ST JOSEPH’S PRIMARY SCHOOL 28 SANDHAM STREET ELSTERNWICK 3185

NO. 20 12/07/2016

2016 TERM DATES

Term 1

Fri 29 January – Thur 24 March

Term 2

Mon 11 April – Fri 24 June

Term 3

Mon 11 July – Fri 16 September

Term 4

Mon 3 October – Fri 16 December

2016 – PUBLIC HOLIDAYS & OTHER NOTABLE DATES

19 August (Friday) SCHOOL CLOSURE – Staff PD & Planning

31 October (Monday) SCHOOL CLOSURE

1 November (Tuesday) PUBLIC HOLIDAY – Melbourne Cup

11 November (Friday) Remembrance Day

12 November (Saturday) Dads & Kids Camping Weekend

13 November (Sunday) Dads & Kids Camping Weekend

26 November (Saturday) St Joseph’s Fete

2 December (Friday) SCHOOL CLOSURE

16 December (Friday) Last day of School for 2016

25 December (Sunday) CHRISTMAS DAY

TERM 3

JULY

WEEK 1

Wed 13 Eucharist Retreat Day (Year 4) (At school) 9:00-3:30 (No parents required) Year 6 Excursion – Immigration Museum

Thur 14

Fri 15 Assembly @ 9:00am – Presented by Principal’s Award: A settled start to the new term

Sun 17 Sacrament of First Eucharist @ 10:30am (Year 4S) (At church)

Buckle up students and families,

it’s going to be an even bigger and more exciting term ahead!

Congratulations to Mrs & Mr Skehan on the safe and happy arrival of Henry Patrick

on Saturday. We are all thrilled to hear this exciting news and hope to see Henry soon for a very special visit. Unfortunately with the unexpected early arrival, Mrs Skehan didn’t even get the opportunity to enjoy her much anticipated first official Monday of leave. One suspects it would have been a pretty special Monday all the same.

PHONE: 9528 1614 FAX: 9523 0221

Email: principal@sjelst.catholic.edu.au

Web Site: www.sjelst.catholic.edu.au After School Care: 0417 231 301 (Voicemail/SMS Bookings)

St Joseph’s Saturday 6:30pm

Sunday 9:00am & 10:30am

Holy Cross Sunday 10:00am

ART WITH SIGNORA CLEWER

Term 3 Art resumes on Week 6 on Thursday, and Week 7 on Monday.

Signora Clewer

16th & 17th August Parent Teacher Interviews - Details below

Dear Families,

Welcome back all. We trust that the children had that well-deserved and relaxing break in anticipation of an amazing term ahead. Despite a colder than expected start to the term, it was wonderful to see so many warm smiles on the gate Monday morning. Not surprisingly, we also acknowledged many content parents exiting the gates soon after, perhaps pleased to see the children back at school and into regular routines. In the coming days we encourage all families to quickly revert back to sensible bedtime and morning habits in light of a particularly full term to follow. Term 3 is often regarded as the busiest in the school year, so be prepared and make sure you’ve locked in the Art Show & Bush Dance, 9th September.

This term, we warmly welcome back Moira after her extended trip overseas visiting her two daughters. We thank Kerry who did a sterling job in her absence carrying the additional load over this time. We also welcome Miss Cauchi into our community as the new Prep teacher for this semester. Alannah has spent the last few years as a junior school teacher and Literacy Leader. We are most fortunate to have her working with our precious Preps during this transition and utilizing her impressive skill set in our professional community. Supported by the wonderful foundation laid by Mrs Skehan, we expect a very healthy journey for these students. Thank you Prep S and parents for being so very welcoming.

It will also be exciting to see Miss Glumac and Mrs Daperis (Brennan) back the following week after a mixture of planned and unexpected leave. We’ve dearly missed their positivity at school over this period and I’m certain the children will be thrilled to have them back. A special thanks to Mrs Quitt and Mrs Wood for covering these classes in their absence. We’re so fortunate to have such quality replacement staff on hand. You’ve been amazing!

FIRST HOLY EUCHARIST

This Sunday, we look forward to our first class of predominately Year 4 students continuing their faith journey at St. Joseph’s in receiving the special sacrament of First Holy Eucharist. I thank the many families for their support on this journey and in particular the children’s teachers, Miss O’Dowd and Mrs Sargent for preparing the children so well. Our students are most excited and we wish them well for this beautiful celebration.

GRANDPARENT’S DAY – 22ND JULY

Grandparent’s Day (special friend) is the following Friday and we hope to see many grandparents in attendance for this very special celebration. We remind families to complete the CareMonkey RSVP in the coming days to assist with catering. Whilst stated in some earlier correspondence for a 9:15am start, this is to ensure everyone is seated for a prompt 9:30am assembly. Traffic congestion can be an issue at this time.

Assembly 9:30am (Year 4O) Class Visits 10:00am - 11:00am Morning Tea 11:00am - 12:00pm - Thanks P & F

TOURNAMENT OF MINDS 2016: We have an incredible 35 Year 5&6 students participating, and they will work for

the next 6 weeks on their final presentations and solutions. This year the challenge subjects have changed slightly, to reflect the educational focus on STEM subjects; the students have to choose a subject from Science/Technology, Maths/Engineering, Language Literature and Social Sciences. We wish them the best of luck as they prepare their solutions to the challenges, which they will present at Deakin University on the weekend of the 20th August.

MATHS OLYMPIAD 2016

The Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO) is a not-for-profit, professional organisation that offers a range of mathematical competitions for students aged from around eight to 14. The programs are unique in that they focus on the students' ability to solve mathematical problems in a creative manner - as opposed to simply reaching a solution using a prescribed method.

In 2016, Mr Hartney will work with certain students from Grade 4 to Grade 6, providing an opportunity to learn valuable problem solving skills and expose them to the application of mathematical problem solving strategies and techniques. The students will work with Mr Hartney for one maths session per week and the aim of the Olympiad is to:

Introduce students to important mathematical concepts

Teach major strategies and develop flexibility for problem solving

Foster creativity and ingenuity and strengthen intuition

Stimulate enthusiasm and enjoyment of mathematics

Provide for the satisfaction, joy and thrill of meeting challenges

The Maths Olympiad and Maths Games are an ideal complement to the school curriculum and we thank Mr Hartney for providing this challenge to our students.

Student/Parent Conference 2016 16th & 17th August (Prep – Year 6) Throughout the course of the school year we have a couple of formal opportunities to meet with parents to exchange information either verbally or in writing. At the commencement of the school year we schedule time for families to share helpful information about their child or children i.e. information that may assist the teacher with their child’s academic and social and emotional development. If required, we also strongly encourage throughout the course of each term for either the teachers or parents to meet to discuss a student’s progress.

At half year, a most comprehensive student report is prepared for each child and if requested, families may wish to discuss this in greater detail and subsequently organise a suitable time. Feedback from parents to date affirm the quality/standard and detail of these reports, and supports the move away from the accompanying traditional parent teacher interview that often discloses the same information.

In keeping with a successful format introduced last year, we have scheduled Year 2 to Year 6 student/teacher led conferences and because of their age, we have retained the typical parent/teacher interviews for Prep & Year 1 parents mid-way through Term 3. However, in addition to, and to complement the Prep & Year 1 sessions, we have introduced open book afternoons led by Prep and Year 1 students. All sessions Prep - 6 will be an opportunity to support the commentary (areas for focus) in the student reports issued at the half year and also establish some learning goals in consultation with the teachers and students for the remainder of the school term and year where appropriate.

Please refer to the upcoming structure for these exchanges:

Parent Prep - Year 1 open afternoons led by students have been scheduled: Thursday 11th August, Week 5 (2.45pm - 3.30pm) and Friday 12th August, 9.30am - 10.30am (after assembly). Parents only need to attend one of these sessions.

1. Parents ask questions about their child’s learning 2. Students have the opportunity to share their work with their parents 3. Followed by a teacher led 15 minute parent/teacher time the following week

Year 2 -6 Student/Teacher Led 1. Students and teacher present a goal for literacy and numeracy 2. Students/teacher talk about what actions need to be taken to achieve this goal

Some students may also provide evidence that led to the goal being set e.g. Assessment

We have set up the PT interviews online booking for the 16th and 17th August.

1. The website address www.schoolinterviews.com.au

2. The event code ebcc6

INTENTIONS FOR 2017

Thank you to those parents who have already notified the school regarding their intentions for 2017 for their child/children. We ask if you could please do this by the end of the week if you are looking to relocate or change schools. This is critical to numbers and waiting families.

In the coming weeks we will be releasing a number of new and updated policies via email and the school website, so we ask that you please ensure your email details are current with our records to ensure this information is directed appropriately. Occasionally, I will send messages from my address book, rather than CareMonkey, so please notify me if you are out of the loop. In recent weeks we have had quite a number of bounced emails from out dated parent details.

It goes without saying, I’m looking forward to sharing and celebrating a wonderful term with you all and most importantly watching the children flourish throughout our Australian focused term. Your unwavering commitment and partnership in supporting your children on this journey is always welcomed and valued. Here’s to a positive and fun term, Simon Collis Principal Important afterthoughts…

Perhaps don’t look at Week 2 just yet, it’s full to the brim. Thank you to Wayne Morrison (School Board) who has worked with the local schools and kindergartens to canvass for

traffic lights for the pedestrian crossing on Orrong Road. Works will be underway shortly. A great safety box ticked.

Dear Parents,

Welcome back! I hope you all managed to have some ‘down time’ and relaxation during the holidays, and I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the extra time to sleep in, and I think many staff felt the same after such a busy term! Well, we are back into the swing of things and looking forward to an exciting term of learning and discovery. As I wrote in the last newsletter of Term 2, our big unit of work this term has a history foundation, and I know the teachers have been busy planning and resourcing what will be a very interesting and engaging topic for our students. We also have the Big Bush Dance and Art Show taking place on September 9th, and our Year 6 Art Captains will be very busy in the coming weeks assisting with the organisation of this event. It will be a fantastic community celebration and the culmination of two term's worth of ‘Australiana’ investigations and inquiries. Look out for more news on how to purchase tickets in the next couple of weeks.

During the holidays I had the pleasure of spending some valuable ‘mum’ time with my two daughters, who are both on mid-year uni breaks. During that time they both received some much anticipated uni results, and thank heavens, both passed with flying colours. As I congratulated both ‘girls’ (young women!) I had a moment to reflect on how my parenting had changed over the years; when they were much younger I would overly praise for the smallest achievement!! I would praise the talents and gifts I felt my children had (‘Oh, you’re so artistic’, ‘My goodness, you’re such an intelligent girl’!!). Always praising the 'person' and very often forgetting that the process and persistence were the things I should have focussed on. This sort of ‘person praise’ certainly led to levels of perfectionism in my children, and I have no doubt made them often quite reluctant to take risks, try new things or see themselves able to develop new skills or talents. As the uni results came in last week I took a very different approach to praising my daughters- I focussed on the processes (thorough research, note taking, persistence and perseverance), and I offered feedback that couldn’t be argued with!

So, how does this link to the teaching profession and our aim to have children ‘flourish’ in all they do? At St. Joseph’s we have spent the last year and a half researching the most effective forms of feedback for our students, and without a doubt, the types of feedback that have the greatest impact on student outcomes are 'process' based, as opposed to 'person' based.

With the work of academics such as Carol Dweck, we now understand that process feedback (‘well done, you completed your reading target for the day’) promotes a growth mindset in students (‘I can improve over time’), whereas person feedback (‘you’re a great reader’) is more likely to encourage a fixed mindset in students (‘my talents are unchangeable and beyond my control’). It’s exciting to know that your child’s talents are not fixed. Their brains can always learn more, continue to grow and be stretched. This doesn’t mean that your child doesn’t have a propensity to be smart in certain areas such as maths or languages, or that all talent is created equally.

Genetics gifts us with certain abilities that are either developed or they’re not. Instead, your child’s abilities and talents, just like yours, are evolving over time. So as parents, it seems smart to develop a growth mindset in your child. A fixed mindset is limiting, even debilitating for kids. You want them to believe that with effort and practice they can develop their skills and abilities in whatever area or interest they want.

I will be offering some parenting tips on growth mindsets in future newsletters, but certainly check out the work of Carol Dweck to learn more. The human brain is fascinating! Have a great week! Michelle Moore – mmoore@sjelst.catholic.edu.au

FROM THE DEPUTY’S DESK

Mrs Skehan at her Farewell Assembly, noting that her baby, Henry Patrick, arrived before the next newsletter was published!

Election Day Sausage Sizzle – pictured here meeting

the Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, are 2 of St Joseph’s Prep students who are also Environment Representatives, Elan and Jack, (enjoying their democracy sausages). Elan is actually wearing her Environment Rep badge!!

St Joseph's Fete: Saturday 26th November 2016

THANK YOU – $1000 RAISED FOR THE SCHOOL

Well done to the grade 4 class reps, Sherelle, Liz, Kellie & Penny who co-ordinated the special screening of “Finding Dory” at the end of last term. It was a great success and $1000 was raised for the school. Great job ladies!

IMPORTANT DATES – TERM 3

GRANDPARENT’S DAY – FRIDAY 22ND JULY

The staff and students of St Joseph’s Primary School extend a warm invitation to all grandparents/special friends to the school on Friday 22nd July from 9:15 – 12noon. Assembly will start at 9:30. Thanks to the grade 3 class reps Maxine & Liz for organizing this event.

NEXT MEETING – WEDNESDAY 27TH JULY

The next P&F meeting will be held in Term 3 on Wednesday 27th July at 7:30pm in the staff room. Please come along. All welcome.

PARENT’S SOCIAL NIGHT – SATURDAY 6TH AUGUST

The annual Parent’s Social Night is on Saturday 6th August from 7:30pm onwards at Hotel Brighton, 286 Bay Street Brighton. Tickets @ www.trybooking.com/MCPC $25 = fun, canapés & photobooth. Thanks to the grade 1 class reps for organizing. Any questions, please ask Estrella, Mel, Josie or Sarah.

FETE NEWS – SATURDAY 26TH NOVEMBER

The St Joseph’s “Rio Carnival” Fete is fast approaching in Term 4 and we need your help! We are putting the call out for major raffle and silent auction items. We are sending home a list of examples and ideas for the raffle & silent auction prizes with students. If you can help or know anyone who can help, please contact the P&F. Kate Flavell on katie_arkell@hotmail.com or Kate Grindal on kgrindal@gmail.com

NEXT FETE MEETINGS – Please come along!

Wednesday 10th August Wednesday 14th September Wednesday 19th October Wednesday 9th November

P&F NEWS

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY 4th YEAR PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS ARE

UNDERTAKING RESEARCH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE

NATURE OF AUTISM.

We are seeking participants aged between 10-20 years diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder interested in

undergoing assessment.

Parents will be contacted by a researcher to arrange a convenient time for assessment of the young person.

This includes some surveys and some fun activities to assess movement skills, mood and creativity, which will

take approximately 90 mins.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVED OR FOR

MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

natureofautism@gmail.com

Supervisor: Associate Professor Mark Stokes mark.stokes@deakin.edu.au

COMMUNITY NEWS

“Dear Parents, A reminder that the Term 3 KICKAFOOTBALL After School (soccer) program is starting

TODAY.

Programs as follows: (Rear Playground)

TUE After School (3:45-4:45) for Prep to Year 2 - spots available

WED After School (3:45-4:45) for Year 3 to Year 6 - we nearly have 5 minimum students required to start

the program.

10% Sibling + 5% Referral Discount available

For more information, see the flyer below

Ciao, Maurizio Carbone – Team captain

TERM THREE – 2016

Assembly: No Year Level Item Principal’s Award: A settled start to the new term

WEEK 1 JULY

11 Mon TERM 3 COMMENCES

12 Tue

13 Wed Eucharist Retreat Day (Year 4) (At school) 9:00-3:30 (No parents required)

14 Thur

15 Fri Assembly

17 Sun Sacrament of First Eucharist @ 10:30am (Year 4S) (At St Joseph’s church)

Assembly: Year 4O (Grandparent’s Day) – 9:30am start Principal’s Award:

WEEK 2 JULY

18 Mon

19 Tue

20 Wed

21 Thur

22 Fri Grandparent’s Day Assembly

24 Sun Sacrament of First Eucharist @ 10:30am (Year 4O) (At St Joseph’s church)

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 3 JULY

25 Mon

26 Tue Prayers in Pyjamas @ 6:30pm (Year 1) (At School)

27 Wed P&F Meeting @ 7:30pm

28 Thur

29 Fri Whole School Mass @ 12:00 (Led by Prep) Cake Stall @ 3:15pm (Hosted by Preps)

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 4 AUG

1 Mon

2 Tue

3 Wed

4 Thur

5 Fri

6 Sat P&F Parent Social – Hotel Brighton @ 7:30pm

7 Sun Confirmation Commitment Mass @ 10:30am (Year 6) (At church)

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 5 AUG

8 Mon

9 Tue

10 Wed Confirmation ~ Parent/Child Workshop @ 6:30pm (Year 6) (At school)

11 Thur Parent open afternoon (Prep - Year 1) led by students 2.45pm - 3.30pm

12 Fri Parent open morning (Prep – Year 1) led by students 9.30am - 10.30am (after assembly). Parents only need to attend one of these sessions.

14 Sun Whole School Family Mass @ 10:00am (Hosted by Year 5) (At HOLY CROSS CHURCH)

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 6 AUG

15 Mon

16 Tue Student/Parent Conference (Prep – Year 6) PT interviews online booking

17 Wed Student/Parent Conference (Prep – Year 6) PT interviews online booking

18 Thur

19 Fri SCHOOL CLOSURE – STAFF PD

20 Sat TOURNAMENT OF MINDS

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 7 AUG

22 Mon

23 Tue

24 Wed

25 Thur Confirmation ~ Archbishop Denis Hart Visiting @ 10:30am (Year 6) (At school)

26 Fri Confirmation Retreat Day (Year 6) (At school) ~ 9:00am-3:30pm

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 8

AUG

29 Mon

30 Tue

31 Wed

SEP

1 Thur Whole School Incursion – Bush Dance (Years 3-6 @ 9:50-10:50) (Years Prep-Year 2 @ 11:45-12:45)

2 Fri Father’s Day Breakfast Sacrament of Confirmation @ 7:00pm (Year 6) (At Church)

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 9 SEP

5 Mon

6 Tue

7 Wed

8 Thur

9 Fri ART SHOW & BUSH DANCE

Assembly: Year Principal’s Award:

WEEK 10 SEP

12 Mon

13 Tue

14 Wed

15 Thur

16 Fri END OF TERM MASS @ 12:00 (Led by Year 2)

END OF TERM 3 – 1:00PM DISMISSAL

TERM 3 BREAK – Monday 19 September – Friday 29 September