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- Message from the Principal
- St Joseph's Open Day
- SJ News Episode 4
- Mission & Learning at Joey's
- Kempsey Show
- Student Awards
- Sports News
- Student News
- News from the Enviro Team
- What is the NCCD?
- NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2024
- Kempsey Eisteddfod - Drama & Music
- Canteen News
- St Joseph's OOSH & Vacation Care
- Learn more about COMPASS- School Communication Platform APP
- How to Apply for a Bus Pass
- How to Purchase your child's School Uniform
- School Fees
- Child Safety Handbook
- Impetigo (School Sores)
- BILLBOARD
This term, our focus on ensuring excellent instruction, every day, for every student, has been lived. We have continued to build the knowledge and understanding of our Catholic faith traditions across our school community, and maintain our pledge to work towards improving student outcomes for every student.
Throughout the Term we have participated in many spiritual, curricular and non-curricular events. This term, our students have experienced several sporting opportunities including, Swimming, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Cross Country and Winter Sports Trials. It is great to see our children compete in these events and more importantly, be good sports and have fun.
In February the School attended its first whole school Mass of the year with our Opening School Mass, which saw our 2024 School Captains commissioned. This term we also celebrated Parish Masses as class groups, Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent, Palm Sunday to begin Holy Week and Easter with an Easter play and Liturgy. The School also participated in the Wildfire 10:10 Experience, and some students completed their Sacrament of Reconciliation. In February Year 6 students experienced the Incitare Retreat, and this week a Catholic Schools Retreat Day at Macksville.
NAPLAN testing was completed by our Year 3 and 5 students, and our Year 2 students went on an excursion to the Kempsey Museum, and Year 3 & 4 students visited the St Paul’s Ag farm.
To celebrate Harmony Day on the 21st of March, our fantastic canteen ladies extended the menu to include yummy foods from around the world. This was a great celebration by the whole school and the kids had a great lunch.
As we conclude this term and head into the Autumn Holidays, I realise how quickly the Term has flown, and how much has been achieved. When I reflect over the last eleven weeks, I am so thankful for the relationships made, and for the happy smiling children I see at the gate, both in the mornings and afternoons. We are truly a team which I am grateful for each and every day, and I thank you for your ongoing support of this great school.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
Catholic Education Week concludes today. The theme "Innovation and Faith" echoes the broader mission of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore, to provide opportunities for all of our students to experience the Gospel message by witnessing the mission of Jesus Christ through our words and actions.
St Joseph’s joined with more than 45 schools across the Lismore Diocese to celebrate Catholic Education Week.
For many of the great innovators throughout history, their faith motivated them to explore and understand the wonders of the Universe. Our school walks alongside clergy, parishioners and families to prepare and nurture our future innovators and faith leaders on their journey.
It was fantastic to see our parents, carers and grandparents participate in our Catholic Education Week Open Morning this week, and I thank everyone who participated and experienced a very small part of life at St Joseph’s.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
As we head into Term 2 and the colder weather, we usually see a few non uniform items, such as beanies, scarfs, jumpers and jackets worn into school.
In order to keep the high standards of St Joseph's a matter of pride within our community, I ask that all students begin the new term wearing the school uniform Track Jacket or Fleecy Jumper. Both of these items, as with all St Joseph's uniform, are available from Team Spirit. Please note that beanies and scarfs are not school uniform and therefore are not to be worn.
It is my expectation that all students not wearing the correct uniform will have a note explaining why, and when the issue will be rectified.
As always, I thank you for your support in regards to your child’s ongoing learning and growth.
Guy Campbell
Driving Excellence in the Macleay
GOSPEL REFLECTION - A Sign of Peace
My Lord and My God! What a powerful statement. This is a declaration of faith, one
that comes after Thomas had to see the marks of Christ’s wounds to believe it is Him. I couldn’t imagine the confusion at that time after Jesus was crucified. I am sure anyone’s faith would have been rattled too. Like it does whenever we face the profound and significant loss of anyone deeply important to us. But we hear a sense of relief and belief when Thomas utters those words “My Lord and My God”. Faith, at its core, is the unwavering belief in something despite a lack of concrete evidence.
In the case of Thomas, his journey from scepticism to profound faith exemplifies the transformative power of unwavering belief, illustrating how even the most committed doubters can find profound faith when presented with powerful confirmation. Whilst Thomas’ words could be seen as the most powerful in this weekend’s reading I’m actually drawn to another statement. One that I believe is what we need to think about deeply when we are serving those who come to us. “Peace be with you”. Not only are these words a beautiful gesture of greeting and a lovely thing to hope for someone, but these were the first words the resurrected Jesus chose to say when he stood with His disciples. He could have chosen anything, and yet He chose peace.
This sign of peace is a desire for tranquillity, harmony, and well-being to the person. It is a gesture of goodwill, comfort, an experience of inner calm and serenity. It is to convey a sense of spiritual peace, hope, and faith. So when we approach those we serve, may peace always be the first thing we say, think, offer and embrace for them and for ourselves. Peace be with you. What experiences of peace have you had when supporting someone in distress?
Reflection by Corinne Lindsell
“You call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace.” Pope Francis
Prayer
Lord of love, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace
Amen.
Sourced from: https://cms.vinnies.org.au/media/drxlpkwm/srg_jan_apl_2024_web.pdf?folder=nsw__spiritual-reflection-guides&path=drxlpkwm%2Fsrg_jan_apl_2024_web.pdf
Early this week, as a part of Catholic Schools Week, we held our annual Open Day.
Parents and caregivers were invited to come and spend time with their special little ones inside their classrooms. This was followed by a morning tea kindly put on by the lovely canteen ladies. A big thank you to all the staff and students who made this morning a great success. A special thank you also to all the families, parents, carers, aunties, uncles and grandparents who came along and shared in this wonderful day with the students. It is a great way to strengthen the family and school partnerships and to support all students to succeed and grow.
With Mrs Krystal Brady, Assistant Principal, Learning & Teaching and Mrs Erin McGovern, Assistant Principal, MissionYEAR 6 RETREAT DAY
On Monday Year 6 students were invited to attend a retreat day with student’s from Macksville, Bowraville and Bellingen, hosted by St Patrick's Macksville, as part of the Catholic School’s Youth Ministry program. The theme was ‘Journeying with Jesus’ and Year 10 students from St Paul’s College were group leaders and hosted small break out sessions with the students. It was a wonderful day interacting with, and learning about students from other schools, hearing student testimonies of faith experiences and engaging in prayer, song, liturgy, reflection and fun. All student’s enjoyed creating a small canvas to take home and enjoyed a BBQ lunch. It was a great day for student’s to be involved in as they begin to prepare for their transition to high school next year.
HOLY WEEK DRAMATISATION
Thank you to Year 6 who created a very moving dramatisation of the events of Holy Week. A big thank you to our wonderful Year 6 Teachers, Mr May and Mrs Brady for preparing the students so well. It was a special learning experience to share with the other students Kinder - Year 5.
EASTER LITURGY
On Tuesday after returning from a glorious Easter weekend, we had a whole school liturgy to celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection. As part of the liturgy Fr James ‘blessed’ the students with Easter Water, as a reminder of the new life that Jesus gives us. “Just as water gives us life, may we who are blessed by this holy Easter water be reminded of the new life you give us”. We thank the Year 5 student leaders who led this liturgy so beautifully.
And of course we could not conclude our Easter celebrations without some Chocolate! At the conclusion of our liturgy each class had one lucky student drawn at random that was the lucky recipient of a chocolate Easter Bunny! We also had a second draw for our ‘Positive Behaviour’ student cards. Congratulations to all these wonderful students who went home with a prize. We hope everyone had a restful and blessed Easter period.
DON’T forget to check out our latest edition of ‘SJ News’ proudly brought to us by Mr May and Year 6. It is a great recap of the events happening in the school and celebrating all the wonderful and busy aspects of school life here at St Joseph’s.
ANZAC DAY SERVICE
ANZAC Day will fall during the School Holidays. Students are invited to march, meeting Mr Campbell at 10.15am at Sydney Street (across from Netball Courts in Kempsey).
PARENT RETREAT
FRANCIS FARM EXCURSION
Years 3 and 4
MATHS GROUPS - Year 1
PROJECT COMPASSION
BUILD A HABIT OF GOOD ATTENDANCE
Healthy sleep, exercise and diet can make
a difference.
Healthy sleep, exercise, and diet play critical roles in a student's overall wellbeing, impacting not only their physical health but also their cognitive function, emotional regulation and ability to focus.
Encouraging healthy habits early on sets the foundation for a lifetime of wellbeing. Children who learn the importance of sleep, exercise and a balanced diet are more likely to carry these habits into adolescence and adulthood, impacting their overall attendance and success in school.
All our students were lucky enough to visit the Kempsey Show this year - with a mounted police escort!
A huge thank you to the Kempsey Show Society and Stuart for organising such a wonderful experience!
A special mention goes to Years 1 and 2 who won both 'Most Successful Exhibitor in Children's Art and in Children's Craft - Years 1 & 2'. Well done!
Along with the school visit, we also had many students competing in the show this year. Well done and congratulations to all those participants!
Term 1 - Weeks 9 & 10
Congratulations to these students who received their
awards on Friday 5th April 2024.
|
CLASS |
MARY MACKILLOP AWARD Recognises Catholic attitude, behaviours & helping those in need |
ST JOSEPH Recognises positive actions witnessed within our school community |
CATHERINE McAULEY Recognises a growth mindset & effort in learning |
THE VALUES AWARD
Commitment and Faith |
|
KHonour |
Charlie Lane | Bonnie Jones | Alexander Watson | Angus Clarke |
|
KSpirit |
Tamel Kemp | Harrison Edwards | Amarlee Orr | Mihira Prakhya |
|
KTruth |
Leo Burley | Ruby Farlow | Arlo Bannerman | Frankie Edwards |
|
1Honour |
Mila Buckley | Amelia Carroll | Allira Holdaway | Harrison Zaccazan |
|
1Truth |
Marshall Jordan | Savannah Barker | Ahren Browne | Nickolah Dallas-Morgan |
|
2Honour |
Ari Tolman | Peyton Watts | Cruz Greenslade | Sophia Reichel |
|
2Truth |
Mack Harman | Blake Micallef | Zavier Batterson | Lacey Kyle |
|
3Honour |
Pippa Francis | Tahlia Seam | Isla McIver | Isaac Fairhall |
|
3Truth |
Eve Hegerty | Mayukh Prakhya | Maya Browne | Mariano Abin |
|
3/4 Spirit |
Cohen Davies | Carter Wade | Safiah Gill | Tyler Quinn |
|
4Truth |
Ezra Higley | Olivia Carroll | Abella Raffaele | Scout Moorehead |
|
5Honour |
Evie Brady | Quinn Woods | Nevaeh Lewthwaite | Maddison Russell |
|
5Truth |
Ryder Sproule | Phoenix Whitley-Berrigan | Jack Brett | Quinn Swan |
|
6Honour |
Adam Mickle | Lachlan Betts | Gemma Rayward | Anabel Smee |
|
6Truth |
Hannah Drayton | Tilley Cook | Caleb Fairhall | Ethan Shore |
With Mr Watts
AIDEN TOLMAN CUP
The Annual Rugby 7s Gala Day was held on Wednesday 27th March at the Kemp Street Sporting Fields. This was a very popular event, with 140 children from Years 3 - 6 participating. Altogether we had two Stage 2 tackle teams and six league tag teams. Across Stage 3 we had four tackle teams and four league tag teams. All students and teachers had a great day with many post match stories of tries, tackle busts and great defence.
A big thank you to all our staff who took on teams for the day and to parents who came along to support us.
SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY
|
|
FIRST PLACE |
RUNNER UP |
|
KINDER |
Zane McMurry |
Memphis Smith |
|
YEAR 1 |
Marshall Jordan |
Oaklyn Lyttle |
|
YEAR 2 |
Fletcher Smith |
Lennox Nolan |
|
8/9 Year Olds |
Cohen Davies |
Lennox Edwards |
|
10 Year Olds |
Benji Browne |
Kieran Tolman |
|
11 Year Olds |
Ryder Sproule |
Asher Higley |
|
12+ Year Olds |
Noah Davies |
William Clarke |
|
WINNING HOUSE = MERCY |
||
LISMORE DIOCESE FOOTBALL SELECTION
Congratulations to Manaia Pereira from Year 5 who has been selected in the Lismore Diocese Football team.MID NORTH COAST LIBRARIES
Summer Poetry Competition
Georgina Collins recently entered the Mid North 
Coast Libraries Summer Poetry competition and out
of 138 entries, Georgina was selected as one of
four winners!
The judging panel loved Georgina’s poem, especially
the repetition about sand (hard sand,
wet sand, swirling sand, churning sand).
The poem will be printed in a book with all of the other
entries, which will be available to loan from the Mid
North Coast libraries soon.
Congratulations Georgina, wonderful effort!
TAHLIA'S ROYAL SHOW EXPERIENCE
She can’t wait to go back next year.
STONE REAL ESTATE
Easter Colouring Competition
Congratulations to Sophia Reichel who won third
prize in this year's Stone Real Estate Easter
colouring competition. Her winning entry has been
laminated and is displayed in the Stone RE office.
Well done Sophia!
We love celebrating student success across all areas! If you would like to share your news with us, please send a picture and short paragraph of details via an email to kmpp@lism.catholic.edu.au. This will be posted in the School Newsletter and on our social media accounts.
10c RETURN AND EARN RECYCLING
All proceeds are used to beautify our school grounds and assist with lunchtime gardening activities. Collection bags are available in the canteen foyer. Children who bring in a full bag receive a prize from the Enviro Prize Box (see Mrs Hagger in the Canteen).SUSTAINABILITY HUB
old phones, batteries, used stamps, prescription glasses, toothpaste tubes/brushes and plastic writing implements.
Please feel free to drop these into the bins located in the canteen foyer.
If you have other items that you think the school may be able to use for art/craft etc please contact us.
The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is an initiative of the NSW State government. It aims to encourage in students a love of reading for leisure and pleasure and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student - to read, to read more and to read more widely.
This is an optional challenge that can be done at home. Students are welcome to borrow challenge books from the library during their class lessons, which our teacher librarians will identify for them. Throughout the year your child’s teacher may also log books for your child that have been read in class. Students can include any books read from the end of the 2023 challenge on their 2024 reading record. Key dates for the 2024 challenge are:
- 26 February 2024 - challenge opens for student entries
- Friday 23 August 2024 - challenge closes for student entries
- Friday 6 September 2024 - final date for coordinator validations of completed reading records.
In order to complete the Challenge, students must read the following number of books based on their Challenge Level:
|
Challenge Level |
Number of books you must read |
Minimum number of PRC books |
Maximum number of Personal Choice books |
PRC book lists you can read from |
|
K-2 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
K-2, 3-4, 5-6 |
|
3-4 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
3-4, 5-6, 7-9 |
|
5-6 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
5-6, 7-9 |
|
7-9 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
5-6, 7-9, 9plus |
|
3-9 (see rules on PRC site) |
20 |
10 |
10 |
All booklists |
Book lists can be found when your child logs into their account via this link; using their unique username and password. Each child has a unique username and password, if you would like this please contact your classroom teacher. Please take the time to explore the site.
If you are having trouble logging your own books online, please download the online PRC Reading Log, once complete return to school ensuring your child’s name is on the top, and we will upload the information for you. If you have any questions feel free to contact us for more information.
Happy Reading!
Please click the link to view the Programs/Syllabuses for the upcoming 2024 Kempsey Eisteddfod for Speech & Drama and Vocal & Instrumental.
Entries close midnight Sunday 5th May 24. Late entries will not be accepted.
Further information can be found on their Facebook page - Kempsey Eisteddfod Society Inc
With Mrs Hagger and Mrs Crowe2024 CANTEEN MENU
OFFSITE BAGGED LUNCH
This special lunch bag will be an option for any offsite events that are held locally (no hot lunches will be delivered offsite).
The Offsite Lunch Bag consists of chicken & salad wrap or sandwich, bottle of water, muesli bar, pkt plain chips and a piece of seasonal fruit for $15. Select "Offsite Bagged Lunch" from the Compass Canteen Menus.
STUDENT BIRTHDAY BUNDLES
Should you have any queries please contact our Canteen ladies, Mrs Hagger & Mrs Crowe.
WHY JOEY'S OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS CARE?
We have two dedicated classrooms on the St Joseph's Catholic Primary School campus in Kemp Street, West Kempsey. The classrooms are filled with resources and games to suit children from Kinder to Year 6.
Students from all schools in the Macleay Valley and surrounds are welcome at Joey's OOSHC.
Joey's OOSHC has a proud history of providing high quality out of school hours care for than ten years. Joey's dedicated and experienced staff plan and manage programs that offer both fun and educational opportunities.
To find out more and to explore the enrolment process visit our website at https://www.joeyskempsey.org.au/
To learn more about the COMPASS Platform please click here
About the Compass Platform
The Compass platform is a web-based system that is accessible on any modern web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome & Safari) or by using the Compass School Manager iOS or Android App.
Parents have the ability to;
- Receive notifications about school events, news and information
- Enter an explanation for absences
- Communicate with your child’s teachers,
- Update your family contact details (mobile phone & email)
- View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
- Download and view your child’s academic reports
- Book parent-teacher conferences (parent/teacher interviews)
- Pay and provide digital consent for events (No more permission slips)
- Order lunches from the Canteen
- Pay school fees
Dear Families,
We have a number of cases of "School Sores" reported at school. Please refer to the attached fact sheet from the Department of Health for further information.
To avoid spreading Impetigo:
- keep sores clean and covered with a waterproof dressing until they have healed. This stops people from touching or scratching them
- discard used dressings as soon as they are taken off
- wash your hands with soap and running water for 20 seconds after touching or cleaning sores and after handling contaminated objects such as dressings, sheets and towels
- avoid sharing clothes, towels or bed sheets with anyone who has impetigo health.nsw.gov.au © NSW Ministry of Health. March 2024
- avoid bathing children in the same bathwater if any child has impetigo
- wash clothes, sheets and towels used by someone with impetigo every day, ideally in hot water
- keep your child home from school, childcare and other group settings until at least 24 hours of antibiotic treatment has started. All sores on exposed skin should be covered when returning to usual activities such as school.
Kind Regards
ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL
NORTH COAST HEALTH CONNECT
North Coast Health Connect is a free new service providing health support and advice from registered nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays. If you are a resident or visitor to the North Coast, you can speak or live chat with a nurse. The nurse will ask some questions to understand what’s troubling you and then provide advice on what your next step should be.
This may include self-care advice to help you to manage your health (or that of a loved one) from home, or the nurse may recommend a GP appointment or a consultation with a pharmacist. The nurses are able to book an appointment for you directly with a local general practice or pharmacy or if appropriate, can transfer you to a 24/7 GP telehealth service. If the nurse believes you need to attend an emergency department or see a different health service, they will let you know.
Visit https://northcoasthealthconnect.org.au/ for more info and save as a contact for when you need it by visiting https://qrco.de/bdkiJm or by scanning the QR code below.
