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Dear Parents and Carers,
Here we are in Week 3, 2022! I have sent out through Compass a few communications to our families and I will try not to double up in this newsletter item. Therefore you may need to scroll through your Compass messages to keep up to date please.
Welcome to 2022
Welcome back to our familiar faces and to our new families and Kindergartens!
Welcome to our new families
Harrison H (Year 1M); Isabel K (Year 1M); Ike B (Year 2B); Eddy H (Year 2B); Seth W (Year 2B); Ellie W (Year 2B), Xavier W (Year 3M); Isla C (Year 4M) and Grace R (Year 5/6M in year 6). I would like to welcome you all into our school community.
Welcome Mrs Sheehan (nee Denton)
I would like to welcome Mrs Bec Sheehan to Year 2 Blue and our school community:
Hello parents and families of 2 Blue. My name is Bec Sheehan and I will be one of your child’s teachers for the upcoming school year! This will be my first year teaching at St Joseph’s and I am greatly looking forward to getting to know your children and families as the year progresses. My days at school will be every Thursday and Friday, as well as every second Wednesday (in odd weeks). I have a keen interest in learning languages and am currently teaching my 1-year-old daughter, Adeline, basic Auslan. I look forward to a great year of fun and learning!
I may be contacted via Dojo or email. bec.denton@mn.catholic.edu.au
Important Communication - Compass
Our primary method of communication with our school community is through our app "Compass". At the beginning of the year, all new users were sent an email with their login details.New Bus route update
Currently, we are organising a bus route based on the needs of our school community. The morning route may start at Billie’s Lookout, then to Teralba, stop at St Paul’s College Booragul and then to St Joseph’s Kilaben Bay. The afternoon route will be in reverse of the above. If you have any contributions/suggestions to this arrangement please email me asap on Charlene.reid@mn.catholic.edu.au.
Afternoon carline
Thank you for your cooperation in relation to our afternoon carline changes. This will give us time to send our Kinders on their way without holding up the remaining families.
Swimming Carnival
A huge thank you to Mrs Neems who organised our school swimming carnival. Many hours of organisation is involved in carnivals and Mrs Neems spends these hours on her weekends just for us! We will share photos and results in our future newsletter.
Teddy Bears' Picnic
Those children in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 not attending our swimming carnival had a great day at their Teddy Bears’ picnic! Photos will be shared on our Facebook page and our next newsletter!
Practice Makes Progress (PMP)
PMP (Practice Makes Progress) is our version of “homework”! If you hear your children speaking about PMP please encourage and support their learning at home, especially daily reading! It’s always beneficial to have the conversation with your children about what they “learnt” at school rather than what they “did” at school. Ask them:
- What did you learn today?
- How did you do?
- What did you do if you didn’t understand?
- How can you improve on your learning?
- What are you most proud of?
School Fees
As part of your child/ren's enrolment you have agreed to pay school fees. School fees will be billed for the year in the next few weeks. The fee Statement will be emailed to the nominated feepayer in your family. I remind you of Margaret Livingstone's Compass news item on last week entitled School Fee Information Form. You will note that school fees cannot be billed until every last family has returned a form (regardless of how many children you have enrolled). Thank you to those families who have already returned the forms. I urge you to complete and return the form urgently please. See attached:
After the initial billing, the School Fee Statements will be sent each month to remind you of the current balance owing. Please note that school fees can no longer be paid on Qkr!. Qkr! will be for canteen orders / payments or P & F donations only.
The preferred payment method for School Fees is BPay - your unique BPay reference is at the top right of your Statement. If your child was enrolled here last year, your old BPay reference will still work. However, please consider changing the reference in your online banking to the one on the new Statement, when convenient. At this stage, Compass Pay is not fully operational, so please do not make any payments through the Compass portal. If your family is experiencing genuine hardship in payment of the school fees, please contact the school office to make an appointment see to me.
St Joseph's Day
St Joseph’s Day is celebrated on 19th March each year! This year the 19th March is a Saturday therefore we will celebrate St Joseph’s during that week. As part of the celebrations we are holding our inaugural St Joseph’s Day Art Competition. All children K-6 will complete an artwork based on St Joseph, the teachers will select the winning masterpiece from a class other than their own. All winning art works will be framed and displayed in our foyer until next year! More details of further celebrations will be shared closer to the date.
Community Vision / Direction Meeting
Each year I invite all parents and carers to join me and our Assistant Principal/ Religious Education Coordinator/ Christopher Voigt (Parish Leader) to spend time with any parents wishing to join a conversation about the vision and direction of our school. In previous years we have offered face to face meetings. However this year I am inviting parents and carers to join me on a zoom meeting on Wednesday 16th February at 1pm – 2pm. The zoom invite is 3228175834 and passcode 822221.
Parent / Teacher Zoom Meetings
As mentioned earlier, we are endeavouring to keep connections alive between parents, staff, parish and children after two years of pandemic restrictions. The zoom meetings with your child’s teachers is a way to do this – keep connections with each other! Hopefully you will be able to speak with people you may not have met before or haven’t seen for a while. This is in place of our Welcome BBQ which was gazetted for tonight (Thursday 10 February). Hopefully we will be able to invite you to a future BBQ onsite in the near future.
Carline Family Name Sign
If you are utilising the afternoon carline please display on your passenger sunvisor your surname “label” I have provided. It is difficult for staff to see from a distance if left on your dashboard. If you need another one or two please let me know (Charlene.reid@mn.catholic.edu.au).
Safer Internet Day
From Mrs Courtney Porter:
This week, 3M and 3/4 Blue joined the global initiative that brings families, schools, organisations and governments from 170 countries together to raise awareness about online safety. with a shared vision of making online experiences better for everyone.
We joined a Safer Internet Day webinar with other schools in NSW. This webinar helped the students to develop a greater understanding and awareness about online safety.
The students had to pause and reflect on their own online behaviours and determine whether they were always safe and positive. This webinar included important messages on sharing personal information, liking or posting negative comments and trolling. At the conclusion of the webinar, we asked the children to tell us what they learned about online safety. These are some of their thoughts:
Evan- If you post something offensive you can be reported. If someone posts something offensive about you, you can report them.
Audrey- You must get permission from everyone included in a video or picture before you post it.
Jack- you should never share personal information online. This puts you at greater risks for scammers.
Paige- you should never like someone else’s negative comments online. This only makes the problem worse.
Archie- Think before you post!
If you would like more information about Safer Internet day, please visit
God Bless,
Charlene Reid
Principal
Dear Families,
Welcome to the 2022 school year!
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you as we begin a great year together. My role this year is Assistant Principal and Year 3 Maroon teacher. If at any time you wish to discuss any aspect of school life with me, my executive office day is every alternate Wednesday (even weeks) and each Thursday which I will be available for appointment. You can arrange a time to meet via phone call to the school or alternatively my email courtney.porter@mn.catholic.edu.au
As your Assistant Principal, it is my sincere pleasure to work with our dedicated staff and community to help provide an excellent educational experience for our students. It has been lovely to see the children settle very quickly into their new classes. Some children may take a little more time to adjust to their new class. It is normal to feel nervous and worried, but you can support them to build resilience by assuring them that doing new things is an important part of learning, and encouraging an open mind and a positive attitude towards the year ahead. If you have a question or concern related to your child, the class teacher is your first port of call for questions or concerns about your child's progress in learning or other matters.
This year promises to be a busy and exciting term for us all and I look forward to getting to know you all!
2022 Consent notes
Last week, 2022 consent forms were sent home to each child. These included:
- A walking consent form
- Permission to view PG films
- Cybersafety user agreement
- Photo permission form
- BYOD agreement (stage 3 only) and
- Acceptable use of mobile phones (stage 3 only)
Thank you to everyone who has returned these notes already and if you haven’t done so, please return them to your child’s teacher by the end of the week.
Regards,
Courtney Porter
Assistant Principal
I am looking forward to another
great year of reading, researching and exploring some fantastic technology.
Student borrowing began this week.
All students need a library bag to borrow from our Library. This helps protect our lovely books.
School Library bags are available for $14 for anyone who needs one. Kinder students do not have to buy a bag, as the school will provide them one.
Library Borrowing
This year class borrowing days are:
Monday: Year 1, 2 Blue, 3 Maroon, 4 Maroon and 3/4 Blue,
Tuesday: Kinder, and 5/6 classes
Kinder will begin borrowing in week 5. They will receive a library bag from the school on their first day of borrowing.
We encourage all students to borrow from our library, as we have an amazing collection of fabulous books.
Premier’s Reading Challenge
The Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) will begin on Monday February 28th.
The PRC is an initiative by the NSW Government that encourages a love of reading in students from Kinder to Year 9. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read widely and enjoy reading. Students who complete the challenge will have their names displayed in the library and the newsletter. They will receive a certificate to show their achievement. At St Joey’s we like to celebrate with a Pizza Party in term 4.
A note will be sent home closer to the date with information for any student who would like to participate.
Sora
St Joseph’s is continuing its subscription to SORA, which has been fantastic during Home based Learning and school holidays
St Joey’s topped the Diocese in Sora borrowing last year - well done!
Sora is an eBook and audio book Library. As part of the ACEN member collection your child can access eBooks and audio books through the Maitland Newcastle Diocese.
All you need to do is to download the SORA app or go to the website and sign in through the
ACEN membership, then you and your child can enjoy some terrific books on your devices at home.
One of the great features of SORA is the inclusion of a Premier's Reading Challenge book section. Graphic novels, Fiction and Non-Fiction books are also available.
All you need to do is to download the SORA app or go to the website and sign in through the
ACEN membership, then you and your child can enjoy some terrific books on your devices at home.
One of the great features of SORA is the inclusion of a Premier Reading Challenge book section. Graphic novels, Fiction and Non-Fiction books are also available.
Log in and explore today.
Happy reading,
Leah Hannan
leah.hannan@mn.catholic.edu.au
I am excited and feel privileged to lead Aboriginal Education at SJKB in 2022! I look forward to working closely with students, parents and teachers to improve student learning outcomes across the curriculum, supported by "on country" outdoor learning, and with particular regard to literacy and numeracy.
Best wishes,
John Hession
Aboriginal Education Teacher
Learning Support and Gifted News
Welcome to 2022!
A big welcome to our new students and their families! We are so happy you have joined us here at SJKB!
This year I continue to work full time in my two roles of Learning Support Teacher and Gifted Education Mentor.
Throughout the year I will share updates, information and any other relevant resources I come across that may help support your child and your family.
If you have any concerns about your child, please do not hesitate to contact your child's classroom teacher first. I am more than happy to work with you and the teacher as a team and offer any support I can.
Over the next few weeks, we will be allocating times for intervention groups and I will be sending home permission forms. If you could please keep an eye out, complete the form and return as soon as possible that would be great. I am hoping to begin groups in Week 4.
We will also be holding Personalised Planning meetings, most likely Weeks 5 and 6 for students who requiring either Substantial or Extensive supports. This is a great way to meet your child's teacher and plan together the goals for the year.
Next week I will attending Professional Development days in both Learning Support and Gifted Education.
If you ever need further assistance, my contact details are: monica.shanahan@mn.catholic.edu.au
Regards,
Monica Shanahan
Hello! Welcome back. I trust that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I hope it was relaxing and you got to do what ever it was you wanted to do.
Welcome to our new students and families. It is exciting to have you as part of our SJKB School Community.
For those that do not know me, I am Mel Dobosz the Pastoral Care Worker here at St Joseph’s Primary School. I am here Monday and Tuesday. A little bit about my role as Pastoral Care Worker:- This is a Welfare/Wellbeing position. I am here to help facilitate the emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing of students, staff, and the school community. This can be done through offering support one on one to students, group work, programs, support to families, assistance or just a chat.
Pastoral care is defined in the agreement with the Commonwealth as “the practice of looking after the personal needs of students, not just their academic needs, through the provision of general, spiritual and personal advice.”
I am here to offer support to all students, their families, staff, and the wider St Joseph’s school Community.
CLASS PARENT NETWORK-
It is that time of year where we start to organise our Class Parent Network. A Class Parent Network was established at our school in 2012. It involves parents nominating to become the “Class Parent” in their child’s class.
The purpose of a Class Parent is:-
• To provide a personal link between the class teachers and the parents of the students.
• To provide parents with an opportunity to be in an advisory role to the principal.
• To enable parents to have another means of access to information about the school.
• To provide the school with relevant information regarding the needs of the community.
• To involve parents more closely at the school; and
• To assist the school in promoting community i.e., organising social events
A letter explaining the Class Parent Network in more detail will be going home this week with a return slip if you wish to nominate for the position of Class Parent for your child’s class. If those slips can please be returned to the school by Monday 21st February 2022, that would be appreciated. A copy is also available for download here:
Wishing you a happy and healthy week.
Mel Dobosz
Pastoral Care Worker
EALD (English as an Additional Language or Dialect)
I have three sons who have grown up and moved out of home so it’s very quiet now with just my husband and myself. I enjoy cycling, going for walks, Latin dancing, sewing and photography.
Regards,
Mrs Dionne Mitchell
EALD Teacher
2022 is here!
Food for Recess
Volunteer Roster
A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers who make the running of the canteen possible for your children's enjoyment.
See below for the Roster - apologies that Tracey didn't realise that Week 1 commenced in January. Therefore week numbers are corrected here as follows. If you are unable to make it on your rostered day, please either text Tracey or call the school office:
Week 3
Wed 8.2.22 - Ruth Blyton
Thur 10.2.22 - Chris Bathman
Fri 11.2.22 - Alesha Quinn, Helen Edwards
Week 4
Wed 16.2.22 - Ebonny Blakey, Jenny O'Reilly
Thur 17.2.22 - Maryanne Cartwright, Lyn Moseley
Fri 18.2.22 - Emily Sault, Laura Rowan
Week 5
Wed 23.2.22 - Andrew Edwards, Jade Davison
Thur 24.2.22 - Chris Bathman, Worakot Walker
Fri 25.2.22 - Jenna Lorriman, Hannah Stark
Week 6
Wed 2.3.22 - Nicole Davison, Sheree Williams
Thur 3.3.22 - Tania Bower, Elise Fitzpatrick, Julie Kempnich
Fri 4.3.22 - Sarah Morris, Cheryl Henriques
Over the Counter Sales
Thank you
Margaret Livingstone and Tracey Ryan-Ward
Calling all Rock n’ Rollers!! Learn guitar St Joseph’s Kilaben Bay in 2022
St Joseph’s Kilaben Bay students will continue to have the opportunity to learn guitar in 2022. Open to years K to 6, students will learn everything from Bon Jovi to Billy Eilish to The Weeknd, to Post Malone, to Imagine Dragons, to Guy Sebastian, to Tones and I, to AC/DC, all whilst learning acoustic and electric guitar skills, learning to perform as part of a group and enjoying the excitement and experience of being a real musician with skills that will last a lifetime. All lessons are conducted in small groups, based on age and skill level. If you are interested in your child being involved, please email Ricky at ricky@rickysmusictuition.com.au
Unless otherwise stated, the advertisements placed in this newsletter are by independent third parties who have no legal relationship with the Diocese. The activities or services of the advertiseers are not supervised or controlled in any way by the Diocese. The Diocese is not in a position to endorse the advertisers of the services provided and makes no representation about those matters. Accordingly, the Diocese cannot accept any responsibility for the advertisers of the activities or services that are the subject of these advertisements.
We have a number of students who have life threatening anaphylactic allergic reactions to all nuts and eggs. We would like to encourage families NOT to send these food items to school with their children or to ask their children to tell their teacher if they have brought them, so that they can be eaten away from affected children. We also encourage children NOT to share food at school.