eNews Term 2, Week 3, 2023

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION - REFLECTIONS
On Friday, May 5^th ten children were confirmed into the Catholic Church by the Vicar General, Fr Dean Marin.  These children are now preparing to celebrate their First Holy Communion which will complete their initiation into the Catholic Church.  Below are some reflections from these children:

Felisa: My sponsor was my mother’s sister, Aunty Norma.  My mum, Dad, my brother, and my Nona were there to celebrate with me.  Fr Marin talked bout the Lion King and how he got baptised.  Fr Marin put oil on my head and made a cross and laid his hands on our heads to confirm us.

Ethan: My sponsor travelled from Mt Barker, he’s my dad’s friend.  The oil smelt weird but good at the same time.  Fr Marin made the sign of the cross with the oil on my forehead.

Keller: My mum was my sponsor.  I didn’t like the smell of the oil.  It felt sticky.  I was feeling nervous.  All my grandparents and godparents were there. We were in the front row. 

Nicholas: My sponsor was Aunty Meghan.  Mum, dad, and Lilli were there as well as my Nanna and Poppa.  I felt good and a little bit nervous.  Fr Marin put a sign of the cross on my forehead.

Stephanie: I had the oil put on my head.  Fr Marin said, I confirm you, Marie with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Marie was my chosen saint’s name.  My sponsor was my aunty.  My mum, dad, my grandparents, and my sister were there to celebrate with me.  It made me feel very happy.

Dat: My sponsor travelled for 6 hours to be with me at my Confirmation.  My sponsor was my uncle.  I was nervous and excited t the same time.  Fr Marin prayed for me and my friends.  He put the oil on my head and made a cross, to confirm me in the church.

Lachlan: My saint’s name who I was confirmed with was St Joseph.  My sponsor was my dad.  Fr Marin put a cross on my head with oil.  He said, “Peace be with you.”  We made candles to remember our Confirmation.

Austin: My family were there to celebrate my Confirmation. I felt good when Fr Marin confirmed me.  He blessed me with the oil, and it made me feel happy.

JR: My sponsor lives near us and he is my cousin’s uncle.  Fr Marin talked about the Lion King and how Simba’s dad died and Simba became king of the jungle because he was anointed at his birth.  We were baptised and Fr Marin was anointing us with oil at our Confirmation.

Dear parents, carers, teachers and students, 
On Friday, May 12, St Joseph's School celebrated Sports Day in perfect weather conditions and was attended by an enormous crowd of family and friends. Throughout the day, I was impressed by the level of sportspersonship and respect shown by the students. The sense of teamwork and camaraderie amongst the houses was evident and led by our amazing Sports Captains. It was great to see students demonstrating their agility, coordination, speed and strength to the best of their ability throughout Sports Day. 

Thank you to all the staff, especially our sports teachers, Mr Josh Law and Mr Cooper Skinner, for their commitment and work leading up to Sports Day to guarantee everyone had a successful day. 

Thank you to all the Sports Captains for their help and support in preparing for and assisting on Sports Day. Thank you to the many parents/carers and family members who could join us on Sports Day and support their child/ren. They appreciated your encouragement and enthusiasm.

Congratulations to the Edwards team on winning the Sports Day Shield and the Sturt team on winning the Spirit Cup. Please read all the results in the Sports Day Report of this newsletter. 

Staffing
I'm pleased to inform the community that Miss Xue Tong is officially employed as a teacher to support the Reception and Year 1 classes for the remainder of the year. We have also employed Mr Luke Wood, who will be assisting in the Administration and Finance areas of the school as of Monday, May 22. I'm sure you will join me in welcoming these people to our school community. 

St Joseph's School Homework
Last term, we asked parents/carers to fill in a 'Parents Voice on Homework' survey form. The results of the returned survey responses are as follows. Thank you to the 51% of families in our community who responded.

The staff have discussed the results and have formed a draft recommendation for policy development to be tabled at the next School Board meeting, Monday, June 5. Please see the attached document. If you wish to comment further on homework expectations, please email ros.oates@stjomb.catholic.edu.au

School Board Representatives
We are pleased to announce the following St Joseph’s School Board Members for 2023

Fr Philip Marshall: President
The position of President of the St Joseph’s School Board is held by the Parish Priest. Fr Philip has been on leave. In the future if we are allocated another Parish Priest, they will be become new President.

Jamie Mulcahy: Acting Deputy Principal 
Jamie is currently the Acting Deputy Principal at St Josephs for Term 1 & Term 2 of 2023. Jamie has enjoyed getting to know the learners and educators over the last Term.

Kelly Gravestocks: School Board Finance Representative.
Kelly has two children at St Joseph’s, a son in Year 8 and a daughter in Year 5.
2023 will be Kelly’s fifth year on the St Joseph’s School Board. 

Kelly and her husband used to own Murray Computers. With her business and finance background, Kelly now works for a local accountant.

Deb Holland: School Board PPC Representative
Deb is the school APRIM (Assistant Principal Religious Identity & Mission) and looks after Catholic Identity, EALD students and support teachers and Indigenous students. Deb reports matters relating to the Parish Pastoral Council to the School Board and is also a parish member.

Nicki Clifford: School Board Staff Representative
Nicki has been teaching at St Joseph’s for 8 years and is currently teaching Year 6 Mondays – Wednesday and is the Leader of Wellbeing on a Thursday.

As the staff representative Nicki will present a snapshot of what is happening in the school at each board meeting.

Darren Hollitt – Chairperson. 
Darren has two children attending St Joseph’s in Year 3 and Year 5. The introduction of the Middle School and the future expansion of grades to complete secondary schooling was Darren’s inspiration for joining the School Board.

Darren is aware of the challenges that can impact students and their families regarding specialist teaching requirements and has seen this demand grow over the years. 

Darren has been an active member of the local Country Fire Service for the past six years; this has been rewarding on so many levels and he works within the Department of Corrections.

Darren’s family is involved in a number of local sports resulting in both him and his wife Belinda being on various committees.  

Megan Olive – Board Member
Megan has a daughter in Year 1, and this is Megan’s second year on the School Board. Megan likes what the school stands for and was looking for a way to participate in the school community. The School Board was a good way to be involved.

Sean Ching – Board Member
Sean is a pharmacist/pharmacy owner in Mannum.  Born in Malaysia, Sean can speak fluently in 5 languages including mandarin. 

This is Sean’s first year on the School Board and he believes that education is the key to changing one’s life and wanted to dedicate himself in helping St Joseph School to become the most preferred school in this multicultural community.

Leanne Maxwell: Board Member
Leanne has a son, Jimmy in Reception W.  As a teacher at Murray Bridge High School, Leanne spends a lot of time looking after other people's children and wanted to be involved in her son's school. Being on the School Board was a good avenue to do this.

Josh Strauss – Board Member
Josh’s daughter has just started in Reception this year.  Josh has worked in the public school system in IT for the last 11 years, giving him a unique experience to draw on. 

New to the School Board in 2023, Josh’s motivation for joining is knowing that it takes a lot to run a school and different perspectives are needed.

Linda Ross: Board Member
This is Linda’s 1^st year on the School Board. Linda has a daughter Vivienne in Year 2 who loves school. 

Working within SAPOL, Linda was motivated to join the School Board and is looking forward to being an influence in the safety aspects of the school.

Mrs Ros Oates
Principal

Congratulations to all the students who made our Sports Day, last Friday, a fun celebration of physical activity. Their efforts, participation and sportsmanship were commendable. Well done to all the staff on their efforts too. We thank the school community for coming out to support such a wonderful day.

The Junior Winner’s Shield was won by Crowley.
The Junior Spirit Cup was awarded to Edwards.
The Senior Winner’s Shield was won by Edwards.
The Senior Spirit Cup was awarded to Sturt.

A message from your Coordinator

Welcome to week three! We have so much happening this term and some exciting new things coming up to look forward too, so stay tuned for that.

We hope all the mothers and grandmothers had a very special day last Sunday and got very spoilt. This Week we celebrate the diversity and dynamics that make up our families with National Family week.

Next week we make turtles for World Turtle Day, start our sustainability project using recycled  materials and growing our own herbs, which we are very excited about. We  discuss National Sorry Day and our first nations people.

Coming up we have Reconciliation Week and of course our huge two weeks of paints, colours and creativity with our Big Art Week.

We will be open for Pupil Free Day on the 13^th of June.

Look forward to seeing you all.

Sarah, Annette and Mikki

IMPORTANT OSHC SURVEY

Dear Parents/carers
Camp Australia would like to gauge numbers and demand from families that would utilise a Vacation Care component to their already OSHC service. This survey will be live until Friday next week. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C8ZPDV5

Samantha O'Brien
Camp Australia

Here is the laterst The Southern Cross news and the online edition of The Southern Cross May 2023.

Starting School This July?
Like all Catholic schools across South Australia, St Joseph's School will continue to offer free mid-year Reception enrolment intake for students who turn five on or before October 31, 2023, to reduce the financial burden on families. Please see the common questions below about children being ready to start school.

When can my child start school?

St Joseph's School offers two intakes per year for children starting Reception.
Term 1 enrolment – for children who turn five years on or before April 30.
Term 3 enrolment (Mid-Year intake) – for children who turn five years on or before October 31.
 

Why a Mid-Year intake?

A large body of research shows the benefit of high-quality early learning and care experiences for children in their first 1,000 days of life and the years before school.

Students who start in Term 3 are likely to spend 18 months in Reception before progressing to Year 1. Reception students who join a 2023 mid-year intake at a Catholic school will get free tuition in Terms 3 and 4.

The free intake includes tuition fees and compulsory charges. It will exclude uniforms and extra-curricular costs.

Please call the administration office, 85342000, to make an appointment with the Principal to discuss enrolment and mid-term intake or tour the school.

It is pleasing to see over 90% of the students in their correct school uniform. If you need a to order a uniform you can contact Vinnes.

Book a Fitting
A rerminder from Vinnies - 'Please book any future appointments online, or call the store direct and we can book a fitting for the same day if needed. That way we won’t get double booked and the parents won’t be disappointed if asked to wait or come back at a later time.'

Vinnies are updating their website and a new on-line ordering service will be availbale soon. In the meantime please make a booking online at https://vinniesuniformshop.simplybook.me/v2#/book for a suitable time. Opening hours at Vinnies in Murray Bridge are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30 – 5:00 pm. Please call the Store Manager Rochelle on (08) 8532 6699 if you have any questions.