School Newsletter

It was an exciting start to the term in the St Joseph’s School and Preschool as we welcomed new learners into our community. 

At the Preschool we welcomed Adam, Agnel, Astoria, Athi Maria, Francesca, Gracie, Guneet, Hunter, Isla, Kyprian, Lucas, Lukas, Max and Susanna. 

We had 26 new Reception students start with us also, with 20 going into our new Reception Marshall class and the remaining new students joining Reception Slattery and Reception Comitogianni.

To our Reception classes we welcomed Adit, Aiden, Asees, Aubrey, Ayaan, Azalia, Charlotte, Eleanna, Elliot, Gabriel, Indiana, Jaxon, Lac, Lachie, Leni, Leo, Oakley, Pager, Patrick, Pranav, Rosie, Ryder, Samuel C, Samuel T, Stefan and Zac.

Along with Natasha Marshall who began full time with us as our new Reception teacher, we welcomed Emily Quigley as our new Preschool Coordinator and, this week, Nikki Ouwejan as our new Preschool Co-educator.

In addition to our new early years staff, we also welcome Margaret Speechley onboard as our new Chaplain.  Margaret comes well accredited to engage in this role and was a past principal of several Catholic School. Meeting all of our staff and students for the first time on Tuesday, Margaret is thrilled to be able to serve our community as Chaplain.

Parents and caregivers have been invited to provide feedback on the performance of St Joseph’s School Hindmarsh via the Living Learning Leading Survey.  I ask that you find a few minutes to complete this as your response will provide valuable information to help us reflect on our school and plan forward to make St Joseph’s School the best it can be.  Students from Year 2-6 and all staff will also have the opportunity to complete a survey designed to enable them to have a voice in our school improvement.

👉 Follow this link and enter the code SJWHLLLP in the ‘Start Questionnaire’ field.

Last Friday the students were thrilled to be able to wear their favourite sports team colours to school and excited to enjoy a donut at recess time. A big thank you to members of our Parents and Friends Group, Rebekah Walton and Graziella Panazzolo who co-ordinated the ordering and distribution of sport colour donuts. These things do not happen by accident and take time and commitment from wonderful parents and friends to make it happen. 

😊 There are other events scheduled for the year and all parents are asked to help build our community spirit by contributing a small amount of time to share the load. 

👉 The next P and F meeting will take place in the staff room at 5:30pm on 8 August – come along and find out how you can help!

Next Tuesday August 8 is the feast day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Mary, Australia’s first canonised saint, was the founder of the Sisters of St Joseph and she herself founded many of our Catholic schools in South Australian.  St Joseph’s School Hindmarsh was founded in 1928 at our current site by the Sisters of St Joseph nineteen years after Mary MacKillop’s death in 1909. 

✝️ We will celebrate St Mary’s feast day with a whole school Mass on Wednesday 9th August in our Hall at 9:15am.  All are welcome to attend.

🥳 Our learners will continue the celebration later in the day with a mini-fete, organised by each class and raising funds for the Josephite Sister’s charity.

A reminder to book to meet with your child's teacher for our learning conversations taking place next week.

👉 If you're interested please make a booking here

📅 Monday 7th August - Friday 11th August 2022
⏰ Available Times

• Morning Sessions: 8.00am to 8.30am
• Afternoon Sessions: 3.15pm to 5.15pm
• Wednesday afternoon: 3.15pm to 7.45pm

⏱ Interviews are 15 mins
👩‍💻 Booking Code: t762k
📪 Bookings for this event will close on Thursday 3rd August

🧑‍🏫 These interviews will be conducted face-to-face

All Saints have dedicated feast days when they are remembered with special mention and prayers. Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day is on 8th August, which is the day she died. Mary’s Feast Day is a wonderful time to reflect on the qualities and actions that set her apart, and how her legacy continues to be relevant today. Mary MacKillop fiercely believed in the power of education to lift communities out of poverty. Education in Australia is what it is today, thanks in large part to the dedication and determination of Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph.

📅 As a school community we will celebrate the Feast of Mary MacKillop on Wednesday 9th August.

✝️ We will commence with a whole school Mass in the Hall at 9:15am.

🥳 This will be followed with a mini-Fete where each class has taken responsibility for organising a stall. Our students will then have the opportunity to buy items from the different stall between 12.00pm - 1:30pm.

💰 All money raised on the day will be donated to Mary MacKillop Today.

In the spirit of Saint Mary MacKillop, Mary MacKillop Today works to transform lives with dignity for self-determination. Mary MacKillop fiercely believed in the power of education to lift communities out of poverty. She chose to teach everyone – regardless of gender, race, faith or wealth – while serving with love and compassion.

Mary MacKillop’s work is still unfinished.

Many people are still unable to break the cycle of poverty because they can’t access education. Mary MacKillop Today proudly continues her extraordinary 150-year-old legacy, so that all people have the opportunity to flourish.

Mary MacKillop Today works hard to ensure fair access to education for people to have the tools to realise their full potential. This involves working with communities to create change by teaching practical skills to women, men and children in Australia, Timor-Leste, Fiji and Peru.

At St. Joseph's, we've partnered with Motivate Kids to help students better understand their bodies through interoception practice in the classrooms.

Did you know that humans have more than just five senses? There are 7 or 8 senses, depending on who you ask! Understanding these senses helps us know how we and others experience the world around us.

Interoception is one of these senses. It's about how our bodies feel on the inside. It helps us understand and respond to our body's needs, making things easier for us.

But some students may find it hard to process these internal signals. This can make them feel confused or not understand what their body is telling them. It might cause them to act out or feel discomfort without knowing why.

That's why we have a special place called "The Zone Room" for students who need extra help with self-regulation. In this room, they can learn to understand their body's signals better and become more independent in managing their needs.

By helping students with interoception, we make sure they can focus better in school and everyday activities. It's essential to support all children and create an inclusive learning environment.

The Zones of Regulation is a helpful program for students to learn how to control their actions and solve problems better. It uses different colours to represent four "zones" that show how kids may feel or behave at different times.

The activities in this program help students recognize which zone they are in and teach them ways to stay in that zone or switch to another if needed. They learn techniques to stay calm, use positive thinking, and find sensory support to manage their feelings.

It's important for students to know that there's no "right" or "wrong" zone to be in because we all experience different moods and behaviours. The main lesson is to help students understand their emotions and reactions and how they can affect others. This way, they can learn to handle their feelings better and have positive interactions with others.

Rita Garreffa
Assistant Principal in Student Learning and Wellbeing

Did you see some familiar faces in The Southern Cross newspaper this month?

In the lead up to the launch of Socktober 2023 on August 1, Adelaide Archbishop Patrick O’Regan and Bishop Karol Kulczycki SDS from the Port Pirie Diocese joined students from St Joseph’s School at the nearby Coopers Stadium to soak up some of the atmosphere of the World Cup venue.

👉 Read the article here

Each year since 1945 the CBCA has brought children and books together across Australia through Children's Book Week®. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators.

Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians create colourful displays, develop activities, run competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading. You will often see parades with students dressed as their favourite book character.

👉 Start planning your child's costume because our Book Parade will be on Friday 25th August.

Looking to dive deeper into the 2023 CBCA Book of the Year Award shortlisted books? Head to the links below to download the PDF with the Judges critiques of the Shortlisted titles from each category.

👉 Early Childhood Category
Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for children who are at pre-reading or early stages of reading. Ages 0-6 years.

👉 Picture Books Category
Entries in this category should be outstanding books of the Picture Book genre in which the author and illustrator achieve artistic and literary unity or, in wordless picture books, where the story, theme or concept is unified through illustrations. Ages 0-18 years. (NB. Some of these books may be for mature readers).

👉 Young Readers Category

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for readers from the middle to upper primary years. 7-12 years.

Note: Some of the titles in this category may only be suitable for readers who are in the upper primary years as they contain mature themes, including violence. Parental guidance is recommended.

👉 New Illustrator Category
This Award aims to recognise and encourage new talent in the field of Australian children's book illustration. Ages 0-18 years.