Term 1 Week 2 Newsletter 2024

Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the past and present traditional owners of this land on which we stand, the Wulgurukaba and neighbouring Bindal people who are the custodians. We pray that we can walk together to a better future.

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers, Staff and Students

What a very different start to the school year we have had! I do hope none of our families sustained any significant damage with the recent cyclone. In the event that you do require some assistance, please reach out to the school and we will help in any way we can.

As you would be aware, extreme weather conditions were experienced in the early part of the week. As a result of the extreme heat, adjustments were made to student lunch and play times. While it has been so hot, students have not been able to play. They have eaten morning tea in shady and undercover areas of the school, and remained in air conditioned classrooms during the second break. Mr Barton has diligently been checking the temperatures in our playgrounds, and these have been high enough to support changed play conditions this week. Please continue to send your child to school with their water bottle and, of course, hat.

In light of severe weather conditions over the past week, please see information below:

Severe Weather Information

During a weather event it is very important for parents/carers to be aware of school procedures in the event of school closures or affected access due to floods, cyclones or severe weather.

1. If a decision is made THE DAY BEFORE to close Catholic schools the following day:

• The Principal will, where possible, contact all parents/carers by note and/or SMS and social media. This information will also be posted on the TCE website and social media channels.

       2. If a decision is made OVERNIGHT to close Catholic schools the following day:

• TCE and EQ will issue advice to all local radio stations, which will broadcast this advice from 7:00 am or earlier if possible. Updates will also be posted on the TCE website and social media channels.
• If a decision is made to close schools in a particular area, then all schools in that area (both Catholic and State) will close, irrespective of their individual circumstance.

     3. If a decision is made DURING SCHOOL HOURS to close Catholic schools IMMEDIATELY:

• Information will be communicated to parents/carers wherever possible (SMS, social media, websites), local radio stations and school transport companies (bus and ferry).
• When severe storm/cyclone warnings are active, parents are urged to listen to their local radio station to keep informed.
• Please note, each Principal will ensure all students have a safe means of getting home and that appropriate supervision is available once they arrive home.

Congratulations to all Year 5 and Year 6 students who presented a Leadership Speech this week. I was very impressed with the standard of the speeches, and commend these students for their effort as well as the courage demonstrated in standing up in front of their peers and presenting a speech. Our Student Representative Council for 2024 can be found further down in the Newsletter.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents and caregivers for your assistance with uniforms, shoes, socks and hats. The students looked great as they headed into school last Monday for the first day of the 2024 school year. Thank you!

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

God Bless

Tracy

2024 Parent Information Evening (changes to delivery of information)

APRE News

Welcome back to all of our families,

I hope you are all well and enjoyed your holidays.  

Beginning of School Year Prayer 

Dear Lord,

Use my eyes to see new friends.

Open my ears to listen to my teacher.

                                                         Open my mind to learn new things.

                                                        Let my heart remember you are always near when I am upset.

                                                         Help me to love others like you do.

                                                        I want to shine so bright in all I do.

                                                        Amen

2024 Prayer Theme: Blessed to Serve 

Bear with one another, help one another, and ever strive to serve God in a generous spirit. ~Mary MacKillop

This year at St Joseph’s Mundingburra we will be continuing with our Prayer theme of ‘Blessed to Serve’. 

Once again we are being challenged to continue to create a community of service that is filled with amazing possibilities, exciting opportunities and great challenges that will enrich us and help us to reach out to others. This year with our 100 year celebrations we believe that it is even more  important that we are challenged one another to be of service to others. Just as Mary Mackillop and the Sister of Saint Joseph did we too should strive to help others in need and find ways to spread the Good                                                        News to others around us. At St Joseph’s we are truly blessed to serve.

Centenary Mass

Our Centenary Mass will take place this Friday 2nd February at 9:00am in the shelter shed. All are invited to attend. 

Commissioning of Student Leaders 

Next Friday 9th February at 8:45am, we will have a Liturgy where we will present our Senior Leaders and Student Council Members with their badges. Please join us.  

Christian Meditation

Christian Mediation will take place each Thursday morning at 8:00am in the Library.  Meditation is a form of sacred and silent prayer, known as prayer of the heart.  It is  a lovely way to start the day!  

Sacramental Program 2024

We will be running the Sacramental Program again this year. At this stage the dates for the program are still being finalised. More information will be sent out later in the term. 

Assemblies

Assemblies will take place fortnightly this year. Our next assemblies will be in:

Week 3: 6B Blessed to Serve (To makeup for the missed assembly in week 2)

Week 4: 6A Tell the Good News 

Week 6: 5B Project Compassion Launch

May God’s blessing be with you, have a wonderful week. 

Peta

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Parish

As of the 1st January, 2024 our Parish structure has changed. We have now become part of a new parish which has amalgamated 3 parishes together. Please see the details below for the new parish. Holy Trinity Church Masses will remain the same.  Sunday 7:30 am, Wednesday 7:00 am, Friday 7:00 am and Saturday 5:00 pm. 

The Joey's Way

Star Students

Swimming Carnival

Swimming Carnival notes have been sent home to Yrs 3 - 6. Permission Notes & Medical Consent Forms should have been returned to classroom teachers today. If you have not yet completed the forms, please do so as soon as possible.

Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons will commence on Friday, 16th February for six weeks for Yrs 1, 2 & 4. 

Please complete the Permission Note and Medical Consent Form and return them to your child's classroom teacher no later than Friday, 2nd February. 

From the Office

Please ensure that we have up to date family details and Concession Cards. A new Multi School Discount form needs to be completed for 2024. 

School fees will be issued before week 5. 

If you are new family and having trouble logging onto Compass, please send an email to enquiries@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au for our office staff to assist you. 

We are currently taking sibling enrolments for Prep for 2025. 

Enrolment applications can be found on our website or by visiting our office for a paper copy. Please return to the office as soon as possible!

Is your child absent from school?  Please notify the office via

• emailing absent@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au
• calling the office and leaving a message at the absent option
• parent/guardian can note the absence through Compass
  

A text message will go out at 9.30am to any parents whose child is marked absent without an explanation.  Please reply to this text using one of the above methods.  If your child arrives after 8.30am, they must pass through the office for a late pass so that if the role has been marked at the classroom, office staff can make the ammendment for the arrival.  We thank parents for assisting with this. Roles are marked promptly at 8.30am on Mondays due to assembly - students are required to collect a late pass before moving to assembly if they are late.

Diary Dates

Student Council

Congratulations to our 2024 Student Council Representatives, Evie, Nathaneal, Daniela, Darcy, Oceana, Patrick, Lachlan & Marguerite. Your leadership will undoubtedly make a positive impact on our school Community. Well done students! 

Library News

Welcome back to St Joseph’s Library and happy Australia Day! The library team are so delighted to start the new year 2024, with our lovely Library Teachers Mrs Luton and Mrs Harrington.

Mrs Luton commenced last week with library skills for all the library students with lessons on book care and respect, as well as explaining the Dewey Decimal System, which is a classification system librarys use for organizing nonfiction books.

Just a quick reminder, please ensure all students have a library bag for borrowing, mainly to protect the borrowed library books from damage, for example, water, soft drinks or food. Also, if you have any overdue books from 2023, please return them as soon as possible.

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY – 7 TH FEBRARY 2024

Wednesday, 7th February is the annual, “World Read Aloud Day”, and starts an exciting month of February reading themes. Next Wednesday we emphasize the importance of celebrating the power of reading. “World Read Aloud Day” gives parents the opportunity to read, and listen to their children read as well. Reading encourages both children and parents to find a book and simply start reading together and enjoying literacy! So next Wednesday the 7th, place that date in your calendar and take the time to read aloud together!

SCHOLASTIC BOOK CLUB ISSUE 1

Orders will need to be finalized by Thursday the 8th February. Please remember to place your orders as soon as possible, as there is only one week to order through the Scholastic LOOP payment.
Read aloud together! And happy reading!

Inclusive Education Matters

St Joseph’s has two Inclusive Practice Teachers Diane Engert and Therese Lane.  They help support children with disabilities both diagnosed and undiagnosed in and outside of the classroom.  Therese and Di run our IEP meetings and help support families wherever possible.  They run supported play twice weekly in the library and  connect with outside agencies like Autism Queensland and Language Disorders Australia and work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that students have access to curriculum and learning experiences.  They are also a point of call to access the Guidance Counsellors and Catholic Education Office support services.  

(Email:   dengert@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au or tlane1@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au) to join our Committee.  

If you have concerns about your child you can speak to your  child’s classroom teacher, our Inclusive Practice Teachers, your General Practitioner and Child Health Nurse.  You can also contact the services below.

Uniting Care is the NDIS partner for early childhood supporting young children and their families to access early intervention and support for children aged under 5 with developmental delays or under 7 with a diagnosed disability. If you have any concerns about your child’s social skills and interactions, their movement both during indoor and outdoor play experiences, how they are developing their skills to care for themselves and communicate their needs and wants - then Uniting Care can help.  Parents can contact Uniting Care for a free confidential discussion and assist you in accessing early intervention and support for your child.  Your child does not need a formal diagnosis of a disability to seek support from Uniting Care.  You can contact Uniting Care on 1800 543 354.

Child development Service - Townsville Hospital and health Services 

Child Development Services (CDS) provides support and services to children aged 0-8 years with developmental delays or disabilities.  They work in partnership with families to facilitate and provide early intervention services/supports available in the community.  Children can be referred to CDS by their parent/carer, doctor, child health nurse, child care educator or school. Referral forms are available from Child Health Reception, Kirwan Health Campus or can be downloaded.

https://www.townsville.health.qld.gov.au/services/community-health/child-youth-and-family-health-service/ 

For more information phone 4433 9000 or 

email tsv-kirwan-child-health-bookings@health.qld.gov.au.

Responsible use of digital devices

Guidance Counsellors

MANAGING SCREEN TIME

As a result of the global pandemic, there has been a noticeable shift in the amount of time people spend on screen-based devices. Families are transitioning back to pre-COVID routines but many are still struggling to re-establish the boundaries and rules around screen use. Some continue to deal with digital conflict and tech-tantrums on a daily basis. The latest research found that 77% of teenagers spend more than five hours on screens per day, but it is important to note that not all screen time is considered equal.

Parents play a crucial role in modelling a positive and healthy approach to using screens and assisting children to navigate the content they watch. It is better to model and mentor screen use, rather than monitor it. Children tend to do more of what they see us do, and less of what we tell them to do. However, it is still important to outline the risks and highlight the benefits of screen use to ensure you keep a balanced attitude. Encourage discussions around the issues that people experience in monitoring their screen time and be honest about your own difficulties.

Parents need to remain firm in their approach to managing screen time. Excessive screen time can be detrimental to a child’s overall wellbeing. Ensuring the correct privacy settings are in place is vital to prevent children from being inadvertently exposed to inappropriate content or online predators. Parents need to also be mindful of the potential impact screen time can have on a child’s social, emotional, educational, behavioural, and even physical domains.

In this edition of SchoolTV, care-givers will be provided with a range of guidelines and strategies to help manage screen time at home.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Managing Screen Time edition of SchoolTV
https://sjmbtsv.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

Tuckshop

Our school Tuckshop is open Monday to Friday for both morning tea and lunch orders.

Flexischools offers a convenient way to order school lunches online. Please update your child's class to their 2024 class so that orders go to the correct place and children are not delayed in receiving their order.

Our Tuckshop list is also available on our school website.

Jeannine is our Tuckshop Convenor and is always appreciative of volunteers.  If you can spare even an hour of your time, please contact her on M:  0407 578 105

Volunteers are required to complete our Induction process.  Please follow the link below and follow the instructions.

Music

Save the Date

P & F News

To all of the Joey’s community,

Welcome back to a new school year! As the current President and Vice-President of the P&F, we are excited for another great year of school social events and community engagement opportunities.  Whilst we hope to have many new faces join us at our P&F meetings this year, we are aware of how busy life can be! If you are wanting to help in any way, big or small, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Kerin (President) 0401 100 757

Meagan (Vice President) O401 183 313

Townsville & NQ Sport Trials

Below you will find the dates for all Townsville and NQ Sports trials for 2024.  This year, these trial dates will not be printed in the newsletter as they occur.  Rather, students in Yr 5 and 6 have been given the opportunity to let me (Miss Duyvestyn) know in writing what sports they have been playing at a club level and whether they are interested in being considered for representative trials.  As the trial information is released by Townsville School Sport, I will speak with these students or conduct school based trials where necessary, before passing on the required permission notes to attend these trials.  

Many thanks, Emma Duyvestyn

(eduyvestyn@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au)

Mass Times

Parish Mass Times

Wednesday 7.00am

Friday 7.00am

Saturday 5.00pm

Sunday 7.30am