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Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
There has been lots of activity around the school with the new Foundation rooms almost complete. We look forward to moving the students into their new rooms for Term 2. After reviewing the Master plan, I am happy to inform you that an application has been submitted for a capital grant to build stage 2 which would see the refurbishment of the middle block learning spaces. We just have to wait and see if our grant application is successful.
Over the holidays, our pick up/drop off area will be altered. Several traffic issues in Burke Street have resulted in a decision to flip the entrance and exit routes for the drop off area. This decision was made in consultation with Council and Traffic Management. This could mean some short-term changes to the drop off area for the commencement of Term 2, just for a few weeks. I will keep you informed.
Today we marked the beginning of Lent with a liturgy for Ash Wednesday. It was a good opportunity to discuss with the children the meaning of ritual, and why the church and Christians all over the world take part in this liturgy as an important element of our faith tradition. We pray especially for the people of Ukraine today.
As restrictions ease further I am looking forward to welcoming parents on site for face to face meetings and gatherings very soon.
Warm regards,
Ros Joyner
Principal
Child Safety
The staff of St. Joseph’s holds child safety and protection in the highest regard. It is one of our core roles as educators of young people. Staff have recently been updated on the importance of child safety and the code of conduct we agree to uphold. We also ensure that any visitors working onsite such as contractors also agree to our Child Safe Code of Conduct before entering the school site. With our school fence around the perimeter of the school and a new security entrance in our office area, we have created a safe and secure learning environment for our students at St. Joseph's.
Our attention now turns to the students developing a child friendly version of our Child Safe policy. Our student leaders will undertake this work and then share their child friendly version with fellow students to inform them of their right to be and feel safe at all times. We will also share this with families through the newsletter once it has been completed.
Students are reminded that they can speak with any staff member about their safety or their concerns.
NAPLAN
The national literacy and numeracy assessment is fast approaching for another year. The NAPLAN is a useful assessment tool to track student progress over the years in reading, writing and mathematics. Excitingly, St Joseph’s, along with all schools this year, will complete the NAPLAN assessment electronically, apart from the Year 3 writing assessment. Having the NAPLAN electronically will fast track results and help schools begin using the data collected, sooner. This year there will be a test window which will begin on Tuesday 10th May until Friday 20th May. Our NAPLAN timetable will be shared with families at the beginning of Term 2. Information for parents and carers was distributed earlier this week. Please speak with your child’s classroom teacher or myself if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
Camillo Redi
Deputy Principal
Sat 5 or Sun 6 March - Eucharist Preparation First Teaching Mass (Liturgy of The Word)
Thursday 10 March - St Joseph’s Athletics Carnival
Monday 14 March - Labour Day Public Holiday
Wednesday 16 March - School Photos
Thursday 17 March - Gippsland Regional Swimming Championships
Sat 19 or Sun 20 March - Eucharist Preparation Second Teaching Mass (Liturgy of The Eucharist)
Thursday 24 March - St Joseph’s Athletics Carnival – Back up day
Friday 1 April - Warragul District Athletics
- Parents and Friends Meeting at 2pm
Thursday 7 – 8 April - Grade 3/4 Forest Edge School Camp
Friday 29 April - State Swimming Championships
Friday 8 April - Last Day of Term 1 – Students finish school at 2:20pm
Monday 25 April - Anzac Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 26 April - First Day of Term 2
Tuesday 3 May - West Gippsland Division Athletics
Friday 20 May - Andrew Chinn Concert (TBC)
*Please note that dates are subject to change in accordance with DOSCEL recommendations
*TBC – To be confirmed
Eucharist Preparation
A message from Deacon Mark
Deals with the devil
Luke’s gospel tells (Lk 4:1-13) of Jesus deliberately going into the wilderness and wrestling for forty days with the question of his vocation and how he would give himself for others. He rejects the way of power and glory, rather choosing the way of service and suffering. In our own lives, we too face those temptations to accumulate material riches, to seek popularity and to build worldly power and we ask how we might fortify ourselves to overcome these temptations.
Pope Francis has preached[1] about the temptations encountered by Jesus in Luke’s gospel (Lk 4:1-13), pointing to three ruinous and misleading paths: greed for possession, human vainglory and the exploitation of God.
Particularly in the modern western world where many of us have so much already, we easily recognise the first temptation in that crazy impulse to accumulate even more. The devil tempts us to believe “nourishment, life, fulfilment, happiness … is possible without God.” Jesus tells us otherwise.
“Vainglory”, the second temptation, we recognise too, that excessive pride in oneself or one’s achievements. The vanity, conceit or egotism of thinking we are better than others. Not so!
But what of the third temptation, “exploiting God to one’s advantage.” Pope Francis teaches us, “In response to the devil who, citing Scripture, invites Him to seek a conspicuous miracle from God, Jesus again opposes with the firm decision to remain humble, to remain confident before the Father: “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God’”. Thus, Jesus rejects perhaps the most subtle temptation: that of wanting to ‘pull God to our side’, asking him for graces which in reality serve and will serve to satisfy our pride.”
Rationalising that the ends justify the means, cutting deals with the devil or taking shady short-cuts, compromises, gamesmanship, these are the temptations drawing us away from humility and confidence in the Lord.
Deacon Mark Kelly
[1] Pope Francis Homily on Luke 4:1-13, 2019
ST JOSEPH’S AND ST ITA’S YOUTH GROUPS
Report to Parish Pastoral Council 22/02/22
Our new Youth Minister, Olivia Daly, has hit the ground running and Parish Youth Groups are off to a good start in 2022.
We are holding two Senior and two Junior Youth Groups on the First and Third Weekends of the month.
On the Saturday before the First Sunday of the Month we are holding Senior Youth Group [Secondary students] following the Saturday Evening Mass at St Joseph’s and the Junior Youth Group the next day at St Ita’s Hall following the 10.30am Mass.
On the Saturday before the Third Sunday of the Month we are holding Junior Youth Group at St Josephs from 5.30pm [prior to 7pm Mass] and the Senior Youth Group following 7pm Mass.
The focus for Junior Group will be the gospel of the weekend [as well as some fun activities] while the Senior Group will be following the Youth Alpha program on the First Sunday with alternative activities on the Third Sunday.
During the school holidays we are planning a combined off-site fun activity.
Rather than the often erratic and inadequate financial contributions to Youth Group activities [ie: food] we are asking for a contribution of $20 per term per child [plus $5 for each extra child in the family]. And we are asking that it be paid electronically into St Joseph’s and St Ita’s Youth Groups account in response to an account we will send out [by email] towards the end of each school term.
Deacon Mark Kelly Olivia Daly (Youth Minister)
Middle School
Senior School
Upcoming Dates
Wednesday March 2nd - West Gippsland Division Swimming Championships
Thursday March 10th - St. Joseph’s Athletics Carnival (Back Up Date 24/3)
Thursday March 17th - Gippsland Regional Swimming Championships
Friday April 1st - Warragul District Athletics
Friday April 29th - State Swimming Championships
Tuesday May 3rd - West Gippsland Division Athletics
*These dates are subject to change in accordance with DOSCEL recommendations.
District Swimming Carnival
Our students recorded some excellent performances in the pool at the District Swimming Carnival.
It was great to have the opportunity to once again head to the Warragul Leisure Centre to watch our students compete against other local schools.
The conditions were perfect. Many of our students have progressed to the Division Swimming Carnival which was held Wednesday 2nd March. Congratulations to all students who took part.
Athletics
The St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School Athletics Carnival is one of the largest events on the school calendar. To continue being a successful day, it requires the support of our school community. If you are able to assist on the day or part of the day it is always appreciated.
The Junior Carnival (F-Grade 2) 10.30am-12.30pm
The Senior Carnival (Grade 3-6) 9.30am-2.30pm
Volunteers must have a current working with children check, be double vaccinated and have completed a St. Joseph's Code Conduct.
Please express your interest and the age group you would like to assist with by email to MSpencer@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au.
Also, there is an error on the Senior Parent information sheet. The Athletics is Thursday March 10th, NOT Monday.
STEM: Class Dojo. Learning How To Submit Work Into Portfolios Successfully
This week across the school we have been having a closer look at the app, Class Dojo. ClassDojo is a school communication platform that teachers, students, and families use every day to build close-knit communities by sharing what’s being learned in the classroom home through photos, videos, and messages.
As the year progresses we would love to see the students take more responsibility for digitally sharing their learnings, their challenges and of course, successes, and Class Dojo is a great platform for this.
In lessons, students have been challenged to:
-Take a photo of their choice (not blurry, not too close & not too far away)
-Write a task title
-Take a picture and/or video
-Use the drawing tool
-Submit their task to their individual dojo portfolio
As part of this process, students are also learning how to use QR Codes to access their class and personal dojo accounts. Posters of class QR Codes are stapled to the STEM Room Wall.
A tricky part of the process (to submit work into portfolios) is learning how to navigate through the app, where to click, when to delete, what icons do what, which button allows you to undo an error etc... and we will continue looking at this next week.
In 3/4 and 5/6 students were asked to quickly draw some 2D shapes on a small whiteboard, take a photo of it, create a title and also provide a voiceover explaining the shapes they'd drawn and where they see these shapes in the real world.
In the 1/2s, students were simply asked to take a focussed photo of something they like in the STEM room. Photos included photos of themselves, their friends, robots, building blocks and even a chair. Some students enjoyed using the drawing tool to draw moustaches on themselves, or love hearts on chairs... which was actually quite clever as they discovered this feature on their own.
Ideally, we are looking forward to a time in the future when we see students independently create videos, scan their writing and/or pictures or take photos, to showcase their work for parents and teachers, and themselves as part of normal classroom practice. It would be great to see Dojo portfolios swollen with a huge variety of tasks and activities at the end of the year :)
Carline
Parents, if you have parked your car in one of the parking spots near carline, you must cross the road to collect your child from the carline waiting area. This is a child safety issue and we cannot have students crossing the road unsupervised.
Absences & Holidays
In Victoria, it is compulsory for children and young people aged 6–17 years to attend school.
Parents are legally required to ensure their child attends school every day and to provide an explanation for their child's absence from school unless an exemption from attendance has been granted or an exception to their attendance applies.
Absences
If your child is away sick or away due to a planned absence or appointment, please ensure you advise the school office. Student absence text messages are sent out if your child is marked as absent without a reason. In some cases, if you email your child's classroom teacher, they may be away and may not be able to check their emails to forward to the office. It is imperative that you notify the office through one of the following methods:
1. Log into PAM (Parent Access Module) and register your child's absence;
2. Email absence@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au
3. Phone the office on 5623 2943
When sending an email, you may wish to "cc" your child's classroom teacher so they are aware of the absence too.
Holidays
If you are planning an extended holiday (a week or more) during the school term, please email info@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au addressing your intentions to our Principal, Mrs Roslyn Joyner.
School Photos
School photos are scheduled for Wednesday, 16th March. Students are required to wear their full summer school uniform. Should your children have sports on this day (Grades Foundation, 1 & 2), please send them to school in their summer school uniform and pack their sports uniform or runners in their school bag for them to change into.
Order envelopes have been sent home this week with your children, please check their school bags. If your child was away when these were handed out, their order envelope is at the office to be collected.
Sibling photos are available and envelopes can be collected separately from the office. This is a separate order to your individual portrait pack.
Bus Travellers
A message from Warragul Bus Network for all bus travellers:
Please remind your students using the Warragul Bus Network that it is mandatory that all bus travellers wear face masksduring bus travel unless a medical exemption is provided.
Please note students who are not wearing masks may be refused travel by the bus driver.
Please stress to your student bus travellers, parents & guardians that this notice is afinal warning, so if a student is refused bus travel, adequate notice has been given.
Thank you all for your assistance in keeping our bus drivers and student travellers safe.
Bus Travellers: Myki Credit
It has been brought to our attention that there are a number of children catching the school buses with no credit on their Myki cards. Can you please ensure there are sufficient funds on your child's Myki card before travelling on the school bus.
School Hats
Has your child misplaced their hat? For convenience, school hats are available for purchase at the school office. The hats are available in size S-M or L-XL and are $15 each (cash only).
ICY POLE DAYS
Our student leaders will be taking over the coordination of Icy Pole day and the distribution of them.Zooper Doopers, will be available to purchase at lunchtimes on Thursdays during Term 1, at a cost of 50 cents each.
This term, proceeds from the Icy Pole days will be donated to Carita's Project Compassion Appeal.
By donating to the Project Compassion Appeal, we are following some of the Catholic Social Teaching Principles, particularly the "Preferential Option for the Poor" principle.
A small gesture as this can make a big difference in an impoverished community.
LOST PROPERTY
Please ensure all student belongings, especially jumpers and jackets are named!
SECOND HAND UNIFORM
We have a large number of uniform items and school bags that have been donated back to our school. Feel free to come in to the office foyer and help yourself.
We are now using PAM as our main platform for correspondence. It is important that you register with PAM and verify your email so you can receive all communication.
Please note that Operoo is no longer being used by our school.
PAM Instructions
- Ideally parents should have received an email – check your junk/spam folder. If you locate the email in your junk/spam folder – you should make it ‘Not Junk’, then follow the link to verify your email address and set your password.
- If you cannot find the email, please contact our office on 5623 2943 or info@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au and we can help you.
- Once you have been provided with your username and password, go to a browser on your preferred device (phone or iPad) and enter the following web address:
http://pam.stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au
- Use the provided Username and password to login.
- Once logged in, you will need to verify your email address by clicking on the link at the top of the screen:
- This will send an email to your nominated email address. Click on the link in the email to complete the verification process.
- Once the email address has been verified, you can use this as your username.
- Finally, go to the main menu at the top right side of PAM, select ‘My Settings’.
- Enter your preferred password in ‘Change Password’ fields (new password will need to be entered twice), then update password.
- It is recommended that you save this webpage to your home screen and it will appear on your phone screen with the following icon:
MUSICIANS AND SINGERS NEEDED
Our Parishes, especially St Joseph’s, is in need of singers and musicians to be part of the music ministry, especially for some special Masses coming up during the year. Please consider volunteering for this important ministry if you have a gift for singing and/or playing an instrument. Contact Richard Wans 0419 155 004 or Prue at the Parish office 5623 1642 if you would like to participate.
St Joseph’s Chorale also invites singers from youth and junior members of both Parishes to join us. The Chorale rehearses every Friday afternoon from 4:30 till 5 (with afternoon tea at 4 pm) and sings at Saturday Vigil on the third Sunday of each month.
Please call Jess Parsons on 0411 957 280 or Kelsey Good 0458 858 823 for more information.
Meetings
P&F meetings in 2022 will be held on the first Friday of each month at 2.00pm. These will either be on-line or in person depending on restrictions at the time, with the first meeting scheduled for Friday 1 April.
If you would like to be involved, we would love to have you, please reach out to us via our Facebook page.
Join us on Facebook
We welcome all families to join our P&F Facebook page, a great place to ask any questions you might have and to engage with our school community - please search 'Parents and Friends of St Joseph's Primary School Warragul'.
Icy Poles
For the remainder of Term 1, icy poles will be available to purchase at the beginning of lunch time each THURSDAY.
Icy poles are 50c each (if possible, correct change is preferred).
This term, the Grade 6 Liturgy team have kindly offered to carry out this activity with the support of Mrs Mulqueen. Funds raised during Term 1 will go towards the liturgy team’s chosen charity, Project Compassion Appeal.
NOTICEBOARD