Thank you to all school families for your patience over the past week as we work our way through the requirements of assessing, cleaning and repairs to ensure the safe return of all students following last weekend’s flash flooding.

Repairs to the Creative Arts and Music rooms will take place over the holidays and upon our return to school we will assess when it is practical to have students return to those classrooms. 

All rooms that had remediation received an antimicrobial treatment to prohibit the growth of mould and other pathogens.  A deep clean and moisture testing has also been carried out on all areas.  Blowers and dehumidifiers have been in use and will continue to be used to reduce moisture levels where required.

Room C4 will be out of action until further notice as we need to rectify the roof leak before the room can be fixed.

Looking towards the start of Term 2, all students will return to school on Monday 29th April in winter uniform.  A reminder that school Blazers are compulsory.  The optional all-weather jacket does not replace the Blazer!

Our new proposed school bus time changes will not be occurring until Term 3.  More information will made available once we have all the confirmed details from Transport NSW.  Therefore, for Term 2, our school hours will remain 9:00 am to 3:25 pm.

I wish all school families a restful and happy holiday break.

Ms Amanda Wilson

Principal

Mr Chris Shelton

Assistant Principal

Well done to all students on getting through Term 1!

Year 7 have settled in well. Year 12 and Year 11 are half way through their respective courses. Year 10 will be starting the process of Stage 6 subject selection next term. Students in Years 7-10 will also have their formal assessment weeks in the middle of next term. Whilst the holidays are a time to refresh the mind, body and spirit it is also a good time to reflect on Term 1 and make the necessary adjustments to support continued learning growth in Term 2.

Reminder About Assessment Task Requirements

Lately, we have had a number of students missing assessments (particularly in Years 10-12). The requirements around assessments are pretty clear and have been shared with students and families via the assessment manual distributed at the start of the year. In particular I would again like to remind everyone.

Family holidays are not a valid reason for not completing an assessment task, especially in years 10-12). We appreciate that time can be limited for families but the NESA guidelines schools need to follow are pretty clear. If you choose to take your child away from school and they miss an assessment task there is very little we can do to accommodate. Dates for assessment tasks are distributed in the assessment manuals so please check and work around them as much as possible. Any students taking extended leave also need to complete the application for Principal’s Approved Leave.

If a student is absent or unable to complete an assessment task they need to complete the Illness/Misadventure form and submit within three days of their return to school (earlier if possible). This should also be affixed with documentation supporting the reason for absence such as a medical certificate. If you are unable to get an appointment at a GP on the day of your absence you can get one from a pharmacist which we will accept. We do not accept online generated medical certificates. Again, not providing the necessary documentation can in some cases lead to a mark of 0 being awarded for an assessment task. If unsure we suggest you contact the Curriculum Office on the day of absence for guidance/support if required.

Students are required to be at school the day before a formal assessment task is due. This is the case for both hand in and in class tasks. It is not fair if students stay home to prepare while other students complete work, it also negates the opportunity for last minute in class preparation for these tasks. Students absent the day before a formal task will again need to complete the Illness/Misadventure process and obtain the appropriate documentation as outlined above.

Students in Years 10-12 missing any in-class assessment tasks need to come to the Curriculum office on the first morning they return to school to organise a time to catch up/complete the task. Students in Years 7-9 should approach their class teacher. Hand in tasks should be submitted as soon as is practically possible via the means indicated on the assessment notification. This could include a relative bringing the completed task to school for the student if required.

Our job in the Curriculum Office is to support students through the entire learning process including assessments. The guidelines from NESA are pretty clear and we put our procedures in place to reflect these requirements. We ask for the support of students and families in following these processes to allow us to provide the highest level of support to students as possible.

Yr 11 2024 Subject Selection Process

The process of meeting with Year 10 regarding choosing subjects for Year 11 2024 will begin early next term. Students and their parents/carers are encouraged to spend time over the holidays thinking, discussing and researching potential pathways beyond Year 10 eg: University, TAFE, apprenticeships, etc, and start investigating the requirements needed to assist in achieving those outcomes. To get started students may consider looking at online career aptitude sites/quizzes to get an idea of careers that they may be interested in/suited to. Examples can be found on websites such as:

MyFuture

Skillsroad

What Career is right for me?

Open Colleges

CareerFitter

TAFE and University websites also have information on the courses they offer and potential careers that are linked to those courses.

Whilst we are not expecting students to 100% lock in their future career aspirations at this point in time, exploring and having an idea of the possible options you are considering does make the process of subject selection a lot easier in most cases.

Mr Brett Moran

Curriculum Coordinator

Aspiring Athlete Testing Day

Our athletes headed to Bai Med in week 10 for their testing day. During this day students are put through a range of tests that show their development in strength, fitness, flexibility and balance. They are then given their results and reflect upon these from their term 4 results. Students are given a gym strength program each term and work on this over the 10-12 week period and should see an improvement in their results each term.

The focus for this day was around building strength and working out how much is safe to lift whilst still pushing their boundaries to become stronger. Stand outs in the testing were Solomon Liu with his impressive jumping skills that he brings from his basketball training and Tyler Morris took the win on the push ups. Students then worked through their new gym program session under the guidance of the Bai Med physiotherapists and exercise physiologists.

Students then went through a workshop on psychology in sports and controlling their emotions. They practised some exercises such as boxed breathing and visualisation to help them develop the skills needed to be more resilient in their approach to games and also assist in mental recovery and strain after competition.

Thank you to Ethan and Dylan who joined our excursion today to do some behind the scenes photography and video work. Keep an eye out for their work on our SJCHS Sports Instagram page.

Upcoming School Opportunities

Girls School Rugby League Nominations

If you are interested in playing in our Girls Rugby League teams in Term 2, you need to nominate using this form.

Training will be held weekly and you will be expected to show up to every session to be considered in the team. We will only be taking teams with sufficient experience and numbers.

Competition Date: Term 2, Week 8 June 18th

Nominations Close: Week 11, Friday 12th April

Nominate here: https://forms.gle/u4y4TuMZCyBCULiF7

School Girls Netball Team Nomination

This is a nomination form to be considered for our upcoming school Netball teams.

There are 3 teams available to trial for. Please make sure you tick the right age group to be considered.

7/8 Girls

9/10 Girls

11/12 Girls

Trials will take place next term.

Nominations close: Week 11, Friday 12th April

Nominate here: https://forms.gle/sNobogh43nQLnJDz7

Upcoming NSWCCC Events

If your child plays at a high/rep level for their sport and is keen on trialling for a NSWCCC team, please register via the link below:
https://csnsw.sport/

Please note:
- No late entries are accepted.
- Students attending these trials should be at a representative level/standard.
- Further information regarding each sport is available on the website (see link above)

For assistance with registering your child please see the document below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kFW57cps5mTHPK7PfJMvpVK4qtM651keNVZcu014gVQ/edit

If there are any further issues, please contact me on powerss01@dow.catholic.edu.au

NSWCCC GIRLS 15 YEARS & UNDER AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL (AFL) Closes 12 April

NSWCCC Selections - Monday 6 May & Tuesday 7 May @ Wagga Wagga $90

NSWCCC BOYS 16s FOOTBALL - EOI Closes 30 April

Successful notification by 7 May

NSWCCC Selections - Friday 17 May @ Kareela $45

NSWCCC 16 YEARS & 18 YEARS BASKETBALL - Closes 3 May 2023

NSWCCC Selections - 18 Years Monday 13 May, 16 Years Tuesday 14 May @ Sutherland $45

NSWCCC 15s & OPENS HOCKEY SELECTIONS - Closes 3 MAY 2024

NSWCCC Selections - Monday 20 May @ Bathurst  $45

NSWCCC 17 YEARS & UNDER WATER POLO SELECTIONS - Closes 17 May 2024

NSWCCC Selections Monday 27 May @ Ryde 8:30am - 12pm Boys & 12pm - 3:30pm Girls  $35

Sporting Success

Te Ari'i Aperau-Bob

Congratulations to Te Ari’i who represented the Wollongong Diocese at the NSWCCC Swimming Championships. He placed 5th overall in the 15 years boys 100m Backstroke. Te Ari’i has also been asked to represent the Cook Islands at the upcoming Oceania Championships in April on the Gold Coast. A very exciting opportunity for this young athlete. We wish you all the best of luck Te Ari’i.

Lewis Mercieca

Congratulations to Lewis who has successfully competed at NSWCCC and been selected into the NSW All Schools Baseball Team. He will head to Canberra in the first week of Term 2 to compete.

Latisha Akuoko - Diocesa Rugby League Team

Congratulations to Latisha who has been selected into the U16 Girls Diocesan Rugby League team. She will be travelling to compete for selection in the NSWCCC team in May.

Jacob and Julius Ong

Congratulations to Jacob and Julius Ong who both placed 3rd at the NSW Judo State Championships. A great supportive effort from Austin Lewis who attended to watch the boys compete.

Trent Middleton

Congratulations to Trent who competed at the NSW Junior State Championships a few weeks ago. Trent achieved this qualification time earlier in the summer season to be eligible to compete at this event. He went in ranked 52nd and ended up 30th overall. A huge effort, well done Trent.

Ashton Byrne

Congratulations to Ashton who has achieved one of the goals he had for the Aspiring Elite Athlete Program which was to do the AAA (Australian Alpine Ascent) event this year. This is a trail run that goes to the top of Mt Kosciuszko and back being a total of 25 km and he completed this in 3 hrs and 50 sec. He ran this along with his Dad and loved the experience even though it was a very tough run Well done Ashton, keep kicking goals!

Max Elliot

Congratulations to Max Elliot who represented NSW in hockey earlier this year in Canberra.

If your child has had sporting success outside of school we want to hear about it. 

Please email details to Miss Power (powers01@dow.catholic.edu.au)

St Joseph’s Sports Instagram Page 

For all things sports follow social media page @SJCHSSPORTS

Year 7 Food Technology 

Over the past few weeks, Mr Ferderer's Year 7 Food Tech class made some Caramel Easter Egg Muffins and completed the final stage of producing some candied orange rind. The Year 11 Cookery class had segmented 3 bags of oranges earlier in the week. The segments were turned into orange sorbet. No part of the oranges were wasted. Well done 7 Tech F.

Year 9 & 10 Food Technology

Mr Ferderer's Year 9 & 10 Food Technology classes made a simpler version of Hot Cross Buns, in a muffin form. They glazed the hot muffins with a stock syrup glaze then piped a lemon icing cross (much nicer than the traditional paste crosses). They have also completed their formal task assessment cooking practical of a multicultural buffet linked to their first unit-Food in Australia.

Year 11 Cookery Class

Year 11 Cookery class learnt why and how to truss a whole chicken for roasting. They then cut the chicken into saute cuts, then turned this into spicy fried chicken which was served with cabbage, coriander and apple coleslaw, sriracha mayo on brioche slider buns. The chicken carcass was roasted and turned into stock with some mirepoix of vegetables that we had made and frozen a week ago. The class also made some orange sorbet from the oranges that were segmented and some candied orange rind that will be sugared and coated in chocolate and sold to staff.

The HSIE faculty would like to congratulate the following stage 6 students who have been chosen as their respective student of the month for their course. They have been chosen for their hard work, effort and application to their course during the month of March.

HSIE Senior Student of the Month for March

• 11 Ancient History - Tamara Frendo
• 12 Ancient History - Aiden Curnow
• 11 Business Studies - Sarah Wyber
• 12 Business Studies - Zahlia Sinclair
• 11 Legal Studies - Ashton Greig
• 12 Legal Studies - Olivia Wishart
• 11 Modern History - Anabelle Filipovic
• 12 Modern History - Jessica Stojcevska
• 12 Modern History - Charmaine Nyabadza
• 11 Society and Culture - Emily Di Pietro
• 12 Society and Culture - Hannah Klein

Being a part of the Saint Joseph's School vocal ensemble has a myriad of benefits that extend beyond musical proficiency. The Saint Joseph's School vocal ensemble fosters a sense of community and camaraderie, offering a supportive environment where individuals collaborate towards a shared artistic goal.

Through regular rehearsals (every Tuesday Lunchtime in Music room E01) and performances, students develop discipline, time management skills, and resilience in overcoming challenges. Vocal groups also provide a platform for self-expression, allowing students to explore their creativity and build confidence in their abilities. Not to mention singing is also loads of fun!

All levels of vocal ability and every year group from 7-12 are invited to attend. 

Happy Singing!

Mrs Minns 

The uniform shop will be open Monday 22/04/2024 from 8:30am to 4:30pm for winter change over requirements. Normal trading hours will resume from Monday 29/04/2024.

Thank you for your continued support. Have a great holiday break!

Abilities Unleashed School Holiday Program is a national initiative by Disability Sports Australia focused on promoting active pathways for people with disabilities aged 25 years old and under during the school holidays.

It is a Free School Holiday Clinic offering a fun and inclusive day of activities connecting people with disabilities to local sport and active recreation opportunities.

Please see below flyer with more information and how to register.

The Disability Trust's Vacation Care School Holiday programs run 8:30am – 4:30pm, Monday through to Friday each School Holiday not including Public Holidays from the following facilities -

Teen Ability – Edney Lane, Spring Hill

A group for social teens with low support needs wanting to get out and about with their friends.

Mini Movers – Aspect School, Corrimal

A group for children under 12 years – all participants are supported 1:1.

Mt St Thomas – Mt St Thomas School, Mangerton

A group for participants 12 – 18 years with low, moderate or high support needs.

Peterborough – Peterborough School, Warilla

A group for participants 12 – 18 years with low, moderate or high support needs.

They have lots of fun activities and outings planned across all our Vacation Care programs. All programs require NDIS funding. Please get in touch with Sport & Rec via ilsrecprograms@disabilitytrust.org.au or 42502260.