Term 1, Week 4 Newsletter - 21st February 2025

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers, Guardians, and Parishioners,

Welcome to Week 4 of Term 1! St Joseph’s has been a hive of activity, with students engaging in learning, development, and planning for the year ahead.

Beginning of Year Mass – Friday, 21st February 2025

This Friday, our school community will come together to celebrate the 2025 Beginning of Year Mass. This is a special occasion where we gather as a school to reflect, pray, and ask for blessings for the year ahead. During the Mass, we will also formally acknowledge and induct our Year 6 students as the leaders of our school.

 Penola Centre
 8:40 am Start
 Morning Tea to Follow

We warmly invite all parents, carers, and parishioners to join us for this special celebration.

Meet & Greet BBQ – Wednesday, 26th February 2025

We are excited to announce our postponed Meet & Greet BBQ is now set for next Wednesday, 26th February 2025!

 In front of the San Jose Library
 4:45 pm Start

This is a fantastic opportunity for families to come together, meet teachers and staff, and connect with one another in a relaxed and welcoming environment. We encourage all families to attend and look forward to seeing you there!

Staffing Updates

We are pleased to share some positive progress in securing permanent staffing for our classrooms.

• Miss Alisha Davis has returned to Year 1 Gold. Having previously worked at St Joseph’s in the Year 1 space, Alisha will be with us until the end of the term to support the transition for our incoming Year 1 teacher, who is expected to start late in Term 1 or early Term 2.
• Mrs Keirnan has graciously stepped in to support Year 4 Green for the remainder of the term. She will help ensure a smooth transition for the new Year 4 teacher, who will arrive soon.
• We anticipate that both new teachers will have time at the end of the term for a handover period with the current staff, ensuring continuity and stability for our students.

Additionally, you may have noticed some new faces around our school:

• Miss Aiyshus-Jade Kemp – Our new Student Receptionist, taking on the role previously held by Mrs Jacinta Sheehan. Miss Kemp is a former student of St Joseph’s and is excited to be back supporting our school community.
• Mrs Sonja Laffin – Our new Administration Receptionist, replacing Mrs Taryn Dredge.
• Miss Kadea O’Donnell – Supporting Year 2 in a part-time capacity.

We warmly welcome all our new and returning staff members!

School Safety & Visitor Procedures

St Joseph’s is a busy school community, and the safety of our students is always a top priority.

• All visitors, including parents and carers, must check in at the front office upon arrival.
• Parents are not to collect children directly from classrooms or the playground during school hours. If you need to pick up your child, please visit the office, and our staff will assist you.

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and secure environment for all.

Celebrating the 5Cs!

It has been WONDERFUL to see so many students demonstrating our 5Cs – Courtesy, Commitment, Consideration, Cooperation, and Courage.

Many students have already received 5Cs Praise Notes, and some are getting close to achieving their awards. Well done to all students who are making great choices at St Joseph’s!

Let’s continue working together to make Term 1 a fantastic start to 2025.

Scott Murray,
Principal

Education in Faith

Sacramental Program

The Good Shepherd Parish is once again offering the Sacramental Program this year. This program provides full initiation of children into the Catholic faith tradition, with participants completing the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion. All students in Years 3 to 6 received an enrolment form to bring home. If you are interested in your child participating, please return the completed forms to the school or Parish office by Monday, 24th February.

A registration fee of $40 applies for participation in the program. This can be paid at either the school or Parish office.

Jangawala

A heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers who generously gave their time to cook and serve at Jangawala over the weekend. Your kindness and dedication made a real difference, ensuring that everyone who attended felt welcomed and cared for. Your efforts are truly appreciated, and we are grateful for the way you embody the spirit of service in our community. Thank you for your generosity and for being part of this important ministry.

Parish Calendar

Last week, Fr Mick, Fr Will, Fr Nnaemeka and Br Richard delivered Parish Calendars to all students from Prep to 6. If your family did not receive a calendar and you would like one, there are a small number of calendars available at the front office.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 21st February - Beginning Year Mass in Penola from 8:40am
• Friday 28th February - Clean up Australia Day Assembly
• Tuesday 4th March - Shrove Tuesday & launch of Project Compassion
• Wednesday 5th March - Ash Wednesday (First day of Lent)
• Year 6 leaders will attend Parish Mass at 6:30am to collect ashes
• Whole school liturgy at 2pm held in Penola Centre
• Friday 7th March - World Day of Prayer
• Monday 17th March - St Patrick’s Day
• Wednesday 19th March - Feast of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Tenielle Blanco,
APRE

Foundations in Education

Exciting New Literacy & Spelling Programs at St Joseph’s!  As we dive into the term, we want to inform you that St Joseph’s is thrilled to introduce new literacy programs to support student learning. In Prep – Year 2, we will be using Little Learners Love Literacy, an evidence-based program designed to engage students in learning to read through a structured and explicit approach. With fun, interactive, and multisensory activities, this program guides children through seven sequenced stages, helping them master the 44 sounds of the English language and understand the alphabetic code. We look forward to seeing our students build strong foundational reading skills with this fantastic program! 

In 2025, St Joseph’s will be implementing Spelling Mastery as our spelling program for Years 3-6. This research-proven approach equips students with essential strategies to become confident and capable spellers by focusing on sound relationships, word parts, and spelling patterns.

We are also excited to introduce DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) for Years 3-6 this year. This research-based assessment tool provides quick, targeted insights into students' reading abilities, allowing teachers to offer the necessary support for success.

Please see the attached flyers below for further details regarding each of these programs. We appreciate your ongoing support as we implement these programs to enhance student learning!

Karlia Ryan,
APPL

In the Classroom...

SAFER INTERNET DAY

Safer Internet Day 2025 was a great opportunity for our students to explore the importance of online safety and responsible digital use.

 Preps joined Swoosh and Glide the sugar gliders, learning positive tech habits.
 Year 1 and 2 students met the Mighty Heroes, who shared messages about respect, responsibility, and                       trusting their feelings online.
 Year 3 and 4s became Digital Detectives, tackling tricky online safety scenarios.
 Year 5 explored the eSafety Kids website through a fun treasure hunt.
 Year 6 dived into online boundaries, consent, and respectful digital interactions.

At St Joseph’s, we all play a role in creating a safer digital world. Visit eSafety.gov.au for tips on supporting your child online. Let’s keep encouraging safe and responsible technology use at school and home! 

In the Library...

📚 Excitement is Building for the Book Fair! 📚

The Library has been buzzing with activity, and we’re so excited that Book Fair week is almost here! Students have had a fantastic start to the year, and we’ve been focusing on using the San Jose Library in a respectful way.

One of the key tools we’re using across the lower years and specialist lessons is the SSS of Entering Spaces—before we step inside, we make sure our lines are Straight, Still, and Silent. Ask your child about it—I’m sure they can tell you all about their SSS skills!

We’re also welcoming our new Preps into the wonderful world of the Library. They’re learning all about their ‘bumpy barcodes,’ using their ‘grabby crabby’ hand to hold books carefully, and understanding that the Library is a quiet space. For everyone else, we’re continuing to reinforce the great habits we built last year.  Everyone is doing a fantastic job!

Lift-a-Cover Book Reviews!

We’ve also introduced a fun new way for students to share their thoughts on books! Our Lift-a-Cover book reviews have started on the front wall of the Library. If your child brings back a Library book on borrowing day—one that’s been home in their Library bag—and they feel strongly about it (good or bad!), they’re welcome to add a review to the front glass.

We’re reviewing books in Weeks 2 and 3, and then we’ll take a break while the Book Fair is happening. The students have loved contributing to the reviews, and we’ve talked about why a book needs to go home before it can be reviewed. Reading at school is wonderful, but it’s never quite long enough to really delve into a story. Books at home are the best because you have time to explore them properly! We’ve also discussed how re-reading a book can be invaluable—it helps us notice new details, understand the story even better, and enjoy it in a whole new way!

📚🦜 Book Fair 2025 – Reading Rainforest - Go Wild for Books! 🦋📚

Get ready, St Joseph’s! The 2025 Book Fair is just around the corner, and this year’s theme is "Wild About Reading!" 📖

From Wednesday 26th – Friday 28th (Week 5), the Library will transform into a jungle of books, giving students and families a chance to explore and purchase fantastic reads while supporting our school.

📅 Opening Times:

📖 Meet & Greet BBQ (Wednesday): 3:00pm – 5:30pm

📖 Thursday & Friday: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

It’s a shorter fair this year, but we hope these times give families plenty of opportunity to pop in and have a look!

We need your help! The Book Fair can’t open without parent volunteers to help at the selling desk. If you’re available to lend a hand on Thursday, Friday, Monday, or Tuesday for setup or Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for sales, we’d love to have you!

Let’s go wild for books and make this year’s Book Fair a roaring success! 🐒🌳📚

For more info or to volunteer, please get in touch mstretton@sjmtsv.catholic.edu.au

Happy reading! 

Melissa Stretton,
Librarian

Local News

ISA RODEO

G'day Mount Isa Community & Community Groups/Organisations,

As you are aware the Isa Rodeo is currently trying to plan for the 2025 event, we are reaching out to all community members, clubs & organisations to ask for your help through volunteering for various roles to make this event a success. 

The committee will be looking to make donations for works provided, saying this though for this year's event there will be a very limited budget & we would appreciate any assistance the community is willing to offer.  This can come in the form of volunteers or in-kind support. 

The Rodeo is a iconic Mount Isa event, that brings a large economic benefit to our city & region. As you are all aware the recent difficulties facing this event, the new committee would like to invite you to become part of this newly formed local community focused event, ask for your assistance to ensure the success of the 2025 event.
To offer assistance please completed the Isa Rodeo Volunteer expression of interest Jott form, Please see the link below or Scan the QR Code on the attached poster.
https://form.jotform.com/250347766063056

We appreciate you taking the time to consider joining us for the 2025 event & we look forward to working with you in August, Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions or require further Information.

Kind Regards

Tony Tonka Toholke

0409 046 249