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 Caregivers, Staff and Students

Welcome to Week 4, and what a wet term it has been so far! I do hope our families and staff were not too badly affected by the recent rain event. I am from Innisfail where the rain is usually heavy and constant, and Townsville has felt very much like my hometown during these past weeks. It was great to see the sun make an appearance on Wednesday of Week 3, and on Thursday students were finally allowed to run around and play on the ovals and play equipment for the first time since returning to school. Little did we expect the thunderstorm and heavy rain which made an appearance last Friday at 2:30 pm, and continued through until after pick up time. In spite of the weather, we have had Student Council Elections, the Interhouse Swimming Carnival and our School Opening Mass and Induction of Year 6 Senior Leaders and Student Representative Council members.

Well done to Norris House who were the winners of our Interschool Swimming Carnival which took place on Monday of Week 3. Gordon placed second and MacKillop third. It has been a while since Norris has had a win, so their excitement and joy was palpable when the points were announced at the end of the carnival. As a long term Norris House member, you couldn’t wipe the smile of Miss D’s face for most of the day. Thank you to Miss D and to all staff members who assisted with the carnival, and thank you to our family members who came along to cheer the students on during their races.

Last week, eight students were elected to be members on our Student Representative Council for 2025. Congratulations to Dominic Mazzer (5A), Georgia Miller (5A), Lucas Miles (5B), Eden Norton (5B), Charlie Holland (Yr 6), Isabella Willis (Yr 6), Max Hooper (Yr 6) and Adelaide Stockham (Yr 6). Please join me in congratulating these students and wishing them all the best as they seek to serve their school community throughout 2025. I would like to take this opportunity to commend all students who wrote a speech, and then courageously presented this speech to a room full of their peers and teachers. Unfortunately, there are always those who are successful and those who are unsuccessful through these processes; and without a doubt all did a marvelous job. Striving for your own personal best is what life and leadership is all about.

I look forward to working with our 2025 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.

Importantly, leadership is not only for our elected leaders, it can be demonstrated at any time by any student. I think Pope Francis puts it well:

“Be leaders wherever it behooves you to be. Leaders of thought, leaders of action, leaders of joy, leaders of hope, leaders of the construction of a better world.” Pope Francis, Video Conference by CNN, 17th September 2015

Wishing you all a wonderful week.

God bless

Tracy

APRE News

2025 Prayer Theme: Hopeful Hearts

This year our prayer theme is Hopeful Hearts which comes from the Juilee theme of Pilgrims of Hope. The theme Hopeful Hearts carries a beautiful and comforting message rooted in faith, love, and trust in God. It symbolises the idea that even in challenging times, we can place our hope in God's promises and His unending love. It teaches us that God is always with us, guiding, protecting, and giving us strength.

During this year we are challenged to:

Trust in God’s Love
Find Joy in Faith
Share Kindness
Believe in God’s Promises

Hopeful Hearts can inspire us to pray, trust in God’s care, and keep a positive attitude. It encourages us to face life with confidence, knowing that God is our loving guide and protector. It’s a reminder that no matter what happens, our heart can remain full of hope because God is always near.

2025 Jubilee Year - Pilgrim of Hope

2025 is a Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church.

The Jubilee is a year-long, grace-filled celebration when we are called to reflect on our faith and renew our commitment to God and experience God’s mercy. The Jubilee is celebrated every 25 years.

The motto for the Holy Year 2025, set by Pope Francis, is “Pilgrims of Hope.” He believes this year can help create a sense of hope and trust, paving the way for the renewal and fresh beginnings we all long for after experiencing years of pandemic and hardship. We can embrace hope because Jesus showed us how to do so. In this moment, we are encouraged to strengthen our hope, be trusting individuals, and act as pilgrims and messengers of hope in every aspect of our lives.

Opening Mass

Our Opening Mass will take place on Tuesday 18th February at 11:00 am in the shelter shed. At this mass we will be presenting our Student Council Representatives and Year 6 students with their badges.

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 at 2:00pm.

Our next assemblies will be in:

Week 4: Students Awards Only (2:20pm start)

Week 6: 5B Project Compassion Launch

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

Peta.

Naplan

Parent Webinar Naplan Flyer

The Joey's Way

Star Students

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Clean Up Australia Day

The St Joseph's community is stepping up to help clean up our school grounds and the nearby soccer fields as part of Clean Up Australia Day 2025.

When: Friday 28th February
Time: Approximately 2:10pm for a 2:15pm start
Where: Please sign in at the covered area and join your child's class.

Parents and students can bring a pair of gardening gloves from home to reduce the number of disposable gloves used.

Our Earth Warriors will be analysing a sample of the rubbish we collect to inform our sustainability initiatives and priorities for the rest of the year.

Whole School Christian Meditation

From the Office

Compass

Stay connected and informed with our Compass Parent Portal! Through Compass, you can:

✅ Enter details of absences
✅ Access your child’s semester reports
✅ View school announcements & updates
✅ Communicate with your child’s teacher via email
✅ Update your contact details (email and mobile number)
✅ Complete all permission notes electronically

If you are new to the school and haven’t received your login details, please visit our office staff for assistance.

When downloading the Compass app, it will ask for your child’s school. We’ve found that searching 'Mundingburra' works best for our school to appear.

If you have lost your password, please contact the office staff, and we will reset it for you.

Stay connected and informed with Compass!

Library News

Welcome back, from our 2025 library team, to all our students and their families!

The year commenced with an abundance of rainy weather, however whatever the weather, the library celebrated Australia Day, eSafety, Chinese New Year and ‘World Read Aloud Day’ Wednesday 5^th February. This year students were encouraged to ‘Read Aloud’ together for 10 minutes to celebrate the pleasure of reading!

This month we also salute ‘National Library Lovers’ Month’, a great month to immerse children in reading and literature. Another literacy day, Queensland School Library Week, 10^th – 14^th February, recognizes how school libraries - positively influence the learning outcomes of students through teaching literacies and encouraging a lifelong love of learning and reading.

The link for Qld School Library Week is: https://www.qsla.org.au/qslw

STORY BOX LIBRARY

An amazing collection of stories and with award-winning authors and illustrators who tell these amazing stories. Discover the many collections and stories in this literacy resource for parents and carers.

SORA E HUB

Thursday lunchtime Sora Club is held every week at 1.10 pm with Mrs. Harrington! Everyone is welcome to come and have fun and borrow books! Come join us!

Happy Reading!

Guidance Counsellors

Managing Emotions

Emotional regulation is a skill that we learn from an early age but it is also one that we continually practice throughout our lives. At St Joseph's we work on building these skills everyday through our social emotional learning programs such as Zones of Regulation, Circle Solutions and Friendology. As parents these are skills that you are continually teaching your child at home too.

Here are some tips for assisting your child to manage their worries or frustration/anger:

Accept and listen to your child’s concerns.
Gently correct any misinformation that you may be hearing.
Encourage your child to face situations that they are afraid of by breaking it down one step at a time until it is familiar and manageable.
Avoid added worry by ensuring that your child is not running late to school or other events as this can escalate levels of worry and concern. Ensure that your child is organised and ready for school and other events the night before.
Still set goals and have achievement expectations. Expecting a child to be anxious will only encourage them to be.
Role play situations that are triggering anxiety so that your child can build their confidence.
Help your child identify personal strengths that may help them in situations that cause them anxiety.
Work on encouraging your child to do things for themselves.
Try very hard to not “pass on” your worries to your child.
Work together as a team/family.
Set limits of acceptable behaviour and try not to accept bad behaviour simply because your child is feeling worried or scared.

Our Prep students will be learning about Zones of Regulation in their classrooms during term 1 via their classroom teachers and school Guidance Counsellor. Stay tuned for further updates.

Inclusive Education

Welcome back to 2025! It sure has been a disruptive start to the term as the wet season can often be.

What is an Inclusive Practice Teacher?

At St Joseph’s, we are committed to ensuring that every child feels supported, valued, and empowered to reach their full potential. One of the key roles in fostering this inclusive environment is our Inclusive Practice Teacher (IPT).

An Inclusive Practice Teacher works closely with classroom teachers, school officers, and support staff to ensure that all students, including those with diverse learning needs, receive the support they require. This may include:

✅ Providing tailored support – Collaborating with teachers to adjust learning experiences so all students can engage with the curriculum.
✅ Assisting with personalised learning plans – Helping to develop and monitor Individual Education Plans (IEPs) or adjustments for students with additional needs.
✅ Supporting social and emotional development – Working with students to build confidence, resilience, and social skills.
✅ Working with families – Partnering with parents and carers to understand their child’s needs and ensure they feel informed and supported.
✅ Collaborating with specialists – Liaising with speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and other professionals to provide the best outcomes for students.

We believe that every child deserves to thrive in a safe and supportive learning environment. Our Inclusive Practice Teacher plays a vital role in making this happen by ensuring that learning is accessible, meaningful, and engaging for all students.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the support available, please feel free to contact Therese Lane and Mia White via email at tlane1@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au and mwhite9@sjmbtsv.catholic.edu.au

Together, we can create a learning environment where every student belongs and succeeds. 💙📚

It is important to share any reports (e.g. speech, OT or other external services) and relevant information with your child’s/children’s teachers and the IPTs to ensure suggestions, strategies, accommodations and adjustments are being made to best support your child’s learning.

Townsville & NQ Sport Trials

Throughout the year various sports hold trials for "rep" teams to compete in NQ and State competitions. All students in years 5 and 6 have completed a form indicating what sports they currently play and whether they are interested in attending these trials.

Townsville School Sport will not release the trial notes until approximately 2 weeks before the trial. When these are available, parents will be contacted as to whether you believe your child is capable of trialing for a rep team and if you are willing to take them! Each school is allowed to nominate a limited number of students, in this case where abilities are similar older children will be given priority. Please be aware there is a cost involved for being selected in these teams, which varies depending on the sport.

Ms Duyvestyn

Bimbi Wadja

Earth Warriors

Our Earth Warrior students and EcoMarine ambassadors are seeking feedback on our sustainability systems and initiatives.

Click HERE to provide feedback.

Friendology

URSTRONG SCHOOL

Click HERE to visit the Parent page on Urstrong.com

Digital Technologies News

Digital Citizenship in Action!

Our students have been busily engaged in their initial Digital Citizenship lessons, learning how to navigate the online world safely and responsibly. As part of this, they have also completed their ICT Acceptable Use Pledge, committing to respectful, safe, and responsible technology use. These foundational lessons set the stage for a positive and informed digital experience throughout the year!

We encourage parents and guardians to talk to their children about these important lessons and the responsibilities that come with using technology. Students can also show you their signed User Agreements on the student intranet—take a moment to review them together and continue the conversation at home!

Family Engagement Resources https://www.commonsense.org/education/family-engagement-resources

Celebrating Safer Internet Day ~ Top Tips