St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Wandal Newsletter

Respect

What do women want?  From what is being presented in images from around the world, we want respect, and rightly so.  Indeed, everyone wants respect, and we are all called to give it.  But respect is a funny word.  It came into the English language in about the 14th century, from the Latin language, and in its roots, it means ‘to look again’.  In English, it firstly means the admiration we give to someone has done something extraordinary – the people who impress us so much we do a double take on them.

But the second meaning is probably the most important: due regard for feelings, wishes, or the rights of others.  In other words, the decent treatment we all should get, and give, simply because we are human beings.  But we see disrespect so often, and we ourselves can sometimes give disrespect, or put up with it when it is served out to us. Change isn’t going to come about just because we demand respect.  In fact, we are more likely to be ridiculed by the ones dishing out the original disrespect.

So what can we do?  Step back and look again.  Truly take time to consider who we are:  people made in God’s image and likeness, beloved of God.  That is the deepest and surest grounds for our self-respect.  Once we are deeply grounded in that knowledge, the disrespect we might get from others is less likely to disturb us.  And, strange to say, we also are more capable of giving respect, even to those whose behaviour is reprehensible.  This is what being created in God’s image is truly about.  This is what being Christian is about.  During this coming Holy Week, we will ponder on Jesus, despised, rejected, tortured and then murdered, respecting those who did all this to him.  He could do so because he was grounded in God’s love.  Let us live in that love, and give the respect our world so needs.

Loving God, you deeply love and respect me. Let me look again, and again, at the love you have for me.  May it be the ground of my self-respect and power for my respect for others.  I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

From next week, I will be taking some study leave, and will return in Term 2, Week 2. Please direct any concerns or queries in my absence, to  either Mrs Starr or Miss McLennan, who will both be taking on added responsibilities during my absence. 

Mrs Starr, Mrs Jones and Miss Murphy will be away from Wednesday to Friday of this week, attending some training. Our teachers are wonderful role models of life-long learning, and I thank them for being so enthusiastic about taking on professional development opportunities.

One of the most important things about being a Catholic school in the 21st century is knowing who we are and what purpose we serve. We need to have a clear understanding of our role as a Catholic school.

To assist with this and as an important part of our School Improvement process, St Joseph's Wandal is participating in a Catholic Identity survey which is conducted by Leuven University in Belgium. The research project is aimed at assisting us with understanding how our Catholic identity is expressed in work and practice, as well as supporting plans to further enhance our Catholic Identity for the future. This will be our second lot of data through this project (we first participated in 2016) and we look forward to comparing the growth and changes that have occurrred during the period in between.

All staff at our school, as well as students from Years 5 and 6  will participate in the survey at school. We would also like to give parents a voice by inviting and encouraging you to take part in the survey, which will be conducted online and is not identifiable.

Surveys are now open! Please follow the directions below to access your survey:

1. Access the surveys at www.ecsi.site/au/user/

2. Enter the case-sensitive password Ghj654 and click login.

3. If you’re a new user: Click the New user button.

If you wish to continue a previous session: Enter your User-ID and Password.

4. Enter your school’s Survey Access Code f39xa9 so that your input will be linked to our school.

5. You are now logged in. Displayed on the screen is your unique User-ID and Password (case-sensitive).

6. Save this information (write, print, or email it) to access the website at a later time.

7. From this point forward, please follow the on-screen instructions to complete the surveys.

Send evidence of your completed surveys (we don't see your answers), to sjwl@rok.catholic.edu.au to go into the draw to win a $100 voucher from The Criterion. The winner will be drawn at 8.35am on Thursday 1 April, 2021!

Nominations are now open for the 2021 Spirit of Catholic Education Awards. Catholic school communities are encouraged to nominate individuals or teams who are making an outstanding contribution to the life of the school community in one or more of the following areas:

• Showing outstanding integrity in leading a school community or program

• Implementing change that improves teaching and learning and supports greater equity in education

• Building Catholic education identity and ethos in ways that support exceptionally life-giving relationships and build hope in school communities or Catholic education agencies

• Demonstrating excellence in team work that supports and builds Catholic education

• Demonstrating outstanding service to others in the school education community and beyond.

Please contact myself, or a member of the leadership team with suggestions for possible nominations.

With the cooler weather not too far away I know many of you will be beginning to organise your child’s winter uniform during the Easter break. The rainy and slightly cooler weather experienced lately obviously took many families by surprise, and we noticed lots of our children in the incorrect jumpers and jackets. Please ensure you have the correct items leading into a cooler second term of school.

The winter uniform consists of the SJW logo jacket (avaialbe for purchase from Wearritto) and plain navy tracksuit pants.

· Girls may wear navy blue tights.

· Long sleeved shirts under uniform shirts are not permitted.

· Pants with stripes, brands and logos etc. are not permitted. · ‘Hoodies’ are not permitted.

Once again, a reminder that all students are to wear plain black leather shoes or plain black joggers. Canvas style shoes are not school uniform and should not be purchased by families having to replace school shoes over the holidays.

 I also take this opportunity to remind parents about appropriate hairstyles for school. If you are unsure whether a particular fashionable style is permitted, then please refer to the Guidelines, or ask the school office for clarification.

 Mary said, "I am the servant of God. Let it be done to me as you say."

Luke 1:38

Reflection:

Most callings come in silence. Mary was already a person of singular stillness - one who listend to the Beloved well before the angel came. The mystical encounter we call the Annunciation can be best understood as an act of hearing. Sally Read, in her poem "Annunication", mediates on this..

Lady, still as a well, turning hurt and consolation, show us how to listen in our emptiness.

© Sue and Leo Kane, 2019

Classes have spent some time reflecting on the meaning of Harmony Week by learning about the nationalities and ancestry of their family. Please scroll through the photos below to see some discoveries that students made about their ancestry. 

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) is a yearly count of students by all Australian schools across the country. The aim of the NCCD is to provide the Australian Government with information about the number of students with disability in Australian schools and the type of adjustments they need in order to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students. From 2018, the NCCD has been used by the Australian Government to inform funding for schools, known as the ‘student with disability loading’.

If you are a parent, guardian or carer of a child with disability who requires ongoing adjustments at school, a teacher or another school staff member will consult with you to understand your child’s needs. This collaborative approach ensures the most appropriate adjustments are chosen to support your child’s learning and participation at school. In some cases, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or Individual Support Plan (ISP) or Personal Learning Plan (PLP) may be developed to document specific educational goals and to review your child’s progress over time.

Your child will be included in the NCCD if they require ongoing adjustments at school due to a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. This is a very broad definition of disability, which includes physical and intellectual disabilities, learning disorders such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. The Disability Standards for Education 2005 set out the obligations of schools towards students with disability. Under the 2020 NCCD Guidelines every effort should be made to inform parents/guardians/carers that a student has been included in the NCCD. Where this is not possible, the reasons should be documented.

 If your child has a disability, your child’s school will provide information about them for the NCCD, including:

·         your child’s year of schooling

·         the category of disability that best describes your child’s difficulties (one of four categories is chosen by the school team to reflect your child’s greatest area of need: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional)

·         the level of adjustment your child receives at school (one of four levels is chosen by the school team to reflect the type of support your child requires: quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary adjustment, substantial adjustment, or extensive adjustment).

The information collected by schools for the NCCD will ultimately be provided to the Australian Government Department of Education.

While it is not possible for schools or families to ‘opt out’ of the NCCD, the privacy and confidentiality of all students and their families is treated with utmost importance. Data is collected within each school, and personal details, such as student names and other identifying information, are not provided to local or federal education authorities.

Related resources:

Fact sheets for parents, guardians and carers about the NCCD

NCCD Website - https://www.nccd.edu.au/for-parents-guardians-and-carers

Homework Club has concluded for this term.  It will recommence in the second week of next term.

A reminder that Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held in St Vincent's Hall on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.  Please finalise your bookings today as the booking window closes tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.

Thursday 1 April (Week 10) is our Year 3-6 Cross Country event. This event is used to select students who will represent our school at the Rockhampton District School Trials. Students and teachers will be walking with their classes from school to the Southside Soccer Fields for a 9am start. Parents/caregivers are welcome to attend the event but will need to abide by our COVID Safe Plan by signing in using the QR codes around the ground and maintaining physical distancing. Please stay at home if you are unwell or have a cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue or shortness of breath. Parents/caregivers wishing to take their child/ren to the event and/or take their child after the event has concluded MUST present to their child/ren’s classroom teacher/s to be signed in and/or out upon arrive and before leaving the grounds.  

Tuesday 31 March (Week 10) is our Prep-Year 2 Obstacle Course Fun Run. Students will be completing the course in their usual PE and Music times. Parents are welcome to come and watch their child/ren but must sign in and out at the office upon arrival and before departure and maintain physical distancing from others. Please stay at home if you are unwell or have a cough, fever, sore throat, fatigue or shortness of breath. 

Term Dates for 2021

Term 1      27 January - 1 April 10 weeks

Term 2      19 April - 25 June 10 weeks

Term 3       12 July - 17 September 10 weeks

Term 4      5 October - 3 December   9 weeks

Term 1 2021

March

28         Palm Sunday

29         Parent Teacher Interviews

30         Parent Teacher Interviews

30         P - 2 Obstacle Course Run

April

1           Year 3-6 Cross Country and Term 1 Concludes