We live in interesting times! When you work in a school you see the best and the worst of our young people. Fortunately, at St Joseph’s, we see the best more often than the other.  I never cease to be amazed by the challenges that some of our young people face. Last week the media has reported on fights that have been filmed and shown online. Consider the significant lack of respect that this demonstrates for the rights of others. There are reports in the media of bullying in the workplace by adults and the effects that this has on adults. When we think about the impact bullying has on young people whose experiences during adolescence can be difficult, then we have to act to protect our young and vulnerable citizens.

The Catholic Education Office recently launched their Social Media Policy. Click here to access. This policy applies to staff, students and parents. Social media is a wonderful tool however it is one of the biggest distractors for our young people. Mr Dribbus, our Learning Technologies Coordinator, did a random sample of students and checked their screen time. One student had spent over thirty hours on Snapchat in a week, with an average of over six hours per day.  Youth is a time when learning takes place, however, I am not sure how six hours a day on Snapchat improves your learning or gives you a skill.

Could that time be put to learning a musical instrument or writing a novel, or even volunteering somewhere where we know we could make a difference? Have you discussed the way on-line time is used in your own family? Do you review what the family is doing when they have technology in their grasp? Does it reflect how you want to live your lives?  Do your actions and ideas match? Being respectful on social media is becoming even more important in today’s society.

When we look at the news, there are not many good news stories. It often portrays the worst of humanity, with bullying, arguing, fighting and fear-driven actions. Our connections with each other should bring joy not despair, no matter how we are connected.  Parents are asked to be respectful and model positive behaviours. I would ask that parents be aware that taking and posting photos of other students during school events, without the express permission of their parents, can cause issues and to be respectful of this situation.

Congratulations to our students for their participation in the Cross Country carnival and to Mrs Linsley and Mrs Garbutt for their organisation. Also congratulations to our Oz Tag students. Check out the Facebook post for all the details of the event.

We closed this week with our Easter Liturgies.  Thank you to Miss Madaschi for organising this reverent occasion.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the St Joseph's community a Happy and Holy Easter.  

A reminder to parents that teachers are regularly communicating with you via the Sentral Parent Portal to provide affirmations and/or areas of concern pertaining to your child's progress at school.  Parents are therefore reminded to please check the Parent Portal for updates on your child's progress at least once a fortnight.  If you have not registered for portal access please contact Mrs Penny Corradini.

NAPLAN 2019

Students in Years 7 and 9 are encouraged to access the public demonstration site for practice exercises for NAPLAN Online.  The platform can be accessed here.

NAPLAN 2018  
For the past 18 months, St Joseph's students have been learning to use TEEL paragraphs as a basic structure to improve their use of writing to communicate ideas. This focus on writing has been successful, with our current Year 10 students displaying outstanding growth in NAPLAN and assessment data for writing skills between their Year 7 and 9 tests, so much so that they have moved from being 11 points below state average in Year 7 to achieving a mean score above both state and national average in Year 9. In addition, our students achieved growth well above state and national averages in all NAPLAN skill areas. Congratulations to our students and staff for such amazing results!

Leaving School (Buses)

• Wear uniform correctly
• Go straight to the designated area
• Board the bus in single line
• Cross the road safely away from the bus zone
• Report to the office if you miss the bus, parents will be contacted to pick up from Macquarie Street

Year 11 Hospitality  
Year 11 Hospitality classes have finished off the term by cooking some more complex meals.  A loin of lam was trimmed, portioned, seasoned and seared, then covered with duxelle (onion, garlic, mushrooms, thyme) then wrapped in butter puff pastry and baked.  A red wine reduction sauce was created and the lamb was served with batons of carrot cooked in honey, butter and seasoning, steamed green beans and toasted almonds.  Also, a chicken stir fry with 6 different vegetables that were all cut into julienne has been created - served with rice and cooked using the absorption method.

Year 12 Hospitality

Year 12 Hospitality classes have baking commercial quantities of Hot Cross Buns over the past week.  Using a large floor standing mixer to produce both fruit and choc chip hot cross buns, the class made the dough, let it proove overnight, knocked it back, shaped and then added the flour/water crosses which were piped on, then the students prooved the dough again.  The dough was then baked to a golden brown and then brushed with sugar syrup glaze.  The class made over $100 for Project compassion as well as learning industry baking skills.

This is a new fundraiser that our School Community are doing to fund our Office supplies Terracycling. It is a WIN WIN situation for our planet. It is an initiative by WOODiWiLD and Aussie schools to help address the decline in Australia's unique native wildlife.  Please go to the site www.woodiwild.org/school  and you will see St Joseph’s on the school list.

When you fund a tree you will receive an email which has your login details that you can use to follow the plantings progress. Updates will be posted of your trees every 3 months. So you will be able to see how the plantings are progressing. To follow the progress, you login to the website and this will launch your personal page which shows where your tree is planted (you can zoom in and out on the google map) and how much carbon your tree(s) will capture. If you click on the tree it will show you its name and when it was planted and funded. If you click on the shaded area of the planting near your tree it will open the planting page which will give you information on the planting and a time lapse that will show the updated images of the planting over time.  Adopt a tree for yourself or for your kids.

UNCLE KEVIN TELLS HIS STORY TO YEAR 9 HISTORY CLASS

Kevin Butler is a regular staff member at Joey's each Friday. He has been employed by the CEO and is currently painting a mural to be displayed at the front of the school. Uncle Kev is a talented Artist and his paintings depict stories of the local area, many of which are seen around the school. Uncle Kev is also a victim of the Stolen Generation. In Year 9 History, we have explored the history of past policies and events in a topic called ‘Rights and Freedoms’. Uncle Kev expressed to the students his own personal story of being taken from his mother at 2 weeks old and the long last lasting effects that have had on his life. We explored topics like ‘closing the gap’ and the ‘Rudd apology to the nation’, as the students hosted Kev in their classroom and asked lots of questions. Both the students and Uncle Kev loved the experience and walked away with fond memories. Uncle Kev has offered to show the students some more artwork and the students have said that they will be regular visitors as he paints the school mural. We were honoured to have Uncle Kev in our classroom and thank him for taking the time to visit our class and tell his story.

Over the past 2 weeks, we have had students competing in numerous sporting events.  Congratulations to all students who have displayed great sportsmanship and school spirit. Check this out!

"My work experience took place from the 25th - 29th of March. During this 40 hour week, I worked very hard to prove my skills and personal attributes with the goal of seeking employment at the end of the year. Within my week of work I completed the following tasks; Building retaining walls, digging trenches and laying turf. Halfway through the week my host employer Paul offered me to participate in some weekend work, which I happily agreed to. After a few more days Paul pulled me aside and offered me an apprenticeship for 2020. I was so happy and proud of myself; I shook his hand and thanked him very much. I look forward to the coming year in which I will take part in a 4-year apprenticeship in Landscaping. I would like to take the time to thank Paul and his team at Petersen Landscapes very much for this opportunity".                  

"At Ray White in Albion Park I had the best experience and I loved it. I helped them make some sales brochures for different houses (picking photos, helping them write the text to describe the houses etc..). On different days of the week, I went out with some of the girls to do some house inspections which was fun and interesting to see what some of the different houses look like. I helped them post some things on the internet e.g. open house times for Saturday 6th of April and advertisements to go in the Illawarra Mercury which was so much fun as I loved seeing how everything worked behind the scenes and how much work goes into different things that they make and how much time is put into it. On Friday I did some filing which was great as I haven't really done filing before so I got to learn how to do that and I also made up the times for the open houses for the next day and helped them stick them on the open house pointer signs to show which way to go, what address and the time/s. On Friday I took in a present that I made up for them to thank them for having me, which they loved. I had such a great, fun and interesting week around some lovely awesome people.  I am hoping to secure a full time Traineeship in Real Estate, as this is definitely something I would love to do especially at the Ray White in Albion Park because I felt so happy and welcome in their workspace. I also made some new friends whilst working there". 

This weeks focus is on returning the AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience) notes to Mr Brown. This is critical to be able to take part in this highly beneficial program this year.  Please keep an eye out for the excursion notes to some upcoming activities for Indigenous students.  I would also like to bring your attention to some Assemblies that will be coming up during term 2. Please save the date and if possible attend for some or all of these events.

Monday 3rd June 9:00 - 10:00am - Reconciliation assembly including Ochre painting of all students and staff.  
Monday 24th June 9:00 - 10:00am - NAIDOC Assembly

In Term 2, our Aboriginal students will be attending the Bush Tucker Food Excursion with the Year 9 Food Technology class. These students will then be involved in a food demonstration and cooking session with the Year 6 students from local schools who will be coming to St Joseph's for an Aboriginal Culture Day on the 9th August.

Uniform Shop  
The Uniform Shop will re-open on Monday 29th April.  Students will return to school in Term 2 wearing Winter Uniform.  So now is the time to check your blazers, long pant, ties etc.  The Uniform Shop has Blazers, Boys Trousers, Ties and Girls long pants all in stock.  No appointment required for fittings so please visit the uniform shop to make your winter uniform purchases.

New Uniform Shop phone number is: 0413 441 892
Hours: Monday 12 pm - 4 pm and Thursday 8:30 am - 1:30 pm

Please click the link below to be directed to the School website for access to current Permission Notes.