eNews Term 3, Week 9, 2024

Dear St Joseph’s School Community 

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. 

I am deeply grateful to Ros Oates and Mark Battistella for entrusting me with the leadership of our school community whilst Ros is on leave. I will be working closely with Nicki Clifford, who will be relocating to Ros’ office, as well as Deb Holland, who will be available from Monday to Wednesday, and Jo Gibbon, who will be based in the Tenison Woods – Middle Years Building. 

In Weeks 9 and 10, Josh Law will be stepping away from his Physical Education teaching role to support leadership. During this time, Jesse Paech will cover Josh’s PE lessons. Josh will also continue to support leadership in Week 1 of Term 4. I look forward to collaborating closely with the St Joseph’s School leadership team, Nicki Clifford, Deb Holland, Meghan Rowland, Annette Lamont, Jo Gibbon and Josh Law during my Acting Principal appointment. 

St Joseph’s School – Wellbeing Retreat Day 

On Friday, 6 September, we celebrated our St Joseph’s School – Wellbeing Retreat Day with a focus on fostering staff well-being. We kicked off the day with a shared BBQ breakfast at 8 am under the auditorium. This event provided a wonderful opportunity for our educators and ESOs to connect, slow down, and engage in meaningful conversations. Special thanks to Luke Woods, Deb Holland, Ros Oates, Georgia O’Neil, and Leesa Angove for their help with the breakfast preparations. 

Following breakfast, all staff attended a presentation by David Kelly from LBi (Life Bouncy Institute) in the Tenison Woods building. David’s presentation focused on key learning competencies, including: 

• Understanding trauma and its impact 
• Recognizing stress and its relationship to mental health and wellbeing 
• Developing skills to manage stress 
• Acknowledging organizational responsibility for staff care 

David emphasized the importance of self-care, which involves: 

• Creating and maintaining a healthy self-care routine 
• Reconnecting with personal values and what is important 
• Managing stress productively 
• Expressing and processing experiences in a healthy manner 

The timing of our Wellbeing Retreat Day was ideal, providing a chance for staff to pause and focus on their own well-being. Many staff members expressed their gratitude for the breakfast, the day’s activities, and the opportunity to focus on their personal wellness. 

Warm regards, 

Jamie Mulcahy 
Acting Principal 

SOCIAL JUSTICE 

As Christians, we are called to discipleship. A disciple seeks to do what Jesus would do and to be all they were created to be for the good of the world.  We need to nourish and support people so that all can fulfil their potential and flourish within a lifegiving community.  Mercy, encouragement, and inclusion are vital; as are the practical supports for growing and maintaining good mental health, like housing stability and financial support. 

Advocacy for those most vulnerable is necessary, as is genuine personal friendship and fellowship.  Christ is present in the rejection of any stigmatisation, and when policies and services meet and serve the needs of the most at risk as integral parts of ‘us’. 

Taking on the mind of God sees gift, potential and dignity in every human life, no matter how broken or imperfect it may seem by temporal, worldly standards. 

"Never see a need without doing something about it" was one of the sayings of St Mary MacKillop and is what drives Catholic Charities to assist struggling families and individuals in our community. 

In September, Catholic Charities have an appeal asking for support to raise funds for some needy South Australia organisations. Catholic Charities support a variety of local charities, including: 

• Centacare Catholic Family Services 
• Hutt Street Centre 
• Calvary Ain Karim  
• Our Lady of La Vang & St Patrick's Special Schools 
• SA Catholic Deaf Association  
• Aboriginal Catholic Ministry – Otherway Centre 
• Catherine House 

St Vincent DePaul Society is another of our Catholic Charities who work tirelessly in our community to support the most vulnerable.  Thank you to all who supported in our Vinnies Winter Appeal this year. 

PREPARATION OF CHILDREN FOR THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

There will be a parent meeting for the preparation of children to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday September 25th at 7:00pm in the Parish Centre Meeting Room.

This meeting is for parents only of children in Year 3 and above who feel their child/ren are ready to prepare to celebrate their First Reconciliation.  These children need to have been Baptised into the Catholic faith. Next year your child/ren can then prepare to celebrate Confirmation and Holy Communion completing their initiation into the Catholic church.

As per Diocesan guidelines we now use a parish-based preparation program which is a wonderful opportunity for us to work with our children in their preparation and maybe to even update our own knowledge of this important sacrament as we make the journey with our children.

At the meeting Deacon Arturo, Catharina Slattery and Deb Holland will be outlining the program and the implementation of it for this year. 

If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like your child/ren to prepare for Reconciliation please contact Deb via email deb.holland@stjomb.catholic.edu.au or phone 85342000.

On Thursday 12th September, students in the year 1 cohort had an exciting day out at the Adelaide Zoo! Students have been learning about animals, habitats and survival needs. In recent weeks we have even created a 3D model of a chosen animal and constructed a diorama of their natural habitat. Being at the zoo, students were able to see their animal up close. From meerkats, to pandas, to giraffes and little penguins, students had a great day walking around the zoo in the sunshine! A big thank you to all those involved in ensuring a smooth, successful and enjoyable day for everyone.

This Term Year 4 has been looking at sustainability and environment as a cross curricular through all subject areas. We have looked at the creation story and Laudato Si and understanding that God wants us to be good stewards of the earth. Maths we have learnt about time and money strengthened knowledge on Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and looked at their relationship and different strategies. In English we have covered Information reports, poetry and procedure writing. During Art to keep the theme of sustainability we have made recycle paper.

We started Term 3 with our year 4 overnight camp at AFL Max, student's experienced rock climbing, football drills and healthy lifestyle activities. Our friend Kevin experienced his first visit to the beach thanks to Mr Mulchay.

Year 4 Students had the opportunity to work with Makers Empire and RAA all students all applied themselves to the challenge of designing a safety prototype that could assist their school community to increase road safety and the Florence Street school crossing. Having the opportunity to partner with Makers Empire for the design and RAA for road safety awareness was a great initiative, that the students enjoyed and were highly engaged in.

Year 6 students went to Adelaide’s MOD museum to visualise the future of our planet. Students engaged in the exhibition “BROKEN” and explored potential futures. In the afternoon students explored the art gallery of South Australia where they undertook a nature and botanical illustration workshop. A great day was had by alll.

With all the excitement leading up to Book Week and to promote the Premiers Reading Challenge we held an August Book Reading Challenge in the library.

Each time Reception to Year 6 students borrowed a book(s) from the library they got to add a lego brick to their class tower.  The goal was not necessary to build the tallest tower – but the most interesting (or best looking) tower. 

The Middle Years’ students were also offered a Book Reading Challenge. Their challenge was to electronically borrow, read and then return specially tagged books from the library. This challenge will continue until the end of term 3 as we want to encourage more borrowing. 

Premier’s Reading Challenge News 

The Premier’s Reading Challenge has now finished. The data is now being entered into the system.   

A huge achievement has been accomplished this year with an approximate number of around 400 students at St Joseph’s School completing the challenge.  All certificates and awards will be received some time in Term 4.

Please see The Southern Cross newsletter and the online edition of The Southern Cross September 2024.