Messages From Don

St Joseph’s School Renmark Term 3 Week 4 ~ 14th August 2015

www.sjsr.catholic.edu.au

Respect Safety Learning Trust

Dear Parents, Friends and Students,

Prayers For Bishop Greg

On behalf of our whole community I wish to

extend our prayers and thoughts to Bishop Greg.

Recently he suffered some heart trouble and will

undergo a by-pass operation. Bishop Greg shared

the below prayer and he has asked us to keep him in our

prayers.

May what is false within us before your truth give way, that we may live untroubled, with quiet hearts this day.

We wish Bishop Greg well for his operation and a

speedy recovery.

For all our families and students preparing for

Confirmation, Bishop Greg has empowered Fr Paul to be

the celebrant at our Confirmation Mass to be

celebrated on Saturday 22nd August.

SACPPA Conference ~ (South Australian Catholic

Primary Principals Association):

This week more than 100 Principals, Leaders, delegates

and sponsors visited the Riverland to attend the annual

Catholic Principals Conference. All our visitors had the

opportunity to explore some of the Riverland’s beautiful

attractions and were very impressed with our life on

the river. We had many meaningful workshops with

excellent guest speakers including Duncan Armstrong

and Fr Richard Leonard. Topics covered include

contemporary teaching and learning techniques,

technology, school culture and social and

emotional well being. This was a wonderful

experience which provided me with many ideas

and thoughts to bring back to our school for

future reference.

NAPLAN Results:

Included with this newsletter are the results of the

2015 NAPLAN testing for Years 3, 5 & 7. We wish to

congratulate all students for their effort and

achievements. We are very pleased with this year’s

results which indicate positive growth and

development throughout the whole school. This

certainly affirms all our structures, philosophies and

teaching methods. We value the conversations that

these results create but wish to remind all parents

that these tests do not assess all of what it is that

make each child special and unique. By law we are

bound to assess traditional subject disciplines which

we still highly value but at St Joseph’s we believe

that in the 21st Century, our young people need

learning of a higher order, such as that described in

the Australian Curriculum. Skills such as critical

thinking, problem solving, deep literacy and numeracy

and ICT knowledge, collaboration and communication,

and a sense of personal and social responsibility. We

consider that children may play a musical instrument,

dance or paint a picture. We also consider that

friends count on each other to be there for them,

and that the children's laughter can brighten the

dreariest day. We also see the children who write

poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder

Sensory Garden Workers Duncan Armstrong 5/6TL Assembly presentation

about the future, or that sometimes take care of

little brothers or sisters after school. We

consider that children have travelled to a really

neat place or that they know how to tell a great

story or really love spending time with special

family members and friends. We value that the

children can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful,

and try every day to be the very best. This

highlights that the scores the children get will tell

you something, but they will not tell you everything.

There are many ways of being smart.

Parent Satisfaction Survey:

I thank all the families who have already diligently

returned the Parent Satisfaction Survey. We have

received many positive comments which affirms all

our teaching methods, structures and events. We

have also received some excellent constructive

feedback which will help us continue to improve in

all areas. The staff and I certainly appreciate the

wonderful support from our parent community and

value the positive relationships that have been

established. We will be happy to receive any late

returned surveys.

Renmark Children's Centre Partnership:

I recently attended this valuable network meeting.

I again met with Kindy directors, DECD leaders and

outside service providers and discussed new

initiatives and ways we can support families and

children in our region. I greatly appreciate this

opportunity to work with other organisations under

this partnership approach where consistent ideas

and activities and shared.

Book Week ~ School Parade:

Book Week is the longest running children's

festival in Australia. Each year, many schools and

public libraries from all over Australia spend a week

celebrating books and Australian authors and

illustrators. Book Week highlights the importance

of reading and draws on the joys of stories and

creativity of Australian books. The theme of

Children's Book Week 2015 is Books Light Up Our

World. We will have our Dress-up Day on

Friday 28th August. We encourage all students

to come dressed up to share how books or

characters have inspired or ‘Lit” up their world.

We welcome parents/carers to come and join in

the fun on this day. More details will provided

shortly.

Rose Festival ~ Sensory Garden Project:

I appreciate the positive response from our

families who have generously offered to support

this project. The project has started well and the

students have been busy preparing the site for

the next stage of development. We welcome

continued support.

Father’s Day Breakfast ~ Hosted By Mr

DePalma:

I would like to promote our very successful

Fathers' Day breakfast for Dads and Granddads

which will be held on Friday 4th September from

7.15am - 8:30am at our school. It is important to

acknowledge the positive contribution Dads make

to their families and the wider St Joseph’s

Community. I believe that our children also need

to see that parenting is a shared responsibility.

For this reason, I invite the Dads and Granddads

to the breakfast. I encourage them to do the

morning drop off, stay for the breakfast,

(children will be supervised by teachers) then stay

and engage with their children in their classrooms

for learning activities. Please complete and return

your form and payment to the office by Friday

28th August to help with organisation and

catering.

Productive Sensory Garden ‘gardeners’. Mary MacKillop Liturgy

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY & MISSION

Assumption: Saturday 15th August

The Solemnity of the Assumption of

Mary is celebrated every year on August

15th. This feast commemorates the

death of the blessed Virgin Mary and her

Assumption, body and soul into Heaven.

It is also a Holy Day of Obligation.

Mary McKillop Feast Day: The school

celebrated a week of activities centred on Mary

MacKillop. Beginning with a whole school Mass and

ending with a liturgy. Classes put together 'mini

movies' which celebrated the charisms of the

Josephine Tradition within our school.

Confirmation: Year 7 students will celebrate a

retreat/reflection Day on Friday 21st August at

our Church and Hall. The day will begin with

Reconciliation with Fr Medard followed by

activities centred on the gifts and fruits of the

Holy Spirit. This is a great way for all students to

support and celebrate the joy of those receiving

this Sacrament the following day. All families are

welcome to attend this very special Mass on

Saturday 22nd August at 6:30pm at St

Therese Catholic Church.

Susan Frawley

We wish Samuel Albanese, Alessandro Latorre &

Vincent Vu good luck as they complete their

journey towards Confirmation. They have been

working with Mr DePalma on their Confirmation

preparation and will join the St Joseph’s School

Students for this blessed Sacrament.

This year I am pleased to announce that Andrew

Ward, Work Boots on Wheels, will be providing a

Lucky prize on the day. We thank him for his

generosity.

SAPSASA Athletics Carnival:

The Athletics carnival will held at the Glossop High

School on Tuesday 18th of August. I wish Miss

Foody and all the students all the best. I also thank

the parents who have offered to help on the day.

Student Free Day:

I wish to inform our community that the School

Board has approved a student free day for this

term, Week 9, Wednesday 16th September. We

have been offered a unique Professional

Development opportunity that will focus on Digital

Technology. Staff will be engaged in contemporary

technologies that will assist us with providing

quality and meaningful learning experiences for

every child. Please put this date in you diaries.

This will replace our Student Free Day

at the start of Term 4.

School Performance:

This years Musica Viva performance was Rhythm

Works. Our students were entertained and engaged

with a variety of percussion musical instruments

including the use of iPad and electronic devices.

This was partly funded by Renmark Arts Council

and we thank them for their continued support.

Riverland Festival Choir:

Ten of our students have been practicing for the

Riverland Festival Choir over the past months under

the guidance of Mrs Daws. They performed during

last week at the Chaffey Theatre with students

from other Primary Schools. It was wonderful to

listen to the songs and watch as they represented

our school with pride, commitment and

determination to do their best. We congratulate

Shail Frawley and Gemma Petty-Zimmermann for

their excellent compere work and Danielle Leonard

for her small group performance. A special thank

you to Mrs Daws for all of her support, time and

commitment to the Choir.

At St Joseph’s we value the strong bonds we have

created with Parents/Caregivers and other

community organisations. This certainly contributes

to the many positive learning experiences that we

aim to provide for our students. Please enjoy this

newsletter which highlights many wonderful learning

opportunities.

Regards

Don DePalma Principal

Renmark Rose

Parish Connections

Keep collecting please

L-R: Hudson Pearce, Ryan Phan, Riley Ward, Chloe

Milne, Shail Frawley, Sukhdeep Kaur, Gemma Petty-

Zimmermann, Chelsea Stoneham, Connor Berryman.

STUDENT WELLBEING

Congratulations to Joseph Lucas, Kieralea Barton

and Cooper Moseley who were recently awarded

as KidsMatter Champions.

Tony Luxton,

Amy Thompson &

The KidsMatter Team

Star Student Awards presented at our recent assembly

L-R: Ryan Li, Annika Milich, Lachlan Keynes, Emily

Singleton, Arleya Rasheed, Alyssa Bentley, Angus

Morris, Blake Siviour.

STUDENT FREE DAY on

Wednesday 16th September due to Staff Professional Development.

Out of Hours School Care (OHSC) is available.

Please contact Nicole for arrangements 8586 4481

This replaces our normal SFD of first day of Term 4.

Therefore, Term 4 will start on

Monday 12th October.

Special ‘Happy Birthday’

mention to

Lochlann Dinning for August.

BOOK WEEK PARADE is on

Friday 28th August (Time TBC) Come dressed in your favourite Super Hero or

character from your favourite book.

Parents are welcome to join us for this procession.

STUDENT LEARNING

UNI NSW Competition Results Congratulations to the following students who have

chosen to participate in the recent UNI NSW

Competitions. Well done everyone!!

Science:

Distinction (91-96%): Kian Slagter, Oviya Sutharsan,

Lachlan Schuetze, Darcy Slagter.

Credit (69-82%): Frank Levak, Cooper Britton.

Merit (60-62%): Josh Crook, Maria Tzanaravas.

Participation: (1-59%): Aidan Prokopec, Jake Stoeckel,

Alexandra Ramm, Maiya Rice, Teresa Levak, Stephanie

Prokopec, Tammy Tran, Michelle Morris, Blake Pitman,

Tom Levak, Madeline Ramm, Abishake Sutharsan,

Emilia Valente.

Digital Technologies:

High Distinction (99%): Darcy Slagter

Distinction (97%): Kian Slagter

Credit (65-90%): Oviya Sutharsan, Teresa

Levak, Lachlan Schuetze, Maria Tzanavaras

Merit (60%): Thien Nguyen

Participation (1-59%): Jacob Siviour, Frank

Levak, Aidan Prokopec, Jake Stoeckel, Josh

Crook, Danielle Leonard, Alexandra Ramm, Paige

Vause, Maiya Rice, Stephanie Prokopec, Tammy

Tran, Michelle Morris, Tom Levak, Cooper

Britton, Abishake Sutharsan, Emilia Valente.

Musica Viva Performance

I liked it when we did the clapping on your legs and we got

to join in with the singing. by Nikki The drums and pipes were very loud but it was so much

fun and sounded great. by Lily S

The best part was the bongos and when they used the

tubes. by Zane

I liked it when Mrs Strachan had to dance. by Devlin

It was great that everyone was able to join in as a whole

school. by Cooper M

Science Learning (& Fun!)

In Science this Term the R-6 students have been

focusing on Chemical Science. The R–2 students

have been investigating solids, liquids and gases and

the 1/2 Students have been investigating the

properties of different materials. The 3/4 classes

have been experimenting in kitchen science where as

the 5/6 classes have been creating different

chemical reactions. The Year 7 class have been

focusing on Earth Science and today recreated the

phases of the moon.

These 2 classes have

been designing and

painting a display for

the Josephite Building.

The large mural is

about the novel Year

3/4 students have

read this term, ‘Taj

and the Great Camel Trek’. The students will continue to add their

written work about the characters and story on the explorer, Ernest Giles. He was the first European to

successfully cross the Nullarbor Plain from South Australia to Western Australia. The expedition was a

success because of the Afghanistan cameleer, Saleh Mahomed, and his son, Taj and their twenty two

camels. The students from 5/6JA class have also been teaching their 3/4GR buddies a THRASS card game

to help them with their Spelling.

5/6JA & 3/4GR Buddy Classes

Well done to the students that won the naming

competition. The chickens now have coloured tags on

them so we can tell them apart:

Red - Christina named by Ava, Cooper and Brooklyn

Orange - Harriot named by Alex R.

Yellow - Vanessa named by Brad

Green - Ruby named by Annika

Blue -Queen named by Thien

Pink - Chicka named by 3/4 SD

White - Rosie named by Ava

Purple - Hattie named by Ava and Mrs Thompson

Our chickens have names!

Year 5/6 Camp to Illawonga

We are half way through the term

already! Hopefully we are nearly over

this freezing weather with spring just

around the corner. Although there

aren’t any specific P&F events for the

rest of this term, we would like to

acknowledge the continued support of

parents in our school. It is fantastic

to see so many of you contributing in

different ways on a daily basis. You

may think that the little things you do

are nothing, but as we all work

together we are all a small piece in the

Parents & Friends Community

COMMUNITY

Days of Catastrophic Fire

Danger Rating ~ Bus Information Catastrophic fire danger rating days are days

when the weather conditions mean a fire is

more likely to start and is more difficult to

control.

When a catastrophic fire danger rating is

forecast for the following day by the Bureau of

Meteorology, all ‘low/medium risk’ schools

(such as ours) in the declared Fire Ban

District of the ‘Riverland’ will remain OPEN.

School buses that travel

through affected Fire Ban District(s)

will not operate. Parents and carers will need to make

alternative transport arrangements for their

children on these days. Please make sure

your emergency contact details are updated

before the fire danger season starts.

Please check the Bureau of Meteorology

website for further information on catastrophic

days.

bigger picture, which at the end of the

day benefits ALL of our children.

A REMINDER that the Community

Lottery raffle books are due back this

term, sold or unsold. Please see Lyn at

the front office if you would like to

sell another one.

The next P&F meeting is on Tuesday 1st

September. If you have a suggestion

or a question, please feel free to come

along or speak to one of us prior to the

meeting! Have a great week!

P&F Community

Father’s Day Breakfast Friday 4th September @ 7.15~8.30am

See separate return slip for more info. Supported by “Work Boots on Wheels”

Riverland Music Festival Choir

Our representatives of the Riverland Music

Festival Choir.

L-R: Amy Gibbons, Gemma Petty-Zimmermann,

Indya Wittwer, Colby Lawton, Riley Ward, Shail

Frawley, Chloe Smith, Aiden Richardson, Danielle

Leonard & Ashlee Lattin.