Hi everyone and welcome back to Term 2. What a crazy couple of weeks we’ve had! As I write this, South Australia has had very few Coronavirus cases, something I didn’t envision happening so soon. SA has done a fantastic job of staying at home and social distancing. My hope now is that some of the restrictions can be lifted, although, I fear things may not return back to normal for some time yet as other states and countries are not faring as well are we are. With most families feeling safer about things, we have almost 100% of students back at school. I think a lot of them are thankful to be back so that they can see their friends and continue their learning.

This holiday period was a very different one for all families. When it started I wasn’t sure what to expect. But as the days passed and we got into a bit of a routine I started to really enjoy the slow pace of the days and time spent playing with the kids, reading my book or going on afternoon walks with the family. I hope that you also got time to enjoy some part of the holiday break with your loved ones and I hope that your jobs haven’t been affected too dramatically by the virus.

Over the next few weeks our school will start its annual focus on cyber safety. Teachers will support all students to focus on how we can keep children safe in the digital world. It is also really important that us, as parents, also monitor and support our children at home when they are online. From someone who has a 10-year-old son, who would like to be 18, and do his own thing, it’s imperative that we help students understand that digital devises can enhance learning and be a lot of fun as long we use them responsibly. I encourage you to have open discussions with your children about what they’re doing online and how they can keep themselves safe. One last bit of advice I would give would be, and I always ask my students and children to do this, is to get children to speak up something doesn’t look or sound or feel right. Unfortunately, bullying is much more prevalent online because the perpetrator often feels like they can hide behind their phone or computer. Sometimes the only way to find out if these things are happening is if children speak up and tell someone about it.

In the midst of all this craziness, last week, we celebrated Catholic Education Week. I think this is a great time to give thanks for all of the wonderful things our Catholic schools do to develop and nurture our children. I feel privileged to be a part of Catholic Education South Australia and more specifically St Joseph’s Kingswood. I can attest to the passion and professionalism of the staff that work here. At the end of last term, we all worked exceptionally hard to prepare for a remote style of learning so that all children could continue their learning regardless of whether they were at school or not. All teachers had to change what they were doing and learn about new ways of developing curriculum and connecting with students in a matter of days. We are very lucky to have them! With very low cases of Coronavirus and a great Catholic Education system we have many things to be thankful for in SA right now. 

Take care,

Jamie

Dear Families,

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope that all families enjoyed a nice Easter break together. I also hope that all Mums had a wonderful Mother’s Day on the weekend and were thoroughly spoilt by their children and families. It was so pleasing to see the excitement on the children’s faces as they entered the school yard after their three-week holiday break when they were able to be reunited with their peers in the school yard.

At the end of last term, we celebrated Holy Week and while our initial Holy Week celebrations had to be modified and adapted it was a great opportunity for us to reimagine the ways that we can link life experience to the narrative of Holy Week. As a school we produced an i-Book about the story of Holy Week and had students record audio to tell the story. This electronic book was then shared with the classes and used to form the basis of daily staff prayer in week 11. Upon our return to school in Term 2 each class celebrated an Easter Liturgy in their classrooms with a special focus upon new life.

Project Compassion spanned across the six weeks of Lent and was a demonstration of the faith, love and generosity of Caritas Australia’s caring supporters in the name of justice and peace. Every year Project Compassion is a wonderful opportunity for Australian’s to come together in solidarity with those less fortunate to try to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. This year our school raised a total of $614 for Project Compassion, which is a testimony to the amazing generosity of our school community and willingness to support those in need. If you haven’t already done so can you please return all Project Compassion boxes to school as soon as possible.

Last week, May 4 – 10 was Catholic Education Week and while we were not able to celebrate this more broadly as a school community it is important to acknowledge the school-based launch of Catholic Education’s new positioning statement ‘Raising Hearts and Minds’. The new position statement builds upon the previous statement of ‘Where Every Child Matters’ and takes us a step further in working in partnership with families to educate and nurture the whole person to thrive and become capable learners. 

For families wishing to participate in the online weekly Parish Sunday Masses, please either click here or access via https://www.eparish.org.au/events (the video link for each week is usually uploaded late Saturday night or early Sunday morning)

Kind regards,

Emma Begg

Mother's Day

by Alize Warner (6 Begg/Mueller)

This year Mother’s Day is on the second Sunday of the month and Mother’s Day is celebrated in many different ways in many different countries. Mother’s Day celebrates mothers and also celebrates would they do for their families. I would have to say if we did not have mothers in the world we would not exist. I believe all mums are loving, caring, helpful, kind, and everything that describes a someone that is loving. To all mums out there make sure that this Mother’s Day you feel safe, respected, cared, and feel loved by your family.

Our learning so far this year in 2020

by Ella Harvey (6 Begg/Mueller)

This year we have been learning many different and fun subjects from narrative writing to equivalent fractions. At the start of Term 1 we had wellbeing week, we started a gratitude folder and since then have been filling in different sections of the folder with stories of our own and writing about differences. In maths we have learnt about harder addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and we are now moving into fractions using these four operations. This year in spelling we have been learning about sounds, syllables and meanings and each week our words increase with difficulty. With Mrs Mueller we have been learning about sculpture which includes shapes, styles, texture and colours we have even been lucky enough to make our own clay sculptures. We have had the opportunity to learn about many subjects so far this year and can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

Families are reminded that this is the final week of transition between Summer and Winter uniform, with all children expected to be wearing full Winter uniform from next week onwards. Vinnies at Hawthorn re-opened today, with families able to pop in to browse/purchase items. If you wish to book an appointment or order clothes online, please do so by clicking this link https://www.vinnies.org.au/page/Shops/SA/St_Joseph_s_Kingswood_-_School_Uniform/ (please note that clothes ordered online will be delivered to the school weekly).