Welcome to Week 8.  The children look fantastic today all dressed in yellow for R U OK day.  It is such a great message to teach our children to check in on our buddies and make sure that they are travelling OK.  I hope as adults we are doing exactly the same with our friends and family near and far.

It was great to have our Kindergarten Information Night last night.  We are looking forward to some point in time when we will be able to welcome our new Kindergarten students into the school – hopefully in Term 4.

You will have probably noticed in recent news the attention being given to social media.  It is a great reminder for all of us, that as parents we should be monitoring when our children are using devices and that many social media apps are only for children over the age of 13.  Below is the suggested age for children to be on apps:

Have a great week.

Kirsty Beavan

Principal

Wednesday marked the ‘Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary’, the day on which we commemorate the birth of Mary, the Mother of God.

This is unusual feast day, because it celebrates a birthday. Traditionally feast days are commemorated on the date of the Saint’s death, however Mary, Jesus and St John the Baptist are celebrated on the day of their birth.

In Religion this week, the classes have been learning about the feast day, discussing the important events in Mary’s life and learning to sign the prayer ‘Hail Mary’.

The 5.6 class wrote what they knew about Mary, and what they would like to know. Some of the things the students were wondering about Mary include -

* Who are Mary’s parents?

* What is Mary’s surname?

* How old was Mary when she gave birth to Jesus?

* Was Jesus her only child?

* Did Mary have a job?

* Was her family wealthy or did they live in poverty?

* Who wrote the Hail Mary prayer?

Some of the questions were answered during our lesson and others we need to continue to investigate further.

                   (St Bernard)

- Liz Murray

Religious Education Co-Ordinator

School photos - week 10 on Tuesday 22nd September.

A reminder to fill out the photo form and return to school at your earliest convenience. 

Forms and payments are due by Friday 18th September.

Students will need to wear full winter school uniform.

Term 3 fees are due for those not on a Direct Debit

Term 4 Pupil Free Days will be Monday 12th & Tuesday 13th October.  

Students will return on Wednesday 14th October.

Staff will be attending two Professional Development days on Challenging Learning.

Congratulations to our students who received awards in Week 7. 

Principal Awards:  Charlie, Arthur & Henry Happy Birthday wishes:  Reuben

Media leaders Gypsy & Matilda interviewed the Student Spotlight this week, what will we learn about our student at St Joseph's.

Maddison - Yr 1	Jack - Yr 6
Tell us who’s in your family? Dad (Jason), Mum (Jen), Harper (sister), Harry (brother). Tell us 5 words that describe you? Healthy, good, kind, helpful and happy. What do you like to do on the weekends? I like to play with Harper and Harry and play with my LEGO. What’s your favourite game to play at school?  I like playing in the playground. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I would like to be a teacher.	Tell us who’s in your family? Dad (Ian), Mum (Donna) and Sam (brother). Tell us 5 words that describe you? Sporty, kind, generous, fun and smart. What do you like to do on the weekends? I like to ride the motorbike. What’s your favourite game to play at school?  At school I like to play footy. What do you want to be when you grow up?  I would like to work on the farm.

Yr 2/3/4 & Yr 5/6 have been working on their public speaking for 2020. 

Their topic is "If you could live anywhere in the world and why".

This year there will be no formal 'speak off' with St Mary's Batlow.  The students individual speech will be filmed and shared with each child on google drive so they can show their family.

REMINDER:  No Hat, No Play policy is in place all year round, a reminder that your child/ren need a hat for outside play.  

If they don't have a hat they will need to sit under the tree.

REMINDER:  Please send in a refillable drink bottle, due to COVID-19 restrictions children are unable to use the bubbler.  However they can refill their drink bottle from the water tower.  

We hope all the fathers of the 5/6 class loved their Father’s Day gifts. We were very lucky to have Marlene Pearce bring in tools for the students to do pyrography. Mrs Pearce explained that “pyro” means fire and “graph” means writing, so pyrography is the art of writing with fire. The students thoughtfully designed their coasters and then carefully used the pyrography tool to burn their design onto the coasters. Mrs Dean and the 5/6 Class would like to extend a huge thank you to Mrs Pearce for allowing us to use her tools and taking the time to teach us a new skill.

Last Friday was our last tennis lesson for the term.  A big thank you to Birdie for coming and teaching the children new tennis skills.  Preston, Bonnie and Indiana received tennis racquets for the fantastic efforts during lessons.

Commonly known as the ‘queen of common sense’, Maggie Dent has become one of Australia's favourite parenting authors and educators, with a particular interest in the early years, adolescence and resilience. Maggie is the author of six major books, including the bestselling 2018 release Mothering Our Boys and her 2020 release From Boys to Men. She hosts the ABC podcast, Parental As Anything. Maggie is a dedicated advocate to quietly changing lives in our families and communities. She is the mother of four sons and a very grateful grandmother.

We are looking forward to Maggie's webinar on Wednesday 23^rd September, 2020 at 7 pm, details of how to log in will be shared in the next couple of weeks.

ARCHBISHOP PROWSE VISIT THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER

Archbishop Christopher Prowse will visit St Patrick’s Gundagai on Thursday 17^th September. Mass will be celebrated at 5pm, followed by supper in St Patrick’s Hall where His Grace wishes to speak with parishioners. Numbers are limited to 50, so please book in for this emailing gundagai@cg.org.au or phone the Secretary – Madeline Ryan 0478000526.

His Grace will also celebrate mass at Immaculate Conception Church, Tumut on Friday 18^th September at 10.00am, followed by morning tea in St Mary’s Hall. Numbers are limited to 40, so please book in by emailing tumut@cg.org.au or phone Madeline Ryan 0478000526.

His Grace would also like some written feedback regarding how each parish feels like their parishioners are coping during the COVID 19 pandemic. If you would like to share your experiences/ reflections, both positive and negative, please email them to the parish. The reflections will be collated and presented to the Archbishop.

CONFIRMATION

The date for Confirmation is Sunday 29^th November 2020, at the 10.00am Mass in Adelong.

The next lesson will be held on Thursday 17^th September from 3.15pm to 4.15pm in the Parish House.

Thank you to Father George for staying after Mass to meet the children and speak to them about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Thank You

- Liz Murray (0405513318)

Keep up to date with events happening at St Joseph's via our electronic school calendar (please note dates can be subject to change).