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Hi all,
I hope you are all well now that we’ve settled into Term 2. I have had an amazing few weeks and really enjoyed my time as the Acting Principal. The staff and students have really supported me and eased the transition, and in reality, the school hasn’t missed a beat. This school is such an amazing place to come and work each day and I am grateful that I get to work in a magnificent community full of wonderful people. Speaking of wonderful people, I hope all the mothers from our school had a relaxing, stress free Mother’s Day. I know students were busy making arts and crafts to give as presents during the past few days and I am sure you all enjoyed the heart felt gift you received. Thank you to all the Mother’s and family members who were able to join us at our Mother’s Day Breakfast last Friday morning. It was great to see so many families there to join us. Thank you to all the staff who came and supported the event and a massive thank you to Katina, Sarah, Meredith, Eva and Bridget for their effort in setting up and cleaning up afterwards. And the last thank you goes to Steph Insanally for preparing the Receptions and Choir children to sing 2 beautiful songs. We really are very lucky to have such great people working here.
Our new staff have settled in well. Emily our new Acting Deputy, has fit in seamlessly, supporting staff and myself in helping teachers develop plans for our students who require additional support. She is also helping teachers understand the full functionality of SEQTA, our schools learning management tool. Adele is doing well teaching STEM classes and Sarah has done a fantastic job managing our marketing and enrolments. Our 4 new students are also setting in well to life at St Joseph’s Kingswood.
This week starts the beginning of the national NAPLAN tests. Our teachers have been working hard to prepare students for what the test will entail and how they can successfully show their skills. For our Year 3s this will be their first time taking the tests. Whenever you do something for the first time there can be a little fear of the unknown. I’ve been talking to the students about doing the best they can and trying not to worry too much about it. And whilst the tests are important and we certainly want our students to do well, it is by no means an indication of all of the things we do to measure our students’ achievement and success at school and more importantly at life. Emily’s article below will give a little bit more perspective to how we feel about the tests.
You may have heard on the grapevine that ties are no longer being supported by our uniform shop. I can tell you that this is absolutely not true and ties are still a part of the uniform policy. This happened after a comment at a meeting was taken out of context. I have messaged Permapleat and they have assured me that more ties are being ordered and will be available shorty. If you are having any trouble getting a tie, please let me know. On a positive note, Permapleat have recently updated the way they keep the uniform stock and have started using a local embroiderer. This means they should be able to hold more stock unbranded and when an order comes in, if they don’t have it at the shop, they will be able to deliver items to families much sooner.
Our school is looking the best it has ever looked after the little finishing touches of the new build have been completed over the past few weeks. We have also recently had the outside of the hall and parish building re-painted to restore it to its former glory. Whilst you probably won’t have noticed a major difference, up close it looks like new, and should remain looking good for the next few years. We have also built in a maintenance plan to ensure it continues to look good into the future.
I really hope you have all had a great start to the term and thank you to everyone who has offered their kind words and supported my during these first few weeks. I am looking forward to the next few weeks leading this community.
Take care,
Jamie Deverson
Hi all,
Firstly, let me start by thanking the students, staff and families of St Joseph’s for the welcome that I have received since commencing here this term. This is a community of energy, delight, joy and a genuine concern and care for others and the community. I am blessed to be with your community this term and look forward to meeting many more of you in the coming weeks.
This week you would be aware that the students in Years 3 and 5 are undertaking NAPLAN. There are many thoughts and opinions about this testing program but I would like to share with you, and the students, an important perspective to keep in mind during this period. A few years ago, a principal in Western Australia, Len Christie, wrote an open letter to his students and their families when the NAPLAN results were released. His statements about his absolute belief in his students and their capabilities and who they are not just as learners but as people, is inspiring. I have shared the content of his letter with you as I think there is something we can all take from it.
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A Letter to all Students who sat NAPLAN this year
9th September 2014
This week you would have received your NAPLAN test results. We are pleased that you tried your very best in these challenging tests and during the weeks and months leading up to them.
I’d like you, your family, friends and teachers to remember that these tests are unable to measure all of what it is that makes you the valued person who you are. The people who have created these tests and those that mark them don’t know you as well as your teachers know you, to the extent to which I know you and certainly not the way your family and friends know you.
They don’t know that many children at Beechboro Primary School speak one or more languages other than English. They also don’t know that you may be a great singer and dancer or that you can play a musical instrument really well. They also don’t know how well you can draw beautiful pictures.
They don’t know that you have a sense of humour which can bring a smile to your friend’s faces and make them laugh or that they can rely upon you to support them when they need a kind and encouraging word. They wouldn’t know that you can write poetry and stories, play all types of different sports and have interesting and enjoyable hobbies.
They also don’t know that you probably accept responsibility for taking care of your brothers or sisters from time to time. They don’t know that you have travelled to or come from fascinating places and had amazing experiences.
They don’t know how much you love spending time with your family and your close friends and they won’t know how much you are appreciated and loved by them.
You are trustworthy, kind and thoughtful and you try to do your best every day. Do they know that?
The NAPLAN test results give you some very specific information about yourself but it can’t say everything about who you are and what you have achieved.
I hope you are happy with your results and that they inspire you to do even better in literacy and numeracy. Just remember that there is so much more to describe who you are that can’t be shown in these scores.
Len Christie
Principal
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Students of St Joseph’s, you too are amazing young people and I love watching you play, learn, explore, investigate and take chances. Never forget to shine!
Take care,
Emily
Learn to Play Programs – R-2 students
It's great to see so many students participating in our wide range of Learn to Play programs at St Joseph’s. This Term our school is offering:
Netsetgo Netball – Tuesdays after school (School Court)
Auskick Football- Saturday mornings (Urrbrae High School)
Foundation Tennis – Friday after school (School court)
If you would like to register for these programs, please visit our SZAPP Sports page.
Look out for our Super Soccer Skills program which will start next Term, registrations will open soon for this program.
Winter Sports – Netball/Soccer/Basketball/Combined Football
It's great to see so many students playing school sport over the Winter season. The school will have the following teams participate next Term and in Term 3:
Netball
Year 2
Year 3 Blue
Year 3 Gold
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Soccer
Under 9
Under 11
Basketball
Year 5/6
A special thank you to all the parent volunteers that assist with all these teams. Without your support school sports teams would not be possible at St Joseph’s.
SAPSASA Cross Country – Belair National Park
Congratulations to the three students that participated in the SAPSASA Cross Country Carnival. Emma Green and Tyler Harriss finished in 14th place in their races and Matthew Kepka finished 8th. Some fantastic results, well done!
A reminder that the Catholic Schools Cross Country Carnival will be held in Term 3, Week 3 - we encourage all students in years 3-6 to have a go. There will be training sessions in preparation for this carnival as well practice during lunch times. Look out for information on SZAPP and Seessaw regarding this.
- Mr De Giovanniello, Physical Education Teacher/Sports Coordinator
In music we have been very busy doing bucket drumming. All students from reception to year 6 have enjoyed learning new rhythms and techniques in drumming to various songs such as Moana songs, Believer by Imagine Dragons and High Hopes by Panic at the Disco.
- Steph Insanally, Head of Music
It’s been a very busy time for the P&F with the much loved Fashion and Fizz event making a return. Last year, the much celebrated event was cancelled due to COVID-19, so the opportunity for everyone to get together again made the night extra special.
The event was a huge success and all profits made on the night go directly back into our school and to our kids. A special thank you to local fashion designer Nicola Unwin from Astor +Tyne, all the brave models/school mums and MC for the night journalist Andrea Nicolas from Channel 7 News. Also a big thank you to Rebecca Swincer for the wine tastings and door prize, and also Jacquie Dealtry from Rodan and Fields, and the beautiful jewellery station by Winterberry Boutique.
Three cheers and a huge thank you to the event organisers and all stars, Katie Routley and Sally Stansborough.
Beers for Dads
For the next P&F event, it's the dads turn for some fun! Please join your fellow St Joseph’s dads for a night of beer, snacks and watching sports. Friday 28th May from 7:30pm at The Ed, Mitcham. No need to RSVP - just rock up in the Beer Garden for a night with the boys!
P&F Meeting
Save the date! Next P&F meeting is Friday 21st May at 8:45am - right after drop off in the quadrangle. All welcome to join in and have some fun! We would love to see you there.
Entertainment Book memberships are back for 2021. Please support St Joseph's Kingswood and order your digital membership by following the link - https://au.entdigital.net/orderbooks/161n602
We've had so much fun at Playgroup! So far this term, we have explored Australian animals while we read Possum Magic, and created some special gifts for our Mums and Grandmas to show our appreciation and love this Mother's Day.
After talking to the Playgroup community, we have made the decision to run TWO FRIDAY SESSIONS for Term 2. Our usual 8.45am session and now a new session at 11am.
With such a large number of families attending our Playgroup, we have started this additional session to spread out families and ensure the Playroom isn't too overcrowded. We want to make sure our families are safe and have plenty of room to play, no matter the weather.
We'd love for you to join us for our new session, Friday's at 11am. This week, our theme is "Dreamtime".
Welcome back to term 2, we hope you all had a relaxing and refreshing holiday.
Please note that on Friday 11th June 2021 we will be having a Pupil Free Day and unfortunately OSHC WILL NOT be available that day so please mark this in your diaries!
Please note that if your child/ren will not be attending a regular session, even if they are sick, you need to notify us by Szapp, text or email. See policies regarding the times for late bookings and late cancellations.
Even though our numbers were lower than usual for Vacation Care, we still had a very entertaining time with Zone Bowling, Outback Adventures with April from Move It, Tent City with Jess from Move It, Cooking Pizzas with Jess and the Animals Anonymous was a big hit. The children enjoyed themselves and we had a lot of activities to keep us busy!
- Vicky Wilson, OSHC Director
