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Dear families,
I hope you are all tracking well. I know that everyone in our school community has been working extremely hard to get into a routine, to complete their school work, to join online meetings, to continue with work commitments and the list goes on and on. Just imagine how clever we will all be after this steep learning curve we have all had and the juggling what we are doing to maintain some sort of normality! Whilst there is much we could complain about, there is also much to be thankful for. Perhaps we have been forced to stop and spend some time with our families and just ‘be’. Maybe everyone has been ordered out of the house to kick a footy as everyone has had enough learning for one day and everyone is enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. Whilst I am sure not every day is a bed of roses, I know that we will all appreciate what we don’t have at the moment all the more when life resumes as we once knew it.
St Joseph’s staff are missing our students terribly, however we are working very hard to get our remote learning resources in place and to support our students learning in the best way we can. It would be lovely for teachers to receive some videos or photos of what remote learning looks like in your house.
We understand that not every activity will be able to be completed, or not every scheduled online meeting the children will be able to attend, we know that families are doing what they can. Whilst this form of learning is temporary it does appear that this will be the norm for the foreseeable future. That is why setting up the routines that you have and the structures that are working will make remote learning in Term two an easy transition.
Stay safe and have a great week.
Kind Regards,
Kirsty Beavan
Holy Week is one of the most important times of the liturgical year for Catholics as it commemorates the final week of Jesus' earthly life, and marks the end of the season of Lent. Holy Week commences this Sunday - Palm Sunday (5th April) and follows Jesus’ steps through to his death on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Timeline of Holy Week:
Palm Sunday: Accompanied by his disciples, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, while crowds of people covered the streets ahead of him with their cloaks and with palm branches.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Jesus preached and taught in Jerusalem.
Thursday: The Last Supper After washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus celebrated the Feast of the Passover, instituting the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
After the supper, Jesus and his disciples went to Gethsemane to pray, where he was arrested by the Temple guard and taken to an illegal night session of the Jewish court, the Sanhedrin.
Friday: Jesus was taken into Roman courts, before Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas, who sent him back to the Jewish court. Roman soldiers took him to Golgotha, the place of the skull, where he was crucified.
Saturday: Jesus rested in the tomb while his disciples observed the Sabbath.
Easter Sunday: An angel met Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" (perhaps Mary, the mother of James and John) at the tomb to tell them that Jesus was risen from the dead.
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY
What is the Paschal Mystery?
The Lenten season is a perfect time to have this discussion. We have many mysteries in our faith. These are beliefs that we accept as truth on faith alone because they have been revealed to us by God. These mysteries are central to our faith, but not always the easiest to explain to our children and students. When we talk about the Paschal Mystery we are referring to God’s plan of salvation which was ultimately fulfilled through four events in Christ’s life. Those four events are His Passion (his suffering and crucifixion), death, Resurrection, and Ascension. (CATECHIST'S AIDE ON MARCH 16, 2018)
The Paschal Mystery teaches us that living, dying and rising are a part of everyday experience as Christians. It reminds us that there may be times when we struggle and are in pain but that, if we follow Jesus' teachings and have faith, there is always the hope of new life. The Paschal Mystery is celebrated is celebrated at Easter with Jesus’ resurrection but also recalled during Mass each Sunday.
Amid the anxiety of the effects of the Corona Virus, it certainly is a time to reflect on the Paschal Mystery and hope and pray for Christ’s light to guide us through these difficult times, to new life. In fact, did you know that the Easter Egg is a symbol of new life? In countries in the Northern hemisphere, Easter is celebrated during spring and the egg was chosen to symbolise the new life that occurs during spring.
I wish you and your family a happy Easter and a relaxing break during the holidays. I have placed some links for an Online Mass and Stations of the Cross on the 2,3,4 and 5,6 Google Classrooms for families to share during Holy Week.
Wishing you every blessing this Easter.
- Liz Murray
| Week 10 - 29th Mar - 3rd April | |
| Mon 30th: | |
| Tues 31st: | |
| Wed 1st: | |
| Thurs 2nd: | |
| Fri 3rd: | End of term 1, start of holidays. |
Grounds Maintenance Roster
Thank you to all our families who have mowed and whipper snipped the grounds this term. If families that are rostered on could check on the grounds at some stage to see if it does need attending to, that would be greatly appreciated.
| Section A | Section B |
| F Corbett family - mowing | Roots family - whipper snipping |
| Annetts family - whipper snipping | Campbell family - mowing |
| P Roche family - mowing | A Reynolds family - mowing |
End of Term 1 tomorrow 3rd April, we will have pupil free days starting Monday 6th April - 9th April which means no school work for students.
Staff will be attending Professional Learning sessions for remote teaching on these days.
Term 2 Pupil Free day will be Monday 27th April, with remote learning resuming on 28th April.
This will be our last newsletter for Term 1.
St Joseph's ran an Easter Raffle for Caritas, thank you to everyone who purchased tickets over $100 was raised.
There were 10 prizes and the lucky winners were:
Indiana
Maddison
Maddy Jesperson
Matilda
Riley
Bonnie & Laura
Ted
Saanvi
Stacey
Hugh
Please come to the office to collect your prize before tomorrow which is the end of term.
Thank you also to Mrs Murray and Matilda who purchased the raffle prizes.
TIPS and EXPECTATIONS for Remote Learning
Parents
The best way for parents to continue to communicate with the teacher is via email. Teachers will reply to the communication in as timely manner as they can depending on the circumstances or time it occurs, many staff are trialling working remotely from home.
How will the teacher and students work together?
The number of online meetings and contact that each class has with their teacher will be different. Please keep in mind that teachers will do things differently and due to the student’s age, level of need, stage of development etc it will need to be different. Comparing what is happening in each class is not productive, we expect it to be different just as each classroom is. Each teacher will be available online at various times throughout the day to directly work with students between 9.00am and 3.10pm as per normal school hours,. The weekly plan is uploaded to See-Saw for Kindergarten/Year 1 and Google Classroom for Years 2/3/4 and Years 5/6. During the hours of 9.00am to 3.10pm teachers will be:
- monitoring student progress on tasks.
- responding to student submissions of tasks completed.
- assisting individual students or small groups through online means. These will ordinarily be scheduled ahead of time.
- answering questions from parents and students via email or Seesaw messaging.
When students are working alone at home it is easy to imagine that teachers can respond to questions in an instant messaging kind of scenario. Teachers will want to assist students at their time of need but they may not be able to because:
- they are currently working with another student.
- they are on their own recess or lunch break and will return after.
- they are having a designated Release From Face to Face (RFF) time and other staff such as Mrs Parker, Mrs Murray, Mrs Turnbull or Miss Jesperson are online to assist any students with their
- Their ‘face-to-face’ hours have finished for the day.
Teachers will always do their best to respond and engage in a timely manner. Depending on the time and the nature of any requests this may even have to be the next day.
It is important to know that:
- Teachers may still have sick days. This will mean that students will complete any tasks previously set for them. Teachers will not be expected to be online if they are sick. An announcement will be placed on Google Classroom, email or through Seesaw if a teacher is sick that day so that students and parents are aware.
How do I set my child up to participate in this remote learning program?
- establish your family routines and your expectations
- define a space for your child to work in
- monitor communications from teachers
- begin and end each day with a check-in
- In the morning ask:
- What are you learning today?
- What do you need to get done today?
- How will you be spending your time?
- What do you need to get this done?
- What help do you need?
- In the afternoon ask:
- What did you learn today?
- Acknowledge one thing that was difficult. Either let it go or come up with a strategy if the same thing happens again.
- Consider three things that went well today. Why were they good?
- Are you okay? Do you need to ask your teacher for something? Do you need help with something to make tomorrow more successful?
- where possible take an active role in helping your children process their learning
- encourage physical activity and/or exercise
- check in with your child regularly to help them manage stress
- monitor how much time your child is spending online
- let your child’s teacher know if you think they are struggling or do not get a concept so that they can get some extra support
- In the morning ask:
What are the student’s responsibilities?
These responsibilities should be adjusted according to the age of your child:
- establishing and/or following a daily routine for learning
- identifying a safe, comfortable, quiet space in their home where they can work effectively and successfully
- regularly monitoring digital platforms and communication (Google Classroom, Seesaw, email, etc.) to check for announcements and feedback from teachers
- doing their best work
- doing their best to meet timelines, commitments, and due dates
- communicating proactively with their teachers if they cannot meet deadlines or require additional support
- collaborating and supporting their classmates in their learning
- complying with the Student ICT User Agreement.
Remote learning is new for all of us.
Through this trial we are looking forward to the new opportunities for learning that will be created. Teachers, students and parents are all learning together. Let’s all be patient, kind and open to each other and the new learning opportunities that will occur in the coming weeks.
Every family received a Maths Pack containing a range of maths resources including dice, cards and counters. Please use the equipment with your family, play some of the dice and card games over the Easter break but try to pop everything back into the pack as the teachers will be planning activities using the manipulatives.
Please note that only the K-2 students were given ten frame charts and that all packs only have 30 counters not 40 as listed on the label.
Try the Roll and Connect Board games during the break. Game board number 4 is great fun… even for adults!
SZapp allows you to stay connected with St Joseph's and to view and access school newsletters and notifications.
SZapp has a fantastic option which allows you to fill out your children's absentee notes. This automatically sends an absence note to our office email address.
Download the app using the following instructions, if you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact the office.
Keep up to date with events happening at St Joseph's via our electronic school calendar (please note dates can be subject to change).
