Dear Parents,

This week, we focus on Reconciliation Week where we highlight the theme of “Bringing Now to Next” The National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2025 theme, Bridging Now to Next, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future.

Bridging Now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us. The artwork for the National Reconciliation Week theme was created by Kalkadoon woman Bree Buttenshaw. It features native plants, which are known for regenerating after fire and thriving through adversity. They symbolise our collective strength and the possibilities of renewal. This is a time for growth, reflection, and commitment to walking together.

At St Joseph's, we explore how this connects to our Catholic social teachings and Laudato Si, highlighting the need to take action individually and collectively by ‘listening and journeying together’. Listening and journeying are integral components of the ecological conversion that Pope Francis calls each one of us to. We are proud of all we are doing in our school to promote, highlight and respect our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and ensure our current generation of students will always respect and celebrate our First Nations people.

Connecting our Learning

At St Joseph’s, our focus on learning about our Indigenous cultures is just one way we deepen and connect our students' learning experiences. Through our learning design, students are explicitly taught the content knowledge and skills they need to inquire into the world around them. This has been evident throughout this term with our incursions and excursions connected to various curriculum areas.

Building a love of Literacy

In our Junior area, students have enjoyed some fun experiences to promote their love of reading. While they are currently learning the skills to read, we are also supporting them to build a love of literacy. Their first experience was a visit with one of our local librarians, who spoke to students about the importance of stories and reading to learn about themselves and their world.

Last week, all of our Foundation to Year 2 students also took part in the National Simultaneous Storytime. The N.S.S is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year, a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops, and many other places around the country. Students were read the book “The Truck Cat” and were then part of a live stream with the author/illustrator, who taught them how to illustrate their own Truck Cat.

A big thank you to our junior teachers for continuing to build a love of literacy in our juniors and to Trish Scarlett for organising these events.

Connecting through Inquiry

Our Year ⅚ students continued on their Inquiry exploring the question How do animal adaptations support survival, and what is our responsibility in protecting them and their habitats? As part of this inquiry, students have been engaged in explicit lessons about the continents and countries of the world. They are exploring the food, climate, vegetation, and animals across different parts of the world, as well as how the animals and plant life have adapted to survive each unique environment. To deepen their learning, students took part in a zoo school experience, Adaptations and Features. As part of the program, students discovered the connections between animals past and present – their structural features, adaptations and dependence on delicate ecosystems for survival. Later in the term, students will use their newfound understanding of animal adaptations to help them design possible ways to care for the world’s wildlife.

Thank you to Megan Williams, Ashleigh Gledhill and Luke Hewitt for organising the day and continuing to connect our learning to real-life situations.

District Cross Country

Congratulations to all of those students who participated in the District Cross Country in week 4. They all displayed their amazing learning powers and supported each other to succeed on the day. Well done to Jett, Harlow and Charlotte, who made it through to the next level of Zone. Thank you to Mrs Emily Reed for her organisation before the day and well done to Mr Luke Hewitt and Mrs Leah Hogg for ensuring students were organised and supported on the day.

St Joseph’s Trivia Night

Don't forget we have our St Joseph’s Trivia night coming up. It will be a great night and we encourage you all to come along.

School Photos

Just a reminder we have our school photos on Wednesday, June 4th. Students will need to wear their full school uniform on their day. As we have a busy timetable on this day it is important for students to be at school on time. Please see the timetable below for photo day

Congratulations!

I would like to congratulate Mason and Narla on graduating from their Pet Therapy course. The use of Therapy Dogs in schools is a new phenomena and there is a growing body of evidence recognising a range of benefits resulting from interactions with animals which positively impact the physical and psychological health of those who interact with them. We are so lucky to have both Mason and Narla as part of our Social, Emotional team and thank them for all of the work they have done to support our students and the community.

Finally, last week Mrs Maria Milan returned to St Joseph’s from her maternity leave. Maria is part of our amazing Faith team with Mrs Natalie Dullard. She will also be supporting some of our students with adjustments and working in our ¾ area. Welcome back, Maria, and we wish you all the best in your new role.

Yours in partnership

Sue Jackson

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