St Joseph's, Tara - Term 1 Week 2 2025 Newsletter!
Our Vision & Mission Statements
From the Principal
Welcome to the Term 1 Week 2 Newsletter!
Welcome Back
A big welcome to all our students and their families to the 2025 school year. A special welcome to our new students and families who join us for the first time.
Alex Hyde
Riley Nystrom
Indi Warwick
Akesa White
All students have had a wonderful start in their respective classrooms and some great friendships have begun.
Staffing
It has been wonderful welcoming our 3 new staff members, Miss Autumn Taylor, Mr Chris Coman and Mrs Chantelle Davis, start with us this year. Miss Taylor comes to us as a graduate and her enthusiasm to learn our Joey’s Way is contagious. It is absolutely heartwarming that Mr Coman has chosen to travel to Tara every Thursday to teach PE and the students were very keen to please and enjoyed his lessons. Mrs Davis’ soft, calm and caring approach in the classroom this week has certainly provided a regulated start for many of our students.
As mentioned at the end of 2024, Jacinta Jensen, resigned from her position as School Guidance Counsellor due to personal reasons. We have advertised for this position and are currently interviewing shortlisted candidates. I hope to be able to announce this to the school and Tara community by the end of week 4. Stay tuned!
Strategic Plan
Below is the school’s new Strategic Plan. This plan was created at the end of last year as our previous plan had ended. This plan provides the direction of the school over the next 4 years. This is a working document and can be adjusted or amended when or if it needs due to changes in government curriculum requirements or TCSO teaching and learning requirements.
Each newsletter I will choose one component of the Strategic Plan and break it open for you for further clarity as this document is a community document for us all to work towards.
Enrolments
As was mentioned in my principal’s speech at the Celebration of Learning evening in the final week of Term 4, we do have a waiting list in some year levels. As you know, word of mouth is the best form of publicity for us and sometimes also the best form of communication. It would be greatly appreciated that, if talking to community members about enrolling their child into St Joey’s, you let them know that even though we may have a waiting list for the year level they are wanting, an application and enrolment interview is still required to go onto the waiting list. This will ensure that as soon as a position becomes available, we can contact them, and the child can start almost immediately.
Thank you all for your support in this area.
Swimming
Can you believe that we have begun swimming lessons already? Thank you to Mr Coman and Mrs Davis for their support with taking the Year 2/3 and Year 4-6 classes to the pool this week for their first lesson. It was so much easier and calmer having the lessons with just one class rather than the whole school.
Prep/1s will begin lessons next Thursday 13 February (week 3). All classes will continue these lessons until Thursday 27 February (Week 5) with the swimming carnival being held on Thursday 6 March (Week 6). More details about the swimming carnival will be sent out closer to the time.
A big thank you to the Tara pool staff for supporting us with providing these lessons.
Leadership Positions
It is with much excitement that our Year 4-6 students have started nominating themselves for the various leadership positions we have for 2025.
A new Student Leadership Guidelines document was created by staff at the end of 2024 to provide the students and their families with a little more clarity around the responsibilities of each of the positions.
Nominated students will now begin the process of having an interview with myself and Miss Fisher and begin writing their speeches. Speeches will be delivered to the school community on Monday 17 February. All school community members are invited to attend. Please keep your eye out for the times these will be happening across that day.
Announcements of the elected students to each position will occur on Friday 21 February at our Beginning of Year Liturgy. This will be at 9.30am in the church.
Tara Community Expo
Tara Futures Group is holding a community expo where community groups can promote themselves. St Joseph’s will have a stall with some give aways of promotional items, enrolment packages, raffle and most importantly our newly appointed school leaders. Please pop in and say hi to us at this event.
God bless,
Kylie Williams
APMI
Qualities of a Lifelong Learner
As you would all be aware, our Qualities of a Lifelong Learner were rolled out across Semester 2 last year and with such great success. We saw improvements in student’s regulated behaviours, positive attitudes towards learning and a reduction in Sentral wellbeing negative incidents.
As with all new things we have to always reflect upon how things went. What worked well and what might need a bit of tweaking to improve upon practice so we can pop it into the “worked well” basket.
During Week 0, all staff worked on creating explicit teaching lessons for each of the 5 QoLLs ensuring that across the lessons there was a focus on the following topics:
- Explicit teaching of the definition of the quality
- Explicit teaching of the success criteria and how to display success with that quality
- A link to the life, stories and legacy of Mary MacKillop and how she displayed the quality
- A link to the life and stories of Jesus and how he displayed the quality
- How we can be like Mary and Jesus and display these qualities as we walk in their footsteps.
As per our roll out last year, we will begin with a fortnightly focus on a chosen Quality with students being recognised with tickets to collect for their bronze, silver and gold success as well as Recognition Certificates presented at assembly each Monday.
Parents are strongly encouraged to use these Qualities along with the success criteria at home and talk to their children about what qualities they displayed throughout the day. A notice will come out to advise which Quality will be our focus along with the success criteria.
We cannot wait to see more great success throughout 2025!
Learning at St Joeys
From the Prep - 1 Classroom
English
In Term One English, the Prep/One class is exploring nursery rhymes. They are learning to sequence text events and retell stories through the exploration of four popular nursery rhymes. They will gain an understanding of characters, settings and events and listen for and identify rhymes, letter patterns and sounds within words.
In Prep, students will be developing an oral retell that explores the events and characters within the nursery rhymes they are listening to and engaging in.
In Year 1, students will develop an oral and written retell of popular nursery rhymes. They will identify the beginning, middle and end of these nursery rhymes, as well as characters and setting and convey them to an audience using both written and oral communication.
Religion
In Religion this term students will be exploring the two creation stories within the Old Testament. They will be developing an understanding of who God is, what Creation is and how God’s plan for us is to help each other to live safely and happily together for the good of all. They will make connections between Bible stories and their own life experiences and participate in group prayer. In the last few weeks of the term students will begin to develop an understanding of the importance of Jesus’ sacrifice and the meaning of Easter.
Mathematics
In Term One, Prep students will begin to develop the ability to recognise, sequence and connect the various forms of numbers, including numeral, quantity and word. They will develop their subitising skills and the ability to identify and use numerous counting strategies. They will explore patterning in simple colour and shape patterns and collect data to answer simple questions.
In Year One, students will continue to develop their counting skills and ability to recognise, sequence and connect the various forms of larger numbers, including numeral, quantity, word and sum. They will use new and familiar counting strategies to solve practical problems and copy, continue and identify the repeating unit within patterns. They will collect and sort data to answer questions and solve familiar problems.
Science
In Science this term, students will begin to use science observation and prediction skills to answer questions and solve problems about the plants and animals that live within our community. They will identify the external features of familiar plants and animals and group them based on these features. By posing questions, making predictions and engaging in investigations students will learn more about the living features of our community and how they can be cared for.
HaSS
In HaSS, students will be exploring the features of familiar places and how these places can be cared for. They will pose questions, sort and record information, draw conclusions and share their narratives and observations with others to gain a greater understanding. Students will begin to understand how and why places are important, how features of places help us to survive and thrive and how we can look after the places we belong to.
The GOSSIP - Student Newspaper
From the PEN
From the Parish
Parish Priest: Fr Rod MacGinley Presbytery: 4662 7031 (Dalby)
St Mary Of The Angels - Tara
Mass Times
Tara: Sunday: 9am
on the 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month
Meandarra: Sunday: 11am
on the 3rd Sunday of the month
St Joseph's Student Recognition
Certificates of Recognition
Student Recognition will be awarded beginning Monday 10 Feb (week 3), at Assembly at 2:20pm. Parents/Carers will be notified by their students' classroom teacher if they are receiving a certificate.
All parents/carers are welcome to attend assemblies.
From the Administration Officers
Welcome back everyone! It has been wonderful to see all our returning students and new students come into school with their smiling faces. Thank you to all for being persistent with your accounts in 2024 and over the school holidays.
Term 1 fees have been added to your customer accounts, and statements have been distributed. (Please check your junk folder).
If you need any financial assistance, be sure to 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.
*BPoint, in person at the office or over the phone.
*Direct Deposit:
Bank: ADF
Name: St Joseph’s School
BSB: 064-786
ACC: 100-025-583
Reference: Your Name/Customer Code eg. TRA1234
*Centrelink Centrepay Deduction Payments can be made fortnightly or monthly.
The School’s CRN: 555075545A
*Direct Debit: Forms are available in the office. Please see me or call the office.
Not Sure how it’s done? Ask at the office for assistance.
Term Dates
2025
Term 1 2025 – Wed 29 Jan (Public Hol 26 Jan) - Fri 04 April
Term 2 2025 – (Easter Monday, 21 Apr) Wed 23 Apr - Fri 27 Jun
Term 3 2025 - Tue 15 Jul - Fri 19 Sep
Term 4 2025 - Tue 07 Oct (Kings B'day 06 OCT) - Fri 05 Dec
Professional Development and Planning Days (previously called Pupil Free Days)
- Wednesday, 22 January - Friday, 24 January 2025 - Professional Development
- Tuesday, 28 January 2025 - Planning Day
- Tuesday, 22 April 2025 - Planning Day
- Monday, 14 July 2025 - Planning Day
- Wednesday, 30 July 2025 - Bishops Inservice Day (BID)
- Friday, 5 September 2025 - Consistency of Teacher Judgement (CTJ)
Public holidays
- Australia Day public holiday – Monday, 27 January 2025
- Easter – Friday, 18 April – Monday, 21 April 2025
- Anzac Day – Friday, 25 April 2025
- Labour Day – Monday, 5 May 2025
- King’s Birthday – Monday, 6 October 2025
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
