions for Stage 2 History students that we learnt over Semester One.
* Why did the great journeys of exploration occur?
* What was life like for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples before the arrival of the Europeans?
Our students were deeply engaged in a wonderful afternoon on the history of Australia and how important it is to understand it.
Thank you to Susan and Michelle for coming to our school and sharing your wealth of knowledge and showcasing some pretty amazing trinkets discovered hundreds of years ago.
Library News
All our classes love to dress-up!
And staff do too!
Our Book Parade
Read-on-a-rug
Special Guests: The Casagrande Family
Book Scootin' Dancers (missing Mica & Zoe)
The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge closes to student entries on Friday 19 September!
For Primary students: Please ask your child if they have recorded in all 20 books read this year, if they wish to complete the challenge.
Sports News
POLDING ATHLETICS CARNIVAL: Four students travelled to Newcastle to compete at the Polding Athletics Championships last week: Sierra Casagrande, Will Polson, Hamish Walsh and Bailey Clarkson represented our school with fantastic sportsmanship. Polding is the highest level of competition in Catholic Schools! A fantastic achievement to reach this final level!!
- Sierra Casagrande: Placed 6th in Jnr Long Jump and was only 7cm off qualifying to NSWPSSA!! Fantastic jump Sierra!!
- Will Polson: Placed 7th in 10Yr 100m, the times were so tight and competitive, his time was only 0.41seconds off 1st place!. In the Jnr 200m he placed 4th in his heat to progress into the final and place 5th in the finals!! In the Jnr Long Jump Will placed 12th with a jump of 3.84m!
- Hamish Walsh: Had a fantastic day placing 1st in the Jnr Shot Put (progressing to NSWPSSA!!!) Hamish’s massive throw of 9.48m was miles ahead of the competition with second place throwing 9.05m and all other competitors throwing between 6 and 8m!
- Bailey Clarkson: Jnr Multi Class: (Progressing to NSWPSSA in all five events!!! 1st Discus throwing 13.17m! 2nd Shot Put throwing 4.84m! 2nd 200m, 2nd Long Jump, and 3rd 100m)
Congratulations to Sierra, Will, Hamish and Bailey for reaching Polding level and an extra special congratulations the Hamish and Bailey for qualifying to NSWPSSA!! Hamish and Bailey will be competing at the highest possible level there is in NSW! All Catholic schools, Public schools, Private schools and Independent schools will come together to compete at NSWPSSA! We wish you both the best of luck and hope you enjoy competing at this level!!
NRL GALA DAY:
16 Boys from St Joseph’s have been training hard each week after school on the Mt St Patrick’s oval in preparation for the NRL Gala Day next Tuesday! We hope they have a great day and look forward to hearing all about their experience.
Junior Team: Eli Rudman, Banjo Ahrens, Kobe Robinson, Eli Casey, Corey Bray, Eli Reed, Fynn Holliday, Nate Jarman and Tate Bannister.
Senior Team: Nakoha Heterick, Jaxon Mann, Ace Colleton, Archer Twyford, Misha Reed, Asher Morphett and Xavier Workman.
STAGE 3 GALA DAY:
We hope our Stage 3 students enjoy their gala day this Friday! Looking forward to hear all about their experiences!
Boys Soccer:
Will Hoffman, Nakoha Heterick, Misha Reed, Nate Linkins, Archer Twyford, Levi Campbell, Ace Colleton, Frank Ahrens, Chayse McLeod, Asher Morphett, Noah Bowley, Kaeden Jandura, Sam Stovold, Will Owen and Xavier Workman. A big thank you to Liam Payne who has been helping the team prepare for the gala day!
Girls Soccer:
Imogen Rudman, Yasmin White, Zoe Lindsay, Isla Alley, Annabelle Casey, Lyla McMahon, Aria Dunning, Peggy Wilkinson, Tehan Heterick, Amelia Bedser, Shelby Walsh and Pippa Bourke. A big thank you to Sam Walsh for giving your time to help train the team and manage them on the day!
Netball: Amira Folkers, Laylata Brockbank, Indigo Cleak, Mica Rempis, Bonnie Lindsay, Ruby Carter, Esther Cambridge, Allira Smith, Ella Hunt and Alayah Burns. Another big thank you to Holly Cambridge and Alissa Hunt for giving their time to train the girls and manage them on the day!
ATHLETICS COACHING – HOLIDAYS: Students interested in attending an Athletics / Running workshop over the holidays take a closer look at Gilly’s Coaching And Wellness flyer! A great way to learn more about running and improve for all sports! See flyer attached.
REMINDER - SUMMER COMP - HOCKEY SIGN UP: The local Hockey club in Murwillumbah is running an 8 week comp where you can come along to play social / fun games of Hockey in two age categories (Primary School Age and Highschool / Seniors). This is great value for primary school kids at $20!! They are also offering a similar comp in Casurina for those who live out that way. See the attached flyer for more information about this great summer comp!
REMINDER - ATHLETICS SIGN UP: Little A’s at Walter Peate Oval – Cudgen are getting ready for their season to begin and are calling for any interested families to come along and check out their club this Saturday at 8am. See the attached flyer for more information about this fantastic club!
General News
* Dates are correct as of today. However they may change going forward.*
PBS Shield Results:
Term 3 - Week 8 WINNER - MACKILLOP
Canteen News
Our amazing Canteen Manager Debbie Lowe and her trusty band of parent helpers made canteen extra fun last Thursday. To help us celebrate our "Book an Adventure" Book Week, students were welcomed to the jungle for some interesting treats. There was rhino poo, monkey treats, quicksand and giraffe stix!
We are loving our new canteen treats!
- To place an order at the canteen on Thursdays please write student's orders on a paper bag.
- If paying for sibling orders together, place the money & the younger sibling's paper bag inside the older sibling's paper bag.
- EFTPOS is available from 8:30-8:50am and during lunch and afternoon tea.
- Frozen treats are only available at afternoon tea to ensure students have more time to play at lunch.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Please let the office know if you can volunteer to help in our canteen on a Thursday next term.
Compass Help for Parents
Compass absence notes
Parents can let the school know of student absences in advance through the Compass app using the shortcuts icon at the bottom of their homepage.
Parish News
Thursday 18 September 8:00 am - Mass
Friday 19 September 9:30 am - Legion of Mary | Parish Meeting Centre
NO Mass or Adoration today
5:00 pm - Top End Youth - (see note below)
Saturday 20 Septenber 9:00 am - Rosary
5:30 pm - Rosary
6:00 PM - VIGIL MASS
Sunday 21 September 8:30 am - Rosary
9:00 am - Mass
10:15 am - Baptism
Health & Wellbeing
Parent News
Free Parenting Courses at The Family Centre
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