St Joseph's, Tara - Term 4 Week 4 2021 Newsletter
From the Principal
Principal
Dear parents and carers,
Yarning Circle Development
What a fabulous job Dan Cole did in completing the story pole installation! Thank you to Sara Shields, Jamie Lobley and Craig Riddiford for your assistance with the story poles. Next the yarning circle rocks will be collected and positioned. If you can help please let the school know.
Inspire Maths: sharing of practice
Miss Stoker will join early years teachers and their principals, in a Small Schools collaborative (LINC) sharing of practice visit to St. Patrick's Mitchell on Wednesday and Thursday. During the visit, Miss Stoker will take part in professional development by observing the practice of other colleagues in a multiage classroom and analysing class data to target next step learning for students and greater curriculum clarity.
World Teachers' Day: Friday 29th October
St. Joseph's Tara teachers educate, care for and inspire your children every day. World Teachers' Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the important role our teachers play in our school and for the positive impact they have on the lives and learning of every student. We say a special thank you to our teachers Mrs Smith, Miss Stoker, Mr Smith, Miss Fisher, Mrs Porter, Mrs Fraser and Mrs Bowman to acknowledge and show appreciation of all they do, each and every day.
Alice in Wonderland Bookfair
Such a delightful 'Alice in Wonderland' day of learning and tea parties! The student and staff costumes were wonderful to see! Thank you to FOOD WORKS for welcoming our parade and for the delicious treats. Well done to all involved.
Prep and other year level Transition Days
Yesterday new students attended a transition day to become familiar with Prep or their next year level for 2022.
Our next transition days are below. Please bring a sunhat, drink bottle and snacks to all sessions.
- Tuesday 9th November - 8:40 am - 1 pm
- Tuesday 23rd November - 8:40 am - 2:50 pm. Please also include a packed lunch for this all day session.
2022 Enrolment Welcome Pack!
Most new families have participated in their 2022 enrolment interview. If you would like your child to attend St. Joseph's in 2022, please arrange an interview time this week. Your enrolment application needs to be in by 1 November, in order to access the 2022 Welcome Pack benefits ($105 off the Term 1 fees, a school uniform and school stationery essentials).
Camp Coolum
Exciting news! A whole school Camp has been booked for 29 November to 1 December at Luther Heights Youth Camp, Coolum, Sunshine Coast. Activities will include swimming at the lifesaver patrolled Coolum Beach, beach games, catapult building, low and high ropes, night games and team building activities, P-2 & Yr 3-6 appropriate flying foxes, a visit to Underwater World (renamed Sealife Aquarium) and Bli Bli Castle for a treasure Hunt. Now might be a good time to start scheduling chores so your child can contribute to the cost of the camp. With the school camp budget, fundraising and P & F support, the cost per St. Joseph's student should be an unbelievable $20! Only five $125 parent spaces are available: one parent per family with preference given to Prep parents then Year 1 parents...
Learning Super Powers 4 & 5: Resilience and Self-Motivation
I have been excited about the increasingly resilient learners I have seen over the last two weeks. Learners have been checking their progress against the success critieria. Self-motivation, our fifth learning power, is starting to develop as students set learning goals, track their own progress and celebrate their growth towards their goals. A special mention goes to Decklin Bramich, Year 2 and Rubie Warwick, Year 4 for sharing their progress.
FREE Hearing Check
Please complete your child's Hear and Say form online or see Sue Whelan for a form before Monday 1 November.
Remembrance Day
St. Joseph's students will attend the community Remembrance Day Service at the Remembrance Garden, Tara Lagoon on 11 November. Two students from Year 3-6 students will read "In Flanders Field" and other students will lay wreaths.
Choice and Affordability Funding
I am very pleased to announce that the school has received some funding to support families with their fees. More information to follow at a later date.
Travel Days
Two travel days are allocated to our rural school each year. The first (pupil free) travel day will be taken on Friday 12 November and the second is the 3 December. This means that the last day of the school year will be Thursday 2 December.
Mary Porter
Principal
'Be on guard against exaggerating in the smallest matters.' Mary MacKillop 17.12.1872
Developing our fine motor skills
From the APRE
Mission and Mary Month
Please join us at school on Thursday 28th November at 8.45 to pray for the Missions. Thank you to P-2 and Mrs Fraser for preparing such a prayerful experience.
So far with our Mission Fundraising we have raised
$35 towards the cost of school supplies for a child for 1 year and
$102 towards the meals and snacks for 1 child at the kindergarten for a year.
Well done everyone!
The following Mission activity will take place this Thursday:
Thursday 28th October: Mrs Fraser's CRAZY HAIR $1
29th October: World Teachers' Day
Thank you God for our teachers. Thank you for their belief in me and for their support of me so that I can achieve great things.
Amen.
1st November: All Saints Day
“All Hallows” is an old English name for “All Saints” and that’s why the evening before, the eve of the feast, became known as “Hallow e’en.”
2nd November: All Souls Day
On All Souls Day, I remember and pray for family and friends who have died. This makes me smile and cry at the same time and I feel close to them and close to God.
Mission Month - Crazy Sock Day
From the Parish
St Mary Of The Angels - Tara
Mass Times
Friday: 9am Saturday: 6pm
Parish Priest: Fr Jack MacGinley
Presbytery: 4665 3401
Father Jack's Message
Over last weekend we celebrated "World Mission Day". Every year we are reminded of our need to support the priests, religious and lay people who are working in third world countries, telling the Good News of the love and hope of Jesus that has been given to us. These people are working in very poor countries and they need finiancial support from us, so that they can give them what God has given to us.
On mission weekend we thank God for the gift of faith. This has changed our outlook on the way we see life. We can now know that God, our creator, has shown us his concern and love for us through Jesus Christ. The love and promises of Jesus has enabled us to live with love and without fear.
Jesus' story is great. We can read it in the Gospel writings of the Apostles. We cannot but be amazed and thankful to our God for giving us this good news.
Shalom,
Fr Jack MacGinley
From the Administration Officer
SCHOOL FEES
I encourage all families to carefully plan their budget so that outstanding fees are paid by 19th November at the latest. Continuing to make regular fee payments over the Christmas school holidays will certainly help keep your budget on track.
2022 Term fees will increase by $5 per term, bringing the annual school fee total from $800 to $820. Please note this is the first fee increase in five years.
HOW TO PAY YOUR SCHOOL FEES:
*Cash
*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.
Thank you to those making regular payments and/or have their account up to date. Could I please ask everyone to check how their account is travelling. If it doesn’t seem to be reducing as quickly as you would like, I recommend increasing or begin making regular fortnightly payments via cash, direct deposit or Centrepay deductions to help manage the fees more comfortably.
Bus Notification Reminder: Please notify the school if your child's bus travel arrangements change by 2:30pm each afternoon.
If your child is being picked up instead of catching the bus home or is required to catch the bus instead of being picked up then the school needs to know before 2:30pm. Our staff have a duty of care to ensure your children get home safely, in accordance to the arrangements you have advised.
ABSENCES: Please notify the school whenever your child is absent.
Could I please ask those families who received an Unexplained Absences Explanation Request Form and have not returned them or notified the office to do so asap. These forms will now be sent out on a fortnightly basis and are to be returned by the Friday of that week please.
We understand that there are valid reasons for your child not to attend school e.g. They are sick. Please be aware that the following examples are not acceptable reasons for keeping them home from school.
If your child:
- Doesn't feel like coming to school
- Thinks it's too wet, cold, hot or the work is too hard or too easy
- Stays home when another sibling is sick or a family member has an appointment or is going shopping out of town
- Had a disagreement with their best friend
- Got into trouble or thinks they might get into trouble at school
- Is embarrassed about something that happened the day before
- Has an activity or subject on that day they don't like
Wellbeing
Have fun with the daily activities on our Happiness Calendar. See how many you can achieve. We will also be focusing on a different Key to Happiness (below) each fortnight.
Our Fourth Key to Happiness is - Awareness.
Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it's right here in front of us.
We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day.
The key to taking notice is 'mindfulness'. Mindfulness is often defined as "the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present". [1] Two critical elements of mindfulness are that:
- It is intentional (i.e. we are consciously doing it); and
- We are accepting, rather than judging, of what we notice.
In other words, mindfulness is "openly experiencing what is there." It is about having as full as possible awareness of what is around us - what we can see, hear, touch and taste. And what is happening inside - our thoughts and feelings. Crucially it is about observing all this but not getting caught up in thinking and worrying about what we are observing. It then gives us more control of what we decide to give our attention to.
A growing number of scientific studies are showing the benefits of mindfulness in many aspects of our lives including our physical and mental well-being, our relationships and our performance at school and at work. And it appears to have benefits for everyone, from children through to the elderly. One researcher even suggests that once learnt, mindfulness has a 'transmitting' quality. Its benefits increase over time and with practice and can spread to many areas of our daily lives.
Yet mindfulness is something that, in today's busy, multi-tasking world, few of us do naturally - but it's something everyone can learn and benefit from. It's simple, yet can feel hard until you learn how. That's why it takes practice.
From the Learning Environment
Year 3-6
Welcome to the last term of the year. I would firstly like to welcome Jaxon into our class and Miss Stoker, Josef and Jorge, along with Loretta and her family into our school. I hope they enjoy their time at our school and in the broader community.
We have four graduating students this year – Braydon, Pippa, Kandice and Tyzah. We wish them well in their last term of their primary years and on their future journey.
It is a very busy term, both in and out of class. In Religion, we are examining the life and story of Mary, leading up to Christmas. In English, we are studying ‘The Lorax’, from Term 3 and the Australian text, ‘Storm Boy’. We are also examining areas of language conventions such as spelling, grammar and punctuation. Can I remind students that they, indeed, have weekly homework which includes their weekly spelling words. Students are tested on Thursday, the day their homework is due.
In Maths, we are investigating number sentences, operations and collecting data. These investigations include drawing on our number talks, thinking prompts and real-life situations. I am really pleased with the progress being made and the students’ reflections. In Hass, we are finishing our Sustainability unit in relation to ‘The Lorax’ and looking at our local, state and federal government and how it works. Finally, in Science we are examining Earth’s place in Space. I have to say we have been finding out some very cool facts.
I wish all students an enjoyable term of great learning and fun.
God bless,
Ann Smith
Library News
Parading Through Foodworks
Our Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Building our own volcanoes
We Love To Read !!!
St. Joseph's Awards
Silver Award Recipients
Ella Sinclair, Rubie Warwick
Students Of The Week
Leakella-Ann Norford, Rhys Warwick, Josef Waring, Loretta Kerr, Ella Sinclair & Pippa McDonald
Principal's Learning Super Power Award
- Resilience
Braydon Clark, Decklin Bramich, Rubie Warwick
Student Safety
THE 2021 STUDENT PROTECTION CONTACTS: Sue Whelan Mary Porter Susan Rodd (Counsellor)
STUDENT SAFETY INFORMATION
EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE
Wear Red for Day For Daniel - 29 Oct 2021
Term Dates
2021
*Term 3 2021 – Tue 13 Jul - Fri 17 Sep
*Term 4 2021 – Wed 6 Oct - Thurs 2 Dec
2022
*Term 1 2022 – Tue 25 Jan - Fri 1 Apr
*Term 2 2022 – Wed 20 Apr - Fri 24 Jun
*Term 3 2022 – Tue 12 Jul - Fri 16 Sep
*Term 4 2022 – Wed 6 Oct - Fri 2 Dec
Tuckshop
ROSTER
Term 4
Wk 4 - 28 Oct: Annie Stapleton & Craig Riddiford
Wk 5 - 4 Nov: Monica Moran & Lesley Truebody
Wk 6 - 11 Nov: Anne Furniss & Sara Shields
Wk 7 - 18 Nov: Craig Riddiford & Annie Stapleton
Wk 8 - 25 Nov: Monica Moran & Dan Cole
Wk 9 - 2 Dec: Sara Shields & Craig Riddiford - Christmas Tuck Shop Menu
If you are unable to attend on your rostered tuckshop day please contact another person on the roster to arrange a swap of days.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Awards recognise the role models, talented sportspeople, creative artists, amazing volunteers and community groups in our community. There would be many examples within your school community of people achieving great things and we encourage you to nominate them.
Award Categories:
- Citizen of the Year
- Young Citizen of the Year
- Local Community Organisation Achievement Award
- Local Creative Arts Award
- Local Sports Award
- Local Volunteer of the Year
Thank you for your support to help acknowledge our wonderful community and its people.
Nominations can be made online through this link: https://www.wdrc.qld.gov.au/living-here/our-communities/public-holidays/australiadayawards2022/. Nominations close Sunday 31 October 2021.
Flickerfest Australia's largest short film festival, returns to four venues across the Western Downs region from 16th to 30th October. |
