School Newsletter

What a fabulous day we had for our Sports Day last week! Physical Education is an important part of our curriculum, and our students are lucky enough to engage in these lessons with a specialist teacher each week.  Our Sports Day celebrates not only the skill students are developing through these lessons, but other important life skills such as teamwork, humility, and resilience.

Congratulations to all our students, staff and families who made our Sports Day a wonderful day. These days do not just ‘happen’ but take considered effort of many people.  I particularly wish to thank Mr Matthew Baird who co-ordinated the event and prepared the children along with the Sports Day Committee.  I also thank our parent volunteers who assisted with supervision and refreshments, especially, Bek Walton and Graziella Panozzolo who coordinated the preparation and distribution of food and drinks for the many parents and family members who were able to attend. We'd also like to thanks the following amazing volunteers who helped make Sports Day a success for P&F: 

• Graziella and Andrew Panazzolo 
• Cat Vignona
• Matt Morris 
• Jacki Bishop 
• Ashleigh Dumont 
• Victoria Miranda 
• Kate Lloyd 
• Jazz 
• Michael Walton 

(I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone!)

 And those suppliers who support us: 

• Nick Benedetto of 3 Little Pigs, Lockleys 
• Highland Bakehouse, Ridleyton 

Our brilliant choir will be performing as a part of this festival on the evening of Friday 29 September at the Festival Centre. This group of Year 5 and 6 students have been busily preparing for this event since the beginning of the year and their repertoire is very polished and stage ready. Many thanks to Ms Reanna Arthur who has worked tirelessly to prepare our choir at their weekly workshop, take them to rehearsals with the wider choir and ensure that they will perform beautifully come Friday.  For those not attending the Catholic School’s Music Festival, we will all get to see and hear our choir perform at our upcoming school concert.

As previously advised, significant roadworks for Albermarle Street are now underway and will be  continuing for several months.

We have been advised that traffic flow will be restricted to one-way only, from Port Road through to Grange Road for the duration of construction. Glanton Street will also be closed to through traffic for the duration of construction.

Works will occur in four stages beginning with the north eastern side of Albermarle Street from Port Road. The area adjacent the school will be completed as a priority within the October school holidays (Monday 02/10 – Friday 13/10).

It is imperative during this time that our families exercise compliance with the traffic management plan in place and that they exercise patience and caution at all times for the safety of all.

Our school uniform forms an important part of our school identity, helping students to connect with St Joseph’s School and know that they belong. It should be worn correctly and with pride.

School staff and the School Board often receive questions regarding the St Joseph’s School uniform and our uniform policy.  From time to time, it is important to ensure the uniform is meeting the needs of the community and our students and the School Board has approved the undertaking of a uniform review.  We ask that all families take the opportunity to voice their opinions of our current uniform and this information will indicate whether some changes are needed. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

👉 Complete the uniform survey here

The 2023 Season of Creation prophetic call to “Let Justice and Peace Flow” is clearly asking the human community to take another important step toward conversion from the root causes that are creating the current dangerous crisis. It is calling us to embrace the global common good, Gospel nonviolence, and global solidarity that are essential to bringing about healing responses to the Cry of Earth and the Cry of the Poor.

This week’s scripture we will hear God’s message from Isaiah: “As high as the heavens are above the Earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” In this Season of Creation, we are being called to recognise the global climate emergency in which we are living. The planet is warming dangerously because of our use of fossil fuels and our systems of production and consumption. The ways our economies function and the values they serve are violently depleting and wasting Earth’s resources, creating great inequalities, suffering and injustice, feeding brutal conflicts, and exceeding Earth’s regenerative capacity.

Earth is crying out, the poor are crying out. The existence and wellbeing of future generations is threatened. Climate experts continue to warn of devastating, severe and destructive changes to all dimensions of life becoming unpreventable within less than a decade unless the global community makes dramatic changes urgently. 

In this Season of Creation, we are being called to take up our prophetic responsibility in love to spread the word and to transform the ways we are living upon Earth. We must acknowledge our failures to care for creation and embrace God’s ways.

Be You is a website that provides educators with knowledge, tools and resources to create positive, inclusive and responsive learning communities where every child, young person, educator and family is empowered to achieve their best possible mental health. Part of the Be You website includes fact sheets about various topics to do with mental health. These fact sheets can be a great starting point to get answers. They can also be used to spark discussions within your family.

Here are some fact sheets you might be interested in:

👉 Five areas of social and emotional learning

Social and emotional Learning (SEL) involves developing the ability to understand and manage our emotions, establish positive relationships, develop empathy for others, set and achieve goals and feel good about ourselves.

👉 Resilience and Mental Health

Resilience is the ability to bounce back after an adverse event and is a protective factor for children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

👉 Healthy Families

Healthy Family relationships and safe and supportive home environments are central to children and young people’s development and wellbeing.

Congratulations to brothers Chace and Archie for their great accomplishments in Lacrosse this year.

Chace played at Woodville and was awarded the following achievements on 16/9/2023:

• U13 Minor and Grand Final Winners - Lacrosse
• U15 Grand Final Winner - Lacrosse
• U13 Best and Fairest - Lacrosse Woodville
• U15 Coaches Award - Lacrosse Woodville
• U12 Coaches Award - Lockley's Football Club

Archie

• U13 Minor and Grand Final Winner - Lacrosse

It has come to our attention the USB cable supplied with the LED Strobe Torch at the recent Father’s Day stall is defective. Please see product safety recall notice attached.

⏎ Exchange/Replacement
Student who bought a torch at the Father's Day Stall will be able to exchange their faulty product for a new one. The replacement products will arrive within 21 days. An Audiri post will be sent out when they've arrived.

👉 Follow the steps below to register:

1. Complete this form to register your interest in replacing the faulty product.

2. Bring your faulty product to the Front Office (on or after the 21st September) and exchange it with a new one.

🎵 Get ready to be spellbound! Join us for "The Magic of Musicals," our school concert, where the enchanting world of musicals comes alive on stage. From Disney classics to the rocking energy of "Grease," our students will take you on a musical journey you won't forget. Don't miss this magical night of song and dance! 🌟🎭✨

📅 Wednesday 8th November
🕖 Evening Performance 
📍 School Oval

More information coming soon!

Come along to celebrate and support South Australia’s talented youth on one of four evenings presented by the Catholic Schools Music Festival. 

Featured soloists, big bands, a cappella vocal groups and more exhibit an astonishing calibre of musicianship and you will be in awe of the 370-voice choir!

In September 2023, the annual Catholic Schools Music Festival will showcase 2000 extraordinary students from the ages of 10-18 years on the stage of the Festival Theatre. 

👉 Our school choir will be performing on Friday 29 September at the Festival Theatre. Book online through Ticketek here

Graduation is almost here! 🥳

✝️ The End of Year Mass will be held on Thursday 7th December.

🎓 The Year 6 Graduation Dinner will be held on Monday 11th December.

More information will be released next term.

This term, the Preschool children have been busy creating a fairy garden under the tree. The Gold group started the garden, making a door, path and hanging fairy lights under the tree. That night, the children left notes for the fairies and were surprised to come back the next day to a tyre swing and rope ladder attached to the tree, along with some letters from the fairies. The next week, the Blue group also began adding to the fairy garden and writing notes to the fairies.

Over the course of the term, the children have continued writing letters to the fairies, creating windows, BBQ’s, swimming pools and playgrounds for the fairies. Each morning, they check to see if the fairies have written a letter, before quickly writing something new, often asking the fairies lots of questions about their lives. This interest has also extended to transforming the hut into a fairy house and creating fairy wands and crowns.

We have watched as the children interact with one another, sharing their wonder and excitement. Throughout the process, children have learned about joining techniques, using sticky tape, hot glue and string to attach new elements to the fairy tree. They have worked on their drawing and writing each time they make a letter for the fairies and used their social skills to share their ideas with teachers and friends.

Year 5/6 Excursion to the ‘Adelaide Botanic Gardens’ on Thursday, 14 September

PROGRAM: Aboriginal Plant Use Trails

Facilitator: Trent Hill, who is an Indigenous storyteller, educator and guide.

Learning Intention: To reinforce and connect our learning to our school’s Kaurna Food & Plant Fibre project.

To know, understand and investigate, through the Australian Forest, the traditional uses of trees and plants of Aboriginal people and relating seasonal movements to the surroundings.

“It was a really good experience because it was my last year doing this excursion. I learned a lot more than last year. I learned that there’s a special leaf that smelled like ginger when you rubbed it.”

“It was good to learn about different types of plants that Kaurna people used as part of their lifestyle and some facts about their culture.”

“I really liked learning about the different plants and facts along the trail with Trent Hill.”

“I liked it! It was fun learning about different native plants. I liked how we saw some birds. I learned about the Aboriginal culture. We also did a lot of walking which I’m not a fan of!! ☹ Overall, it was something I would go to again next year, I enjoyed it! 😊

“I felt it was really short but it was still fun to learn about the different ways people used to do things before new technology evolved.”

“It was really fun to be with my friends whilst learning about plants like the ‘bottle tree.”

“I really enjoyed the excursion. I found it interesting and fascinating. I enjoyed listening to Trent when we talked about specific trees and plants. The excursion felt really short even though we were there for quite a long time.”

“I liked visiting the rainforest & looking at all the water lilies in the glasshouse. I also liked looking at all the plants and how Trent made a fire with two sticks caused by friction.”

“It was really fun and informative. I learned most people didn’t hang around the Botanic Gardens’ area for too long, Aboriginal people moved around.

“It was informative, and I learned quite a lot about Kaurna plants and all sorts of plants used by Aboriginal people, like the grass tree.”

“I liked all the biodiversity we saw and the Kaurna tools we learned.”

It was really good and Trent was good showing us lots of different tools the Aboriginal people used. I really enjoyed it.”

“It was fun and peaceful.”

“I thought it was a really good experience and I want to do it again next year. I learned about the helicopter tree seeds and how they move around.”

“I thought it was a good experience learning about how Aboriginal people once survived in the bushes.”

“ It was very interesting and the best part was probably the ‘Observatory’ because it was a break from the heat and the plants were a bit more interesting, tropical and floral.” 

Written By Ava P

On the 14th of September 2023, the Kaurna Food & Fibre Project team went on an epic excursion to the Botanic Gardens. We left school at 9:15 on foot and walked for about 15-20 minutes until we arrived at the Entertainment Centre. We were all a bit tired, so we were very eager to go on the tram and have a little rest. We hopped on the tram that would take us to the Botanic Gardens, which was the very last stop; we enjoyed the long ride.

When we arrived, it was very warm and some of the students took turns taking photos on the two iPads that we brought. Once everyone got in, we started our little walk and soon settled down to eat brainfood. There we met our guide for the day, Trent Hill. He taught us about the River Red Gum, Yakka tree and their uses. He showed us how to make fire, first with matches and then with a stick and a slab of wood.

We also saw lots of different birds like ducks, cockatoos, LOTS of Magpies, some ibises and a few sparrows. Trent told us about the owls at night that would eat all the rats that would chew up lots of the elements of the Botanic Gardens.

We discovered a very fat and very tall tree called the bottle tree. This was an unusually tall bottle tree. A bottle tree acts as nature’s own water tank, and the bottom is hollow and fat just for that very reason: It stores lots of water inside it and when the bark is cut, jabbed sharply or stabbed sharply, water will spill out like a wine barrel that has just been popped open.

After almost a term of Inquiry learning surrounding our guiding question 'what makes a good game?', it was finally time for the 5/6 unit to build their own! Our learning intention for this phase of learning was for students to design and produce their own board game, which contained one working light system. We integrated a number of other subject areas into this task, predominately Science (for our working light circuit) and Design & Tech (for the construction of our game). Students built their board game using suitable techniques and lots of trouble shooting! Rules and instructions were also outlined so that finished games could be played amongst peers.