From the Principal's Desk

Dear Members of St Joseph’s Family,

Wow!  What a week it’s been, certainly one full of challenges and change.  I would like to thank the entire school community for the way in which you have responded so positively.

We are now starting to see the return of classes and individual children which is lovely.  Congratulations to the Year 3 classes and Year 5 Gold who took their whole class isolation period in their stride.  It is important moving forward that all students are made to feel welcome as they return and that there is no blame attached to those who are returning having tested positive.  It really doesn’t matter who had it, or who started it, what matters is that everyone is getting well and that we are kind and respectful to those around us.  I ask that, in your household conversations, you remind your children about that so there are no unwanted or unwarranted comments made to students as they return.

One of the unsung heroes in all the chaos of last weekend was our superstar cleaner, Leanne from Simply Fresh Cleaning.  Leanne gave up her weekend plans to come in to deep clean four classrooms and the PAC at Primary and four classrooms at Secondary.  Thank you, Leanne!

                                              

COVID - Very High Case Load Regulations

Under the very high caseload setting, students who are asymptomatic close contacts,  unless they are household close contacts, may:
o continue to attend school;
o attend care service centres;
o attend Outside School Hours Care (OSHC);
o attend school-based sporting, music, cultural training, practice or events that are organised by or take place at our school, and are held
   immediately before or after school; and
o travel directly between their usual place of residence and their school. Public transport should only be used if there are no other
   options available.

At all other times, asymptomatic close contacts should quarantine at home for 7 days and get tested, as per the requirements for close contacts, as follows;
o undertake a COVID-19 test on Day 1 and Day 6, if a PCR test; or
o undertake a COVID-19 test on Day 1 and on Day 7, if a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT).

These arrangements DO NOT APPLY to children who are household close contacts of a COVID-19 positive person (and have tested negative) or who are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms.   This means that if anyone in a child’s household is serving 7 days isolation because they are COVID-19 positive, the (negative) child must remain in quarantine and not attend school.

Students who have already tested positive and have completed their 7 days of isolation are able to return to school provided that they are symptom free.  They are not required to retest before coming back to school.

Ash Wednesday - Lent

Last week, both campuses celebrated the start of the season of Lent with online Ash Wednesday liturgies.  Thank you to Mr Reidy and the Ministry leaders for being so flexible and creating this opportunity for the students. 

Our fundraising efforts now focus on raising much needed funds for Caritas Australia.  I encourage each family to collect their small change in the boxes which were sent home last week.  Every little bit counts.

Prayers Sought

Whilst we might be in the midst of COVID here at the moment, we remember in our thoughts and prayers the people of Ukraine and also those impacted by the floods in Queensland and New South Wales.

The School community also offers our condolences to Steve Johnson and his extended family on the passing this week of Steve’s father.  May he rest in peace.

God Bless

Andrea Woodgate
Principal 

Faith in Action

Parish Sacramental Program

The Parish Sacramental Program Coordinator, Mrs Kathy Pollard, wishes to advise families that the Commitment Ceremony planned for this weekend has been postponed until further notice.  The Parish is considering holding the Commitment Ceremony for each Sacrament prior to or at the first parent/student workshop.  If you have any queries regarding the Sacramental Program, please contact Kathy on 0429 685 632.

Making Jesus Real (MJR)

Over the last two weeks, the School has had an MJR focus on Friendship.  We know that friends are one of life's great treasures.  One of the good side effects of school is that we learn to make friends.  Right throughout life we meet wonderful people who help us on our journey through life.

With this focus on friendship, we have explored the 14 MJR ways of Being a Good Friend:
• Be there for your friends
• Be an honest friend
• Be a helpful friend
• Keep your promises
• Respect your friends
• Don't talk about friends behind their back, unless it's something nice.
• Be a forgiving friend
• Be a generous friend
• Tell your friends how you feel
• Involve your friends
• Give smiles, pleases, thanks and encouragement
• Interesting people are interested people
• Be able to accept NO from friends
• Be positive if your friends decide to play with other people.

                                                         

MJR Award

As part of our Making Jesus Real (MJR) Program students and staff have been asked to nominate people in our school who are making Jesus real.  I am excited to announce that our very first winner was Grace (Year 1).  Grace was nominated by Ryan (Year 1) because she helped him up when he fell over.  A new winner will be drawn every couple of weeks.  The winner receives a special Certificate, gets to look after Joey, our MJR mascot, and will be invited to a special morning tea held at the end of the term.  Congratulations, Grace!

Project Compassion – Lenten Appeal

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about Anatercia, a 12-year-old girl living in a small village in southern Mozambique.  She began to take on more and more adult responsibilities as her mother has chronic health issues.  Anatercia did most of the household chores and had to travel up to five hours every day to collect clean water.  Water scarcity also meant that harvests were poor and there was never enough to eat.

With your support, Caritas Australia’s local partner, Caritas Regional Chokwe, was able to help Anatercia’s family to irrigate their farm to improve their food security.  They also improved water access for households in the village, delivered sustainable farming training, and provided Anatercia with essential school supplies.

Anatercia’s health, education and quality of life have improved, along with the outlook of her whole community for all future  generations.  Please support Project Compassion: lent.caritas.org.au

Lloyd Reidy
Religious Education Coordinator

Primary News                                            

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our community for their support and for the kind messages we have received over the past two weeks.  Our aim is to ensure that school life is as normal as possible for our students.  It is important to be aware as parents, that we check in with our children and ask ‘Are you ok?  Is there anything you would like to talk about?’  Our children may not appear upset or worried, but as hard as we try to protect our children from current news headlines, children are perceptive, and they talk about things on their mind with peers.

I am proud to support an organisation called the Valuing Children Initiative and this week they released their Top 10 Tips to help kids cope with troubling world events.  I thought some families may find it useful in helping their children to process everything that is happening in our world at the moment.              

            

Home Learning Grids

As the number of COVID cases increase in our community, every Monday, Primary classroom teachers will be posting a one-week Home Learning Grid through Seesaw.  If your child is isolating at home, I encourage you to use this grid as a guide to support your child while they are absent from school.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Parent-Teacher Interviews for students in Kindy to Year 6 will be held across Week 8: Monday 21 March until Thursday 24 March.  The purpose of the interviews is to discuss how your child has started the year and an opportunity to share any celebrations, concerns or questions you may have.

Due to current public health measures, we will not be holding in-person meetings.  However, teachers will be available before and after school to talk with you over the phone or through video conferencing.  Interviews are strictly 10 minutes and on Tuesday 22 March, teachers will be available until 7:00pm.

To book, visit www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code bggc2 or use the following link: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/bggc2.  Further information regarding how to book in for a meeting was sent to all parents and guardians via email on Thursday 10 March.  If you require any further information, please speak to your child’s classroom teacher.

I hope you all have a lovely week ahead.

Michelle Christian
Head of Primary

Class in Focus:  Kindergarten Gold

Kindergarten Gold has had a very busy but fun start to the school year. We began the year getting to know all about our teachers, friends and exploring our school environments. 

Our learning focus for the term has been “All About Me.”  We have been exploring our bodies, how they work and how God made us special.  We weighed ourselves and measured how tall we are and observed our features in a mirror.  We made a big body painting and described what our body can do.

Darcy – I can do the splits                                  Blair – my body can jump                                    Sean – I can kick

Devin – My body can jump                                    Lenny- I can eat                                                  Cooper- I know my name

We made a graph of our eye colour.  Most of the people in our class have brown eyes.

                            

We then explored our five senses.  They are hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste.  We made some shakers for hearing and played with musical instruments.  For sight we made telescopes.  When we learnt about touch, we had lots of fun and got messy.  We had Oobleck, kinetic sand and rice for sensory play, and we got to make finger paintings and made puffy paintings that we had to put in the microwave.  When we were learning about smell we made smelly flowers using jelly crystals and we even got to make jelly.  Next week we are doing taste and we are going to make POPCORN! 

                            

As you can see, we have been very busy!  We cannot wait to see what the rest of the term has in store for us!                 

Rhonda Oliver
Kindy Gold Teacher

Class in Focus: Year 4 Blue

Wow, what a whirlwind the last 6 weeks in Year 4B have been.

Some of the highlights so far have been looking for fossils and rocks in the playground as part of our Earth and Space Science focus as well as investigating the different continents around the world.  We have also completed our swimming lessons, which have been a welcomed chance to cool off with the hot weather we have had recently.

                

The students have been doing great in settling into Year 4, especially with the recent changes in the school routine.

Edward Ewing
Year 4 Blue Teacher

Secondary News

It has definitely been an interesting week, with COVID visiting our peaceful little school in such a big way.  I would like to say a massive thank you and congratulations to our staff and students for the way they coped with having so many covers and relief teachers at the beginning of this week.  Also a big thank you to the wonderful Primary teachers, Carroll Kowald and Syona Fernandez, who covered classes in high school this week.  Our big kids were so excited to see you both!  Thanks also to our incredible relief teachers Tracey McDonald, Michalie Ruoss and Katie Enright for coming in at moment’s notice and ensuring our students still receive a quality education in their teacher’s absence.

NAPLAN Test

Schools will be completing a practise NAPLAN Test between the 24 March and 7 April.  Years 7 and 9 students will need to have a set of headphones and a device to complete the assessment on and we will need to download the NAP Locked Down Browser on their devise during class for test security.  A locked down browser stops students from being able to move to other browsers during the test.

Animal Assisted Therapy

St Joseph’s School is proud to support student health and wellbeing through the use of our new special staff member Kali.  A Therapy Canine in Training, Kali is still a young pup but has begun her Therapy Dogs Australia training with her teammate Ms Sharon Cusack, Head of Secondary.

                                                                              

Animal assisted therapy has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and improve school attendance.  Our gorgeous girl is already having a marked positive impact on our students and staff from the very first day she set paw on campus.  Kali is working on her social skills and one-to-one cuddles at the moment (we are very glad Kali does not come under the mask mandate) showcasing a gentle and intuitive nature.  All interactions with Kali are completely voluntary.  She is a Maltese Poodle so hypo allergenic and very intelligent.

Sharon Cusack
Head of Secondary

Learning Area in Focus:   Health & Physical Education

Students from Years 7 to 12 have been participating in a variety of sports within Physical Education so far this year.  Students have been developing and extending their skills and knowledge in sports such as European handball, basketball, ultimate frisbee and touch rugby.

Sports Science
Students in Years 9 and 10 are enjoying the new look Sports Science program.  Students have been participating in fitness testing, developing an understanding of sports related components of fitness, analysis the results of tests and what these tell us about aspects of our physical performance.  Students have also been developing their physical skills and tactics in Badminton and Netball.

Health
Students in Years 7 to 11 have started the year well in Health, learning about the models used to analyse health topics as well as social, emotional, and physical aspects of Health and how we can improve our overall wellbeing.  Students in Years 7, 8 and 10 are focusing on healthy and unhealthy relationships, abuse, and safety networks.  While students in Year 9 are developing an understanding of body image and the impacts of media on our self-image, decision making, and health choices.  Year 11 students have started a new Health Studies General course beginning their year looking Holistic Health.

Outdoor Education
Years 9 and 10 Outdoor Education have had a mix up this year and have been broken into semesterly content.  Year 9 Semester 1 content will look at student orienteering skills, bushcraft skills and knot tying.  Year 10 students will begin the year mountain-bike riding and learning basic First Aid.  To date, students have been working well to develop their practical skills and content knowledge.  We are looking forward to some cooler weather to get out into the bush and apply our practical skills.

                   

Year 11 Outdoor Education have been enjoying a dip in the pool, practicing their swimming and snorkelling skills.

Adrienne Suckling (HOLA), Justin Boccardo, Daniel Vernede & Ryan Sinclair
Health & Physical Education Learning Area Staff

Learning Goals

The last couple of weeks have certainly proved being flexible is a success to working in challenging times.  One area for students to keep on top of, are their own academic commitments.  In each of the Secondary classes, extensive use of Microsoft Teams and OneNote is occurring with weekly outlines and daily lessons, including resources such as PowerPoints, solutions to questions, worked examples and links to videos.

In addition to be being adequately prepared for a class, these resources which are permanently listed are useful reviewing tools. Sometimes it may feel like there is no homework or no work to complete, these are the times when reviewing past work or looking ahead to lessons later that week will prove most beneficial to your learning process.

At this stage, most classes have just completed their first task for the year, some maybe even two.  With that, other than looking at the attained mark, what else do you do, what else can you do?

As a way of moving forward, when the tasks are reviewed, examine the items that did not go as well as intended.  Consider other ways that could have enhanced your score, by providing a more effective response.

If it is something that you are simply unable to improve on, ask.  Perhaps, a bit of peer-to-peer discussion would assist with getting the correct terminology or content out.  If not, check with your teacher, don’t just leave it and think, well we have finished that section and we are moving on.  Most content gets built upon.  Perhaps there are vital points that were missed that will pop again later in the semester or year?  If you don’t understand it now, it may make the next section of learning a bumpy ride.

Consider your plans for the year and what you would like to achieve - now is the time to take on the responsibility of your own learning and to do it well.

Mark Gargano
Years 7-12 Teaching & Learning Coordinator

Career Conversations

A parent information session: Career Conversations - Talking to young people about pathways and opportunities will be held on Monday 21 March from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/career-conversations-an-information-session-for-parents-northam-tickets-260832897217

Caroline Marriott
VET Coordinator

Our School

Parking on Primary Campus

When parking on the Primary campus grounds, please be mindful NOT to park in the 2 disabled parking bays unless you hold an ACROD Parking Pass.  We have several families that require those bays to be left free for their use.  Thank you for your consideration.

2022 Fees, Health Care Card & Pension Card

The full year’s School fees were emailed out to all families last week.  Unless you are paying by Direct Debit (DD) or another regular payment scheme, the School requires payment of at least 1/3rd by Friday 18 March.  Parents/guardians are advised that If you have a Centrelink Family Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, or a Department of Veteran’s Affairs Pensioner Concession Card, and have not come forward with your card, please visit or contact the Business Manager through the Primary Office immediately, so that discounted fees can be calculated and the Secondary Assistance Scheme (SAS) rebate claimed (if applicable).

Secondary Assistance Scheme

Parents/Guardians who hold a Centrelink Family Health Care Card, Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card or Veterans’ Affairs  Concession Card who have students in Years 7-12 can claim an allowance.  Note: Card held must be current in first term of the school year.  To apply for the scheme or to obtain more information, please arrange to see Mr Steve Johnson at the Primary Campus immediately.  Applications close 31 March 2022.

Steve Johnson
Business Manager

Uniform Shop

Opening Times:                             Mondays - 3.15pm to 4.45pm       
                                                      Thursdays - 2.45pm to 4.15pm    

Families wishing to access the Uniform Shop are advised that the online shop is the preferred method of ordering uniforms.  If items are required to be tried on, then an appointment should be made by contacting the Primary Admin on 9621 3500.  Only one family at a time will be allowed into the Uniform Shop.  Please note we can not accept email or telephone orders.

Please also keep in mind when ordering, that your items will go home Tuesday and Friday of each week, as Monday and Thursday are the days the Shop is open.  When placing an order via the Online Shop, it will appear on a report the following day.  For example; if you place your order on Monday, the report issues on Tuesday which means it will not be organised until Thursday and so go home on Friday.

Michelle James 
Primary - 9621 3524

Canteen News

Canteen Support - Volunteers Required

This year, a new Canteen intiative is to offer families the easy 'birthday treat' for your child's class.  We are offering a birthday bucket of icy poles (value is $30) or a bucket of lollypops (value is $20).  Each bucket contains a birthday badge, two balloons for the birthday child and enough icy poles or lollypops for the children in that particular classroom.  These birthday treats should be ordered at least two days in advance and can be ordered through the online shop. (Please note that the bucket will need to be returned to Canteen and is not included in the price) 

The Canteen is operating with the Summer Menu and you are encouraged to check out the daily menu options before ordering lunches.  If we experience connectivity issues with the online ordering, please revert to using lunch bags to place orders for that day. 

As our school grows so does the number of lunches that we supply daily.  Due to high demand on our quality food and service we need helpers to ensure that our kids get their lunches on time.  In order to function to our highest potential, we ideally need 2 or more volunteers a day.  Volunteering is a great way to teach your kids about giving, modelling them for the future.  Also, every shift you do at our School helps you towards qualifying for a Parent Participation discount on your annual fees.

We would love to welcome you into our fun, and busy environment and see the smiles on your children’s faces when they see you in their school.  If you are able help out, please sign up online at   https://signup.com/go/LQaHAbC

Our Primary Canteen Helper Roster for the next two weeks of Term 1 is below:   

Primary - Week 7  

Tuesday	15 Mar	Lindsey Cassidy
Wednesday	16 Mar	Shari Leeson
Thursday	17 Mar	Kate Morgan
Friday	18 Mar	no volunteer

Primary - Week 8

Tuesday	22 Mar	no volunteer
Wednesday	23 Mar	no volunteer
Thursday	24 Mar	no volunteer
Friday	25 Mar	no volunteer

I look forward to working with you.  If you have any queries, you are always welcome to contact the Canteen on the number below.

Angela
Canteen - 9621 3525 

Our P&F

P&F News

Primary year group catch ups have started taking place after school this week.  The date, time and locations have been posted on the year group's specific Facebook page.  If you are not part of your child's year group Facebook page, please get in touch and we can add you.

Our Easter raffle is fast approaching, so we are looking for donations to the raffle prizes.  Any Easter chocolates, big or small, are welcome to be dropped off to either Campus Administration office.  Last year, we had an amazing amount of over 100 prizes to give away.  Tickets will go on sale later in the term.

See our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1764507137145087/?ref=share for more updates.

Lauren Holten
President

Our Community 

Extend B&ASC

Extend is the place for your children to thrive, learn and play, so what are you waiting for?  We are only able to offer After School Care at present.  Enrolling is easy and ensures we have the information to safely care for your child so enrol now and book via extend.com.au.

Better Health Program - What is the Better Health Program?

The Better Health Program is a free, healthy lifestyle program for families.  The program is evidence-based and is delivered by qualified health professionals to support families with making sustainable health changes at home.  Children (and their families) are eligible to participate in the program if they are:
• Aged 7-13 years
• Living in regional or remote WA
• Above a healthy weight

The online program includes:
• Weekly interactive modules
• Weekly phone coaching support with a health professional
• Lots of freebies (including a Garmin fitness tracker and other great resources)
• Prizes

To register or find out more, contact 1300 822 953 or email betterhealthprogram.org

Focus on Mining Camps 2022 - Apply now

Focus on Mining is a five-day residential camp for senior high school students to experience what it’s like to study and work in the mining industry in WA.  Students get to tour operational mine sites, participate in hands-on workshops, and meet lecturers, students and mining industry leaders.

Students from throughout WA are welcome to apply, and support is available for regional students.  Each camp is free with all travel, meals and accommodation provided thanks to the support of Northern Star, WA School of Mines and Rio Tinto.

2022 Camp dates:
19-23 April @ Kalgoorlie (mixed gender)
4-8 July @ Kalgoorlie (girls)
27 September - 1 October @ Kalgoorlie (mixed gender)
3-7 October @ Pilbara (girls)

Applications now open https://curtin.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7aEFxa2ieGp7s0e?mc_cid=4194f85831&mc_eid=c7210a5763

Auskick 2022 Season

This year, Auskick will be kicking off from 29 April to 17 June for eight consecutive weekly sessions on a Friday afternoon from 4.00-5.00pm on Jubilee Oval at the Northam Recreation Centre.  Auskick is for boys and girls aged from 5 to 8 years.  It helps build ball skills, hand and eye coordination and teamwork. 

It is a requirement that you register online to secure your place.  We strongly suggest that you register early so that your child receives their Auskick pack before the season commences.  Cost is $65 per player.  To register visit https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/434b5b.  Should you have any issues, please contact aflauskick@afl.com.au or the Coordinator.

Please keep in mind that this program is only possible with parent support and each family will be required to assist at one session over the course of the 8 weeks.  If you can consistently assist by running groups, please contact Angela Sandrini at matnange@yahoo.com.au and I will make sure that you have all the required information.

Northam District Motor Cycle Club News

Northam District Motor Cycle Club will begin their 2022 season soon.  We now have Quad Riders WA joining as part of our club to cater for 2 wheel and 4 wheel riders.  Beginner to Senior riders are welcome.  For registrations and calendar please follow our Facebook pages; Northam District Motor Cycle Club Quad Riders Western Australia.  Our first event is Sunday 6 March which will be a Come Try/Registration Day/Sign off Kick Start.  More info on Facebook.  Feel free to contact us through our Facebook pages or via northamdmcc@gmail.com Rebecca Gordon: 0407576127 (NDMCC Secretary) Michael Harcourt 0431530381 (Quad Riders WA President).

Northam Hockey Club News

The Northam Hockey Club are opening registrations for players interested in joining the 2022 Hockey season.  The Club has a brand new playing turf at Bert Hawke Reserve and are excited for the season ahead.  Players are sought for the following age groups: 5/6’s (Year 6 and under); 7/9’s (Years 7 to 9); 10/12’s (Years 10 to 12); Minkey (Years 3 and under) and Adult (both Men and Women).

Registrations are open online at: https://www.revolutionise.com.au/northamhc/registration/  For all enquiries, please contact the Club via email: northamhockeyclub@gmail.com , Facebook: www.facebook.com/northamhockeyclub/ or our website: www.revoluntise.com.au/northamhc/

Come and try Scouts!

Scouting is fun and adventurous, and youth aged 5 (and in Pre-Primary) to 25 years can join!  Northam Scout Group meet on Mondays and Thursdays after school at 46 Burnside Avenue, Northam.  Joey Scouts (5 and in Pre-primary to 7 years) meet Mondays from 4pm to 5.30pm to 7pm, Cub Scouts (8 to 11 years) meet Thursdays from 4pm to 6pm, Scouts (11 to 15 years) meet Thursdays from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.  Venturer Scouts (15 to 17 years) meet with Bilgoman District Venturer Unit. Rover Scouts (18 to 25 years) meet with Mundaring Rover Scout Unit.

Anyone wishing to join Joey Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts or Venturers is welcome to come along to our meetings and try for free for a few weeks.  We are also looking for adults in the community that would like to become an adult volunteer with Scouting, from parent helpers, committee members, and Leaders – many hands make light work, so please contact us to find out more about becoming an adult member of Scouting.