St Joseph's, Tara - Term 1 Week 6 2023 Newsletter!
Our Vision & Mission Statements
From the Acting Principal
Warm welcome
It has certainly been a pleasure getting to know the staff, parents and most importantly the students of the St Joseph's community. I must say, the students are a credit to the wider Tara community and are always keen for the learning experiences which are being provided for them in the classrooms. Our teachers here at St Joseph's are passionate, caring and certainly show that they know the students as learners and go above and beyond their normal duties to ensure that all student needs are catered for. For this I say thank you!
If you have not already done so, please feel free to pop in and introduce yourself and have a chat!
Well-being Week
Last week was Well-being Week. This is a great week to consciously support those around us and ensure that everyone is feeling loved and cared for. The well-being of students and teachers is becoming more prominent and of concern as our work and life expectations become unbalanced. This is why it is so important to ensure that we "check-in" on those around us to ensure that they feel supported in those times when they feel unbalanced, not coping, stressed or finding it hard to regulate their emotions. It would be wonderful if we could try to continue well-being week even though the official week has finished.
NAPLAN
We are all set up and ready to go for 2023 NAPLAN. Mrs Smith has been providing the students opportunities to practice logging on through the Training platform. Mrs Smith will also. A reminder that
- The NAPLAN tests are now in Term 1.
- The NAPLAN test window for St Joseph's is between Wednesday 15 March to Tuesday 21 March.
- NAPLAN parent information letters will be sent out with Year 3 and 5 students this week
- Those students who need extra support to complete NAPLAN will have letters of adjustments sent home next week.
- A free delicious breakfast will be provided for NAPLAN students on the morning of each test. day. Keep and eye out for the information flyer for this which will come out soon.
Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Language Program (SLP) EOs visit
On Wednesday 8 March we will have Rachel Cooke (OT) and Alex Borlai (SLP) visiting from the Toowoomba Catholic Schools office. These ladies will be here to mainly observe our Prep class to provide ideas for how we can best support these students with motor skills, seating requirements and speech language, just to name a few.
If they have time, they will also pop into the other classes for a visit and offer any support and ideas which they identify.
Paul Murphy visit
Our SEL, Paul Murphy, will be visiting the school next Thursday 9 March and again on Tuesday 21 March. Paul is here to mainly catch up with myself, as Acting Principal, but he also like to spend time speaking with the teachers, students and parents about how things are going within our community. If you would like time to speak with Paul while he is visiting, please make contact with myself via the front office and we can arrange a time.
Healthy Food and Litterless lunches
Please send only healthly unprocessed and unpackaged food for snacks and lunches. e.g. banana in it's own skin, carrot sticks, cheese, salad, sandwiches etc in a named container. No processed junk food please. Healthy in means healthy out i.e. healthy emotions, healthy brains, healthy bodies and healthy friendships.
Blessings on you and your family.
Regards
Kylie Williams
"Be calm and full of hope." Mary MacKillop (1871)
"Jesus calms the storm." Matthew 8:23
A big CONGRATULATIONS to Miss Fisher for the safe arrival of beautiul Mila Love! We wish Tara, Nick and big sister Molly the very best with their newest addition!
From the APRE
Lent is a period of 40 days before Easter. Traditionally, Christians have been called to fast, pray and spiritually reflect on the life of Jesus and to enrich our personal relationship with the Christ, 'to be reconciled to God' (2 Cor 5:20).
We can think about this season through the lens of ‘giving up, giving to and giving in'. It’s in giving up our reliance on those things we don’t absolutely need, giving to those in greater need than ourselves, and giving in to God’s presence in our lives that we are able to look our own 'lacking' straight in the eye.
Giving up: Fasting, a spiritual practice that has declined in popularity over the years, has made a comeback in a less-than-spiritual way. 'Intermittent fasting' is all the rage lately on nutrition websites and in best-selling books. Perhaps we can look at fasting though, as a way of letting go of our reliance on things we don’t need. It’s fine to give up chocolate for Lent if that helps us reflect on the things we can do without. Perhaps it can be as powerful, though, to 'fast' from gossip or unnecessary spending or an insistence on having the last word. Fasting is a way to experience our own 'lacking' in a transformative way.
Giving to: Almsgiving, which means the giving of money or food to those in need, is another traditional Lenten practice. This, too, is relevant for us today during Lent—and all year long—because it takes the focus off ourselves and makes us aware that we aren’t the only ones who are vulnerable. They may be vulnerable in different ways than we are, but by reaching out to them in their need, we bear witness to their pain. Let us reflect on all that we have been given, on all that makes us fully human and then ‘pay forward’ these gifts to others.
Giving in: Prayer as a spiritual practice never goes out of style. Lent calls us to be reflective about our relationship with ourselves, with others, with God and with creation, of which we are a part. By lifting our own broken pieces and those of others in prayer, we recognise the vulnerable parts of our lives. Prayer connects us with each other and with God.
Learning at St Joeys
What an exciting start to 2023 in Music, LOTE and Health.
In Health, the Prep to Two classes have been learning about feelings and how our emotions and attitudes can impact others. They have worked very hard to develop their skills as “bucket fillers” and have made their promises as part of our school display. The year 3 – 6 class is studying the “You Can Do It” curriculum which has seen a focus in the areas of persistence and resilience.
Music across the school has been great! The lower year levels have had a focus on beat and rhythm which has seen them move to music and play musical games to demonstrate their ability. This week, they will move on to creating instruments from everyday objects so they can play them in music class. The upper year levels have started a structured composition task. They are using their knowledge to design a piece of music they can ask a peer to perform. Students have really enjoyed watching their music come to life.
LOTE for 2023 is Auslan. I hope by now your child has come home to teach you what they have learnt. They are extremely motivated to learn and use this new language so please continue to share this excitement with them at home. They have already started utilizing it to greet each other, sign their names, and sing some familiar songs. Monday assemblies have been transformed too; Happy Birthday is now sung with our voices and signed with our hands. Feel free to come along and see the amazing work of our students, especially if it is your child’s birthday. We can’t wait to perform for you.
God Bless,
Mrs Davis 😊
Photo Time
P & F News
Please note: No tuckshop tomorrow (02/03/2023).
We are doing tuckshop again, but we will be running it a bit differently until we get some more volunteers to help lessen the load. We will have either one or two main menu choices to choose from. This will make it easier to handle organizing all the orders. If we don’t get more volunteers to help in the tuckshop, we will have to run the tuckshop like this for the whole year.
From the Parish
St Mary Of The Angels - Tara
Mass Times
Tara: Friday: 9am
Saturday: 6pm
Moonie: Sunday: 9:30am
on the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Sunday of the Month
Meandarra: Sunday: 7:30am
on the 2nd & 4th Sunday of the Month
Glenmorgan: Sunday: 9am
on the 4th Sunday of the Month
Parish Priest: Fr Jack MacGinley
Presbytery: 4665 3401 (Tara)
St Joseph's Awards
Students Of The Week
Week 5 - Dominic Parsons, Adrian Vines, Ash Meyer, Loretta Kerr, Havoc McLuckie & Decklin Bramich.
Week 6 - Cash Hawkins, Xander Welldon-Taylor, Anthony Riddiford, Eliza Adhikary, Damon Grose & Leon Riddiford.
From the Administration Officers
SCHOOL FEES
Please be advised overdue letters will be sent home this week to those families who have not made regular payments or paid their balance. We give a big thank you to those who have been making regular payments and to those who have paid in full. We really appreciate it!
If you are having any financial difficulties please come in the office to discuss what we can do to help.
2023 Volunteers! If you are wanting to volunteer in the school please come see myself or Sue in the office for Volunteer forms and information. Volunteers can range from Tuckshop, Classroom, Library, Grounds and Coaching.
HOW TO PAY YOUR SCHOOL FEES:
*Cash / Cheque, at the office.
*Direct Deposit:
Bank: ADF
Name: St Joseph’s School
BSB: 064-786
ACC: 100025583
Reference: Your Name.
*Centrelink Centrepay Deduction Payments can be made fortnightly or monthly. The School’s CRN: 555075545A
Not Sure how it’s done? Ask at the office for assistance.
Term Dates
2023
*Term 1 2023 – Tue 24 Jan (Public Hol 26 Jan) - Fri 31 Mar
*Term 2 2023 – Tues 18 Apr - Fri 23 Jun
*Term 3 2023 – Mon 10 Jul - Friday 15 Sep
*Term 4 2023 – Tue 3 Oct - Friday 1 Dec
Wellbeing Matters
Student Safety
EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE
It is a legislative requirement that all non-state schools have at least two nominated staff members to whom a student can report the behaviour of another staff member that the student considers inappropriate. We call these specially trained staff members School Student Protection Contacts, or SSPCs. Each SSPC has been nominated by the principal in recognition of their integrity, approachability and knowledge in the area of student protection. Whilst students are encouraged to speak up to any trusted adult in the school community, it is important that they know they can access these specific staff members at any time should they have worries, queries or concerns. You will have noticed posters throughout the school depicting our current SSPCs. The SSPCs are also published on our school website along with information about our student protection processes. In everything we do at St Joseph's Tara student safety is our highest priority, therefore the SSPCs at our school are key personnel in our overall safeguarding processes. Please see the poster below depicting our current SSPC team.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
