St Joseph's Catholic School - Mundingburra eNewsletter

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

Welcome to Week 4 of what has been an eventful term so far. Besides the weather, which has thankfully cooled off a little, we have had Student Council Elections, our School Centenary Opening Mass, Interhouse Swimming Carnival and the Induction Liturgy for our Year 6 Senior Leaders and Student Representative Council members.

Congratulations to our Year 5 and 6 students who presented a leadership speech in Week 2 of this term. All of these students did a wonderful job with their speeches. Unfortunately, there are always those who are successful and those who are unsuccessful through these processes; and without a doubt all did a marvellous job. Striving for your own personal best is what life and leadership processes are all about.

It was wonderful to welcome Bishop Tim, Deacon Will, invited guests and of course our families to the School Centenary Opening Mass marking 100 years of catholic education at St Joseph’s Catholic School Mundingburra. Deacon Will was also present at our Induction Liturgy last Friday, and delivered an impressive and relevant homily to our school community about what servant leadership looks like when it is done well.

I very much look forward to working with our 2024 Year 6 Seniors and Student Representative Council this year in ensuring we follow the example of Jesus and demonstrate true servant leadership to all in our school community. Servant Leadership is about serving others before yourself. Strong leadership can be demonstrated through selfless actions and without the need of a title or the wearing of a badge.

As role models, our student leaders are expected to follow The Joey's Way at all times by being respectful, responsible, safe and proud. They demonstrate living out our ‘Love is Service’ Motto by being aware of the needs of others, showing empathy and compassion towards them and acting as good friends would. It is expected they would model care, courtesy and reliability by using manners and basic good grace when dealing with other students and adults; treating others fairly and honestly and showing self discipline by being in control of their feelings and actions.

Everyone in our school community can exhibit servant leadership in one way or another, including our families. We hope that throughout the year, our community will come together to participate in and volunteer at a variety of school functions, activities and events, including celebrations of our Christian faith. In this way relationships are formed and positive attitudes developed that give positive input to our children.

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

God Bless

Tracy

APRE News

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

Lent

Today is the start of the season of Lent. Lent is an important period of reflection, growth, and new beginnings in the Christian calendar. Christians use this special time to show their devotion to their faith, draw closer to God, and prepare for Easter.

Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday was celebrated yesterday. Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday. In the old days there were many foods that Christians would not eat during Lent: meat, fish, fats, eggs,milky foods. So no food was wasted, families would have a feast on Shrove Tuesday, and eat up all the food that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off. Pancakes were made on Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that used up eggs, fats and milk in the house by just adding flour.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, which lasts for six weeks. We call it Ash Wednesday because many, many Christians around the world receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads. God’s people have used this sign for hundreds of years. This cross of ashes tells friends and neighbours that we are not perfect, and that we know we are not perfect. With God’s help we can try to be faithful followers of Jesus who show by our words and actions what is really important to us. Even when we feel hopeless, God is there, loving us and giving us strength and courage. This year students will receive the cross of ashes in a class liturgy.

This week, the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of Caritas Australia’s annual Project Compassion Appeal.

The theme of Project Compassion 2024 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good we do today extends to impact the lives of generations to come. By donating to Project Compassion, Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, can work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Next week, each family will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations, or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion

#projectcompassion

Yesterday our Year 6 Student Representatives attended this Year's launch at St Clare's Catholic School, Burdell.

Christian Meditation

Christian Meditation 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!

Assemblies

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

Week 6: 5B Project Compassion

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.

Children’s Liturgy

Children's liturgy takes place every Sunday mass at 7:30 am (during the school term) Members of our parish take the children out and complete activities related to the weekly gospel. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to engage with and understand the meaning of the gospel. All children are welcome.

The Joey's Way

Star Students

Extra Pupil Free Day in 2024

Townsville Catholic Education Office has approved an additional professional development day in 2024. The date will be Friday 26th April, 2024 and will be a pupil free day. This day follows on from the ANZAC day public holiday on Thursday 25th April. The reason for granting this additional professional development day is to provide the time and opportunity for all teachers to prepare for the implementation of V9.0 of the Australian Curriculum at the commencement of 2025. This planning day will focus on supporting teachers to have a deep understanding of the changes to content and assessment from the current Australian Curriculum to the newly revised curriculum. There is much planning already occurring in all schools to ensure all teachers are well placed to provide rich learning experiences for their students. This additional professional development day (pupil free day) will only occur in 2024.

Annual School Improvement Plan - Parent/Carer Feedback & Suggestions

Parent/Carer suggestions or feedback are integral to informing the school's Annual School Improvement Plan. If you would like to express your ideas as to how St Joseph’s Catholic School Mundingburra can grow and improve, please complete this short survey (link below) by Wednesday 21st February. The Plan will be presented to our Service Team from Townsville Catholic Education on Friday 23rd February.

Annual School Improvement Plan - Feedback & Suggestions

From the Office

School Fees will be issued in week 5.

Please ensure that we have up to date family details and Concession Cards.

If you are entitled to a multi school discount, please ensure the office has updated paperwork. A new form needs to be completed each year.

Multi School Discount Form

Compass

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.

Sibling Enrolments

We are currently taking sibling enrolments for Prep for 2025. Please ensure your application is sent to our office by Thursday, 29th February as interviews will commence early in Term 2.

Enrolment applications can be found on our website or by visiting our office for a paper copy.

ABSENT

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 amendment 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

Swimming Lessons

Library News

This month in February, St Joseph’s Library celebrates books and libraries with ‘National Library Lovers’ Month’. In February, we celebrate, explore, connect, and share our love of libraries and reading with students and families looking for more ways to incorporate children’s literature into their lives.

Children’s literature events, including ‘World Read Aloud Day’, ‘Library Lovers’ Day’ 14^th February and ‘Qld School Libraries Week’ connect our students with a love of books, which is celebrated around the world. This week, students are encouraged to ‘Write a Book Review’. Book reviews are a great way to support students’ writing skills but also it encourages them to think and chat about a book they like with other students. Sharing book reviews encourage children to choose a book they like and have read recently. Book lover library activities will be held throughout the month!

SORA E HUB

Thursday lunchtime Sora Club is held every week! Everyone has a great time as well as borrowing and reading new digital literature! Come and join us!

WORLD READ ALOUD DAY

Happy St Valentine’s Day and Happy Library Lovers’ Day.

‘All we need is love and a good book!’

Happy February reading!

Digital Technologies

In Digital Technologies, students have completed their annual ICT User Agreements which can be found on the Student Intranet. They have also been learning about how to be a Digital Citizen by being responsible and safe on the internet. We have explored the importance of ...

Setting limits on how much time they spend online.
Keeping personal information — like their phone number and address — private.
Pausing and thinking before searching, clicking, and sharing.
Asking an adult before they use a device.
Paying attention to their feelings and asking for help when they feel scared or confused about something they see online.

To the right are our Digital Citizenship friends who teach us important rules to stay safe.

Link to watch song https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/we-the-digital-citizens

Inclusive Education Matters

At St Joseph’s we strive to offer all our students opportunities to learn and grow together in a safe and inclusive environment. Learning experiences that incorporate strategies and actions designed to ensure students of all abilities, backgrounds and identities are an integral part of all our classrooms. We endeavour to ensure all students feel welcomed, respected, safe and supported and are provided with experiences that enable them to participate in all aspects of school life.

At our school, inclusive practices mean:-

Providing a safe, positive and supportive environment where all students and their families feel they belong and are a valued and vital part of our school community.
Promoting understanding, respect and kindness among all in our school community - students, staff and parents.
Offering co-teaching as an integral part of each year level, particularly in Mathematics and English providing all students with the opportunity to work in smaller groups enabling them to engage in a variety of learning experiences, including hands on activities, using concrete materials, opportunities to feel safe and supported to take risks in their learning, as well as a variety of means of expressing their knowledge and skills.
Providing full time school officers to each class in the Prep to Year Three levels.
Providing shared school officers in each year level of the Year Four to Year Six classrooms.
Providing individualised support, recognising the different learning styles and needs of all students.
Embracing diversity by celebrating and recognising the unique strengths, experiences and perspectives of each student.
Providing learning experiences that ensure every student has access to relevant and meaningful resources, providing support and opportunities for all students to succeed.
A commitment to ongoing reflection, learning and improvement to ensure our practices are responsive to the evolving needs of all students in an inclusive learning environment.

By being inclusive, we hope to create a school where every student feels valued, respected, and empowered to be their best selves. We believe that with your help, we can make our school an even better place for everyone to learn and grow. If you have any questions or want to know more about our inclusive practices, please reach out to us. We value your partnership and input, and we would love for you to join our Inclusive committee meetings.

Guidance Counsellors

The Importance of Play

Play is children’s language, children’s work and children’s relaxation. Children need to play for healthy development.

Developing children’s social and emotional skills through play:

Play is a way children can express their feelings even before they have the words to say how they feel.
In play children are in charge of what they do. Being in control in play helps them to learn to manage their feelings.
When children make or build things in their play, they are building skills and confidence in themselves.
In play children learn about the give and take of relationships with their friends. They learn to lead and follow and to care for others.
Play helps children to think about what they want to do, to plan and to be patient.
Through play children learn how to mend mistakes and to feel better after things go wrong.
Play is for imagination and creativity. In play you can enjoy magical worlds of joy.
Play is something children can own in a world where most things are organised by adults.
Play is a time when adults and children can have fun together.
Play is for pleasure. You play what you enjoy and you stop when you want to.

Adults can support children’s play:

By arranging safe places for children to play, indoors and outdoors, in parks and playgrounds.
By arranging time for play and not scheduling too much in a child’s day.
By providing children with some playthings (eg dolls, building blocks, playdough, paints.) and also allowing children to find their own playthings both inside and outside (eg fabrics, boxes, leaves, gumnuts and puddles).
By reading and storytelling with children.
By playing with children when invited and stopping when children want to play their own games. Babies communicate through their expressions and body movements whether they want you to play or when they are tired and have had enough.
By following the child’s lead and resisting the temptation to criticise, direct or turn play into a lesson.

Children learn and develop their social and emotional skills through playing on their own, with other children and with adults, and importantly, play helps children feel good about themselves.

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. 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.

Flexischools

Volunteer Induction Process for Parents and Carers