NEWSLETTER

The R/1s have started their Numeracy and Literacy blocks.  

In Numeracy, we have been looking at numbers. We have been exploring how to count, form, sequence and recognise numbers.

In Literacy, we have been listening to stories and exploring how to make letter-sounds and form capital letters through lots of different activities!

Catholic Identity

On Wednesday February 14 we celebrated Ash Wednesday as a school community. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Church season of Lent. To begin Lent we are marked using ash from the burning of palm branches used on Palm Sunday last year. This ceremony reminds us of Jesus’ love for us. The season of Lent lasts for forty days and is a reflective time of fasting, prayer, and penance in the lead up to Easter. The official liturgical colour for the season of Lent is violet.

Curriculum News

I have included two mathematical tasks which you might like to have a go at with your child/children.

This week’s Mathematical tasks:

Reception to Year 3

Mandy from Venus has a friend from Jupiter. Her friend has 4 eyes, 6 arms, 3 legs, 19 fingers and lots of spots. What does he or she look like? What is its name? Try to create number sentences about Mandy’s friend.

Years 4-6

Clara has a puzzle to solve. Help her list all numbers that fit these clues:

I have two digits. I am less than 96. I am more than 18. The sum of my digits is not even. My ones digit is one more than my tens digit. Please show working out. Example: 34. (Working Out: 3+4=7. 34= 3 Tens and 4 Ones).

Happy inquiry.

Reading is another core learning area here at St Joseph’s School. Our staff use an agreed set of practices around children’s development of reading skills, knowledge and understanding. These practices shape our reading programs across the school.

Children develop their reading skills, knowledge and understanding by reading regularly. At St Joseph’s School regular reading at home forms a major part of homework set each evening. Why not create regular timeslots throughout the week whereby all electronic devices in the home are turned off and members of the family spend 15 minutes reading together. 

Happy reading.

Junior Primary Teaching and Learning Updates:

Year R/1L & R/1H - D Librandi & A Huynh

The Reception/Year 1 classes have had a wonderful start to our new school year.  We had our first excursion to the Aquatic Centre in Week 2. The R/1 students had lots of fun riding on the bus, playing in the pool, socialising with their peers, and making new friends - with some even saying that it was "the best day ever!"

During the first weeks of school our students have been building new friendships, learning to share and take care of our learning space. We have newly installed glass doors which have added a bright and open feel to the R/1 learning space. It allows us to close them during explicit teaching time to aid attention and minimise distractions, and open during class collaboration time for learning, Liturgies and play. Literacy and Numeracy blocks commenced in Week 4.

Our new Reception students have? begun to develop more confidence, organisation and friendship/social skills as they settle into the new school year. Students have also been taking more ownership of their classroom routines and readers. 

We are excited to begin our new learning journey together this year and look forward to meeting with parents/caregivers for Parent Teacher Interviews in Week 9.

Our learning this Term looks like:

Year 1/2D - N Doyle

The class have been busily working, learning all the class routines, and unwrapping their new books.  The literacy block began in Week 4, with the children reading books, reviewing the alphabet and sounds and writing a recount about our trip to the swimming pool. It is extremely valuable having Leader of Learning Trish Pfieffer facilitate a learning group as the students have more 1:1 teacher time in reading and writing. We have been making our own alphabet book and we began finding words starting with each letter.  We have been using word work dictionaries to help us solve words in writing and to remember to sound out the word and have a go. 

Numeracy groups also began in Week 4, beginning with number work and number range activities.  We are looking at number and making groups of numbers in the quickest possible time, odd and even number and simple addition.

In Science we will begin growing beans; 1 bean in soil, 1 bean in cotton wool and 1 bean in a plastic bag.  We are learning how to grow things in our garden, naming plants and flowers. The students are enjoying taking turns watering the garden.

In Religion we are continuing to focus on Prayer and to ask wonder questions such as What is Prayer? Why do we pray? Where can we pray?  We have started by looking at prayer beginnings and we are making a class quilt displaying hanging prayers of Joy. I look forward to telling bible stories through using Godly play as this will present the Gospel stories in a more interactive way.

School Master Plan Update

We are still tracking for an end of Term 1 handover for our new Education and Administration Centre. The new ramp for our school hall entrance off Ina Avenue is nearing completion which will allow a return to entry to the school via Ina Avenue. The external cladding to the Ina Avenue facing end of the school hall will commence soon resulting in the two buildings matching and blending in together. Installation of skirtings and cornices to internal walls has been completed with flushing and painting having commenced.

NAPLAN Testing

NAPLAN Testing for our Year 3 and Year 5 children will take place on Wednesday March 13, Thursday March 14 and Friday March 15. All NAPLAN testing will be conducted online apart from the Year 3 Writing Test which is a paper test. NAPLAN is a nationally developed program that provides schools, states and territories with information about how education programs are working and what areas need to be prioritised for improvement. NAPLAN tests are administered simultaneously in all schools across Australia and the content of the tests are aligned to the Australian Curriculum; English and Mathematics. NAPLAN Tests are just one of many assessments conducted at our school.  NAPLAN test results will be made available to the school and the families of participating children in Term 2.

Pupil Free Day - Monday March 18.

Our staff will be involved in professional learning in the areas of Student Agency, Literacy and Numeracy. APRIM Simon McCullough and I will facilitate the day where staff will be involved in further developing their teaching pedagogy in these important learning areas. OSHC will be available for families who require the service on this day. Bookings are essential so please see Mieke if you need to make a booking.

St. Joseph’s Feast Day Liturgy - Tuesday March 19.

As a whole school we will celebrate the feast day of St Joseph on Tuesday March 19. With 2024 being the 70^th anniversary of the opening of our school, we are hoping to make Joseph’s Day this year extra special. The St Joseph House Team will lead our whole school liturgy which will be followed by several fun activities. Parents are very welcome to join our celebration.

Sports Day - Thursday April 11.

Sport Day this year will once again be held at the Port Adelaide Athletics Club.  Further details along with a permission form was sent home to families in Week 3.

Student Safety and Wellbeing

The Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Safeguarding Children and Young People policy can be found on our school website under Community, Welfare, Your Child’s Welfare. The policy outlines the key principles and responsibilities of Catholic schools to ensure a total community approach towards the protection of children and young people in their care. I encourage you to visit our website to view the full policy.

The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum, in a sense is the curriculum component of the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide Safeguarding Children and Young People policy links directly to the Religious Education Curriculum, the Made in the Image of God Curriculum and our professional learning around the Kids Matter program. The Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum forms a large part of our classroom focus during the first 3 weeks of the school year. 

Why we teach children about keeping safe.

School systems have a legal responsibility to protect children and young people from abuse in their settings and in the wider community. All children and young people have a right to:

·       be treated with respect and to be protected from harm

·       be asked for their opinions about things that affect their lives and to be listened to

·       feel and be safe in their interactions with adults and other children and young people

·       understand as early as possible what is meant by 'feeling and being safe'.

Curriculum Themes

The curriculum follows 2 main themes:

·       we all have the right to be safe

·       we can help ourselves to be safe by talking to people we trust.

Focus areas

The 2 themes are explored through 4 focus areas:

·       the right to be safe

·       relationships

·       recognising and reporting abuse

·       protective strategies.

The focus areas are targeted to the age of the learners.

The Cyber Safety: Keeping Children Safe in a Connected World document can also be found on our school website under Community, Welfare, Your Child’s Welfare. The document aims to ensure a safe learning environment for all children when using ICTs and working online.

Our Student Wellbeing & Personal Responsibility school policy can also be found on our school website under Community, Welfare, Your Child’s Welfare.

Collectively these documents outline the processes and protocols in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children in our care.

If you have any questions around any of these documents or would like further clarification, feel free to speak to your child’s classroom teacher, our APRIM Simon McCullough or myself.

Our school is registered on the Be You (formerly Beyond Blue) website to receive regular communication around professional learning opportunities to support the wellbeing of our children. The website also provides a range of resources and ideas to support the mental health and wellbeing of our young people. I encourage you to visit the website at https://beyou.edu.au/and have a look for yourself.

Important Safety Message

Students and families are reminded to be wary of approaches from strangers, especially when they are unaccompanied or travelling to and from school. If they are approached students should not respond and should not accept offers of rides or gifts.

Students should seek the assistance of other nearby adults if they feel unsafe and should report the event to a trusted adult (parent or school staff member) as soon as possible.

SAPOL advises that taking out a mobile phone and calling police can deter the offender and they recommend the student making a formal report to their closest police station.

Kiss and Drop Zone Speed Limit 10km per Hour.

A reminder that the school Kiss and Drop Zone along Rosewater Terrace has a speed limit of 10km per hour. Please ensure you observe the speed limit when using the Kiss and Drop Zone as this is an area where children are entering and exiting the school in large numbers.

A reminder also that the school Kiss and Drop Zone is not a place to park your car if you need to enter the school grounds as this holds up all incoming and outgoing traffic. It also leads to children exiting their cars on Rosewater Terrace and having to manoeuvre between traffic, raising further safety concerns.

If you need to come into the school grounds, parking is available along Rosewater Terrace and on Ina Avenue. Thank you in anticipation of your support with this important safety matter.

School Newsletter Translation Button on our School Website

Our school website has been recently upgraded giving users the ability to read the school newsletter in their first language. To access this new feature, visit our school website and:

·         Click: news and events (towards the top of the homepage).

·         Click: newsletter.

·         Click: newsletter online.

·         Click: select language (bottom right-hand corner).

·         Scroll down to select your desired language.

Audiri App

To keep up to date with what is happening within our school along with upcoming school events why not download the AudiriApp from the App Store on your mobile phone. Once downloaded simply search St Joseph’s School, Ottoway and add to your Audiri page. Many of our families currently use the Audiri App to keep up to date with what is happening across our school.

May God’s love continue to be with us during this season of Lent.

Working in partnership with you.

Shaun O’Leary.

                            EASTER 2024                

This year we are collecting Easter Eggs to donate to Vinnies for families in need. If you would like to donate some eggs, please leave them in the basket in the office. Thanks for your generosity and support.  

St Joseph’s Feast 2024

To celebrate 70 years since the opening of the school, this year we will be holding a number of celebrations. The first event will take place on St Joseph’s Day. On Tuesday 19th March we will celebrate St Joseph’s Day with a Mass at 10am. All children will be offered a free donut for recess after Mass.

We will also be celebrating Harmony Day and children are invited to wear casual clothes and to donate a gold coin. All money raised will go to the work of Caritas Project Compassion

Parents and Friends and Volunteers

We would love to see you join us as a volunteer. There are a range of ways to be involved and we greatly appreciate opportunities to work with you and get to know your family. Volunteering requires that you complete a process of induction and also some online training in child protection called, ‘Responding to abuse and neglect.’ All people who work with children are required to do this training. If you would like to volunteer, you will need to complete the following:

• Speak with Tanya or Alissa about a Working with Children Check which the school will lodge on your behalf.  There is also a personal information form to complete which includes your contact details and those we would contact in any emergency.
• Complete the required Child Protection training - Responding to abuse and neglect for volunteers. This will take an hour or two and it is done online. Follow the instructions below to locate this training. You will need to register for a PLINK number to access the training on the Department for Education website.
• Provide the school with a copy of your child protection training certificate. This will be accessible at the end of the training module - Responding to abuse and neglect for volunteers.
• Follow this link to register and get your plink number. This will allow you access to the training.

https://www.plink.sa.edu.au/pages/signup.jsf

Then access the training through this website:

https://www.plink.sa.edu.au/pages/external-dashboard.jsf?menuId=1104&locale=en-GB&showbundlekeys=false#/?dashboardId=6

Thanks very much for considering becoming a volunteer, we respect and value your time very much. Please let me know if you have any questions. My email is smccullough@stjotto.catholic.edu.au

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please return to Simon McCullough

I,_______________________________________ would like to support the 2024 Parents and Friends events or volunteer in another way.

My child / children are in:__________________________________________(class)

I am best contacted on: ___________________________________ (phone / email)

Mass 

You are very welcome to join with us at these Parish Masses and school liturgies:

• Community prayer each Friday in the school yard unless the weather stops us.
• St Joseph’s Mass 10am in St Maximilion Kolbe Church followed by a whole school celebration, Tuesday 19th March.
• Feast of the Annunciation Mass, 10am, Monday 8th April in St Maximilion Kolbe Church.
• Holy Week Liturgies 25/3 - 28/3. There will be more information on these later in the term.

2024 School Fees

2024 School Fees have been mailed out this week.

A reminder that Low Income Remissions are available to families who are approved for Scholl Card. School Card must be applied for each year (it does not carry over from the previous year).

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme

Should you be experiencing difficulties with meeting your fee obligations please make a time to see Finance Officer Kali Brown.

NAPLAN 2024

Just a reminder that next week our Year 3 and 5 Students will be taking part in NAPLAN tests. 

These tests will give us information about how students are performing in Literacy and Numeracy. 

The tests dates are 

Wednesday March 13- Writing test

Thursday March 14-  Reading and Language Conventions (Grammar)

Friday March 15 -Numeracy.

If you have any further questions please feel free to pop in and see me.

Trish Pfeiffer

Dear Parents and Caregivers.

Welcome to Week 6,Term 1, 2024 in OSHC.

Children are in a safe supervised environment; learning happens while children play, have fun, and make new friends.

Please feel welcome to visit.

Morning care in OSHC is available, 6.30-8.30am.                                          

Afterschool care in OSHC is available 3.00-6.00pm, 2.45-6.00pm Tuesday.

Please remember to make a booking when you need OSHC.

All bookings can be made by ringing or messaging the OSHC mobile on 0437 863 067.                                               

If there is no answer leave a message on the service. I will call or message you back.                            

Making a booking helps us keep the child/educator ratio in line with legislation.                                                                                          

24 hours’ notice is necessary when cancelling a booking or charges will occur.

All parents using OSHC will need to check their myGov app to check for messages.              

When you attend OSHC casually.     

Please remember check your myGov app and Centrelink for messages.                                                                                                                                      

When parents use OSHC casually you won’t automatically receive CCS (Childcare Subsidy).

Follow the prompts-confirming that you used the OSHC service.

Centrelink is just confirming that you are using the service.

Parents/caregivers are welcome to read the OSHC Policies, feel welcome to ask and I will make copies available for your perusal.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Mieke   

OSHC Director