ABOUT - Term 2 Week 10 - 4 July 2024

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.”

– St. Gianna Beretta Molla

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

We wish everyone a happy, safe and restful holiday. School resumes for staff and students on Monday, 22 July. 

PUPIL FREE DAY - Friday, 5 July

Today is the last day of term for students. Tomorrow, Friday, 5 July, is a pupil free day with all Joey's staff will engaging in a Religious Retreat in Dubbo.  Please note that the school office will be CLOSED tomorrow and the phones will be unattended.

CONGRATULATIONS AKHIRO AND THE POLDING RUGBY LEAGUE TEAM

Congratulations to Akhiro Baker who played in the Polding team in the NSW PSSA 12 Years Rugby League Carnival last week in Wollongong.  Akhiro and the team acquitted themselves extremely well with Polding making the final where they came away with the silver medal, going down to West Sydney.  It was a wonderful experience for Akhiro to reach this high level of competition and we look forward to hearing wonderful things from him in the future. 

NAIDOC WEEK CELEBRATIONS

 "KEEP THE FIRE BURNING!  BLAK, LOUD & PROUD"

We had a most enjoyable week celebrating NAIDOC Week. On Monday, 1 July at 9:00 a.m. we began with the flag raising ceremony and Welcome to Country before cutting the NAIDOC cake. Everyone received a piece of the yummy cake for morning tea. On Tuesday the whole school celebrated with a beautiful Mass in St Joseph's Church. From 12:00 noon the activities continued with class groups participated in Aboriginal art activities.  We thank our Aboriginal Education Officer, Miss Tahlah Thompson for all her hard work in organising all these activities to celebrate NAIDOC Week.

These National NAIDOC Week Activities are funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and CEDB.

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Many thanks to all those parents and carers who have come to school this week to meet with the teachers. Working in partnership is a vital part of each child's education and we value your input. 

YEAR 4 HUT DAY

It was wonderful to see all the Year 4 students, as well as Mrs Morris, arrive at school this morning dressed superbly in their early settler's clothes. Everyone  enjoyed a beautiful morning tea before the students spoke about their fantastic huts. Congratulations Year 4 - your huts are spectacular! Many thanks to all those parents, family and friends who joined Year 4 for another wonderful 'hut day'. The huts may now be picked up from the school as soon as convenient. 

YEARS 5/6 CANBERRA/SNOWY EXCURSION

The Years 5 and 6 students are starting to get excited about their upcoming Canberra/Snowy Excursion which will be held in Week 1 next term from Tuesday, 23 to Friday, 26 July. Our students will depart school at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, before stopping at Cowra for morning tea.  The first stop in Canberra will be Australian Parliament House, the National Arboretum, followed by Questacon by Night, before checking into their accommodation at Ibis Styles Eaglehawk.  Everyone will rise early on Wednesday morning and start the journey to Cooma visiting the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre and then it’s onto the snow for snow play and lunch. In the afternoon the students will  return to Cooma and end the day with dinner their accommodation. Thursday has the students visiting Old Parliament House to visit the National Electoral Education Centre and then Geoscience with a lunch break at Regatta Point. In the afternoon the students will visit the National Capital Exhibition – The Story of Canberra, Mount Ainslie Lookout and Australian War Memorial. After a huge day, our travellers will enjoy an early dinner,  before heading out again to enjoy Laser Tag! The final day of the excursion includes a visit to Australian Institute of Sport, National Dinosaur Museum and Canberra Reptile Zoo, before commencing the journey home.  After enjoying Maccas in Cowra, our weary travellers should arrive back in Gilgandra between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. on Friday, 26 July.  Wow, what an action-packed week to commence Term 3!!

OUT-OF-UNIFORM DAY FOR YEARS 5 & 6

The first day back at school next term, Monday, 22 July will be an out-of-uniform day for our Years 5 and 6 students.  This is so they have clean uniforms ready for their Canberra Excursion.

CONFIRMATION - Sunday, 28 July - 9:30 a.m.

The excitement is certainly building in anticipation of the upcoming celebration of the sacrament of Confirmation. The Sacrament will be administered by Bishop Michael McKenna on Sunday, 28 July at 9:30 a.m. This is such an important event at our school and we really encourage everyone to be at church on Sunday, 28 July to celebrate with our Year 6 leaders. It would be fabulous to have lots there for this great occasion. Please keep our confirmation class in your prayers: Chloe Alexander, Jocelyn Altmann, Akhiro Baker, Arabella Chandler, Oli Chandler, Heidi Colwell, Mitchell Cosier, Bayley Dent, Lottie Duffy, Bella Ferguson, Claudia Harrison, Kellie Hutchison, Lily Johnson-Honey, Connor Jones-Copelin, Keaghan Lummis, Kurt McBurnie, Thomas McIsaac, Milla Morris,  Harrison Newton, Jessie O'Connor, Isabelle Peart, Oliver Peart, Lucy Profke, Lucas Riley, Mackenzie Skinner, Alana Spora, Andrew Standing, Indy Thomas, Harry Thurlow, Archie Valler, Holly Wykes and Lucy Zell.

YEAR 6 PARENTS WORKING BEE TO CLEAN CHURCH

A working bee for the Year 6 parents to clean the church in preparation for Confirmation will be held on next Thursday, 25 July at 3:30 p.m.  It would be great if as many parents as possible could lend a hand.

BOOK FAIR

Our annual Scholastic Book Fair will be held on Tuesday, 30 July (Week 2) in the school hall. There will be a wonderful selection of books for all ages including picture books, junior novels, non-fiction, budget buys and our very popular posters and novelty items. Catalogues will be sent home with your child during the first week of next term so that you can see some of the books that will be on offer. Students will be given the opportunity to explore the books and stationery on offer prior to the book fair. More details regarding wish lists and ordering will be provided during Week 1 next term. 

YEARS 3-6 FANCY DRESS SOCIAL - 'I'M A CELEBRITY' - THURSDAY, 1 AUGUST, 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.

Our Year 6 students have decided that 'I'm A Celebrity' will be our theme for this year's fancy dress social for all students from Years 3-6.   Come as a famous movie or television star, sporting star, YouTuber, singer or performer.  The options are endless - because let's face it, everyone's a celebrity!  The social will be held in the school hall on Thursday, 1 August (Week 2) from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. The cost is free and supper is provided - just bring yourself and get ready to dress up in your 'I'm a Celebrity' outfit! 

PUPIL FREE DAY WEEK 3 - ENGLISH CURRICULUM

There will be a pupil free day in Week 3 next term, on Monday, 5 August.  Kristi Ryan, Consultant from Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst will inservice the staff on further developing the new English Curriculum.  The staff look forward to a productive day.

NEW SHED

You may have noticed our new shed being constructed at the edge of the playground.  It has now been completed and we look forward to utilising it.  The shed has three separate bays, for P & F storage, sporting equipment and grounds equipment and will be a welcome addition to our school's infrastructure.  The shed was supplied and constructed by Castlereagh Concrete and Sheds and funding was made available through the Bathurst Diocesan Minor Capital Works Fund.

2024 TERM 3 PLANNER

Please find below our Term Planner for Term 3.  A hard copy of this Planner is also going home to each family today for those who would like to display it on the fridge or other convenient spot.  Please be aware, that as the term goes on, there may be changes to dates or times, or certain things may be added to our ‘What’s On’.  Always check the newsletter for any changes or additions.

SAVE THE DATE - ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL CONCERT

Our 2024 St Joey's School Concert will be held at the beginning of Term 4 on Thursday, 24 October.  The concert involves all students from Kinder to Year 6 and will be staged at the Gilgandra High School Hall.

ICAS ASSESSMENTS

We will again be offering our students in Years 3-6 the opportunity to participate in the ICAS Assessments this year. ICAS is an online academic competition that gives the students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in Digital Technologies, Writing, English, Science, Spelling and Mathematics.  These assessments are voluntary.  Parents can go online to order the assessments they wish their child to complete.  Full details are in the attached note.  A hard copy of this note was also given to the eldest child in each family from Years 3-6 today.

ATTENDANCE SMS

Starting in Term 3, Catholic Education Diocese of Bathurst will be implementing an automated system to notify you via SMS if your child has an unaccounted absence.  Please view the below flyer for further information.

POSITION VACANT: ASSISTED TRAVEL SUPPORT OFFICER

The Department of Education currently has a position to fill to assist with the transport of a student with additional needs to travel safely to and from school.  This position is for three days a week.

The Assisted School Travel Program (ASTP) plays a significant role in meeting the needs of eligible students with disability by providing free specialised transport to and from school where parents and carers are unable to provide or arrange transport for the student either fully or in part.

Benefits & Perks:

• Work reduced hours, twice a day and time to pursue other interests in your free time
• ‘Feel-good’ work opportunity while giving back to your local community
• Providing support to the disability community and their families
• Only work school terms and enjoy school holidays

As an ATSO you will:

• Play a significant role in meeting the needs of eligible students with disability by ensuring they get to school safely and ready to engage in learning
• Work with the school, parents, contractors and drivers to provide a high level of supervision
• Be provided training in Child Protection, Code of Conduct, Anaphylaxis, emergency care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Be provided with individual training on the specific travel support needs of students on transport.

Further information on the role can be found at:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/astp/atsos  

All successful applicants need to obtain a Working with Children Check, obtain the necessary proof of identity and complete the Expression of Interest form online.

HOW TO APPLY: The EOI and documents should be sent to ASTP at atso.astp@det.nsw.edu.au

ENROL NOW FOR KINDER 2025

We are now taking enrolments for our Kinder class of 2025.  If you have a child ready to start school next year, please call in and pick up an enrolment pack or phone the office and we can email a pack to you.

PAPER NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE IN SCHOOL OFFICE

Due to a request from our P&F Association, a paper copy of the St Joey's School Newsletter will be available for collection each Thursday afternoon from the school office for those families who would prefer a hard copy.  We will continue to send a link to the digital copy to all families by email and via the Compass Parent Portal.

Please note that the new online format of the newsletter that we now use through Schoolzine is a web based document and as such the formatting isn't perfect when printed.  Obviously links and documents attached to the newsletter will need to be accessed via the digital version.

MERIT AWARDS

Congratulations to the following students who received Merit Awards at Assembly on Tuesday:

KINDER: Evelyn Easman for beautiful illustrations on her Religion portfolio task, Daniel Herbig for working hard in MiniLit groups, Charlie Burrell for great work in Phonics and Kobi Hammond for a great explanation of how bees make honey.

YEAR 1:  Ellie Merrett for always “Giving of Her Best”, Alex Moeris for being a polite and respectful student,  Alfie Mudford for quick recall of number facts in Maths and Mae Ryan for great use of time connectives in her writing. 

YEAR 2: Madeline Merrett for working hard to solve problems in Maths and Samson Starr for having a ‘can do’ attitude even with one arm.

YEAR 3: Ben Ryan, Isobel Barry, Harper Wykes and George Taylor for expertly using personification in a descriptive paragraph. 

YEAR 4: Georgia Riley for working independently to write an entertaining hut day speech, Taylor Alexander for being cooperative and respectful in the classroom, Maci Lomax for writing a creative free verse stanza incorporating Indigenous language and Will Luckie for a fabulous effort to complete work quickly.

YEAR 5:  Jakirah McKenzie for working hard to correctly sequence the Pentecost story and  Charlie Howard for working hard writing a great Haiku and Shakespearean Sonnet. 

YEAR 6:  Claudia Harrison for great work identifying types of adverbial phrases, Archie Valler for a well-presented information report on Saint Vincent de Paul, Kurt McBurnie for great work identifying adverbial phrases in Grammar, Oli Chandler for being a super problem solver in Maths and Lucas Riley for gaining greater speed and accuracy during tricky Math tasks.

CLASSROOM NEWS

Kindergarten

Can you believe it is the end of Term 2? What a busy term it has been. Kinder has worked very hard and we are so pleased with their wonderful progress. During the week we have been revising the sounds covered so far in phonic activities. We enjoyed reading the stories during NAIDOC Week about ‘How The Kangaroo Got His Tail’ and ‘The Greedy Frog Called Tiddalick’.  Thank you Miss Thompson for organising a lovely Mass and art activity to help celebrate NAIDOC Week. In Sport we’ve worked on our gross motor skills including balancing, throwing, catching, skipping and jumping. We continued to practise the correct formation of numbers from 1-10 in Maths. It was lovely to meet with the many mums and dads during parent/teacher interviews. Have a wonderful holiday everyone! Mrs Alison Newstead & Miss Lisa  Harvey

Year 1

Wow, Week 10 already! Thank you to those parents who attended Parent/Teacher Interviews. It was a great opportunity to discuss your child’s learning. This week has been a very busy end to Term 2. We’ve had a great time celebrating NAIDOC Week. A special thanks to Miss Thompson for all her hard work in organising all the fun activities we have been a part of this week. In class we continued learning about information texts in English and independently wrote a report on a grasshopper. In Maths we explored position through a number of hands-on activities. During history we stepped back in time and had a fun afternoon playing some games from the past. Elastics was definitely a class favourite and brought back some great memories for Mrs Jeffery and Mrs Ferguson. Today we farewelled our friend Mae. We wish Mae and her family all the best as they travel around Australia. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday! 
Mrs Julia Jeffery & Mrs Prue Best

Year 2

It has been a big week to finish the term and everyone is ready for a holiday! We have been reading the book "I Talk Like A River" this week which is a true story that highlights what it is like for a little boy who has a stutter and likens his speech to a raging river where the words tumble and turn in his mind and mouth. We have really enjoyed this text and learning about similes and metaphors. Thank you to Miss Thompson who organised a great week to celebrate ‘NAIDOC Week’. In Science we made paper helicopters and paper planes and tested their air resistance and aerodynamics. It was lovely to meet with parents and carers this week during interviews and discuss your child’s progress. I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday. See you in term 3! 
Mrs Nikkola Thomas

Year 3

It was great seeing many Year 3 parents during our parent/teacher interviews this week. In English, we have been busy innovating off the page to create a double page spread to show the character of Bea from "Piano Fingers" playing music that does not sound as good as she hoped. The students enjoyed using their typing and illustrating skills to complete this task. Our spelling words this week were ones that we might use to help us describe this music. In Maths, we discovered that one litre containers can come in a variety of sizes. We also measured everyday containers and categorised them as less than 1L, about 1L and more than 1L. On Monday we enjoyed the flag raising and some cake for the beginning of NAIDOC Week and we painted an Aboriginal inspired artwork. We said goodbye to Ben today and are all very envious of he and his family as they head off around Australia!  We hope everyone has an amazing holiday and come back refreshed for Term 3.

Mrs Phillipa Haling & Mrs Swade Wilson

Year 4

What a wonderful day we had today celebrating Hut Day! Congratulations to all the children for cleverly creating their huts and delivering their speeches with such confidence and expression. Thank you to the parents, grandparents and friends who came along to our morning tea. It certainly was an enjoyable morning! We also enjoyed spending some time today watching snippets of the television show ‘Outback House’. It was great to be able to watch everyday people go back in time to live on a sheep station in the 1800’s. We’ve also enjoyed celebrating NAIDOC Week this week. We enjoyed a lovely Liturgy on Tuesday and also helped to create a mural artwork. Thanks to Miss Thompson for organising. In class we looked at artworks by indigenous artist, Mimii & Jiinda. We created our own version of their artwork which represents connection, unity and love. We think they look awesome and have hung them on our window for all to see. Thank you to all the parents who took the opportunity to attend Parent/Teacher Interviews this week. It's a great chance to discuss your child’s learning and I appreciate your continued support.  I hope everyone has a relaxing and safe mid-year break! Take Care. 
Mrs Melinda Morris

Year 5

It's finally Week 10 and holidays are just hours away!  This week we have been presenting our planet information reports. Everyone presented their planet wonderfully and is to be congratulated on their hard work. Thank you to Miss Thompson for preparing a wonderful NAIDOC Week for us. We ate cake to celebrate and got to design and paint our section of the whole school collaborative artwork, which was fun. In Maths we learnt about the different types of triangles and worked with protractors to measure different sized angles. In preparation for our Canberra Excursion we have been working through our  booklets and practising our interviews to ensure we are ready to go for next term. In Science with Miss Harvey we played trivia based on everything we’ve learnt this term. We worked in small groups and had lots of fun. I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe holiday. See you in Term 3!
Miss Abigail Dobson

Year 6

Another term has flown by. Year 6 has worked very hard and deserves a well-earned break. In Maths we investigated misleading graphs and interpreted a timetable to answer questions. Students completed another narrative of their own choice - some included haunted houses, creepy clowns, earthquakes and an alien invasion! We have spent time in the church preparing for Confirmation and have finalised our letters to Bishop Michael. We have been working on our Canberra booklets and are learning all about the amazing places we will visit. A huge congratulations to Akhiro, who represented our school and Polding at the NSW PSSA Rugby League Carnival and won a silver medal with his team. Great work Akhiro!  Thank you to all the parents who could attend our parent/teacher interviews this week. It was wonderful to discuss your child's progress with you. We were very sad to say goodbye to Bill today.  We wish he and his family safe travels as they enjoy their adventures touring around Australia.  Have a relaxing break and start packing those bags!!

Mrs Meichelle Schier, Mrs Haylee Barry & Mrs Donna Colwell

CANTEEN ROSTER

NOTICEBOARD

Gilgandra Shire Council School Holiday Activities

Please click on the below link to view various events that Gilgandra Shire Council are running during the school holidays at the library and youth centre.

Little Athletics NSW - Middle Distance & Endurance Clinic

Little Athletics NSW will be conducting a Middle Distance and Endurance Clinic in Bathurst on Friday, 12 July. This will be followed by a Mini Meet consisting of 100m, 400m, 1500m, shot put and long jump. This is a great opportunity to meet a past Olympian as well as learn new skills and have fun. The mini meet will also provide an athletics competition in a relaxed atmosphere.  Participants do not have to be registered with LANSW to enter.

Please see the below attachment for further information and a link to register for the clinic.

Gilgandra NAIDOC Celebration Program!

See the NAIDOC program below for a week of vibrant community spirit and cultural celebration.