Dear families and community members,

As the term nears the end it has been great to see all the activity around the school. I was fortunate to attend the SAPSASA Swimming carnival and piped into cricket today, the P&F have met, what a keen bunch, and we are out and about on excursions. I hope to see families join us for assembly this Thursday at 9.15 on The Green! 

Opportunities at STJK

You will have noticed a few new activities getting underway to engage students at STJK beyond the usual curriculum, to support individuals in areas of interest and importantly to provide students with the opportunity to develop skills in a variety of areas including social skills.

Chess Club - We are beginning a Chess club for those interested in Years 1-6. Chess is such a great game with many benefits for learning and socially.

Debating - This will begin soon, providing an opportunity to empower our students. Thank you to all who have registered. Through the many conversations I have had, I am sure it's going to be a hit! 

ECO Warriors - This has been an existing program at STJK, with a change this year to being separate from SRC. Keep an eye out in this area!

SRC - Providing student voice through agency that moves beyond consultation to participation, advocacy and leadership. 

COVID Update

We have been fortunate to have had a reasonably low number of COVID-19 cases in both staff and students. The large number of students and staff away has predominantly been due to close contact status or being unwell. Even with the small numbers, the most challenging thing has been staffing as there is a real shortage of available relief staff. Again, compared to other schools we have been able to cover on most occasions with some modifications.

In terms of reporting cases to classes, we only report cases when the person was at school in the infectious period. At times a child may have been away due to being a close contact prior to symptoms and becoming positive while already in isolation. 

I am particularly grateful to families keeping unwell children home to stop the spread of colds. I am sure this is helping keep down our overall numbers. As winter nears, hopefully this action will continue to reduce the impact of colds and flu. We will continue to keep up hand washing and sanitising to support this as well.

Keeping them safe

In the recent Classroom Pulse Check undertake by students, 1/4 of years 4-7 students commented about the gates and fences, the question was ‘I feel safe at this school’. Positive sentiments were high fences, locked gates and equally negative sentiments were you can jump over them, unlocked low fences. It is clear that high fences and locked gates help students feel safe. 

As part of our commitment to child protection, I remind all volunteers of your responsibility as mandated notifiers for reporting child abuse and neglect and that the following documents are available to support you as a parent and as a volunteer. Volunteers will be supported by the school, who will then complete the notification documents with the Principal. Parents may be interested in the Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum which is required to be taught each year.

• Reporting Harm of Children and Young People Procedure
• Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy (Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide) 
• Responding to Online Safety incidents in South Australian schools: Guidelines for staff working in education settings
• Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum information for educators (Department for Education SA)

I thank all our volunteers for your support in keeping children safe at school, on excursions and in our community. Remember, if you're ever concerned please come and talk to the school as your information may help keep a child safe.

As we are in the season of Lent, remember it is a time to reflect on our daily lives and becoming people of hope - Easter People.

Kindest regards,

Jodie Higgins
Principal

Winter Sport 2022

Nominate now for our 2022 Winter sports!

Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival – SA Aquatics Centre Marion

Congratulations to the 17 children that competed at the Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival on Friday 25^th March at SA Aquatics Centre Marion. The team was selected after several early morning training sessions at Mitcham Girls Pool. Unfortunately, not all Swimmers could be selected and I’d to thank ALL swimmers that came along to the training sessions.

The school had some outstanding results on the day with special mention to Emily D who won all her Division A races and won the age champion award for year 6 competitors. Special mention also to Arabella W who won all her Division B races.

Special mention to also Clara, Domenic, James who raced in two relay races on the day, one after the other and finished a commendable 3^rd in Year 3 race and 4^th in year 4 race.

The school also won the overall year 6 pennant and year 5 pennant, which means we accumulated the most points in those year levels. The school also finished an overall 2^nd out of eight schools on the day.

Some of the fantastic results included:

• Clara D – 3^rd in backstroke, 3^rd Relay (yr 3), 4^th Relay (yr 4)
• Valentina T – 4^th Backstroke, 3^rd Relay (yr 3)
• James A – 1^st Freestyle, 2^nd backstroke, 3^rd Relay (yr 3), 4^th Relay (yr 4)
• Domenic D – 3^rd  Relay (yr 3), 4^th Relay (yr 4)
• Millie V – 3^rd Backstroke, 4^th Relay (yr 4)
• Claire D – 1^st Medley Relay, 2^nd backstroke, 2^nd Breastroke, 1^st Freestyle Relay
• Arpi M – 2^nd Breastroke, 1^st Freestyle Relay
• William P – 3^rd Backstroke, 1^st Freestyle Relay
• Andre P - 1^st Freestyle Relay
• Sienna E – 4^th Breastroke
• Ada C – 4^th Freestyle
• Jacob B – 2^nd Backstroke, 1^st Freestyle,
• Mia D- 2^nd freestyle, 1^st Backstroke
• Lilia W – 1^st Breastroke, 1^st , 1^st Medley Relay, 1^st Freestyle Relay
• Emily D – 1^st Freestyle, 1^st Backstroke, 1^st Breastroke, 1^st Medley relay, 1^st Freestyle Relay
• Arabella W – 1^st Freestyle, 1^st Backstroke, 1^st Breastroke, 1^st Medley relay, 1^st Freestyle

Special thanks to Mrs Bridget Hughes for her help at all the early morning training sessions and on the Carnival Day. Thank you also to our parent helpers Angela Cassidy, Emily Anderson and Belinda Daunt for volunteering their time to officiate at the Carnival.

SAPSASA Swimming Carnival – Marion Outdoor Pool

Congratulations to Emily D, Claire D and Arabella W on their outstanding performances on Wednesday 23^rd March at the SAPSASA Swimming Carnival at Marion Outdoor Pool.

The results were:

• Emily D – 1st -100m Freestyle, 1^st – 50m Freestyle, 1^st 50m Breastroke, 1^st – 50m Butterfly
• Claire D – 1^st – 50m Backstroke, 3^rd in Freestyle
• Arabella W - 2^nd – 50m Breastroke, 2^nd -50m Backstroke, 3^rd – 50m Freestyle, 3^rd - 100m Freestyle

Special thanks to Mrs Higgins for help both supervising and transporting students.

Congratulations Emily

Emily D recently competed in the 2022 SA State Long Course Swimming Age Championships against the state’s best swimmers. It was a rewarding and exhausting week with her many hours of early morning practices and after school trainings paying off with commendable results. 

Her dedication and love for swimming enabled her to quickly progress from Junior swimming into Bronze Squad in just 10 months! Furthermore, to qualify for the championship was an achievement that Emily worked tirelessly to achieve. 

Some of the highlights of the weekend was her winning gold in 100m Butterfly with a personal best time improvement of nearly 4 seconds (that’s BIG in swimming!) and being selected to participate in the club girls Relay Teams. All the other girls were 12 years old, but this didn't stop Emily posting the second fastest team leg time!

Her final results were:

Total Points: Marion Swim Club top female swimmer - 11 year olds

Gold: Medley Relay & 100m Butterfly

Silver: 200m Free Relay, 50m Breaststroke, 50m Butterfly (0.03 seconds away from gold!) &200m Individual Medley

4th: 100m Breaststroke & 100m Freestyle 

National Age Medals: 3 x Gold & 2 x Silver

I’m certain that you will join with the St Joseph’s community in congratulating Emily in her incredible swimming achievements. We are all so very proud of you! 

- Mr De Giovanniello (Physical Education Teacher/Sports Coordinator)

Pick your donut colour and show your AFL Showdown support at our Showdown Special Tuck Lunch this Friday 1st April.

ORDERS CLOSE TOMORROW (28/3)!! 

With winter sports due to begin early next term and excursions and camps well underway, it's a great time to ensure your Volunteer documents are up to date! To check if you're up to date, please give the front office a call - 8273 3300.

The Volunteers Process must be completed by each and every parent/carer/family member who wishes to volunteer at the school. Please head to the Volunteers Hub below for the full list of requirements.

Since 2021, all volunteers are required to be fully vaccinated. If you haven't shown your COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate to the front office, please do so asap, or email efowler@stjk.catholic.edu.au 

Students in Years 1-6 are invited to join our Chess Club! No prior knowledge or experience necessary. 

Sessions will begin in Term 2 with Chess School SA. Held at lunchtime on Tuesday or Thursday (TBC), with students able to practise their skills another day at recess or lunch in the library.

$54 fee for the term, to be paid via Qkr! Register your child below.

Enrichment Opportunity

Are you looking for new academic challenges for your child? Then why not enrol them in ICAS? ICAS Assessments are designed to recognise academic excellence. Students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. ICAS Assessments require students to think beyond the classroom and encourages students to pursue greater academic success.

If you are interested in your child participating in any of the following Assessments, look out for the registration form on SZapp soon. Payment will be required for each Assessment to secure your registration.

Access this link for free sample questions. https://www.icasassessments.com/icas-preparation-tools/#freesamplequestions 

Vacation Care bookings for Term 1 are now open! Follow the links below to view the program of exciting activities and to book. Places are limited, so book now!

- Vicky Wilson and the OSHC Team

This term, the Year 5 and Year 6 students are having so much fun writing to their pen pals! The Italian teacher from St Thomas and I have worked together to pair up the students and they write letters to each other in Italian. The students are so engaged in this unit, and it provides a very real context for communication. Plus, the level of excitement when I hand out the letters is fantastic!

- Signora Prestwich

What a fantastic term it has been so far at Playgroup! It has been so wonderful getting to know you all and I can't wait to meet even more families through the year. 

Join us this Friday for our "R is for Rainbow Fish" Playgroup session, exploring the fantastic children's book by Marcus Pfister. 

- Ms Brooklynne McKenna, Playgroup and JOEYS teacher

THE PREMIERS READING CHALLENGE

Be their reading legend. Reading just 10 minutes each day makes a difference.

Research confirms reading to children just 10 minutes each day strengthens literacy, models positive reading behaviour, and builds children’s self-esteem about reading.

It doesn’t stop there. You can show your children that you value reading by reading yourself. Having books in your house makes a big difference too. Either books you own or books you borrow from the library remind children of the importance and fun of reading.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is an opportunity where parents can foster that love of reading in their child by supporting your child to read their 12 books for the year. You will be making a positive difference to their future.

How to complete the Challenge?

To complete the Premier’s Reading Challenge, students need to read 12 books between week 1, term 1 and week 7 term 3.

1. Every student will need a Student Reading Record. This has been sent home to all families but it can also be downloaded here.
2. Read 12 books. Eligible books include e-books, audio books, class/shared reading, prescribed books for school, non-fiction books, books read as research for assignments or books in another language. Reception to Year 6: Students must read 8 books from the Premier’s Reading Challenge booklist and 4 personal choice books.
3. Complete the Student Reading Record with the title and author for each book. A parent, caregiver, teacher or librarian must sign off on each book to verify it has been read.
4. Pass on the completed Student Reading Record to Emma Fowler by the 26^th August.
5. Receive an award in late November.

Students have been sent home with their 2022 Reading Record Form. It's important that all details in the form are completed correctly (so the correct medal is awarded at the end of the year) and the form isn't lost (so keep it somewhere safe!).

Happy reading!