Filter Content
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to SJKB's Week 4 newsletter.
STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) Mad!
Judging for the Maitland-Newcastle STEM MAD challenge took place this week with some amazingly innovative videos submitted from across the diocese. STEM MAD is a celebration of student learning designed to acknowledge and promote STEM learning initiatives that address real-world problems and demonstrate the particularity of Catholic Schools; encouraging students to make a difference (MAD) in the world by acting for justice and the common good.
The calibre of the student entries improves each year and this year’s entries encompassed a wide range of innovative STEM projects that displayed an inspiring sense of Catholic social teaching and ‘Care for our Common Home’ aligning with Laudato Si’. It was a challenging job for the judges who had to decide on an overall diocesan winner who will be sent to Melbourne to represent our diocese at the National STEM MAD Showcase.
Congratulations to the winning team of Marwa Arain, Hayley Bolam and Sarah Hawreluk from St Catherine’s Catholic College, Singleton, who designed the BBB (Big Brain Bin).
The students developed a capacity conscious bin attachment, a digital device that can be used to monitor bin capacity to eliminate rubbish overflow in the environment. The team's video entry clearly detailed their design processes, and the judges were impressed with the students' working prototype.
We look forward to the students sharing their design at the National Showcase in Melbourne later this year.
In addition to the overall winner, the following three teams and their projects were selected as winners to be part of the STEM MAD National competition online:
- St Aloysius Chisholm – QRCS team
- St Joseph’s Kilaben Bay – The Smart Bottle
- St Pius X Adamstown – Handy Hygiene
All four teams will have their project videos submitted to the national competition and be part of STEM MAD Nationals online. We wish them all the best at the next level of the competition and look forward to sharing more about their projects in the future.
St Mary of the Cross Mackillop Day
It was so lovely to see parents and carers at our St Mary of the Cross MacKillop celebrations on Monday including a mass, Parish BBQ, rotational activities and the finale Year 6 v teachers handball game! Yes, the children won by 5 points!
Promoting our School
I have had our staff involved in many promotional activities of late e.g. Google reviews – thank you to those who have googled St Joseph’s and left a review. Three families have been drawn out of a hat to win the $50 Lowes vouchers although I still have one unclaimed.
If you refer to yourself as JH, please contact me for your voucher!
I would like to share with you an amazing piece of writing by Lilly in Year 4. This is why our school is amazing, straight from Lilly!
Playgrounds
We are all very lucky here at St Joseph’s. No other school has anything like our playgrounds. 'Shade' is an open area of nature. We have square spaces for our slides, monkey bars and swings. Loads of trees surround Shade. It’s a lovely place to play. You can build there with sticks, mats, crates and more! If you like chess, you can play huge chess on our giant chess board! It comes with all the giant pieces. Our Mud Kitchen, handball courts, basketball and netball courts and field are all spectacular!
Subjects
Wow. Just listen to ALL these different subjects: Spelling, Writing, Drama/Dance, library, science and technology, geography, literacy groups, religious education, PE Sport and more! It is SO good to learn.
Teachers and Friends
You’ll have lots of friends here! The teachers are very nice (especially Mr York, who is a really good teacher). Substitutes can be generous, but DON’T be silly if your normal teacher isn’t here, the substitutes report to them. Trustworthy friends are made on your first day!
You must consider St Joseph’s. Transfer! And maybe you might find this is your favourite school!
Meet Your Buddy Day
Meet Your Buddy day was just on Tuesday – so many super excited Kinders 2023 and Year 5 children! It’s lovely to be able to start and continue our school transition as normal. we played outside and inside, received a special t-shirt and had story time!
Our enrolments for Kindergarten 2023 are still open. Please contact our office on 49591355 or email Charlene.reid@mn.catholic.edu.au to organise your child’s enrolment here at St Joseph’s. Our website has many details and our Facebook/Instagram includes many examples of celebrations with our children.
Diocesan Athletics Carnival
Good luck and congratulations to Lilly (Year 4) , Matilda (Year 5), Kaitlyn (Year 5) and Mia (Year 6) who have qualified to our Maitland Newcastle Diocesan Athletics Carnival to be held at Glendale on 9th September. Please ensure your families register according to your note.
Home Grown Market Stall
We held a stall at the Homegrown markets at speers point last Sunday where we shared a craft and gardening stall! It was lovely to meet people in our local community and answering many questions people had about SJKB! It is true, many people don’t realise how good we have it here!
Regional Debating, Maths, Spelling and Public Speaking
Our Year 6 Lakes Regional Debating team participated in the competition today at our school against other schools in the Lakes region. Congratulations boys and girls – you were amazing. Results will be shared at a later date.
We are also awaiting the Lakes regional Maths/Spelling Bee and Public Speaking competitions, also held here at Kilaben Bay! More details will follow.
Lost Property
Our lost property cupboard is beginning to overflow with items left by children (mainly jackets, hats and drink bottles) around the playground. Please clearly mark your child's name on all items, so that they can be returned to them. If you purchase an item from our pre-loved uniform shop, please cross out the previous name and write your child's name clearly on the item. Also please have a little talk to your child about placing their belongings back in their bag when not in use. Thank you.
School Fees
A big thank you to all families who have been able to honour their school fee commitments by paying regularly as promised at the beginning of the year. Fee Statements are emailed to the feepayer each month setting out progress of your payments. For those families who elected to pay in a lump sum, this should have been done by 30th June. Please examine the last statement received and make payments as necessary, or contact the school office staff Margaret Livingstone or Susie Doran if you have any questions. Also if you are experiencing genuine hardship, please contact the office to make an appointment to see me. Thank you.
P & F News
The Parents and Friends Association is very active in fundraising via many different events offered this year. We have already seen the Welcome BBQ, Disco, Movie Night, Paint N Sip, Cans 4 Courts, just to name a few. The new up coming fundraisers are Christmas colour in cards (these templates have been completed at school and you will received further information regarding ordering soon) and the Parents Night (see flyer below) Tickets now available on Qkr!
The Parents Night sounds like a lot of fun, with some wonderful prizes being made up from your donations. A note in relation to hamper items was sent home, it and would be appreciated if you could send in the items as indicated on the note.
PLUS - Pre-Loved Uniform Shop - Occasional Volunteers Needed!
Please consider volunteering for the occasional PLUS session to open, sell and prepare pre loved uniforms for sale. If you are keen please email me and I will pass your details on to the PLUS organisers (Charlene.reid@mn.catholic.edu.au). The shop looks super professional now and very functional for those involved. Please consider helping existing and new families to our school.
Big Write
Big Write is an initiative to promote excellent literacy for your children. We have another Big Write coming up soon Years 1-6 and Kindergarten a Big Talk! It is very important when your child comes home with a writing stimulus, that you take the time to build upon their learning, brainstorm writing ideas etc. It is about setting your child up for success in writing. Please contact your child’s teacher for further details.
ICAS - International Competitions and Assessments for Schools
Good luck to the following children who participated in ICAS. The following will be the sitting dates:
9th August (Tuesday) was Digital Technologies, Writing
10th August (Wednesday) was Writing
15th August - English
22nd August - Science
23rd August - Spelling
30th August - Maths (amended date from 29th)
This week's Spotlight - 3M! See below.
God bless,
Charlene Reid
Principal
We have had a busy and exciting start to Term 3 in 3M!
IT’S OFFICIAL! 3M now write in pens! This term, we introduced writing with pens for all tasks. All students are now free to write in pens for all tasks and PMP.
In English, we are learning to write informative texts so that we can inform an audience. 3M have been researching the Commonwealth games and have been learning to structure an information report. As a class we found out these interesting facts:
• The first Commonwealth Games were known as the ‘British Empire Games’. They were first held in 1930.
• Australians are Commonwealth champions!
• The oldest competitor at this year’s Commonwealth Games is 63 years old.
3M have also been preparing for the Public Speaking competition in Week 8. Each week, the students present a speech on a topic and have been learning the qualities of an engaging speaker. It is going to be very hard selecting a student to represent our class in the final!
Our Science unit is ‘From plant to Pizza’ As part of this unit, students have made their own terrarium growing ingredients to include on a healthy pizza.
Each day in Maths, we begin with a warmup to get our brains thinking like mathematicians! This may be times tables practice, a NAPLAN style question or a number talk. I have included a link to one of the websites we use to practice our multiplication facts. Test your Multiplication - Times Tables From 2 to 15 (mathsisfun.com)
Last week in Maths, we explored mass. The students had a great time, working together to investigate mass!
3M led our school in liturgical movement through singing and dancing in our Mass Celebrations for Saint Mary of the Cross Mackillop. In Religion we have been learning more about this special Saint and discussed one of her quotes ‘Forgive with all your heart those who have pained you’. The students illustrated what this quote meant for them to make a class display.
In PDH (Personal Development and Health), the students are learning about their identity and what makes them unique. Can you guess who I’m describing in each of the following clues?
• I have two brothers
• I love netball and gymnastics
• I want to be a coder when I grow up
• I am a keen fisherman who enjoys spending time with my Grandad
• My favourite season is Winter, and I am an excellent skier!
• I love Lego, dinosaurs and soccer
I look forward to continuing great learning with 3M this term and beyond!
Mrs Courtney Porter
3M Class Teacher
Assistant Principal
Weekly Awards
See below Mrs Hannan's note regarding all of the fun Book Week activities:
Term 3 in the Library is full of wonderful activities!
Bookweek runs from August 20 – 26, week 6.
During this week we will have a Book Fair in the Library. Students are able to buy Scholastic books, posters and stationary. They will have an opportunity to peruse items for sale and create a Wish-list to show parents and carers. The Fair will be open before school and at lunchtime each day, as well as after the Grandparents Liturgy on our Book Parade day - Wednesday August 24.
There will be no borrowing from the library in week 6 as the Book Fair will be set up in the library.
Our biggest event is our Book Parade, which occurs on Wednesday August 24.
On this day all students and staff come dressed up as the Bookweek theme or a favourite book character or item. All students participate in the parade, which is great fun for all. It will be followed by our Grandparents Liturgy.
The Children’s Book Council of Australia has set this years Bookweek theme as:
All students are invited to enter our Bookweek Competition. Entries must be submitted to Mrs Hannan by Friday August 19th. Entries need to include student name and class. They can be handed in or emailed.
Infants:
Dreaming with eyes open is this year’s Bookweek theme. Design a poster to show your wildest Daydream. Include your name and class.
Primary:
This year’s Bookweek theme is: Dreaming with eyes open. Design a poem or short story about your Dreams for the future. Include your Name: and Class on your entry.
Stage 3 children discussed the theme and analysed ways it can be interpreted. They
thought of the many ways reading helps us Dream with our eyes open and illustrated books that helped them feel this way.
Stage 2 discussed Aboriginal Dreaming and how it is shown through artwork. The students then enjoyed creating their own artwork on gum leaves. The results were beautiful and gave the students a lovely sense of pride.
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.
This year class borrowing days are:
Monday: Year 1, 3 Maroon, 3/4 Blue and 5/6 classes
Tuesday: Kinder, 4 Maroon and 2 Blue
Premier’s Reading Challenge
The PRC, will be finishing on August 19th
All student entries must be added to their reading records by this day to be included in the challenge. If you are experiencing difficulties with this please let me know as soon as possible.
Congratulations to the 63 students
who have completed the challenge!
Students who complete the challenge will have their names displayed in the library and the newsletter. At the end of the year they will receive a certificate to show their achievement. At St Joey’s we like to celebrate with a Pizza Party in term four.
The PRC Website can be found here:
Sora
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
Bookclub
At St Joseph’s we participate in Scholastic Book Club. This provides families with an easy way to encourage your children to read. Twice each term students will bring home a catalogue of affordable and fun books that you may purchase. All money spent through Book Club benefits the school, as a percentage of money raised is given back to the school as reward points for the Library to purchase fantastic resources. The latest Book club catalogue has been sent home and
Orders are due in by 8th August
Happy reading,
Leah Hannan
leah.hannan@mn.catholic.edu.au
Hello from the Pastoral Care space here at St Joseph’s. I do hope that you are well.
I am the Pastoral Care Worker two (2) days per week - Monday and Tuesday. If you ever have any concerns, questions or just want a chat then please feel free to contact me at 4959 1355 or melissa.dobosz@mn.catholic.edu.au
Pastoral Care is based on respect and dignity of every person. Pastoral Care grounds our school’s Mission Statement in the quality and care of our relationships. Pastoral Care is about a person’s sense of wellbeing, identity, and self-worth.
Here at St Joseph’s Primary School, we provide high-quality interpersonal relationships, care, and support to all.
Pastoral Care is supporting the emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing of our students, staff, families, and the whole school community. This is done through offering support one on one to our students, group work, running programs and providing support and assistance to our families.
PASTORAL CARE HUB (ROOM)
The Pastoral Care Hub (Room) is open every Monday & Tuesday at lunch time for students to come in on their own or with their friends to just “chill”. This is a quiet and comfy space for students to do mindfulness activities, relax, draw, colour in, read, play a game, or just spend some quiet time.
The Pastoral Care Hub is a place to come and “just be”. It is designed to be a quiet, comfortable, safe, and friendly place for students to come when they do not want to be out in the playground at lunch time. The playground can be loud and overwhelming for some students. The Pastoral Care Hub is a quiet and safe alternative for students.
I am in the Pastoral Care Hub available to play games, colour in, draw, read, have a chat, and supervise the students.
Come join me in the Pastoral Care Hub!
Have a great week.
Take care
Mel Dobosz
Pastoral Care Worker
A few requests when ordering please:
- Ensure that each child's name is selected before choosing the order for that specific child. Then return to the beginning and select the next child to place the next order so that no more than one order is noted per child. Unfortunately at yesterday's carnival, multiple orders were placed against one child's name, so other children received theirs late as all orders were delivered to the sibling whose name was on the order.
- Please check each of your child/ren's registrations to align their 2022 class with their name.
- Please supervise the order being made on Qkr as errors have occurred when allowing children to use the app unsupervised, thank you!
Volunteer Roster
Every helper is so appreciated and we extend our thanks to our wonderful regulars, together with the new volunteers who are just starting out. As with any volunteer position at school you must be registered.
If you are able to offer help, please send an email to admin@kilabenbay.catholic.edu.au and Margaret Livingstone or Susie Doran will help with your volunteer registration.
See below for the Roster - If you are unable to make it on your rostered day, please either text Tracey or call the school office:
Week 4
Wed 10.8.2022 - Jade Davison
Thur 11.8.2022 - Jenni Dudgeon
Fri 12.8.22 - Jenna Lorriman, Hannah Stark
Week 5
Wed 17.8.22 - Sheree Williams
Thur 18.8.22 - Tania Bower, Elise Fitzpatrick, Julie Kempnich
Fri 19.8.22 - Sarah Morris, Cheryl Henriques
Week 6
Wed 24.8.22 - Ruth Blyton, Michelle Cherniyaeff
Thur 25.8.2022 - Yasmin Every-Burns, Nicole Davison
Fri 26.8.2022 - Alesha Quinn, Helen Edwards
Week 7
Wed 31.8.2022 - HELP NEEDED PLEASE!
Thur 1.9.2022 - HELP NEEDED PLEASE!
Fri 2.9.2022 - Christine Bathman, Laura Rowan
Week 8
Wed 7.9.22 - Andrew Edwards
Thur 8.9.22 - Jenni Dudgeon and HELP NEEDED PLEASE!
Fri 12.8.22 - Jacqueline Hanson, Jenny O'Reilly
Week 9
Wed 14.9.22 - Sheree Williams
Thur 15.9.22 - Tania Bower, Elise Fitzpatrick, Julie Kempnich
Fri 16.9.22 - Sarah Morris, Cheryl Henriques
Week 10
Wed 21.9.22 - Ruth Blyton, Michelle Cherniyaeff
Thur 22.9.2022 - Yasmin Every-Burns, Jade Davison
Fri 23.9.2022 - Alesha Quinn, Helen Edwards
Over the Counter Sales / Recess Qkr ordering
Some healthy snack items are available for pre-order and payment on Qkr for Recess.
Here is a picture of the popular and healthy Crunchie Munchie pack. It includes a delicious mix of fruit and veg, a tasty cheese stick and rice crackers all for just $2.
If you would like your child to have a recess snack, please place a comment in the "note to staff" section when selecting your item.
Thank you
Margaret Livingstone and Tracey Ryan-Ward
Hi everyone,
Please see Mrs Reid's appeal for occasional volunteers for our PLUS shop. If you can spare any time to help, please call the school office to register.
Following our cleanup by our wonderful volunteers and restructure of the PLUS a few weeks ago, we have a new price list:
- All “good quality” clothing - $5 a piece, except sports jackets, which are $10.
- All “ok quality” clothing is still a gold coin donation.
Of course we will always look after those families who need it the most.
To make credit card payment for your items, please download the Commonwealth Bank Qkr app (see office staff for details) and choose
P & F - PLUS - Pre-loved Uniform Shop + New Hats
and type in the total amount for the items you are purchasing
A reminder there are two suppliers for new school uniforms, particularly as the children are in their winter uniforms now:
> Verdun Hiles have stocked St Joseph's uniforms since the school's beginning.
They carry a full range of stock except girls' shorts (they haven’t got the girls shorts in yet as they are awaiting a sample). The majority of their items are Australian made, resulting in a top quality finish. Also a good option when Lowes are out of stock.
> Call in and check it out. They also stock the same colour but thicker winter stock of girls pants than the Lowes brand. So if you want to support local, you have the choice.
> See Val at Verdun Hiles
> 88 The Boulevarde Toronto
> Ph 02 49591258
Also Lowes Glendale stock a full range. Some sizes go out of stock from time to time but we wanted to let you know that you may be able to get it at Verdun Hiles instead.
Lowes, Stockland Glendale - 20% off next thursday and Friday 4 and 5 August.
387 Lake Road
Phone 02 4956 8570
If you're looking for anything, please try us first as sometimes we’ve had items with the price tags still attached. Text Chris - 0413 362 801 and PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR CHILD'S NAME AND CLASS in the message.
Thank you!
THE PLUS TEAM
Pre-School Playgroup at St Joseph's - St Anne's Playgroup - Copy
St Anne's Playgroup is back!! See the downloadable flyer for more information. If you or anyone you know has children 0-5 years - all are welcome!
St Nicholas OOSH - Information
Here at St Nicholas OOSH we provide a variety of activities for the children that attend OOSH including arts and crafts, construction, role play, a variety of sports activities and plenty of opportunities for your child to relax and chill out after a busy day of learning. We are still taking enrolments for 2022 and our Easter Vacation Care program will be available very soon. If you wish to enrol your child please contact the service either via email kilabenbay@stnicholasoosh.org.au or phone 0437 664 070. Alternatively you can head to the St Nicholas OOSH website https://stnicholasoosh.org.au/kilaben-bay and click on the enrol button which will take you straight to our online enrolment form.
We are also currently accepting the Service NSW Before and After School Care Vouchers. These vouchers can be applied for online via the Service NSW website and give families $500 per child toward the out of pocket costs of sending your child to Before and After School Care. If you have any questions regarding the vouchers please contact Kristy, Centre Coodinator, via email or phone.
St Nicholas OOSH Kilaben Bay Opening Hours
Before School Care: 6:30am – 9:00am Breakfast provided
After School Care: 2:45pm – 6:30pm Afternoon Tea provided
Vacation Care/Pupil Free Days: 6:30am – 6:30pm Breakfast and Afternoon Tea provided.
Pricing for 2022
Before School Care
Casual $24.00
Permanent $19.00
After School Care
Casual $30.00
Permanent $25.00
Vacation Care
Day Camp $60.00
Incursion $70.00
Excursion $80.00
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Kristy and the St Nicholas OOSH Team.
KRISTY MARNEY
NOMINATED SUPERVISOR - OOSH | ST NICHOLAS OOSH
P 0437 664 070
| PO Box 775 Newcastle NSW 2300
Email Kristy.Marney@stnicholasoosh.org.au Visit us online www.stnicholasoosh.org.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.