This has been Catholic Schools Week, a time to celebrate embracing the future. St Joseph’s has focused on Faith, Leading and the environment through the open morning. Thank you to the parent community who attended and our student leaders who acted as tour guides. We will start small and grow this event each year. 

Over the next couple of weeks you may see a TV ad on WIN television. We had 32 students try out for the voiceover for the ad - congratulations to Riley Henson Yr 12 and Ruby Oliver Yr 11 for this year. It was great to see so many students have a go. It is a very different skill to be able to articulate clearly and have the right recording tone. The sound people from WIN were very impressed with Riley’s and Ruby’s professionalism. Well done. 

After all our work changing the swimming carnival, it was a shame the event was rained out this week as it was part of our celebration for Catholic Schools week - but watch this space for an obstacle course at the Cross country - which is a compulsory school event. (Please be aware that we are recording as part of the School Report, your attendance at compulsory school events and as pages are numbered on your report, you may be asked why if you do not present that page.)

The weeks celebration culminated in the Diocesan Education Mass with the Bishop Brian Mascord and our new Director Peter Hill. This was a lovely celebration of the staff of the diocese, as we are all working very hard to provide the best education for your children. 

Uniform

I am requesting parent support for the following:

Students are not to wear their sports jacket with the summer or winter uniform. It is sports uniform only. Student’s are to wear their jumper or blazer if they require additional warmth. (Under shirts are only permitted to be worn in terms 2 and 3 and they are to be white with no logos.)   Jackets worn next week with a regular uniform will be confiscated. 

Students with additional jewellery - as of Monday this will be confiscated with a playground withdrawal issued. 

CoronaVirus Update

St Joseph's Catholic High School will follow all protocols issued by NSW Public Health in regards to the current situation with the Coronavirus. We encourage students to follow good hygiene with hand washing and generally with all aspects of cleanliness around the school. If students are sick (with any condition) we ask that parents keep them home while contagious to others - this is just a common sense approach. Keeping to normal school routines is important for students as this could be a long term situation. If schools are closed on a large scale be assured we have plans in place to continue with educating students and keeping them busy. These will only be issued if NSW Public Health deem the schools to be closed. 

Ms Amanda Wilson

Principal

Dear students, families and school communities,

Thank you for your school's participation in Catholic Schools Week from 1-7 March. It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and showcase many of the fantastic things happening in your school every day, and in all our Catholic schools across the Diocese of Wollongong.

We thank you for working together in partnership with us to help make your school community such a vibrant, nurturing place of learning, faith, belonging and hope.

If you or a family member or friend would like to enrol your child in one of our schools, please download an enrolment package here.

Have a look at our Catholic Schools Week video below, celebrating what our students across the diocese love about their Catholic school. Can you spot the students from your school?

Students from the Mission Homeroom attended the Caritas Launch with Bishop Brian Mascord and other Wollongong Diocese Catholic schools at St Benedicts, Oran Park last Tuesday to support our school and Diocese Lenten campaign to Project Compassion. The theme this year is 

LET'S GO FURTHER, TOGETHER

YEAR 11 HOSPITALITY

Year 11 Hospitality class is moving along in their course and have started Competency Task One. They have been progressing well with their practical skills. They most recently made Caesar Salad which gave them the chance to add heat and timing to their list of skills. The recipe called for an egg to be poached, croutons to be made from scratch and not deep fried, cos lettuce to be washed, picked over, dried & chilled. Chive batons were cut to an exact size and a classic caesar dressing was made by each pair. The bacon was dry roasted till crispy then cut into 1cm cubes. Parmesan was shaved and the whole dish was mixed and served with the poached egg on top. The salads looked impressive with some more practice at poaching eggs needed but it is early days. The class also got some extra kitchen time making vanilla cupcakes with chocolate ganache.   

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.

TRIATHLON

The NSW All Schools Triathlon Championships were held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith Lakes last week. Grace Pomery represented St Joseph’s in the individual event and we had our Intermediate and senior girls teams contesting the relay events. 

Our intermediate team consiisted of Anastasia Bierczynski, Serena Woolfe and Tayissa Buchanan. They performed well finishing in the middle of the field. Tayissa ran exceptionally well to bring the team home completing the 3km in 10 mins 40 seconds. This was a PB in this event by over a minute. Well done Tayissa!

Our senior girls team are the NSWCCC Triathlon champions! Sophie Mills started off really well in the swim and was in 12th place (out of 79 teams)  at the transition. Tahlia Dole cycled the team into 2nd place and Ruby Sawtell brought it home with a gutsy performance in the run leg. After taking the lead and making up 30 seconds, Ruby was overtaken by the runner in 3rd place to finish 2nd overall in the All Schools division. An incredible performance and one which the St Joseph’s school community is very proud of.  Congratulations on achieving your goal of being the best Catholic senior girls triathlon team in the state! 

TENNIS

Congratulations to the following girls and boys who represented St Joseph’s in tennis.

The girls team consisted of Jasmine Gozna-Trpenoski, Madeleine Varga, Rachel Brown, Sarah Walker and Rose Conte.

The boys team consisted of Finlay Galway, Jacob Heyes, Caleb Short, Lucas Rupercht and Jackson McDonald.

The open boys and girls tennis teams performed extremely at the recent Gala Day competition held at Beaton Park. The knockout competition included catholic schools from the Wollongong diocese.

The girls first opponents were St Mary’s and the boys were Edmond Rice. Both teams played very well showing exemplary sportsmanship in their defeats.

The teams then entered the consolation draw for a new round of knockout matches.

In the girls match Jasmine and Madeleine set a high standard in their doubles with very good team work, winning 6-2. Rachel and Rose played well in their close match with their comeback from 5-1 down to just loosing 6-4, winning enough games for the win against John Therry, to advance to the finals. In the finals the team then consisted of the pairings Sarah and Rose and Madeleine and Jasmine. Mt Carmel went on to win the final with the girls playing very well in their loss.

The boys played against Holy Spirit and were successful. The doubles pairing of Finlay and Caleb and Jackson and Jacob were too consistent for their opponents winning both doubles matches. The team then advanced to the finals playing Corpus Christi. Finlay and Caleb once again lead the way with a victory 6-4. Lucas and Jacob then won in a thrilling tie breaker 15-13 to clinch the finals for the second year in a row.

A big thank you to all the girls and boys for their performance and attitude throughout the carnival and the parents and caregivers who were able to attend and provide much appreciated support. 

BOYS TOUCH

U13 - What a great day, for a team that just came together in the past couple of rain affected weeks. They were outstanding representatives for St Joseph’s. We won 3 games, lost 4 games and drew 2 games, but throughout all 9 players showed great sportsmanship, always treating the opposite teams with respect and treating team mates the same. All players had equal time on the field and not a bad word in anger was said especially when, touches were called that were not touches but all players realised that sometimes games are games and it is more important how they played as individuals and a team than the final result. Well done under 13. 

U15

The boys rallied hard in every game they played last week, narrowly missing out on wins in a few games with some poor defensive reads. As the day progressed and the boys built their game plan around teamwork and proper settling patterns, they were enjoying their time on the field more and their gameplay looked a lot more fluid. We ended up with 1 win, 2 draws and 4 losses. Given some more time to train and learn the style of play of Touch Football (as opposed to Rugby League) the results could have been more fruitful. Well done to all boys on their efforts on the day. Congratulations to Jackson Rieck of Year 9 who was selected in the Wollongong Diocese Team to compete at the NSWCCC Carnival in April! 

GIRLS TOUCH U13

The U13 girls had a well-organised and effective few weeks of preparation, and it showed on game day! A handy mixture of experience and enthusiasm, the girls had an early win which bolstered their confidence for the day. The girls went on to play eight rounds undefeated, clocking up six wins and two draws. Alex, Breanna, Kiana, Heidi and Chantel ran many a scoring play that left the opposition wondering what had happened; Chloe, April, Tasha and Abbey ran miles chasing down try-saving touches; Ellie and Alyssa were quick to pick up the ball at dummy half and run it hard down the middle and make good gains. The winner of the U13 division was decided in the last game, with St Joseph’s coming up against St Mary’s who had also gone eight rounds undefeated. Our Joeys girls played well but St Mary’s were the winners. Celebrations were still in order though as St Joseph’s U13 girls finished the day in second place! Congratulations to all eleven players; each of the girls played hard, displayed great skill, and showed exceptional sportswomanship towards their teammates and their opposition. Congratulations and thanks must also go to Kobe Ross and Joel Smith, who gave up their time to train the team in the leadup to the day, and expertly coached, managed and refereed on the day. 

U15

The U15 girls played well as a team, full of potential and skill. They put maximum effort into every game. They won 3 games, drew 2 and lost 3 games. Everyone settled in after the first couple of games and chemistry was built well. Overall the team played well together and we all had an enjoyable day. 

Collins Kinyua and Adam Giudice (Student Coaches)

OPENS

The open girls team played extremely well throughout the day. They played games in temperatures over 30 degrees which was very challenging. The team persevered in the heat and played every game to the best of their ability. They improved as the day progressed, not only in skills but in their teamwork as well. It was an amazing day overall and great to watch. 

Rome McGrath (Student Coach)

Thank you to our incredible student coaches and referees who were oustanding in their roles at the touch football gala days: Rhianna Boag, Kobe Ross, Joel Smith, Collins Kinyua, Adam Giudice, Zachariah Rippon, Rome McGrath, Zane Mitchell and Jackson Rieck. 

CROSS COUNTRY INFORMATION

The St Joseph’s Annual Cross Country Carnival is being held at the Kembla Joggers Running Park at Brownsville on Tuesday 17th March. It is a full school community event. The carnival is compulsory for all students in Years 7-12. Please be advised that the school office will be closed on this day. Students who have medical certificates will be allocated as officials. Students have formed their own teams of 6 and will participate in a tabloid of events (including inflatables!). Prizes will be awarded and the aim of the day is for maximum participation and enjoyment. Teams are encouraged to dress up as a team and prizes for the best dressed teams will be awarded. All students are required to complete this Google Form to assist with the orginisation of the carnival. Parents are most cordially invited to attend. 

OPEN BOYS TOUCH

In our first two games, St Benedicts and Mt Carmel) we started extremely quickly with attacking raids on the opposition line. Unfortunately in both games we failed to capitalise on this early dominance and shared the point evenly. The game against St John’s demonstrated the potential that the team had with a solid win. Unfortunately, it also resulted in a serious injury to Aidan which ruled him out for the rest of the day. 

Magdalene proved a challenge but the team continued on their winning way. The next two games were our toughest challenge up against Holy Spirit and ERC both undefeated sides. Both games were hard-fought and the opposition dominated the centre, however, our defence held firm for most of the games. We went down by one point in both games. 

The friendly rivalry between CC and St Joseph’s ensured an entertaining match. Both sides displayed great skill, moving the ball from sideline to sideline. A disallowed try for St Joseph’s provided our undoing, going down in the final minutes. 

Congratulations to all players and officials involved, it was a long hot day and the students were great representatives for St Joseph’s. Also congratulations to Rome McGrath on his efforts in for this tournament and also his selection in the shadow team.

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.

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