St Joseph s Catholic School, Fairfield 88 Clarkin Road, Fairfield PO Box 957, Hamilton Phone: (07) 855-5434 Email: admin@stjosephs.school.nz Website: www.stjosephs.school.nz 21st August 2018 Issue 13 Inside this issue: Principals Piece E ngã mãtua, tena Koutou, Talofa Dear Parents/Caregivers, Thank you to all those families who attended their Parent-Teacher meeting. As stated in previous newsletters, these interviews were held later than normal because of our LINC-ED reporting going out late in Term 2. Please make sure you have made contact with your child's teacher to check on their progress thus far. The teachers are currently updating childrens goals on LINC-ED. Some of the report functionality won't be available for a few weeks as this gets updated. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact myself or Tracy Svendsen. We have been talking to parents about how we report and we want parents to understand the curriculum levels. These carry on into secondary school and we expect children to take at least two years if not longer sometimes to cover a curriculum level. The visual below is taken directly from the New Zealand Curriculum, showing that in Years 1-8, the teaching predominantly covers Levels 1-4 of the curriculum. When we assess where a child is working within a curriculum level, we consider the level as split up into 3 steps; basic, proficient, advanced. with the Team Leader. If Yr 4-8 Orchestra Trip you are still not satisfied with things, then make a LINC-ED Reports time to come in and see my DP, Tracy Svendsen, PTFA News and then myself. This is Cultural Corner an imperative process to follow and the teacher Yr 4-8 Cross country should always be the first port of call. There Vision & Hearing Checks are many things that happen for children in their day and if you are and more. concerned, it is best to come in and see the teacher or email them with a time to meet to discuss it. We need to make sure we have all the information before we discuss the concern and to work in partnership to grow the capacity of our children. BOT Update: During our August meeting we have been pleased to know that our new build is taking some great strides. We are hoping that Rms 9/10/11, will be able to move into their new build before the end of this term. We will keep you updated. This means potentially that Rms 12/13/14, will be moved alongside the new build ready for refurbishment. The BOT/PTFA and others will be consulted on some future landscaping in the middle area of our school. This will be shade, concrete play area and some other features that engage children. This is very exciting for the future of our school. The schools operational funding continues to support St Joseph s learners. The BOT are regularly kept up to date on procedures and policies operating in the school. God bless, School and home are a partnership and we want to work together for each child to reach their potential. If there are any concerns throughout the year with your child, please contact your child's classroom teacher first. If you are not satisfied, then you should make contact James Murray Principal
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B (John 6:51-58) On Sunday, we continued to read from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. Today s Gospel elaborates further on the teaching that Jesus began in our liturgy last week. In that reading, the crowds wondered about how Jesus could say that he had come down from heaven because they knew Jesus to be the son of Joseph. In this Gospel, some have difficulty with Jesus teaching that he is the living bread sent from God. Recall that Jesus had told them that just as God gave the Israelites manna to sustain them in the desert, so now God has sent new manna that will give eternal life. We hear the concluding verse of last week s Gospel repeated in today s reading: Jesus himself is the bread sent by God; Jesus flesh is the bread that is given for the life of the world. Among the stumbling blocks for those who heard but did not understand Jesus is the teaching that the bread that Jesus will give is his own flesh. In response to the people who quarreled over his words, Jesus teaches with even greater emphasis that salvation comes to those who eat his Body and Blood. Jesus doesn t seem to answer the question posed about how salvation will come about, perhaps because this reality can only be understood after his death and Resurrection. Instead, Jesus teaches about the life that he will give to the world. To many ears, Jesus words are jarring and difficult to hear. Many who heard Jesus could not accept what he said. Many today continue to struggle to accept these words. But they are important words because they reveal our intimate connection with Jesus. This is the mystery that is at the heart of our Eucharistic theology. In the elements of bread and wine, Jesus Body and Blood are made truly present. When we share in the Body and Blood of Christ, Jesus himself comes to dwell within us. This communion with the Lord makes us one body, brings us eternal life, and sends us forth to be Christ s body for the life of the world. School Focus
Year 4-8 Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra Trip Wednesday 22nd August We are excited to be taking our students to a performance by the Waikato Trust Symphony Orchestra, held at the Activate Church at Ruakura. The performance is called Max and the Alien, which is a modern retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, set to music. The students will be learning about orchestras and instruments and becoming familiar with the story before the trip. As this trip is within school hours, no separate permission form will be sent home. The $7 cost (entry and bus) has been charged to your account. Year 7&8 will depart school at 10.30am for the 11am show. Year 4-6 will depart school at 12.30pm for the 1pm show. 2019 Term Dates Term dates for 2019 are as below: Term 1: Mon 4th February - Fri 12th April Term 2: Mon 29th April - Fri 5th July Term 3: Mon 22nd July - Fri 27th September Term 4: Mon 14th Oct - Wed 18th December Credit Union First Credit Union provides a school banking service to all pupils at St Joseph s School. Getting started is easy - just pick up an application pack from the school office, fill in the application form and return it to the school office. If your children are already doing school banking, remember that the school banking will be collected on Wednesday each week! CHANGE OF DATE! Last Pizza Lunch Next Wednesday 29th August! (To raise funds for AIMS Games) Three options: Hawaiian Pepperoni Simply Cheese ONLY $2 per slice or $3 for 2 slices Gluten Free available Order your pizza in the library from 8.15am next Wednesday! LINC-ED Digital Reports Thanks to all those who have given us great feedback so far on our new reporting system, LINC-ED. We will be asking for your feedback in a more formal capacity later in the year as we look to further improve our system. Teachers are currently updating goals on the system for Term 3. This involves teachers having discussions with each other and collecting evidence about students learning. For this reason, some of the assessment information is not available for parents to view at the moment and will be turned back on at the end of the term with the new updates. Please contact James Murray or Tracy Svendsen if you have any questions about this. YUMMY AIMS GAMES DONUT FUNDRAISER (donuts from Epiphany Café) Choco Blossom Raspberry Choco Sugar Cinnamon Sugar Glazed Please help our AIMS Games team to fundraise to get to this tournament! Pre Order @ $3 per donut, by Friday 24th August and pick up next Friday 31st August for afternoon tea! Order forms went home yesterday - this is the last order for the year.
PTFA News Sponsorship forms are coming home today! Students are getting active this term & helping the PTFA to raise funds! Students in Years 4-8 are clocking up kilometres over the duration of Term 3, by road-running in training for their cross country event. By adding up all these kilometres, students are working towards running either: a half-marathon (21kms), a marathon (42kms), or an ultramarathon (over 43kms). As we know many of our students are very active outside of school hours also, every sports training and sports game that they play which involves running (rugby, football, netball, hockey etc) can be signed off by their teacher and add 1 km towards their total. Students in Years 0-3 are completing their Runathon through daily exercise at school while building up to their cross country event. Each ten minute session of Huff and Puff is being recorded on a class chart. The chart has been provided by Sport Waikato, featuring a car touring around the North Island. Students would really appreciate sponsorship for their Runathon efforts! Some people will prefer to give a donation regardless of how far the student runs that is fine with us! Thanks in advance for your support! Twilight Gala: Co-ordinator Tania Harvey Thanks to everyone who has donated old kids' books and toys. Please watch out for the next drop off date. Next meeting: Mon 3rd Sept, school staffroom. All welcome. Sporting Success Congratulations to Hamish McGill and Callum McCabe who have been selected for the Hamilton Invitational Gold (A) team and to Jack Pitchford and Sam Carrigan who have been selected for the Hamilton Invitational Black (B) team for the upcoming Regional Invitational U45kg Rugby Tournament to be held over three weekends in September. Yr 4-8 Cross Country Thur 23 rd Aug 2018 - Porritt Stadium Children need to wear/ bring: P.E. shirt or T shirt of house colour with P.E shorts. Running shoes are optional. Warm outer clothing and a jacket. Their school bags with food to eat and a drink bottle. PROGRAMME 9:00 - Year 4-8 students leave school by bus 9:30 Students to walk the course 10:00- Events begin 12:30pm- Events end. Students then return to school on the buses or go home with parents. Order of events: Year Year 8 Boys Year 8 Girls Year 7 Boys Year 7 Girls Year 6 Boys Year 6 Girls Year 5 Boys Year 5 Girls Year 4 Boys Year 4 Girls Distance 2500m 2500m 2000m 2000m 2000m If any parents are able to help out on the day with marshalling, could they please contact Mr Beaurepaire in Rm 2 or email s.beaurepaire@stjosephs.school.nz. SJF No Nuts Policy At St Joseph s we have a No Nuts policy. This means that no student is allowed to bring nuts of any description to school for lunch. Children s lunch boxes are checked regularly. For more information, ask at the school office or speak to a teacher.
Vision and Hearing Checks in School Monday 27th August 2018 Information Sheet on Vision and Hearing Checks in School Vision Hearing Technicians from Community and Southern Rural Health will be visiting our school. The objective of the test is to identify previously undetected vision and hearing defects. Which children are routinely checked? Catch up screening for children who have not completed vision and hearing checks as part of their B4 School Check Children absent from previous visit, require retests or follow up New Immigrants All Year 7 student s vision only If there is a genuine concern, parents and teachers may request a vision or hearing check. What tests are carried out? Ears Audiometry (hearing test) Tympanometry middle ear function test (only carried out when hearing test is not within a normal range) Eyes Long distance vision tests not a complete visual examination, but a simple screening test NB All of these checks are non-invasive, safe and should cause no discomfort. The Vision Hearing Technician will: Notify parents of all test results Enter results on Ministry of Education database (ENROL) The Vision Hearing Technician will obtain personal details from the school ie; names, date of birth. If the technician needs to contact parents or caregivers following the visit, addresses and phone numbers will also be required. Our Service may share this information with other health professionals involved in the children s care. If any parents/caregivers do not want their child to be checked, or their child is currently under specialist care for a vision or hearing defect, they should let the school know. Click here for more information.