Term Three, Week Nine

September 16, 2020

Message & Notifications From The Principal

Dear Families and Friends

A huge thank you the staff and students who made a our school disco on Friday such a terrific success. Led by DJ Miss Elle Tierney, it was great to see everyone participate with great enthusiasm. A special mention to parents Yasmin Lewis, David MacTier, Ida MacTier, Vilma Garrity and James Garrity who provided tremendous assistance both leading up to and during the event. Money raised will go towards the Parents and Friends Association.

St Norbert College

This week we welcomed three staff and ten students from St Norbert College in Perth. They have been a wonderful addition to our school, assisting students with their work and sharing their sporting talents at recess and lunch. They also assisted with today's Athletics Carnival. We thank each of them for the valuable contribution they have made to our school.

The Great Vegie Crunch

On Friday September 25th, students will gather at 9:00am to take part in the Cancer Council’s 'Great Vegie Crunch.' Giving students the chance to re-fuel with fruit or vegetables helps to improve physical and mental performance and concentration in the classroom, as well as promoting long term health.

Children are asked to bring a crunchy vegetable to school on this day. We will gather together and see how much noise we can make as we crunch on our vegetables together!

R U OK Day

Last Thursday was R U OK Day, a national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone to ask, “Are you OK?” and to remember to always support people who may be struggling with life’s ups and downs. Students learnt about the support that could be offered by asking questions, listening without judgement and encouraging action through helpful advice.

Soccer Clinics

Also last Thursday were soccer clinics for students from Pre-Primary - Year 6. Thank you to the team from Football West for providing us with this great opportunity.

This Week

Thursday: Docker’s Shield Football Carnival. Students in Years 4 - 6 will play at the Town Oval from 9:00am - 12:00pm. Families and friends are most welcome to attend.

Friday: Year 4 Camp. Students will spend the day at Lake Argyle before returning to school for activities and dinner in the evening. They will sleep in our library and can be collected by 8:00am on Saturday.

Assembly, Week 10

Our final assembly for this term will be on Friday 25th September at 1:20pm. This will be led by our Kindergarten class and will also be the final day of Term 3.

Term Dates 2020

Term 3: 21 July—25 Sept
Term 4: 12 Oct—11 Dec

Please note: There will be NO paper copy of the newsletter next week. Please see our online newsletter at: www.stjoknx.wa.edu.au

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Tim Hogan

Principal

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

Mother Teresa

Reminders

Head lice and Ringworm

SCHOOL HEALTH ALERT

There are currently a number of children in the School Community who have

• Head lice

• Ringworm

Both of these can be easily spread from child to child

They are easily treated, and children should NOT attend school until treatment has begun

Head lice

Small wingless insects that attach themselves to the Scalp (skin on the head) and feed on blood.

They lay eggs called nits, which glue themselves to the hair shaft until hatched into head lice.

Treatment Shampoos and a fine tooth comb will treat both head lice and nits

Conditioner can be used –but only kills the head lice, so must be repeated every day for 10 days to kill the head lice as they hatch each day from the eggs

Exclude from school until after first treatment.

Treat everyone in the household

Ringworm (Tinea)

A common fungal infection, passed on by skin to skin contact.

Antifungal cream to be applied to the sores.

Bedlinen, clothes, towels etc to be washed in hot water.

Exclude from school until 24hours after treatment has begun

LETS ALL WORK TOGETHER TO STOP THE SPREAD OF

HEAD LICE AND RINGWORM

Sr Julianne is collecting used stamps for the Sisters of St Joseph Peruvian mission. These are put with collections from many other schools and parishes, and sold at auctions. Over $20,000 gets raised each year. Please leave in the box at the front office.

To read more, see: https://www.marymackilloptoday.org.au/how-you-can-help/pray/stamps/

We are also seeking donations of material and scarfs that could be used for classroom prayer tables.

Friday of every even week beginning 1:20pm

Assemblies, Fridays, 1.20pm

31 July, Week 2: Year 3

14 August, Week 4: Year 1

28 August, Week 6: Year 2

11 September, Week 8: Pre-Primary

25 September, Week 10: Kindergarten

We will continue to work on reducing our waste and recycling our rubbish this term.

Virtual Bookclub

This term, some students in Years 3-6 have participated in MacqLit, an explicit, direct instruction, intervention programme for students at significant risk with reading. This programme was selected as a proven way to raise the literacy skills of low progress readers. Over the term we have seen significant growth in students‘ confidence and ability to read.

The programme is based on four lessons a week, of 60 minutes duration. The lessons are scripted, specific and progressive, and the students selected will stay with the programme until testing indicates they are able to achieve a fluency target consistently, over several assessments. For some students, this may be the entire year, and for some, even longer than that.

Each lesson is made up of 45 minutes of 9-12 activities that are delivered in short intervals, and include a range of activities covering phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, whole words, sight words, vocab study, sentences, dictation and paragraphs. The final 15 minutes is putting that all together in a group reading exercise that reinforces the lesson.

We have been pleased that a number of our students have been able to achieve the fluency target and no longer require the program. This positive outcome will allow for new students to join the program in Term 4. The most positive outcome we are witnessing is the empowerment demonstrated by students in their approach to literacy in their everyday life. The school is extremely proud of the effort that students have applied to the program and excited about the lifelong positive impact their learning will have for the students.

Mrs Laura Christopher

Teaching Assistant News

Miss Lee-Lee and Miss Claire (Kindy)

In Kindy this term we have been involved in Kindergym, visits to the Community Garden, preparations for opening days and practising for the sports carnival and upcoming assembly. We feel privileged to be part of the students’ daily lives at school.

Miss Ros (Pre-Primary)

PP has been a busy class this term – we spent a great deal of time practising for our assembly last Friday, which went better than we could have hoped! All the kids were amazing as I’m sure you will agree if you saw it.

We have also been doing lots of practice for the Athletics Carnival with Miss Matilda.

I have been back in PP full time this term which has been very enjoyable. Our numbers have been up around 20 most days which is great. A very busy class, learning so much!

Mr Jamie (Year 2)

Over this term I have been assisting the Year 2 class. Students have benefitted from my role in improving their literacy, mathematic and sporting skills. I also continue to drive the school bus, assist with excursions, and run the Chaplaincy programs (such as Seasons for Growth). Next term I will be busily involved in swim classes.

Miss Marcia (Year 5/6)

In Yr 5/6 Art we have been using what is available in nature to create some amazing artworks. In addition, we have encouraged the children to think about the environment by using what they have around them rather than purchasing something new.

While on camp we used recycled fabrics and strings to create some decorative hiking poles made from cutting down Neem saplings (a declared weed tree that is infesting Kimberley riverbanks).

For our Father’s Day gift we painted river rocks, created our own wrapping paper and card.

We are now moving on to a Christmas theme and we will paint boab nuts to use as Christmas tree decorations.