St Joseph's School, Tara eNewsletter

Our Vision & Mission Statements

From the Acting Principal

Welcome to the Week 4 Newsletter!

What a week! 

It certainly has been an extremely volitile this past week for us all. Our thoughts and prayers have been going out to all those evacuated from their homes and the emergency services who have been working tirelessly to keep us all safe. As I write this newsletter, word has come through that some roads are now closed again and conditions are again worrying.

We have missed seeing our students and we are very grateful to have a majority of them back with us. Teachers have been working hard to ensure that a normal teaching and learning classroom routine is followed so that students who are able to attend feel safe and calm from an unchanged routine.

The school's Guidance Counsellor, Jacinta Jensen, is on hand to work with students and their immediate family. Please contact the office if you would like support in organising an appointment with Jacinta.

Class Structures for 2024!

The class structures for 2024 has been finalised in the past weeks. For 2024, St Joseph's has been successful in securing the continuation of three classes:-

Prep/Year 1

Year 2/3

Year 4/5/6

Announcements of teaching and school officer staffing will be communicated in the coming weeks along with the new fee structure.

Announcement of new principal

Last week you would have received an email announcing the appointment of myself as principal, St Joseph’s School, Tara, effective from January 2024.

I am thrilled to know that I will be able to build upon the quality work that St Joseph's has undertaken this year. My 2024 priority is to continue to improve student learning outcomes, community engagement and staff wellbeing.

As acting principal of St Joseph’s, I have been committed to ensuring staff and students are supported and encouraged to achieve their best in a safe and productive learning environment.

I thank Toowoomba Catholic Schools and the interview panel of Fr Jack MacGinley, Paul Murphy (Senior Education Leader) and Hayley Farry (Director: People and Engagement Services) for their work in this recruitment process.

World Teachers' Day

World Teachers’ Day is an annual event where we have the opportunity to celebrate and thank the teachers for their important role in our communities and for the positive impact they have on the lives of students. Given the events of the past week, World Teachers' Day Celebrations for the staff of St Joseph's was very low key but I would still like to acknowledge the fact that our teachers here certainly do make a difference every day, educating and inspiring our students. Their dedication, commitment and hard work certainly does not go unnoticed. Words can sometimes not reflect our real thought and feelings, but I know that I say this on behalf of all the parents and students in our school – THANK YOU!

A Prayer for Teachers 

Lord, bless the teachers who give their heart to teaching. 

Thank you for the special gift that You have given them and for giving them a spirit of grace and compassion. 

May they have strength and endurance to perform their many tasks, and may they know and feel the deep gratitude of those whom they teach. 

2024 Enrolments - all year levels

As we move closer to the end of 2023 and preparation begin for the 2024 school year, can I please ask that families communicate to the school via an email your intentions. This will certainly help us be prepared for the needs of students in each class.

We are still taking enrolments for 2024 in all year levels and we would certainly appreciate your support in spreading the word to the community of the wonderful school we are. If you know of anyone who is interested in enroling their child at St Joseph's for 2024 and would like more information please tell them to make contact with the school office or find our enrolment information and forms on the school website. The flyer below has been placed on the school's Facebook page. Please feel free to share to your friends and the wider community and tell them how great St Joseph's is.

God bless,

Kylie Williams

"A little patience will in the end be rewarded." ~ Mary MacKillop.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12

From the APRE

All Saints' Day!

All Saints’ Day is a Christian holiday which is celebrated on November 1.

All Saints’ Day celebrates all the Christian saints. Saints are holy people who are believed to be very close to God and have walked in the footsteps of Jesus, spreading his word and teachings to the world.

To become a Saint is no easy feat and often feels like it is a status that us "common" people will never achieve. However, in our modern world, we are called to live in a saint-like way and that we, as Christians, believe that we are all part of the Communion of Saints. As a member of the church community, we can live in a saint-like way by living out the 10 Commandments that God gave Moses on the top of Mt Nebo,

and then later his son Jesus reiterated God's wishes by teaching his disciples The Beatitudes at Mt Beatitude.

I believe that All Saints' Day is not only a day to remember those who have gone before us but a time for us to reflect on how we can be more "saint-like" in our community.

Learning at St Joeys

From the Year 1/2 classroom..............

Dear Parents and Carers,

I would like to start by saying that our class attendance for Term 4 has had an amazing start. It is always an amazing day when we have all students in the classroom, on time and contributing to our wonderful and meaningful discussions. The term target remains at 85% and I am happy to say that we are currently well above this. Let’s keep up the great work!

Term 4 Teaching and Learning

English

Students will share their ideas through the expression of opinions using details learnt from informative texts. They will use the correct structure for the purpose of the text. Students will sequence, organise and link their ideas and use persuasive language features, topic-specific vocabulary, and vocal and visual features to express an opinion and influence an outcome. They will write and punctuate simple and compound sentences using topic-specific vocabulary, sentence boundary punctuation and capital letters for proper nouns.

Mathematics

In Year One, students will solve simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of counting strategies. They will identify representations of one-half and will order objects using informal units based on length and capacity. Students will collect data by asking questions, draw simple data displays and make simple inferences. They will also describe data displays.

In Year Two, students will represent multiplication and division by grouping into sets and divide collections into halves, quarters and eighths. They will order shapes and objects using informal units and will collect, organise and represent data to make simple inferences.

Religion

In Religion, students will explore the ways in which Mary, Mother of Jesus, is honoured by Christians’ past and present. They have investigated the key moments in Mary’s life such as The Annunciation and Mary Visiting Elizabeth, connecting these stories to the familiar prayer, The Hail Mary. Students will participate with respect in a variety of personal and communal prayer experiences, including Meditative Prayer, Grace and the Hail Mary. They will identify the similarities and differences between Gospel accounts of significant events, places and characters in the life of Jesus.

Science

In Term 4, students will explore forces in our everyday lives, including forces related
to simple machines. They will describe the components of simple systems, such as stationary
objects subjected to pushes and pulls and show how objects move when subjected to different types of forces. Students will describe patterns and make predictions about the size or direction of a force and its effect on the movement of objects. They will count marbles added to pulleys and use informal measurements, such as hand spans, to measure and compare the distances objects roll. They will organise their observations into provided tables.

HaSS

Students are learning to recognise that people describe the features of places differently and how places can be cared for. They will focus on the dreamtime story of the Seven Sisters and share stories about the past including those of the local Barrungam people. Students will describe how people in different places are connected to each other and identify factors that influence these connections. They will acknowledge that the significance of events in the local community can hold different meanings for different community groups.

Kind regards,

Mrs Tammy Ash

Photo Time

Prep Transition Day

We are very excited to announce that after all our successful fundraising this year the P&F have agreed to donate a total of $4000 towards the Outback Experience Camp to help reduce the cost for the 3-6 families. This week, the P&F President will be meeting with Miss Sheppard, Miss Fisher and Mrs Williams to discuss ideas and activities for Week 8 so that the P&F can provide a monetary contribution towards for the P-2 students, these ideas will be brought forward at our next P&F meeting (date to be announced).

Tara Futures Group - Superhero Disco - St Joseph's P&F are excited to announce that we will be teaming up with the Futures Group and catering at their superhero themed disco this term. As this date is also the final day for the Year 3-6 camp, the committee has seeked the help of Lesley Truebody to manage the organisation of the catering while a majority of the committee are away.

If you are able to help with any of the following jobs, even for a short amount of time, could you please contact Monica via the front office or Lesley.

Cooking and serving in the kitchen on the night
Serving in the drinks area
Cleaning and packing up afterwards – 9:30pm

From the Parish

**Parish Priest**: Fr Jack MacGinley **Presbytery**: 4665 3401 (Tara)

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

St Joseph's Awards

Silver Award

Braxton McGill and Ashleigh Meyer

Bronze Award

Nateesha Laird, Nulla Laird and Torben Andersen

Students Of The Week

Week 3 - Frankie Nystrom, Ivy-Grace Andersen, Ashleigh Meyer, Decklin Bramich and Violet Ash

Week 4 - Xander Welldon-Taylor, Malia Adhikary, Jaxson de Boeck, Cooper Davis and Aldrich Imperial

From the Administration Officers

SCHOOL FEES

Fee reminders and monthly statements will be distributed at the end of this week via the Parent Portal. Please check all folders including the junk and spam folders. We say a big thank you to those who have been making regular payments either via direct deposit or Centrepay and to those who have paid in full. We really appreciate it!

If you do need any financial assistance, come in and see myself or Kylie to see how we can help. It is completely confidential!

HOW TO PAY YOUR SCHOOL FEES:

*Cash / Cheque, at the office.

*Direct Deposit:
Bank: ADF
Name: St Joseph’s School
BSB: 064-786
ACC: 100-025-583
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 –(Student Free Day 17 Apr) Tue 18 Apr - Thur 22 Jun

(Travel Day Fri 23 Jun)

Term 3 2023 – (Student Free Day 10 Jul) Tue 11 Jul - Friday 15 Sep

Term 4 2023 –(Public Hol 2 Oct) Tue 3 Oct - Thur 30 Nov

(Travel Day Fri 1 Dec)

2024

Term 1 2024 – Tue 23 Jan (Public Hol 26 Jan) - Thur 28 Mar

(Good Friday 29 Mar)

Term 2 2024 –(Student Free Day 17 Apr) Mon 16 Apr - Fri 21 Jun

Term 3 2023 – (Student Free Day 08 Jul) Tue 09 Jul - Fri 13 Sep

Term 4 2023 –(Kings B'day 07 OCT) Mon 30 Sep - Wed 04 Dec

(Travel Day's Thur 5 Dec & Fri 6 Dec)

Wellbeing Matters

Getting back to a normal routine after a traumatic event (such as a natural disaster) can be difficult, to say the least. As adults in families, this can be even more challenging, because we also need to consider what we say in the presence of the young people around us. Young people can be quick to make assumptions as to what is going on, draw conclusions that are incorrect, and use their imaginations to fill any gaps. What young people imagine is usually more frightening than what actually happened. As adults, we may think that we are keeping our feelings and fears to ourselves, but young people can still pick up on adult concerns. Or children may even pick up on the distress of others who were directly involved. Depending on the child’s development, the young person’s understanding can become fragmented or distorted. Adults may see the following changes in the young person such as:

Sleep problems;
Irritability;
Clinginess;
Inability to cope with ordinary/small problems;
Reverting to immature behaviour;
Changes in relationships with family members;
Preoccupation with the trauma – e.g., constantly checking media;
Problems with transitions;
Poor concentration;
Exaggerated reactions; and/or
Excessive concerns for others.

How parents and caregivers recover and manage their own stress is the strongest indicator of how a child will cope with what has happened. According to the literature on helping young people through natural disasters, young people need comfort, reassurance, support, and to know that they are being looked after. Adults, therefore, need to be conscious of how they talk to these young people, make sure that any adult conversations cannot be overheard, need to consider the young person’s exposure to the available information, and, most importantly, to try to curb any emotions that may impact upon others.

For parents and caregivers, the main tips are:

Acknowledge that it is a tough time;
Be patient with yourself and with others;
Keep regular routines, even if they are small routines;
Reduce access to media about the event (including social media);
Let emotional “blow-ups” pass – give young people time to sort themselves out (with your support);
Take the young person’s concerns seriously;
If the young person objects to what you are doing, don’t argue, just ask how else you can help;
Let the young person contact their peer groups to increase positive and affirming conversations; and
Take time for yourself to work through your own distress.

Some helpful contacts in this time include:

The Community Recovery Team who can help with financial and housing assistance, and are coordinating the relief effort:

Phone: 1800 173 349

The Tara Neighbourhood Centre:

Phone: (07) 4665 3508

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.

St Joseph's, Tara - Term 4 Week 4 2023 Newsletter!