Community Council Meeting Thanks

Last night we had our Community Council meeting, and we were privileged to welcome our school counsellor, Mark Holberton, as guest speaker. Mark presented on anxiety—how to work with it, recognise when children may need extra support, and explore the support options available.

 This was a valuable opportunity for parents and carers to gain a deeper understanding of anxiety, learn practical strategies to support their children, and explore the resources available to help navigate these challenges.

Thankyou to Mark for giving up his time to present such an important topic and huge thanks also to the parents who attended. Mark has kindly provided his power-point and additional resources in the Community Council section of this newsletter

 

Playground Behaviour and Parent Reporting Expectations

At our recent class assembly, I took the opportunity to remind students about our expectations on the playground, particularly regarding behaviour and how concerns should be reported. The key messages were:

Following School Rules & Expectations – All students are expected to adhere to our school’s behaviour guidelines to ensure a safe and respectful environment for everyone.

Reporting Issues Appropriately – If students notice something is wrong, they should report it directly to the teacher on duty (for playground matters) rather than waiting to tell their classroom teacher. This allows us to address concerns in a timely manner.

I also reminded students that while they are welcome to discuss their concerns with parents at home, parents are not in a position to resolve playground matters. If an issue arises at school, it is essential that students report it to staff so it can be handled appropriately and promptly.

To support this, I encourage parents to reinforce this process with their children.

I also ask parents and carers to NOT independently investigate school-related matters by contacting other families. When only one side of a story is heard, misunderstandings can easily arise, and it can be quite confronting for a parent to receive such a call from another parent. There have been instances where facts have been misinterpreted or identities mistaken, which can be embarrassing for all parties involved.

The best course of action is always for students to report incidents directly to teachers, who can then follow up accordingly.

Thank you for your continued support in fostering a positive and respectful school environment.

For further information on our Behaviour Management Procedures, please visit our website under the 'POLICIES' tab and select 'STATEMENT OF PRACTICE – BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT'.

St Joseph's invite- Regional Chess Competition

On Friday, June 27th, a local regional schools chess competition will be held, and we would love to see St. Joseph’s represented. We know there are many skilled chess players at our school and are excited to offer this opportunity for students to participate in a team event at the tournament.

Each team requires a minimum of four players, and we are able to enter multiple teams depending on interest. If your child would like to participate, please notify the front office before Friday 28th March to register their interest.

We look forward to seeing our students showcase their chess skills!

Teacher Profiles Continued

Hi everyone! I’m Miss Wellings,

and I’m thrilled to be teaching a wonderful group of students in Kindergarten Blue. This is my second year of teaching, and I absolutely love it! After graduating from university, I've been fortunate to work with amazing kids and watch them grow in so many ways.

At home, I’m lucky to have a wonderful family of pets: a dog named Dolcie, a cat named Bella, and an axolotl named Axel.

Likes and Hobbies
One of my favourite things to do is go camping with my family—it’s such a great way to relax and enjoy nature together. Huskisson is one of my favourite places to visit! I also love staying active, whether it’s through pilates or paddle boarding.

Why I Love Teaching
I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and it’s truly rewarding to guide children through their learning journey. Watching them grow, succeed, and develop a love for learning is one of the best parts of my job. I’m so thankful to work in such a supportive environment with amazing colleagues and students—I learn something new every day!

Fun Facts
• My favourite colour is pink!
• I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
• I studied creative arts dance at university.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello, I am Mrs Murdoch,

and I have the pleasure of teaching Year 3 Blue this year.

A little about me—I absolutely love reading, traveling, and spending time with my family and friends. I also have a deep love for the ocean and would happily spend every weekend at the beach! My students know this well—our classroom is even ocean-themed.

I recently got married, and my husband and I have been fortunate to travel to 33 countries together, as well as complete a lap of Australia in a caravan. At home, our golden retriever, Ferguson, keeps life exciting.

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is helping children grow—not just academically, but socially and emotionally. Watching students develop confidence, curiosity, and kindness is the most rewarding experience. I also love teaching History and Geography, sparking students’ curiosity about the big wide world around them.

I’m looking forward to a fantastic year with Year 3 Blue!

Student Attendance

Please refer to the brochure below for important information on Student Attendance...

Student_attendance_brochure.pdf

Student_attendance_brochure _pdf 2.26 MB

Privilege Students

Congratulations to our Week 8 Privilege Students

Harry C, Ryan H, Cleo L, Kai B, Zeke B and Emily T.

May God bless you and your families

Matthew Mullins,

Principal

Religious Life of the School

Gospel

3rd Sunday of Lent

Luke 13:1-9 Jesus preaches a lesson on repentance.

Sunday's Gospel prepares us to hear Lent's call to conversion and repentance. 

Jesus' words at first appear to have a fire-and-brimstone quality. Jesus says in essence, “Repent or perish as these people did; all are sinful before God and deserving of God's punishment.” The tone changes, however, in the parable that follows. The parable of the barren fig tree contrasts the patience and hopefulness of the gardener with the practicality of the property owner. When told to cut down the fig tree because it is not producing fruit, the gardener counsels patience. If properly tended, the barren fig tree may yet bear fruit.

 Sacrament of Reconciliation

Today, at 1st break, some Mini Vinnies gave up their time to collect and count the money brought in so far for Project Compassion, which added up to $576.30. 2 Red have brought in a staggering $168.50, and 2 Blue a cool $100.45.

Thank you to everyone who has brought money in and are continuing to do jobs and seek money that we can give to people who are less fortunate than our selves.

This 'giving' during lent is called Almsgiving. It is time were we give from what we have or need, not just give from what we have spare.

If more information, you can visit https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/ , or read about Irene and the work she is doing the Democratic Republic of Congo https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/irene-story/

Feast Day: St Joseph the Husband

St Joseph has two Feast Days: 19th March the Feast Day St Joseph the Husband, and 1st May, Feast Day St Joseph the Worker.

We celebrated our Feast Day yesterday with a Mass, due to Naplan. The Mass was hosted by Year 5, and they presented the Mass beautifully with the entrance procession, the Readings, Prayers and a Litany to St Joseph at the end of Mass.

Mrs Deaton & Mrs Walker lead the choir and the whole school with the hymns, and it sounded magnificent. 

Fr Michael, once again gave a great Homily, asking the children, why St Joseph has not talking part in the Gospels? Fr Michael's reasoning: "St Joseph was hard working, so no time to talk." It is a great thought - St Joseph busy with his occupation, providing for Mary & Jesus, protecting them, educating Jesus in their Jewish faith. I believe many teachers liked this, and are considering having it as their mantra in the classroom!

Some virtues of St Joseph are obedience and discipline. Fr Michael, once again, encouraged children to make their bed first thing when they get up - this develops self discipline like St Joseph, obedience and respect for their parents, not expecting parents to do this chore for the children.

 Journey With Jesus

Tomorrow, Thursday 20th March, Yr 6, with Mrs Walsh & Mrs Cady will go to Trinity for a Spirituality Reflection Day, Journey with Jesus. The day is run by the Youth Ministry at Trinity, is organised by the Catholic Education Office, and our new Youth Minister, Maddi Brown, will be there as well. Ss Peter & Paul's Primary & St Mary's from Crookwell will be attending as well.

A reminder for students to dress according for the weather of the day, with closed in shoes, their hat, drink bottle and a packed lunch. Children will not have access to the canteen at Trinity. We will be travelling there by bus, leaving St Joseph's at 9:30 and estimated return at 2:20.

Mother's Day is sneaking up:

A reminder as a part of the St Joseph’s Mothers’ Day celebrations, the Community Council will be running a stall for Mother’s Day on Friday, 9th May. (earlier in the week for Year 6 students due to camp).

Children will be given the opportunity to buy item/s from the stall on this day with tables having gifts valued at $2 and $5.
For this to happen we ask that families donate a small gift/s to be sold at the stall. 

Donations can be left at the office up until Wednesday 7th May.
If you are able to volunteer some of your time on the day to help with the Mother’s Day Stall, please let Danie or Paula in the office know, or alternatively email Paula at
paula.quinlan@cg.catholic.edu.au

If you would like to help with our Mother’s Day Stall, please come to the school hall on Thursday 8th May at 3:15 pm to help set up the stall / tables. Or 9:00 am on Friday to help our little treasures select the perfect gift for their mum. When donating your gift, please give something that you would be happy to receive.

Some ideas might include:
• small photo frames
• coaster sets or placemats
• jewellery – a nice bangle, earrings
• nice soap / washer / bath salts
• gardening gloves and packet of seeds
• jar or container filled with lollies
• pretty notebook & pen
• candles
• scarves
• kitchen items
• movie voucher
The children will be so excited to choose and buy something special for their mum.

We would love your feedback!!!

We’re reaching out to our amazing community for fresh, creative ideas to help raise funds for our wonderful school! Whether it’s a fun event, or a new twist on a classic fundraiser, we want to hear from YOU!

We’re also currently brainstorming ideas on improvements we can make within our school. These include putting a roof over the car line waiting area , painted artworks to improve connection with sporting houses, and new school gazebos to name a few. 

We know that the best ideas often come from the people who care the most about our school and we would love to hear from YOU.

Here’s how you can help:

• Share your ideas: Email the office or me directly at tahu_fred@bigpond.com with your suggestions.
• Volunteer to help: If you have skills or connections that could help make an event happen, we’d be thrilled to have you on board.
• Join us at upcoming events: Stay tuned for more details on the exciting events we’ll be hosting soon!

Thanks Mark..

A huge thank you to School Counsellor Mark for his informative presentation on anxiety last night!

His expertise and practical strategies provided valuable guidance for parents and educators in supporting children’s well-being. We truly appreciated his time and dedication to this important topic! Mark has kindly attached his powerpoint and resources for the night.

Anxiety and children - Presentation for parents.pptx

Canteen Roster

Term Dates for 2025

TERM 1

Tuesday, 4 February 2025 - Thursday 10 April 2025

Good Friday, 18th April 2025

Easter Sunday, 20th April 2025

TERM 2

Tuesday, 29 April 2025 - Thursday 3 July 2025

TERM 3

Tuesday, 22 July 2025 - Thursday 25 September 2025

TERM 4

Tuesday, 14 October 2025 - Thursday 18 December 2025

Week 8, 2025

Wednesday, 19th March

CANTEEN CLOSED TODAY

NAPLAN 3 and 5

Thursday, 20th March

Journey with Jesus Year 6 TCC

NAPLAN 3 and 5

Friday, 21st March

• Cross Country - School Grounds

(back up Tuesday 25th March).

• Harmony Day Activites-Break 2
• Year 1 and 2 intensive swimming 9.20 to 12 noon

Week 9

Monday, 24th March

NAPLAN 3 and 5, last day

Tuesday, 25th March

High Jump Finals

Back up date for Cross Country

Wednesday, 26th March

CANTEEN CLOSED TODAY

Thursday, 27th March

CECG Netball Trials

Reconciliation Prep

Friday, 28th March

MacKillop hockey trials

Week 10

Monday, 31st March

CECG Rugby League Trials, U11 and U12's

Wednesday, 2nd April

NSWCPS Swimming Sydney

Reconciliation Reflection Day

CANTEEN CLOSED TODAY

Thursday, 3rd April

NSWCPS Swimming Sydney

Reconciliation Sacrament

Try it at Trinity Day

Friday, 4th April

Athletics Carnival- Hudson Park

(back up Wednesday 9th April).

Week 11

Thursday, 10th April

Stations of the Cross

Easter hat Parade 

Friday, 11th April

Pupil Free day

Parent Teacher Interviews, bookings to be made on COMPASS 

How to problem solve children’s behaviours

Follow the STOP, THINK, Do steps:

Adult    “What has happened?”

Don’t react; look and listen

Clarify problem with child

Express feelings

“I feel …… because (problem)”

Consider solutions with child

“What could we do?”

Evaluate consequences

“What might happen then?”

Choose best solution

“Let’s do it”

Act!

Offer reasonable consequences if it doesn’t work.

It may be a lengthy process at first, but with practice, it will become easier.

Petersen, L (2016) Stop, Think, Do Social Skills Training; Early years of schooling ages 4-8, Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd 2002.

50 Questions to ask Your Children Instead of

‘How was School?’

1. Can you tell me an example of kindness you saw/showed? 
2. Was there an example of unkindness? How did you respond?
3. Does everyone have a friend at recess?
4. What was the book about that your teacher read?
5. What’s the word of the week?
6. Did anyone do anything silly to make you laugh?
7. Did anyone cry?
8. What did you do that was creative?
9. What is the most popular game at recess?
10. What was the best thing that happened today?
11. Did you help anyone today?
12. Did you tell anyone “thank you?”
13. Who did you sit with at lunch?
14. What made you laugh?
15. Did you learn something you didn’t understand?
16. Who inspired you today?
17. What was the peak and the pit?
18. What was your least favourite part of the day?
19. Was anyone in your class gone today?
20. Did you ever feel unsafe?
21. What is something you heard that surprised you?
22. What is something you saw that made you think?
23. Who did you play with today?
24. Tell me something you know today that you didn’t know yesterday.
25. What is something that challenged you?
26. How did someone fill your bucket today? Whose bucket did you fill?
27. Did you like your lunch?
28. Rate your day on a scale from 1-10.
29. Did anyone get in trouble today?
30. How were you brave today?
31. What questions did you ask at school today?
32. Tell us your top two things from the day (before you can be excused from the dinner table!). 
33. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
34. What are you reading?
35. What was the hardest rule to follow today?
36. Teach me something I don’t know.
37. If you could change one thing about your day, what would it be?
38. (For older kids):  Do you feel prepared for your history test?” or, “Is there anything on your mind that you’d like to talk about?” (In my opinion, the key is not only the way a question is phrased, but responding in a supportive way.)
39. Who did you share your snacks with at lunch?
40. What made your teacher smile? What made her frown?
41. What kind of person were you today?
42. What made you feel happy? 
43. What made you feel proud?
44. What made you feel loved?
45. Did you learn any new words today?
46. What do you hope to do before school is out for the year?
47. If you could switch seats with anyone in class, who would it be? And why?
48. What is your least favourite part of the school building? And favourite?
49. If you switched places with your teacher tomorrow, what would you teach the class?
50. What made you smile today?

Students Name: Ava H

Born: North 

Gosford 2014

Star Sign: Aquaris

Favourite sport: Touch footy

Favourite Food: Pizza

Favourite subject: Art and sport

Hero or would love to meet: Taylor Swift

When I grow up, I would like to be: Nurse

Students Name: Logan S

Born: February

Hero or would love to meet: Bob the Cat

When I grow up, I would like to be: Doggy Daycare