9th May, Week 2, Term 2

From Our Principal - Mr Brendan Moloney

Dear Families,

Welcome to Term 2, it is wonderful to have everyone back and settling into learning. Everyone should also be congratulated on their patience with the weather, as they have had limited time on the playground due to the wet conditions.

With Sunday being Mother’s Day, we pray that you all have a Wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday!

School Counsellor

As communicated to you it is with sadness that our School Counsellor, Robyn Jones will be leaving us at the end of Week 3. Robyn has supported our school community through a number of significant events over the last 3 years, her support has been invaluable.

We are fortunate that a replacement Counsellor has been appointed and will begin next week. We will welcome Yasmin Mouftakir and look forward to her supporting our school community.

Term 3 Leave

During Term 3 this year I will be taking Long Service Leave for the first 8 weeks of the Term, I will be travelling with family heading north and then travelling the west coast. We are leaving on Friday the 5^th of July and will be returning to work on Monday 16th September.

We are currently undertaking the process for appointing an Acting Principal for my absence, this will be communicated to you later this term once the necessary processes are undertaken.

P&F Consultation

As outlined at our Welcome BBQ our school is required to select a new format for our community group, information on why this change is necessary and the options available to us have been provided to you. I would like to thank those who then completed the survey indicating their preference for our new community format.

The next step is to hold a final P&F Meeting where we will table the survey results and make decisions on our choices moving forward. We welcome anyone to join us for this meeting, it will be held on Thursday the 16^th at 4pm.

Staff Development Day 

Wednesday 29th May, all staff will be attending the PROCLAIM day with other Schools in the Lismore Diocese. Out of School Hours Care will be operating this day.

Tell Them From Me Survey

In the coming weeks we will be inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole school evaluation and planning process.

We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to maintain our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Joseph’s Primary School.

The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device. Details on how to do this will be provided soon.

Bullying and Friendships

Item 1: What is Bullying?

Understanding bullying helps students and parents distinguish between regular conflicts

and actual bullying. This helps avoid confusion and ensures that the right help is given

when needed. It can also empower you as parents to engage in prevention efforts

proactively. By teaching your children about respectful behaviour, empathy, dignity,

courage, and inclusion, parents can help prevent bullying from occurring in the first place.

Bullying refers to the unwanted, repeated and intentional use of words or actions against a

student or a group of students to cause distress and risk to their wellbeing. Watch What is

bullying?

Bullying means behaviour that has three (3) key features:

1. It involves the intentional misuse of power in a relationship;
2. It is ongoing and repeated; and
3. It involves behaviours that can cause harm.

A student can acquire power through advantage, such as social status, popularity, an

advantage in size and strength, number of allies, age, skill, or membership in a socially

defined dominant group, which could be based, for example, on wealth or gender.

Behaviours that do not constitute bullying include:

1. Mutual arguments and disagreements;
2. Not liking someone or a single act of social rejection;
3. A single episode of hurtful words or actions
4. Isolated incidents of aggression, intimidation and/or violence

Indirect bullying (also known as covert bullying) is not always immediately observable and

acknowledged as bullying. Indirect bullying can be discreet and anonymous, and the

person experiencing the bullying behaviour may not realise it until after it has occurred.

Examples of indirect bullying include:

• Spreading rumours: Sharing false or harmful information about someone to tarnish

           their reputation.

• Gossiping: Engaging in negative discussions about a person without their

            knowledge.

• Social manipulation: Encouraging others to exclude or reject a person from social

            groups.

• Cyberbullying: Using digital platforms to harass, intimidate, or spread harmful

           content about a person.

• Stealing: Discreetly and repeatedly stealing personal belongings

When parents understand what bullying entails, they can effectively communicate with

their child about their experiences at school, in the community and online. By using the

correct terminology and understanding the dynamics of bullying, parents can encourage

open dialogue and provide the necessary support.

Watch Bullying and Conflict with your child.

God Bless,

Brendan Moloney

Student Awards - Week 1

Mission News

During the forty days since the resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday, Jesus made frequent appearances and continued to speak to his disciples. This week’s Gospel reiterates Jesus' message to evangelise. Jesus’ final words before he ascends to heaven are a call to the Church to become the Body of Christ.

Shoe Drive

Our Shoe Drive is drawing to a close! We have graciously received numerous donations of quality shoes that will soon be delivered to St Vinnies in Lismore. We will be receiving donations until Thursday May 16 ready for delivery on Friday May 17th.  

Sacrament of Confirmation

Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation is well under way. Students participating in the Sacrament this year will engage with a reflection day on May 17th. We will be joined by some other children from the Parish and also our friends from St Joseph school Woodburn. We keep Braxton, Jakob and Chase in our prayers.

Save the Date

Confirmation Reflection Day May 17th

Sacrament of Confirmation 20th May 5:30

Sorry Day Liturgy 24th May 9:30

Whole school Mass lead by Stage 2 Thursday June 13th 9:30

Whole school Mass lead by Stage 3 Friday July 5 9:30

Sports News

Zone Cross Country 

On Tuesday we were represented at Zone Cross Country by Chase, Blake, Paige, Janaya, Sam, Saoirse, Casey, Pip, Noah, Jacob, Cally, Jack, Indie, Ryder & Ashar. The course was very wet however the rain held off.  Well done to the cross country squad.

Kyden Bolt - Rugby League Trials 

Last Friday I participated in the Polding Rugby League trials for the 11’s age group at Tamworth. We travelled to Tamworth on Wednesday. On Thursday at 3 o'clock we went to the footy ovals for training. I knew a couple of the players from my old club Casino Cougars. The Coach handed out our playing gear. I got to keep a Lismore Diocese hat, jumper and shirt. On Friday played 5 games against Armidale, Newcastle and some other teams. We won all of our games but the selectors weren’t worried about the game scores. I  played right/left wing and centre and five-eight. It was fun and exciting. Next week I go to Diocesan Rugby union trials in Grafton.

Tennis

We will start Tennis on Tuesday the 28th of May and run for 5 weeks.

The times will be 12-12.30 - Infants. 12.30-1.15 - Stage 2. 1.15 - 2.00 - Stage 3.

This program is funded by Sporting Schools Australia and will be run free of charge to our students.

South's Cares Visit

We were fortunate to have a visit from South Sydney Players as part of their South's Cares Program. Students had the opportunity to ask the players questions and join in a skills session. We had some very excited students and staff. The South's Cares Team included:Kalinda Bolt, Yileen Gordan, Rylee Merritt, Benjamin Lovett, Shaquai Mitchell, Alisha Parker, Rhys Wesser and Tyrone Roberts. Thank you to South's for taking the time to visit us and have some fun with our students!

Library News

           We have spent quite a bit of time in the library with wet weather, hopefully the rain is behind us.

           Our displays this week are Health and Medicine and of course Mothers.  

           Library days are as follows - K12 Monday S2 - Wednesday and S3 Thursday.

General Business

Happy Birthday to the following who have celebrated their birthday since our last newsletter: 

         Danielle Gomes, Jack Painter, Jacob Powell, 

           AJ Skinner,  Mrs Campbell, John Randall 

P&F & Canteen News

Special Canteen Menu - Friday 10th May

Ham or Chicken & Cheese Toastie , Popper (Juice or Milk), Chips 

$6 Orders can be placed through Compass