Week 8 Term 2 - 2022
Dear Families
I came across an interesting fact this week in relation to the Flannel Flowers that are growing in the playground at our current site. Every plant has its own meaning and the meaning of the Flannel flower is "What is lost is found". I think that is quite apt for us as we continue to grow our school.
This week I just want to update you on the happenings of our school and the current site.
- Catholic Church Insurance has made no decision yet in relation to St Joseph's School at Woodburn. The building has been gutted. At this stage, we have been told that we could be at the current site for 12 -18 months
- We will be getting 2 further demountables classrooms provided by the Department of Education and a COLA (Covered outdoor learning area) at our current site.
- Further into the year, we are looking to get a creative play area (Infants) and a play climbing area for the primary students.
- We are currently looking at some contemporary classroom furniture to replace the furniture lost.
We will continue to keep you informed.
KINDERGARTEN 2023
As we continue to grow our school at our current site, we look forward to our new Kindergarten joining the journey and growing with us.
We will be holding our Kindy Information Night on Tuesday 21 June 2022. If you have children ready to begin school next year, or if you know of anyone who may be interested in enrolling in Kindergarten (or any other year) in 2023, the Information Evening will be held on Tuesday 21 June at 6 pm.
LIFE LESSONS LEARNED BY JUST TURNING UP....
I can't impress on parents and caregivers enough about the importance of ensuring your child/ren attend, participate, and become involved in school, sports and community events.
It's important for our children to know that:
- We are not all good at everything in life and that's okay
- We have limitations and that's okay
- There are going to be things in life that we don't want to do but that we should do, we should make the effort.
The life skills gained from being involved and having a go:
- Being able to appreciate and find joy in others doing well
- Sportmanship
- Leadership
- Committment to a role
- Committment
- Appreciation and acknowledgement of your own and others hard work and effort
- Being a team member
- Having a go of all that is on offer
- Pushing yourself
- Acceptance
- Understanding that we are all good at different things
- The importance of being involved.
- Being a great role model to younger students.
And the list goes on.... I'm sure that many parents can add to this list and I'm sure that you have heard it all before. It is important that our children have as many opportunities as possible to learn all of these very important life skills by being involved.
This week the Yamba Catholic Ladies group visited us and donated a very generous $2000. The group of 7 included two Sisters of Mercy and one of the other women was a past student of St Joseph's Woodburn. The group took the time to visit the classrooms and listen to our story. We thank them for their generous and kind support.
SEMESTER 1 REPORTS AND PARENT TEACHER MEETINGS
An adapted Semester 1 report will be sent out via Compass in Week 9 of this term. Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held on Monday and Tuesday of Week 10 (27 & 28 June) to give you the opportunity to discuss the reports and your child's learning. Booking will be made via Compass. Parents will be notified when the Compass bookings are open. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE!
STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY (PUPIL FREE)
A Professional Learning Day for staff (Pupil Free day) will be held on the last day of Term 2- Friday 1 July 2022.
IN WEEK 8 OF TERM 2 WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR:
The kind and generous support from the Yamba Catholic Ladies Group.
- Our Sports Captains for doing a terrific job with their Sports Houses at the Athletics Carnival
- Our students for the sportsmanship, encouragement and willingness to have a go!
- Mrs Barnes for organising a terrific Athletics Carnival.
- Our parents who were able to attend, support and help out on the day- thank you!
- Our Student Representative Council
Have a wonderful weekend
Regards
SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION:
Year C - The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Gospel Reading Luke 9:11b-17 They all ate and were satisfied. Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and was able to feed the entire crowd of 5,000 people until they were satisfied. The Gospel is teaching us that, with Jesus, there is more than enough spiritual nourishment to go around. Just as our bodies require the proper nourishment for energy, we also need the proper nourishment for our emotional and spiritual needs.
STORMBIRDS: Growing through natural disaster
Because of the recent floods, we have all experienced various change and loss issues. Some of our students we feel would benefit from participating in the small group program called Stormbirds: Growing through natural disaster. This program was successfully implemented in Victoria following the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. It was developed by Good Grief Ltd, an Australian organisation that has had long experience in grief and loss education, particularly through their Seasons for Growth program which is used extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
The Stormbirds small group program of 4 sessions (50-60 minutes) aims to support children
- Manage the personal impact of the changes they have experienced
- Understand that their reactions are normal
- To “take charge” of their attitudes, feelings and behaviours
- Develop skills for coping, problem-solving and decision making
- Build their support network with families, friends, teachers and others
Resilience building and strengthening supportive relationships are vital aspects of recovering from such large-scale change events as natural disasters and the challenges that have had to be faced in their wake.
Stormbirds: will commence in Term 3 Stormbirds will be organised and facilitated by Ms Danielle Nilon, Mrs Amy Bolkum and Mrs Megan Boyd
If you think your son or daughter would benefit from participating we would encourage you to talk to him/her about this. Should he/she decide to participate please complete the information section of the Stormbirds parent letter that will be sent home next Monday, and then return it to school by Wednesday 29th June 2022.
St Joseph’s is pleased to be able to offer this important program and we are confident that it will be a valuable learning experience for those who request to be involved.
Important Dates
The STARRS PRODUCTION SHOW - Young Mary will visit our school on Friday 24th June at 1:15 pm. We look forward to enjoying this event.
NAIDOC Week 3rd – 10 July 2022
St Joseph’s Athletics Carnival
A wonderful day was had by all today. Thank you to the many parents who were able to join us to support the children and also to those who assisted with time keeping etc.
A big thank you to Mrs Barnes for organising the day. As is our journey at the moment we had to adapt some events along the way and I know Mel worked very hard to ensure that we got to have this Carnival. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated Sports Coordinator.
Thank you to our Sports House Captains- Eden, Max, Boston, Jasmine and Jed, you were amazing role models and leaders today with your organisation, encouragement, involvement, cheering and war cries.
Finally thank you to every one of our students who attended and participated today. Your efforts, sportsmanship and joy in others' achievements were absolutely wonderful to witness.
A massive congratulation to Burbi(Blue House) the 2022 Athletics Champions.
Details of the Age Champions and the points score will be provided in next week's newsletter.
Dates for the calendar
Monday 25th July 1500m event at Hepburn Park starting at 4:000pm
Thursday 28th July Richmond Zone Athletics
Wednesday 10th August Diocesan Athletics
| Kindergarten | Kobi Flanagan and Odyn Wimbus |
| Year 1 | Poppy |
| Year 2 | Maya Jensen and Indi Stahl |
| Year 3 | Amelia Hume and Rita Murada |
| Year 4 | Rose Quirk and Ayla Stahl |
| Year 5 | Cherish Cook and Sonny Handford King |
| Year 6 | Miles Parkinson and Max Ferrier |
CONGRATULATIONS
The possible supplies are: