Now that December is upon us, our thoughts turn towards Christmas and the many celebrations associated with this special time of year.

Each class has set up an Advent wreath on their prayer table and the students are learning about the signs and symbols associated with Advent. Advent candles readily demonstrate the strong contrast between darkness and light, which is an important biblical image. Jesus referred to himself as the "Light of the World" that dispels the darkness of sin:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

The Advent candles also reminds us that, as Christians, we're meant to shine the light of Christ in this world. As Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world ... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

The candle on the Advent wreath this week represents hope.

The children are becoming familiar with the Christmas story through a range of books and drama activities. 2/3 investigated how far Nazareth was from Bethlehem and how long the journey would take. Today by car the trip would take two hours and twenty four minutes (156.7km). Walking would take 31 hours! There are accounts of Joseph and Mary travelling for five to seven days. The 4/5/6 class are deepening their knowledge and understanding of the Christmas story by comparing the Infancy Narratives, the accounts of the birth of Jesus, written by Matthew and Luke.

It is wonderful to hear the discussions and questions that arise from looking deeper into the Christmas story.

I look forward to celebrating our School Mass next Wednesday. Readings or prayers have been sent home for students in Year 6, 4 and 1 to review. I will listen to the students read at school, but I would greatly appreciate if families have any time during the week to practise the readings with your child.

- Liz Murray

Religious Education Co-ordinator

Next Wednesday 8th December we will join together to celebrate our End of Year Mass and Awards Ceremony.  This will be an outdoor event on the oval commencing at 9:30am. Please bring along a chair.

We are extremely lucky to be able to hold this event for our families however due to current Covid restrictions within schools we will need to pay special attention to social distancing, checking in, vaccination requirements and following current health orders in relation to not attending if you feel unwell or have been classed as a contact.  Only parents/families who are double vaccinated are allowed to enter the school grounds to attend the event.

Following are the requirements we will need to follow on the day:

• advise attendees if they are unwell they should not attend the event and if they present as unwell they will be asked to leave or are classed as a contact.
• check in via QR code
• hand sanitiser to be used
• proof of vaccination via the Service NSW app/Medicare app or paper copy from Medicare
• seated in family group
• socially distance from other family groups

Below are the different forms of proof of vaccination that will be accepted on the day.

School reports will go out next week via Compass.  Paper copies will no longer be available, you will logon to Compass to access your child's school report, a paper copy can be printed at home if you wish.  

Parent Teacher Interviews for Semester Two will commence next Tuesday with class teachers. 

Bookings will be via the Schoolzine booking link which has been emailed out to parents.  Please let the office know if you haven't received an email.  

We ask that parents please follow strict Covid protocols by checking in via the QR code, showing proof of double vaccination, sanitise and maintain social distancing.

Our pool reward day will be held on Tuesday 14th December at the Adelong pool. 

Online permission note has gone out via Compass and we require permissions to be given as soon as possible.  Sausage sizzle lunch order has gone out via paper note and we require orders and money to be returned to school by next Tuesday 7th December.  

If you have any questions please don't hesitate contacting the office.

Each classroom has a basket ready to be filled with any non-perishable food or new toys for the Vinnies Christmas Appeal.

The children can bring in their donations any time and pop them in the baskets. The donations will be carried up to the altar during our End of Year Mass, and then donated to St Vincent DePaul Tumut.

Swimming sessions are going well with the nice warm weather, today Kinder and Yr 1 enjoyed some time in the splash area after their lesson.

Congratulations to St Joseph's students who received Student of the Week and Principal Awards in week 8.

Principal Awards:  Om & Braxton.

Student of the Week:  Barney, Isabella, Henry, Cody, Lochie, Charlie & Fred.

Happy Birthday:  Tessa, Sidonie & Beau.

Recently when St Joseph's held a fundraiser for Backpack Beds for the Homeless, the students formed coin lines. In 2/3 they also used the coin line activity to form different observations.

I used the trundle wheel to measure the length of our money line, it measured about 20 metres - Laura Reynolds

I collected all of the 5 cent pieces and lined them up in value order. It worked out that if you trade your two dollar coin for 5 cent pieces at the bank, your line would be so much longer. You could have 20 coins for one 2 dollar coin! - Alice McDougall

It was very competitive making our lines, the 5/6 kids kept coming over and looking at our line trying to beat us - Henry Roche

The lines tested my maths, with counting by 5s and 10s. Henry counted the 10s and I counted the 5s. There were so many - Cody Johnson

We sorted the coins into their value to make counting easier - Taylor Maher

We sorted the coins into lines, and I think our line was about 15.5 metres - Braxton Bamblett

We were raising money to help homeless people receive backpack beds. It is like a swag, and costs $100. We hope we raised enough to buy one - Grade 2/3

We still have lots of lost property at school, if you are missing something please let us know or have the children look through the box.  Please ensure all items are labelled.

Students who will in be in Yrs 2-6 in 2022 will require their own device.

The requirements that the school suggests are that the device has a good battery life, wireless wi-fi and the preference would be for a laptop or chrome book rather than a tablet. Somewhere in the middle price range – not cheap and nasty but not top of the line as there really is not a need to spend a lot of money. Windows 10 S machines can be troublesome, however it is suggested that Google chrome is the browser for your device.

If purchasing a laptop for your child is going to place financial pressure on the family, we ask that you contact Mrs Beavan to discuss. There will be chrome books available for students to use until such time a laptop can be purchased. Please let me know if you have any queries about this, happy to help out.

Term 4 fees are due for those not on a Direct Debit.

Nominations for Canberra Goulburn Sporting events for 2022 are now open for various sports to be held early in the year. 

Please check the website  https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations for dates on nomination closing dates to ensure you have registered.