St. Joseph's Primary

Penshurst

Acknowledgement of Country

At St. Joseph’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Kolorer gunditj people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

The area around Mount Rouse is the country of the Kolorer gunditj clan of Aboriginal people. Their title is derived from their name for Mount Rouse which is Kolor. The permanent spring that is now located within the Penshurst Botanic Gardens was a traditional meeting place for Aboriginal people in the region.

School Vision

St Joseph’s Penshurst, as partners in Catholic education and with our school community, pursues fullness of life for all.

Prayer

God of princes, God of nurses: this disease is a great leveller. It has humbled our rulers and exalted your servants.

Let us note this abnormal way of being:  this proper appreciation of cleaners and supermarket workers, and childcare providers; those in the field and those on the frontline, the ones packaging food and delivering medicine.

And may we remember that in this abnormal you are with us.

Amen.

Message from the Principal

Hello Everyone. Week one was a positive one with our P-2's all enjoying being on site and some sunny weather. This week we look forward to welcoming our 3-6's back on a staggered basis. Although not ideal it will be a good opportunity to start getting back into the swing of schooling again. In the calendar below you will notice we have a school closure day booked for the 1st November and Melbourne Cup day public holiday on the 2nd November. Although this may seem inconvenient at this time, these dates are booked in at the start of the year. School will be closed on these dates.

In Friday's press conference Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton announced that masks for students in grade 3 and above will be mandated in indoor settings, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID as on-site learning recommences over the coming weeks.

Masks are strongly recommended for students in Foundation – grade 2 in indoor settings, but will not be mandatory. The commencement date for this will be announced soon however if you could organise a mask for your child and start getting into the habit of sending them to school with it, this would be appreciated. 

I would like to thank all the students, staff and families for your flexibility and support over the last few months and look forward to a positive end to 2021.

Learning & Teaching

This week we look forward to welcoming back our grade 3-6 students as part of a staggered return to school.

On Tuesday and Wednesday our Grade 3 & 4 students will be on site.

On Thursday and Friday our Grade 5 & 6 students will be on site.

All other days students will continue the home learning program set out by Katie and Mrs. Hallowell.

Our Prep-2 class continues at school with Mrs Gow. Parent meetings are being held over the next two weeks to give parents an opportunity to meet Tayla, talk about their child's learning and continue the school-family relationship. Tayla has communicated this through ClassDojo to her students families.

Hats and Summer Uniform

Students at school are required to wear hats when playing outside in Term 4. If you have not sent your child’s hat to school yet, can you please do so ASAP. New hats are available to purchase through the school. 

As we are in Term 4 it is now time to start wearing our summer uniform.

Grade P-2 and 3 & 4 will need to wear sports uniform on Wednesday this week.

Calendar Dates

Term 4 - Special Dates to Remember

26th October - All students back to school together

1st November - School Closure Day 

2nd November - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

4th November - School Photos (Summer Uniform)

11th November - Remembrance Day

7th December - Proposed Orientation Day for 2022

17th December - End of Term 4


Happy Birthday

Congratulations to new Foundation student Hunter Kelly who celebrated his birthday last Friday. He is our only student with an October birthday.

Wellbeing

Hello for the next few weeks we will continue to look at the article on school refusal. If you wish to view online please see link: https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/school-refusal/school-refusal

Understanding your child’s school refusal

The first step to working on your child’s school refusal is trying to understand the issue from your child’s point of view. This means you can go to the school with useful information.

Identifying why your child is having trouble going to school

  • Talk with your child about school and why they don’t want to go. Try to find out whether your child is having problems with peers or teachers, or whether they’re trying to avoid something. For example, ‘If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?’

  • If your child finds it hard to talk about the problem, ask your child to rate each part of the school day – for example, the bus ride, classroom, specialist classes, teacher, peers, recess and lunch breaks. Younger children might find it easier to tell you how they feel by pointing to symbols like sad faces or smiley faces.

  • Think about whether there’s anything happening at home that’s making it hard for your child to leave and go to school. For example, have you had a death in the family or recently moved house? Is your child worried about someone at home, or is your dog unwell?

Finding solutions to school refusal

  • Help your child to problem solve any obstacles about leaving home or going to school. Clearly define the issue, then brainstorm possible solutions. Choose the option that has the best possible outcome.

  • Tell your child that you’re going to work together with their school to help them go to school.

  • Talk with your child about seeing a counsellor or psychologist if they feel they can’t manage their worries or fears about school.

***It’s important for your child to go to school while they’re getting help with the issue that has caused the school refusal. When your child goes to school, it builds their confidence and resilience. It keeps your child connected with learning, and it’s important for social development. It’s often easier for children to return to school if they haven’t been away from school for too long.

Just a reminder that my contact details are 0400 994 032 or email lisa.gonnet@centacarewarrnambool.org.au

Please note that I am available to parents and family 8.30 – 4.30.

Kind regards and have a wonderful week

Lisa Gonnet

Schools pastoral care worker

Catholic School Culture

Have you ever planned to have a picnic and it rained? Perhaps you sat and watched the rain and grumbled to yourself, "I wish it would stop raining." What if that wish came true and it really stopped raining FOREVER? There would be no grass, no trees, no flowers. Rivers, lakes, and streams would dry up, and all life would begin to disappear. This world would be a miserable place if it stopped raining, wouldn't it?