School News

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Handbook

PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

Whole School Expectation - Weekly Focus for Students

Respect our school environment!

The PB4L Team

CatholicCare talk on Tweenagers 

Thank you to all parents who were able to attend the Tweenagers talk by Mrs Doreen Waddington, our school counsellor on Wednesday 31 May. 

Doreen's presentation was very well received and offered parents many strategies and information that can be used to better support their children. 

Mathematics at St Joseph's

Our teachers continue to engage in professional development and collaborative planning opportunities focusing on effective data collection and analysis, and research-based teaching practices for student improvement in Mathematics. 

Mr Miguel Aguilera

Assistant Principal

Mrs Smith and Mrs Allan challenged Year 3 this week. Students put into practice their Habits of Mind when posed with a challenging Maths problem. They were able to persist, use past knowledge and take responsible risks when working independently and after sharing ideas with their peers. Students were asked to demonstrate their thinking in a number of different ways. Have a look at the smiling faces of success!

Mrs Walls

Problem posed to the students:-Class Task

Mrs Walls has 24 students in her class. She wants to organise the students to sit in an array. How many different arrays could Mrs Walls make? Explain your thinking using pictures, equations and words.

Sorry Day  - 26 May 2023

Last week St Joseph's received a beautiful invitation from Arlo's grandmother to attend a Sorry Day Service at Holy Trinity Church in Minto with the local community. Our school was represented by Charlotte and Imogen from Year 6 and Arlo Year 2. The students were immersed in the Aboriginal culture through song, dance, poetry and stories of the Stolen Generation. Sister Kerry was most appreciative with our attendance. St Joseph's was gifted with a book voucher which has allowed Mrs Pirie in the library to purchase an Adam Goodes book to add to our school collection.

On Friday St Joseph's acknowledged Sorry Day at our morning assembly, beginning a week of Reconciliation and integrated learning about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Year 6 began by listening to Archie Roach- Took the Children Away and responding through art.

St Joseph's has received some excellent resources to support our teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures from the Catholic Education Office. On Friday we will have a special liturgy at the end of Reconciliation Week, welcoming our special guest Uncle Kevin.

Bicycle Policy and Permission Form

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, the riding of bicycles to and from school is encouraged and is the responsibility of parents and carers outside of the school. St Joseph’s aims to support parents and carers by providing a shared understanding of road safety education, school procedures and the safe riding of bicycles to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our students.

Before riding a bicycle to school students must have a signed Bicycle Riders Parental Permission Form. By signing the form, parents also acknowledge: responsibility for their child riding to and from school, that they have spoken to their child about bicycle safety, and that they have explained the St Joseph’s Bicycle Policy to the child (see below).

It is recommended that students under 10 years of age, DO NOT ride bicycles to or from school unless accompanied by an adult accepting responsibility for the student and identifying the safest route to and from school. 

ACTION:

If your child rides a bike to school, read the policy and if you haven't already done so sign the attached permission form. Please do this even if you have signed the previous form.

Remember - Ride safely to and from school

Please ensure that your children:

are not going to the bike track at Bulli Park on their way to or from school unsupervised

• wear a helmet when riding their bike to and from school
• are not leaving home too early in their enthusiasm
• know to ride on the footpath and off-road away from vehicles
• take special care at driveways where vehicles may be driving in or out
• STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! THINK! when approaching an intersection
• dismount and wheel the bicycle across the road as a pedestrian

If you have any questions please contact me at any time via the school office.

Social Media and Catholic Education

Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) has a Social Media Policy and a Social Media Statement that include Social Media Standards when using social media in relation to CEDoW or any of its school communities.  

The Social Media Policy and Social Media Statement set an expectation that users of social media respect the dignity of all people at all times. Users are also expected not to promote perspectives contrary to the Catholic faith, and not publicly criticise or bring into disrepute CEDoW or any of its school communities.

The Social Media Policy outlines the expectation that schools use social media in valid educational contexts to support student learning and wellbeing. It also outlines expectations for all in the school community when using social media in the context of CEDoW or any of its school communities.

The Social Media Policy and Statement can be found at

What Does the Social Media Policy Mean for Parents and Carers?

• The Social Media Standards apply to all parents/carers when using social media in relation to CEDoW or any of its school communities.
• Parents/carers will be advised of official school social media sites that have been approved by the school. Any social media presence associated with the school must be approved by the Principal.
• Parents/carers are expected not to post content on social media of other students without the express consent of their parents/carers.
• Parents/carers are expected to notify the school of any inappropriate use or content on official school social media, or on any social media that may impact negatively on CEDoW and or any of its school communities.
• Inappropriate use of social media by parents/carers in relation to CEDoW or any of its school communities, will be addressed using the CEDoW Social Media Standards Noncompliance (Parents/Carers) Procedure.

Each school year:

• every student and their parent/carer will be required to sign the CEDoW Student Responsible Use of Technology Agreement;
• parents/carers will be expected to sign and return the Consent Form for use of Student’s Image and/or Work; &
• every student will be required to engage in the  CEDoW Digital Citizenship Program.

Tips for Parents in the Digital Age

​​In a world where children are "growing up digital," it's important to help them learn healthy concepts of digital use and citizenship. Parents play an important role in teaching these skills. Here are four simple tips parents can put into place right now!

Set limits and encourage playtime. Media use, like all other activities, should have reasonable limits. Unstructured and offline play stimulates creativity. Make unplugged playtime a daily priority. 

Screen time shouldn't always be alone time. Co-view, co-play and co-engage with your children when they are using screens—​it encourages social interactions, bonding, and learning. Play a video game with your children. It's a good way to demonstrate good sportsmanship and gaming etiquette. Watch a show with them; you will have the opportunity to introduce and share your own life experiences and perspectives—and guidance. Don't just monitor them online—interact with them, so you can understand what they are doing and be a part of it. 

Don't use technology as an emotional pacifier. Media can be very effective in keeping kids calm and quiet, but it should not be the only way they learn to calm down. Children need to be taught how to identify and handle strong emotions, come up with activities to manage boredom, or calm down through breathing, talking about ways to solve the problem, and finding other strategies for channelling emotions.

Please click on the attachment below for some APP FACT SHEETS you will find very useful. I would like to highlight the age rating and how important it is that you ensure that your child/ren do not have accounts or access apps with a rating above their age. Please note that Common Sense Media also provides you with detailed information about apps and the recommended age rating, which often differs from the app provider age rating. 

If you have any questions or wish to discuss any of the information here please contact Mr Aguilera.  

Mr Miguel Aguilera

Assistant Principal

Dismissal Arrangement - Walkers

Should you need to contact the school requiring your child to change their dismissal arrangements, please ensure you include in your email your child's destination to enable the school to direct them to the correct dismissal area.

Three walker assembly options are as follows:

WALKERS - BASKETBALL COURT/PARK ROAD

• For students who cross Park Road at school crossing
• For students who walk down the pathway on Park Road towards beach.

WALKERS ROWAN STREET

• For students exiting west on Park Road and cross over Rowan Street.
• For students who walk down Rowan Street towards Hutton Avenue

WALKERS HUTTON AVENUE

• For students who exit the back of the school on Hutton Avenue.

Library Class Times

Due to library visits being fortnightly students are able to borrow up to 4 books during their fortnightly library lessons.

Students library class visits for Term 2 will be as follows.

Library Borrowing - Kinder

Kindergarten students will continue to have a weekly borrowing session on Fridays. They will still visit the library fortnightly for library enrichment lessons, but will not borrow during this time.

ICAS Assessments

Years 3-6 students at St Joseph’s have the opportunity to participate in the University of New South Wales ICAS Assessments this year.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and Digital Technologies and is not compulsory.

If your child is interested, parents must register and pay online by Monday 31 July 2023 through the Parent Payment System, NO payment will be taken via the school office.

Access details for parents:

2024 KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS ARE NOW OPEN (Kindergarten 2024)

2024 Kindergarten are now open and enrolment packages are available from the school office.

Happy Birthday

Wishing all our students a very happy birthday who celebrated their special day over the last week.

26 May - Lacey A Year 1 & Allie H Kinder

27 May - Archer T Year 3

28 May - Morgan C Year 3

29 May - Arielle C Year 4 & Peyton B Kinder

30 May - Edwin Z Year 3

31 May - Adelaide P Kinder

1 June - Ruby D Year 4, Toby M Year 3 & Thomas M Year 2

Sports Uniform Days - Term 2 

Students will be required to wear their PE uniform on the following days.

SJB Athletics Carnival

We are looking forward to our whole school Athletics Carnival is in Week 9, June 23. Please see event information via Compass. All students received an information note yesterday. We are again seeking the support of our wonderful parent volunteers to assist with the successful running of the carnival. Please indicate in the questions tab on Compass if you are available. 

Years 2-6 have begun high jump preparation and practise in PE lessons. Age competitions will begin at school over the coming weeks. 

South Coast Netball Gala Day

On Tuesday 20 June 2023, the South Coast Netball Gala Day will be held for nominated students. Please ensure the Compass Event permission is completed at your earliest convenience so we can replace any students who are unable to attend. We are still seeking the support of parent volunteers to assist with some umpiring and team managing on the day. 

If you are available, please indicate in the questions tab on the Compass Event. 

Canteen

Open Monday to Friday for recess and lunch.

Cash purchases for snacks and drinks can be made at recess and lunchtime. Snacks and drinks can also be ordered via Quickcliq.

Lunch orders

Orders for lunch can only be made through QUICKCLIQ.  Please note that orders close at 9.15am daily.  Orders cannot be placed after this time.

Catholic Care

OOSH, Out of School Hours care at St Joseph's 

Email:   bullioosh@catholiccare.dow.org.au

Mobile:  0437 713 067

Booking Information

Enrolment Form

CatholicCare Website

Service hours

Before School Care

7:00am – 8:30am

After School Care

2:45pm – 6:00pm

If you require the use of OOSH for your child/ren you need to be enrolled in the service prior to commencing. 

Casual bookings

If your child already uses the service and you requireacasual booking please do this viathe Xplor app. 

Before School Care: Bookings are to be made no later than 5:30 pm the night before

After School Care: Bookings are to be made no later than 9:00 am that morning

Casual booking must be made as per the times above to ensure enough staff. If notice is not provided within these time frames and the service does not have sufficient staff your child/ren will be sent to the office for collection. This is something that we all wish to avoid, so please keep in mind the time frames to help support the service.

If there is an emergency and care is needed please phone and leave a message and we will see what we can do.

If you do have any questions, need clarification, or have any feedback please feel free to contact the service mobile during operating hours on 0437 713 067 or Jacinta, Team Leader – 0407 759 720.

Community Notices

Wollongong Touch Association

Holy Spirit College - Peter Pan Jr Production

Wollongong Running Festival

If you would like to be part of a running challenge to reach new heights at the Wollongong Running Festival, visit the link below. Did you know you can create a Primary School Team for the Peoplecare 2k Kids run? $1000 is up for grabs for the primary school with the most registrations and a chance to create the WRF Mascot!

Visit this link for more information