ABOUT - Term 3 Week 5 - 22 August 2024

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

DIOCESAN ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Best of luck to the 17 Joey’s students who are representing the Western Region at the Diocesan Athletics Carnival in Dubbo tomorrow, Friday, 23 August.  Our competitors include:  Isabelle Peart, Mitch Beaton, Katie Colwell, Rose Howard, Chloe Heffer, Thomas McIsaac, Heidi Colwell, Michael Vermeulen, Estelle Hazelton, Layla Walker, Lisa-Marie Vermeulen, Thomas Colwell, Hannah Peart, Jack Howard, Bella Ferguson, Alana Spora, Mary Lesslie.

BOOK WEEK - INFANTS DRESS UP DAY - TOMORROW

Only 1 more sleep until our infants students have their 'Dress Up Day' for Book Week.  This year's theme for Book Week is "Reading is Magic" and we can't wait to see the infants students arrive at school tomorrow, Friday 23 August, dressed as their favourite book character, magical or not! 

We are holding a parade in the school square at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow for those parents who wish to attend and watch our infants children parade their wonderful outfits!

GOOD LUCK ISABELLE!

We wish Isabelle Peart the best of luck as she represents Polding at the NSWPSSA Girls Soccer Championships in Tamworth next week.  It is a fantastic achievement to reach this level of competition. Well done Isabelle!

ICAS MATHS COMPETITION

The ICAS Maths Competition will be held next Wednesday, 28 August for those children who have entered this competition.

EXCURSION SNIPPETS

Below are some more of the Years 5 and 6 'Snippets' from their time on the Canberra/Snowy Excursion that was held earlier this term.  We hope you are all enjoying reading about their amazing trip!

Mount Perisher
We arrived at Mount Perisher and were amazed by the beautiful snowy mountains. We had so much fun having snowball fights and tobogganing down the slopes. We even got to throw some snowballs at our teachers! There were lots of snowball fights between the girls and boys as the girls tried to protect the snowman they had built. We were lucky as it was a beautiful day to have lots of fun with our friends. A memory we will never forget. 
Kellie Hutchison, Isabelle Peart, Alana Spora, Arabella Chandler, Claudia Harrison

Dinosaur Museum
We had so much fun at the Dinosaur Museum. We learnt all about the different time periods and places of the 'Dinosaur World'. We even learnt that most dinosaurs cannot roar as they don't have a voice box - how weird! 
Jakairah McKenzie, Sophie Lacey, Estelle Hazelton

Mount Ainslie 
On Thursday we visited the top of Mount Ainslie where we went to the lookout and saw the magnificent view of Canberra. At the lookout we saw Parliament House, the War Memorial, Lake Burley Griffin and Anzac Parade, along with lots of other places. We took in the wonderful view before heading off to the next part of our excursion. 
Andrew Standing, Lucas Riley, Keaghan Lummis, Harry Thurlow

Electoral Commission 
We had so much fun at the National Electoral Commission. We got to play on the computers and learn all about voting before running our own fair vote. We voted on what fruit is the best and apples had the most votes in our group. It was interesting to learn all about voting.
Darcy Adams, Braxten Towns, Mack Hutchison

Canberra War Memorial
On Thursday we went to the Canberra War Memorial and we saw all the names of the people who died at war. Then we saw the tomb of the 'Unknown Soldier'. People laid flowers and wreaths down on the tomb. While on our tour we learnt about a young boy named Jimmy who was only 14 years old when he went to war and the story of his bravery and how he never returned home to his parents. Our tour guide then led us to the commemorative courtyard, where they played the 'Last Post' on the bagpipes and trumpet. Our two school captains laid a wreath of poppies to show our appreciation of the ceremony and to the men and women who fought for our country in the World Wars. A very touching service and something we will remember forever. 
Holly Wykes, Chloe Alexander, Lily Johnson-Honey, Mackenzie Skinner

KINDER LITURGY - POSTPONED TO THURSDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER

The Kinder Liturgy that was scheduled to take place next Thursday, 29 August has been postponed to the following Thursday, 5 September  We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, however a funeral is now taking place in St Joseph's Church on 29 August.

FATHER'S DAY STALL

ONLY 1 WEEK AWAY

We are very short of gifts!

Our Father’s Day Stall is only one week away and will be held next Friday, 30 August. The stall is run along the same lines as the Mother’s Day Stall.  Each year parents are asked to donate gifts for the Father’s Day Stall.  This gives the children the opportunity to purchase a gift for their fathers and grandfathers that they have selected themselves, whilst raising money for our P&F Association. Your contributions can be sent in at any time and left at the school office.   Ideas for the stall include chocolates, keyrings, mugs, caps, pens, tools, hose fittings, car care items, beanies, socks, etc.  We are very short of gifts at the moment. It would be wonderful if we could have enough gifts for the children to purchase 2 gifts each, but at the moment we don't have enough for each child to buy 1 gift!  If the gifts could be wrapped in clear cellophane, that would be greatly appreciated.  

FATHER'S DAY RAFFLE

A raffle is being run in conjunction with the Father's Day Stall.  Tickets are $2.00 each and a book of five tickets was sent home with each family on Tuesday.  There are some amazing prizes up for grabs, as can be seen below.  Extra tickets are available to purchase from the school office. We thank the following local businesses for supporting our P&F Association:  Rohrs Home Timber & Hardware, Merton White Suffolk Stud, Collie Hotel, Three Rivers Machinery and Koda Cafe.  The raffle will be drawn at the conclusion of the Father's Day Stall next Friday, 30 August.

FATHER'S DAY STALL WORKING BEE

A working bee will be held next Thursday, 29 August from 3:30 p.m. to wrap and price gifts for the Father's Day Stall.  If you can help out for an hour or so, please head to the school hall.

LUNCHTIME CRICKET

We are now halfway through our lunchtime cricket program with Cricket NSW for those Years 3-6 students who registered.  There will be a break from cricket next week and our last two sessions will take place on Monday, 2 September and the following Monday, 9 September.

CANTEEN HELPERS NEEDED

We still have two canteen shifts to fill this term.  Helpers are needed on Wednesday, 28 August and Wednesday, 18 September.  If you can assist, please inform the ladies in the office ASAP.  If we don't have helpers for these dates, we will have to close the canteen.

MORE COMMITTEE MEMBERS REQUIRED FOR ST JOSEPH'S DEBUTANTE BALL

Thank you Bianca Williams, who has offered to take over the coordination of the St Joseph's Debutante Ball.  We are still in need of volunteers to join the committee and help Bianca organise and run the 2025 ball.  If you can assist, would you please contact the ladies in the office as soon as possible.

NEEDED FOR FETE - A COW (OR PODDY CALF!)

We need a quiet cow, or poddy calf, that can be led around the yard for the Cow Pat Lotto.  If anyone has a suitable cow, could you please let us know.

NO CARS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS OR PAST THE CHURCH

A reminder that cars are not permitted to drive past the church towards the school buildings during school hours.  Parents may park in the car park at the church, however must ensure that they don't proceed any closer to the school buildings.  

SRE FUNDRAISER - SUNDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER

"A Pleasant Sunday Afternoon Variety Concert" will be held on Sunday, 8 September from 2:00 p.m. in St Joseph's Church.  If anyone would like to participate in the concert, please contact Mrs Newstead.

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 a 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 a 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

MERIT AWARDS

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

KINDER: Teddy Kelly for working hard in Phonics and Spelling activities, Charlie Burrell for thoughtful contributions to our discussions in Personal Development and Health, Charlie Freeman for excellent counting and problem solving in Maths and Cecilia Smith for terrific enthusiasm in dance practice.

YEAR 1: Chase Hodges for working hard to tell the time correctly, Tess Howard for using her imagination to write a fascinating story, Liam Mellor for trying his best to use teacher feedback to improve his work and Duncan Semmler for happily sharing ideas with the class.

YEAR 2: Indiana Jeffery and Frankie Medd for listening carefully to create stunning bird paintings and Samson Starr for working hard on tricky addition and subtraction problems.

YEAR 3: Charlie Jones-Copelin for a huge improvement with his handwriting and Lochie Thomas for correctly identifying regular and irregular polygons.  

YEAR 4: Mia Buckley and Oliver Buckley for detailed diary entries from a character’s point of view and Taylor Alexander and Georgia Riley for creating fabulous bushfire artworks.

YEAR 5: Charlie Howard for great work applying the levelling strategy to addition and subtraction questions in Maths and Estelle Hazelton for actively participating in all class discussions with a positive attitude. 

YEAR 6: Bella Ferguson for a consistent effort in all class tasks and discussions, Isabelle Peart for working hard to achieve her Literacy Pro goals, Lottie Duffy for selecting and using efficient strategies to multiply whole numbers and Mackenzie Skinner for competently solving number sentences that involve more than one operation by calculating missing numbers.

CLASSROOM NEWS

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten this week we have been busily writing lots of imaginative stories about pirates and penguins. Our writing has included describing words and action words accompanied by some beautiful illustrations. During Maths we explored coloured patterns using a variety of objects and we also made equal groups using our teddy bear and dinosaur counters. We are continuing to prepare for our Liturgy which has been rescheduled to Thursday 5th September at 10.30am. Our concert is also fast approaching so keep an eye out for the note where there will be further details. We are all very excited about our Book Week parade tomorrow. We can't wait to see all the amazing costumes. Have a wonderful weekend.
Mrs Alison Newstead & Miss Lisa  Harvey

Year 1

In English this week Year 1 has written some very entertaining narratives from the point of view of a minor character in the book, “The Wall in the Middle of the Book”. We loved reading these stories and discovering how each character fixed the problems that they faced. We have focused on the different combinations of the ‘oo’ sound in Phonics and how they are used in words we use every day. In Maths we have been combining and separating quantities and recording number sentences in a variety of ways. During Geography we have defined what it means to be a natural, managed or constructed feature and identified different places in our local environment which fit into each category. Science has had us investigating sound and how we can create different volumes of sound with different materials. We created shakers and found how different materials used inside the shakers affect the volume of the sound produced. We hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs Julia Jeffery & Mrs Prue Best

Year 2

Thank you Year 2 for a lovely morning at our Liturgy, you read and sang beautifully. Thank you to our family and friends who were able to join us, we know you are busy and appreciate you taking time out of your day. It was a good reminder for us all to ‘Treat Others How You Want To Be Treated’. We have been using commas this week during Grammar to list items and to create a pause. During Geography we looked at the map of Australia and labeled the states and territories. Thank you for sending in photos of special places you have visited, continue to do so and we can put them on the map. The Year 2 students are very excited about the Book Week parade tomorrow, we can’t wait to show everyone what outfit we have put together. Have a great weekend!
Mrs Nikkola Thomas

Year 3

This week we read Chapter 6 of “Rowan of Rin" to explore how the author, Emily Rodda, uses interrogative sentences for rhetorical effect to help the reader understand Rowan’s internal thoughts. We wrote a paragraph revealing Bronden’s inner monologue, using rhetorical questions to express her thoughts and emotions. We also read Chapter 7 and explored how the language techniques and punctuation used in dialogue reveal more about the character’s state of mind and reactions to the situation. We then wrote a conversation between two characters that convey what they think, using a variety of saying verbs.  During Maths we added the minute and second hands to analog clocks and described comparing two-dimensional shapes, including parallelograms, rectangles, rhombuses, squares, trapeziums and kites. We have enjoyed listening to all of the zoo presentations this week and commend the students for all their hard work. We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Phillipa Haling & Mrs Swade Wilson

Year 4

We are half way through Term 3 already - wow! We are almost half way through our novel and are still enjoying following Quin on his adventure. This week we’ve written a diary entry from Quin’s perspective  based on a specific event in the story. The students' focus was to write in first person using personal pronouns, tell events in order, maintain past tense and include personal thoughts and feelings. We’ve also been introduced to a new character, ‘Allie’ and are looking  forward to seeing her character unfold throughout the story. 2D shapes is our focus in Maths and we used an app on the chromebooks to create 2D shapes by combining and splitting common shapes.  During Geography we have been learning about habitats and native animals that live in different habitats around the world. We are looking forward to seeing our Infants friends in their Book Week costumes tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend! 
Mrs Melinda Morris

Year 5

How are we already in week 5? We had a fabulous time at the Emmanuel Worship day in Dubbo on Tuesday. It was a great day filled with worship, prayer and fun. In Maths we are working on multiplication. We learnt a new strategy to help us when stuck with a tricky question. Our novel, “August and Jones” is just starting to get interesting as the two main characters have just met. We wondered what is going to happen between them and discussed their archetypes. In Science we are building parachutes out of recycled materials. Next week we will time them to see how air resistant they are and if they are sturdy enough for flight. During Religion we looked at Caroline Chisholm and how she helped thousands of people out of the goodness of her heart. We will continue to learn more about people who significantly influenced the early Catholic Church in Australia and how we are still seeing their influence today. Have a lovely weekend! 
Miss Abigail Dobson

Year 6

We’ve had another busy week in Year 6. On Tuesday we had a fabulous day at the DRTCC for the Praise and Emmanuel Workshop. It was a fun and interactive day spent with other students, and an engaging way to build on the foundations of our faith. This week in Writing we have been focusing on expositions and creating some really in-depth arguments as to why we should live in Gilgandra. Our novel of study, “Storm Breaker”, has become very interesting as our protagonist, Alex, has been successful in finding a tunnel to uncover what foul undertakings Sayle Enterprises has been up to. In Maths we have been strengthening our understanding of divisibility rules and applying these to various algorithms. In Geography the focus has been on the importance of water to the world and has been building our understanding of the connection between water and place. A huge congratulations goes to our Year 6 artists, Claudia, Kellie, Isabelle, Heidi, Indy, Arabella, Bayley and Tom, whose Christmas Artworks have been chosen to represent St Josephs in Bathurst. All of our artworks are proudly hanging in the Year 6 classroom and they really are very special. We also wish our athletes the best of luck at the Diocesan Carnival tomorrow. Have a fabulous weekend! 
Mrs Meichelle Schier, Mrs Donna Colwell, Mrs Haylee Barry

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