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This week, we have enjoyed welcoming and meeting many visitors to our school community. On Wednesday morning, we held our Open Morning for prospective Year 7 students in 2021 and 2022. Our students are to be commended as fine ambassadors for our school. The SRC conducted tours of the school and proudly highlighted the many aspects of their experience of the Joey's way. Many of our visitors have complimented our students on their enthusiasm and love of their school. Next week parents of Year 5 and 6 students will also be visiting the school for our Enrolment Information evening which will be taking place in the School Hall on Tuesday, 25th February at 7pm.
Thank you to the many Year 7 parents, students and teachers who attended the Year 7 Liturgy and Welcome Barbecue on Wednesday evening. This was a very enjoyable night and it was lovely to see our Year 7 families enjoying each other's company and getting to know one another. The education of students is a partnership between staff, students and parents and school events such as these enable us to gain valuable insights into your children that can assist us to cater to their needs.
Our P&F annual general meeting was held on Wednesday evening and thank you to those who attended. Our P&F Committee for 2020 is Paul Murphy as President, Rachael Woolfe as Treasurer and Derek Pyrah as Secretary.
The Year 7 Peer Support Program is well underway and Leader of Student Wellbeing, Mr Cameron Dribbus is very pleased with the support being offered to our Year 7 students by the Year 10 Peer Support Leaders.
This year, we have introduced new awards for students. Next week, those students who have received four Merit Stamps in one or more of the following areas: Respect for Self, Learning, Others and the Environment will receive St Joseph's Catholic High School Respect Award Certificates.
We encourage parents and carers to be looking on Compass each week to view teacher entries on the academic and behavioural progress of your sons and daughters. We also encourage parents to review your child’s attendance record. As this is a new system we are asking for feedback on any concerns you may have regarding your child’s attendance. As well, Merit Stamps, Awards and other insights into your child's progress are available for viewing in Compass. After the Year 8 Parent Information Night next Monday, 24 February all parents will have received their access keys for Compass. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing Compass please contact the School on 42308500.
We wish all our families a relaxing and restful weekend!
Mrs Jenny Bell
Assistant Principal
NSW SCHOOL VACCINATION PROGRAM
Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program.
Our first school clinic will take place on Tuesday 3rd March for Year 7 students as well as students in Year 8 who missed or did not complete the program in 2019. Students are to wear school sport uniform to school on the day and will be called to the clinic in various classes throughout the day.
In 2020 the following vaccines will be offered to Year 7 students
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine- 2 dose course with a minimum 6 month interval
- dTpa vaccine [Diphtheria, Tetanus & Pertussis (whooping cough)] as a single dose
Parent Information Kits that include an information sheet, consent form and privacy statement have been sent be sent home to Year 7 parents/guardians this week. To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians are advised to:
- read all the information provided
- complete the consent form, including signing your name next to the vaccine/s they would like your child to receive
- return the completed consent form to the school by Thursday 27th February
- ensure that your child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic.
Please note students who commence HPV vaccination in school clinics in Year 7 but do not complete the course during the school year may be offered a catch-up dose at school in Year 8. Students who have any HPV doses at their GP will be advised to complete the course with their GP.
Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by writing to the school Principal or contacting the school. The Procedure for Withdrawal of Consent is available on the NSW Health websiteat www.health.nsw.gov.au/immunisation.
To improve vaccination completion, students will be opportunistically offered any missed doses throughout the year where possible.
A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic. Parents/guardians should ensure that this record is kept for future reference and should not assume that their child has been vaccinated if they do not receive this Record of Vaccination.
Any issues or questions feel free to contact me at anytime.
Brett Moran
Administration Coordinator
CURRICULUM NEWS
ASSESSMENT MANUALS ALL YEAR GROUPS
Assessment Manuals for all year groups have now been uploaded to Compass. These are visible for all students and parents and will allow access at any time throughout the year. To access the manuals please go to School Resources (located under the "pencil" icon), then Parent Curriculum Documents. In this folder, you will find folders containing Assessment Manuals for all year groups, Illness/Misadventure Forms and Flowcharts outlining the Illness/Misadventure Process for all year groups.
BEST START YEAR 7 ASSESSMENT
All Year 7 students will next week take part in the Best Start Assessment. The assessment will take place on Thursday 27 February and Friday 28 February directly after Homeroom. The assessment covers key literacy and numeracy skills that are important to a student's success in all subjects in high school. No preparation is needed for this assessment. Its purpose is to provide our teachers with additional information to best support the teaching of each student.
All Year 7 students must bring their device to school fully charged to participate in the online assessment. Students are also required to bring their own earbuds. No calculators are required.
If you have any questions regarding the assessment, please do not hesitate to email Miss Janson, Curriculum Coordinator - jansonsj01@dow.catholic.edu.au.
PAT TESTING YEARS 7-10
All students in Years 7-10 will be completing PAT Testing for Mathematics, English and Science. PAT Testing (Progressive Achievement Tests) are online and will be completed in the students' usual Mathematics, English or Science period. Testing will take place over the next 2 week period. Students are requested to ensure that they bring their device to school fully charged each day. No preparation is required for this testing.
PAT Testing provides the school with informative data of each student which enables us to ensure that we are supporting the educational needs of each student. PAT Testing takes place twice a year, in Term 1 and Term 4 which enables us to measure a students' growth over the course of the year.
YEAR 8 INFORMATION EVENING - NEW DATE - MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY
On Monday 24 February we will be holding our Year 8 Information Evening. All Year 8 students and at least one parent are expected to attend. The evening will provide important information regarding the year ahead/expectations/support etc for Year 8 students. Parents will also receive their Compass App login information and be shown how to use the App. The evening will commence at 7 pm in the school Hall. We look forward to your attendance.
UNDERSTANDING THE JOEY’S WAY PARENT INFO SESSION - RESCHEDULED
On Monday 24th February 2020 we will be holding an information evening outlining the Joey's Way! The session will commence at 6 pm in the Administration building and run for approximately 45 minutes. All parents are welcome to attend, and we particularly extend this invitation to our new Year 7 Parents and new parents to the school. The following aspects of Religious Education and the Joey's Way will be explained.
- Sign of the Cross
- Prayer
- The Joey's Way
- Mary MacKillop
- Our Josephite Charism
- St Joseph's Youth Ministry
- RE Retreats
- Immersion
- Social Justice – SRC
Following the presentation, there will be a Q & A session. Tea and coffee will be provided. We look forward to your attendance.
YEAR 11 HOSPITALITY
Year 11 Hospitality have started their practical experiences by doing basic preparations like crushed garlic, julienne and brunoise of vegetables. This week they did their first cooking lesson - Thai Beef Salad.
ART LAB 2020
This is a very special invitation to students who love artmaking!
ART LAB 2020 is a wonderful after school program running on Tuesdays from 3.30 - 5pm in room E04 with artist Karolina Venter. The sessions include artmaking in Mixed media, Painting, Sculpture and Virtual Reality and are a relaxed way to be enriched and explore artmaking in ways different to classroom experiences and with like-minded students.
**There are still some places available**
There is a weekly charge for attending of $10. This is added to school fees, so students won't need to bring money each week. Art materials supplied.
Parents/carers can pick up students at 5pm from the School carpark.
Please let Mrs Oliver know ASAP if you are interested in taking up this wonderful Art opportunity.
SCHOOL MUSICAL
Preparations have begun on the School Musical for 2020, "The Hunchback of Nostradamus", a colourful and vibrant play with great entertainment value.
Students have attended a preliminary meeting and we will soon be finalising casting and crew arrangements.
Rehearsal days are Mon and Wed 3.30 - 5.00pm in the Drama Room. Some Sunday rehearsals will be announced soon.
We look forward to an exciting year with the development and production of our show. Stay tuned!! Show at Roo Theatre 29 June - 4 July.
CHOIR
Choir is on TUESDAY WEEK A in room E01 at Lunch time. All interested students are very welcome to attend.
CARD CLUB
Card Club is on EVERY THURSDAY in room E03 at Lunch time. All interested students are very welcome to attend.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to Emeka who has been selected to represent Australia in the 2020 World Cup at Ohio in July. He leaves for America in late June to train before the cup. Well done Emeka!
HSC ENGLISH REVISION SESSIONS
Year 12 students are invited to attend lunch time workshops with English teachers. These sessions aim to extend knowledge and skills so that students can successfully complete all sections of the HSC exam with confidence.
These sessions will occur on Monday on a fortnightly basis.
The first session is this Monday, 24th February, in room C12.
CYBERSAFETY
It's time to talk about TikTok and what it's doing with our kids' data!
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-19/should-we-trust-chinese-owned-tiktok-personal-data/11962086
NATIONALLY CONSISTENT COLLECTION OF DATA ON SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY (NCCD)
SWIMMING CARNIVAL REMINDER
Please note that the swimming carnival has been changed to THURSDAY MARCH 5 2020. It is compulsory for Years 7, 8, and 12 to attend.
YEAR 7 WELLBEING PERFORMANCE
REPRESENTATIVE SPORTS UPDATE
Our annual school swimming carnival is being held at Albion Park Pool on Thursday 5th March. This is a community event which is compulsory for all students in Years 7 & 8 and optional for students in 9-12. We have changed the format of the carnival to foster greater participation, spirit and enjoyment. There will be competitive and participation races in the swimming events as well as fun games on Con O’Keefe Oval, including inflatable obstacle courses and sports challenges! The competition has been set between Year 7 & 8 and the winning year group will receive a pizza lunch. Teams will receive bonus points by having parents/carers participate in the obstacle course challenges!
Selection trials for our school soccer teams commence next week. Students are asked to register their interest prior to the trials via this Google form link: https://forms.gle/3Xd36PDeASU9ET7w8
The Diocesan 15’s and Open Rugby League Trials are being held at Gibson Park Thirroul on Wednesday 18th March. Studnets interested in attending are required to complete the following Google form by Monday 2nd March: https://forms.gle/neobKX634Bbdp2JS6
The CEO has implemented a new requirement that parents register their child on the Catholic Schools NSW Sport Website BEFORE attending a Diocesan Gala Gay. The link is: https://csnsw.sport/. The reason for the online registration is that when students are selected in Diocean teams they will receive information about the CCC event, be able to get online parent and school consent, order rep gear and pay for this and the levy - all online with no paper.
NSWCCC selection trials for tennis, baseball, volleyball, water polo, hockey, golf and diving are coming up. Parents are required to register their child for the selection trials for these events on the CSNSW Sport Website. These trials are for students with representative experience in the sport. For more information go to: https://csnsw.sport/
Congratulations to Harrison High (Year 10) on his selection in the Harold Matthews Squad to represent the Illawarra Steelers in the NSW Rugby League Junior Rep Competition.
We like to celebrate the successes of our talented and inspiring athletes. Please let Mrs Garbutt know of any special sporting achievements by email.
Best of luck to Tayissa Buchanan (Year 9) who is competing at the NSW Junior Athletics Championships this weekend and to Xavier Davis (Year 9) and Jayden Allen (Year 12) who are off to the NSW Surf Lifesaving Championships.
Good luck also to our teams representing St Joseph’s at the Diocesan Touch Football Gala Days and NSWCCC Triathlon Championships over the coming weeks.
This Friday the Aboriginal Dance group starts up again. We have been busy sewing during the school holidays making new dance skirts, shorts and shirts with the same fabric sewn in place.
Dance starts on Friday 21 February period 3 in D12. All students are welcome and encouraged to join in the fun.
We will be continuing our support of the AIME program, which will begin May 28 2020. They have 8 program days planned this year.
We hope to build greater connections with our local families and Elders and have them more involved in supporting cultural initiatives and activities here at school.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education information night was held on 18 February 2020. During this meeting we explained our draft plan for 2020, including the cultural activities we are planning to take part in.
I will be sending home The Cultural learning plan will be sent home with your child for you to fill out. The team will then sit down and discuss this with your son/daughter.
Kane Brown - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Coordinator
Dakotah Acevedo - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Contact
Uncle Kevin Butler, Josephine Ball, Toumanda Fohrman -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Education Assistants
COMPASS
Year 8 parents will receive their Compass login letters at the Year 8 information session. Letters have been sent out to Parents from all other grades. These letters give you your unique login details to be able to access relevant information about your child/ren.
ANNUAL PERMISSION NOTES
Annual permission notes for all grades are due back now. Please ensure you have returned these to enable your child/ren permission to attend the local activities. All grades are attached below.
CONSENT FORM FOR USE OF STUDENT IMAGE AND/OR WORK
For all Year 7 and new students to the school, we require a consent form for use of student image and/or work. If we do not receive this form, we are unable to use your child/s image or work in any of our publications or in the school magazine at the end of the year. We have attached a copy for your attention.
INVOICING & DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL FEES STATEMENTS FOR 2020
Annual school fee statements for this year were mailed home this week. If you have not received this correspondence, please contact the finance office 4230 8525 to request a replacement. Accounts are due 30 days after receipt of statement unless you have either a Diocesan School Fee Agreement OR Fee Concession arrangements in place.
UNIFORM SHOP
Blazers, Jumpers and Tracksuit Jackets are in stock ready for purchase.
Blazers will be required for Term 2.
New Uniform Shop phone number is: 0413 441 892
Hours: Monday 12pm - 4pm and Thursday 8:30am - 1:30pm