13 February 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Message

Principal Welcome, Michael Gray

Naatanwarr (Indigenous welcome) and Yokoso (Welcome Japanese).

Welcome to Edition Two of our school digital newsletter. I thank everyone for your support in adopting this new digital environment. Uptake has been brilliant! Five hundred and twenty-two digital copies were distributed with a very small 1.92% bouncing back; if you did not receive a copy please let us know so the issue can be corrected. If you don’t wish to receive emails from the school, there is an option at the bottom of our emails to unsubscribe from our mailing list.

Along with the digital newsletter is the wonderfully efficient new app for mobile phones, search the app store for “SZapp”. Once open select St. Joseph’s Warrnambool. When the new app is working the old “Skoolbag” app can then be deleted.

Other big changes for 2018 are the daily timetable and new eating times. As with any change success, challenges and adaptations are part of the process. Our aim is to achieve key outcomes for all our students. The outcomes we are striving to achieve for our young people are: better focused learning time, a rubbish free school environment, promotion of recycling and practising healthy eating. The new timetable is also helping teachers plan together to improve our curriculum implementation.

Supporting this approach to healthy eating, regular exercise, good sleep, water hydration, a healthy environment and less TV time, were three special guests from the Geelong Football Club this week. The senior footballers, Scott Selwood, Ryan Gardner and Nakia Cockatoo worked with our all our senior students at their assembly. The Geelong team were excellent; well informed, articulate and committed to healthy living. Students responded extremely well to these messages and were left with an excellent healthy living resource published by Nutrition Australia.

In monitoring our changes to achieve our learning targets feedback is vital. In this regard I have been speaking with staff, four student classrooms, canteen team and families. Students clearly have recognised big benefits for themselves with time on task, cleaner school grounds, everyone actually eating their meals and better thinking about healthy living. Our cleaning team have noticed less outside rubbish and have not had any containers lost or left outside. The Botanic Gardens and Creek have been rubbish free from St. Joes after wind constantly blowing rubbish around. The big challenges are our body clock adaption and a short morning recess eating time. To support this issue we are encouraging classrooms to start eating earlier as needed and to remind students to eat more at the recess time. The older students had great discussions with me about sugar intake and its effects on the body compared to a bigger recess amount from various food groups. Cutting sandwiches, wraps, containers of fruit will all help with an appropriate morning tea. With today’s newsletter there is a brilliant parent food help sheet called “Mix’n’Match Lunchbox Ideas.” I trust with persistence and working together we will ensure a high level of quality outcomes for all; certainly our start has been very promising.

A very big congratulation to student Matthew Gome (Senior School) on his recent selection, along with five other students from across Victoria to attend the 30th Asian Pacific Convention in Fukuoka Japan mid-year. Matthew has gained selection after moving through a comprehensive selection process organised by the Japan Consulate, Melbourne.

In concluding this Principal update, I especially welcome our new students and families; certainly the sense of optimism, hope and commitment that families and students bring to our community is heart-warming. I took a couple of photos outside the Foundation Area last week; it certainly is a wonderful community gathering space.

Regards,
Michael Gray, Principal.

Teacher Awards

Week 2

Gold Box Winner

Congratulations to this week’s Gold Box winners are Poppy O’Brien for inviting a new girl to play and Kezia Judson for being a great buddy in C3. Poppy and Kezia get to take a friend to the pool for a swim.

Annual School Fair

Sunday 25 March

Our Annual Fair is one of the highlights on our School Calendar. The next Fair Coordinators Meeting will be held at 7:30 pm on Tuesday 13 March 2018.

Advance notice is given to please support the farmers market by starting to pot up some plants, plant vegetables and herbs, make condiments and jams and chat to other family members about how they can help.

Over the coming weeks we will be sending regular Fair News to our families via email and the SZapp.

Some fun from last year’s fair

Some fun from last year’s fair

VIEW GALLERY

Some fun from last year’s fair

Click images to enlarge

New Year … New App

We will now be using a new parent communication App called SZapp (we previously used the Skoolbag App). The app is available for downloading from the App Store and Play Store. Search for SZapp. So far 325 parents/guardians and staff are using the app.

The School Calendar feature of the App if very useful and you can elect to view Whole School events and events applicable to only your child’s year level.

The app can also be used to contact the school and notify the school if your child is absent.

Wellbeing

A New Start for Everyone! Maryanne Evans, Wellbeing Coordinator

Starting school is not only a change for your child but this change often leads to a new routine for you and your family. There may be a period of adjustment as you begin to connect with the new school community.

Continue to build connections and supportive relationships at school through:

• Maintaining regular communication with your child’s teacher and school staff.
• Stay informed through reading the weekly newsletter and attending information evenings and activities at school when possible.
• Look out for social opportunities where your family can build relationships with other families throughout the school year.
• Look out for opportunities to share your knowledge, ideas and experiences with the wider school community (eg volunteering, classroom help, excursions).

Relationships skills are important to a child’s future success as an adult as well as their day-to-day life. We need to know how to make and maintain friendships, resolve conflict, make decisions and solve problems to get along in the world. Children aren’t born with these skills. Like many skills, they are learned and improved with regular practice. With positive guidance from families and educators, children can develop these life skills and experience good mental health and wellbeing.

Some kinds of thinking are more helpful than others for managing the conflicts children have with friends. Parents, carers and school staff should set examples for children to follow when managing relationships. They can also act as coaches for children, teaching them helpful social skills and talking through friendship issues to help with solving problems. As they learn how to manage social situations, having opportunities to talk about friendships with parents, can help children feel supported and develops their communication skills.

Parents, carers and school staff help children learn positive social skills by guiding them as young children, being positive examples for children to follow, and providing opportunities for play where children can practise their skills. Key social skills that help with friendships include, cooperation, communication, empathy, emotional control and responsibility.

2018 Sports Dates

School Sport Victoria (SSV) actively promotes school sport for all Victorian school students, years 4 to 12, as a means of supporting schools in developing their students’ health and wellbeing. SSV operates under the auspices of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Membership of School Sport Victoria is open to all Victorian schools, providing the opportunities to participate in programs that extend from grassroots intra and inter school sport, to district, division, region, state and national levels. Further information is available from our School’s Sport Coordinator.

Tryouts for several of these teams are underway. Children in Senior School are notified of these via the daily notices on the Smartboard in Senior School. Sports coordinators visit the Middle School classrooms with information.

Our School Sports dates are set for Wednesday 28 March for Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 and Thursday 29 March for Years 3-6. More information regarding school sports will follow in future newsletters.

Administration

2018 Family Fee Assistance and Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund

A reminder that if you are eligible for Family Fee Assistance in 2018 you should complete these forms and return them to the school office.

Direct Debit or Credit Card Deduction

It is not too late for families wishing to set up a regular direct debit or credit card deduction for their school fees. Forms are available from the school office.

Queries

If you have any questions regarding your school fees or any assistance, please contact Cathy Duynhoven on 5561 1343.

Foundation Photos

Photos of all Foundation children were taken on Friday. Contact MSP photography directly on 1800 624 786 if you would like to complete a late order.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Monday 19 February and Tuesday 20 February

Parent Teacher interviews are scheduled to be held at St Joseph’s on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February. These interviews go for ten minutes each and are important for parents to attend for each child. The purpose of the interviews is to share information pertinent to each individual child. Such items to be discussed may be how the child has settled in to their new classroom, how they went in their literacy and numeracy interviews. From parents’ perspectives, it could be recent changes in family structure or recent medical changes.

Bookings are made through parent teacher on-line where each parent has an individual code to access to make a booking. Bookings are now open so access early to ensure you get a time that suits you.

Forgotten your password? If you have previously registered your email address you can simply click on Obtain PIN/Password from the PTO main page.

Parents are encouraged to make their own bookings using their provided login details. Contact the office if you have any difficulties.

Senior Reconciliation

Thank you to all families who have registered for the program. CDFpay is now open for payments for this program.

Booklets for the program will need to be collected at any Mass on Sunday 18 February (8:30am, 10:30am and 6:00pm).

When you arrive in the gathering space at church, please make yourself known to the Sacramental team members. The team will tick off your registration. During this Mass Father John will invite the children up to the alter to collect their program.

During the Sunday’s of the program, when attending Mass, could you collect a purple stole for your child to wear. This allows the parishioners to recognise the children preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Father John plans to visit a Senior school assembly during the weeks of preparation to assist the children’s understanding of the Sacrament and what they will be required to do when they receive the Sacrament at 5:30 pm on Thursday 15 March.

Key Dates

PSA Welcome and Meeting Night

7pm, Tuesday 20 February

A reminder that our first PSA Welcome and Meeting will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 20 February in the staffroom at school. The committee invite all interested parents to come along to find out more about what is happening at the school and contribute to activities run by the PSA.

7:30pm, Friday 2 March

A parent social night has been organised for Friday 2 March from 7:30pm. This night is organised by the PSA as an opportunity to get to know other parents in a social, friendly environment. Put the date on your calendar and more information will follow in our next newsletter.

Student Banking

Coming home this week to Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students is an information pack for School Banking.

Our Banking day is Monday. Children place their banking into the green bag in their classroom. Amounts banked generally range from 50c through to $10. The banking is processed by our parent volunteer and returned to the classroom on a Thursday.

The school PSA receives a commission based on the total amount of banking each term. Children learn the value of savings and also receive reward items when they have banked 10 times.

Contact the office with any queries or to obtain spare copies of the information pack.

Canteen News

Please consider volunteering in our canteen for 2018. Each year we need new volunteers and our canteen relies on parent support.

With the changes to the School’s daily timetable there has been a change to the shift times. We are now moving to a two person, one shift roster with the hours of 11:00 am – 1:45 pm.

Please complete the online Canteen Volunteer form or contact the office if you are able to assist.