St Joseph’s Primary School - O'Connor
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Boronia Drive
O'Connor ACT 2602
Subscribe: https://sjpsoconnor.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: office.sjo@cg.catholic.edu.au
Phone: 02 6248 9818
Fax: 02 6247 1792

Week 10 Term 2 2020 Newsletter

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Week 10 Term 2 2020 Newsletter

Dear Parents, Carers and the St Joseph's Community, 

Grant, we pray, O Lord our God,

That as the Cross shines in our southern skies,

So may Christ bring light to our nation,

To its peoples old and new,

And by saving grace, transform our lives.

Amen

Today, Torres Strait Islanders celebrate the "Coming of Light" or the arrival of Christianity. Missionaries arrived there in the 1870s, and many Islanders adopted Christian beliefs and customs into their lives, alongside, and sometimes instead of, their traditional ways. Every year on the first of July, Torres Strait Islanders celebrate, remembering the arrival of the missionaries on 1 July 1871.

Across the world the coming of Christianity usually meant the forceful end of traditional beliefs, but not so in the Torres Strait. Christianity was embraced and welcomed into everyday lives with Torres Strait Islander culture informing people's understanding of it. The Coming of Light festival has physical, cultural and spiritual significance for all Torres Strait Islanders.

Staffing News

After an application and interview process, we are pleased to announce that Sarah Young has been appointed as our new Canteen Manager. Sarah will begin her role next term. We are, as I am sure you are, very excited that the canteen will once again be up and running to provide delicious lunches and snacks for the students and to help us, parents, on those days when there is only one piece of bread left in the house! We will advise you of the hours of operation before the start of term.

Drive-through

Please be aware of our ongoing request for parents to enter the carpark during afternoon pick up, from the Scrivener Street end of Boronia Drive, turning left into the driveway. Coming from this direction means that cars are more easily able to drive down Boronia Drive, from the Hovea Street end. Trying to turn right into the driveway is causing significant issues.

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Our Returning Community

Following continued improvements in health advice from ACT government and also guidelines from Catholic Education, it is expected that soon we will be able to relax some of our current restrictions around welcoming parents and friends into our school. We will maintain some practices, in line with ensuring everyone’s safety, but before our return on Monday 20 July, we will communicate with parents what our protocols will be for the start of Term 3.

End of Term House Points

Congratulations to Lourdes for being our winning House Group this term. All members of Lourdes will be rewarded with a Pizza lunch tomorrow. In recognition of the efforts of each of the Houses, all students are invited to wear free clothes on Friday to help celebrate the end of a great term!

Social and Emotional Learning

Thank you to Belinda Ladmore (mother of Ryan in Foundation) for sending through a link to a Play School special on racism that was launched last Friday. The special focuses on what racism is, how it makes people feel and how we can all play a part in stopping it. Watch the video here.

Some alarming statistics were mentioned in the educator notes that Belinda also sent through, “Children between the ages of  2-4 internalise racial bias and become set in their thinking by 12.” You may find the attached Unicef article, Talking to your kids about racism an interesting read to help with answering those ‘tricky’ questions that children sometimes ask.

We are on the Move!

Teachers, staff and students have been busy getting organised to move classrooms in preparation for the building renovations that will begin next week. Year 1 have settled in well to their ‘new’ classrooms and our Foundation classes have joined together and coined the term Foundation Pink to represent the merging of Red and White. We cannot wait for the end results of our building works and I am confident that as a community we will endure the coming building 'chaos' with eager anticipation of what awaits us at the end.   

Family Maths Week

Following on from the success of last year's Family Maths Night, next term Mrs Coghlan and her band of student assistants will be holding a Virtual Family Maths Week. During Week 2 there will be different activities available for your family to access from home and participate in together. There will be plenty of prizes on offer. Watch this space for information about how to access the event.  

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We are certainly in for a special treat these holidays without smoke covering the Canberra skies and without lockdown restrictions in place. Whatever your family does over the coming two weeks, enjoy the change of place and please stay safe. We are looking forward to starting Term 3 as close to ‘normal’ as possible!   

Yours in Christ,

Amy Doszpot

Assistant Principal

amy.doszpot@cg.catholic.edu.au

Religious Life of St Joseph’s

Well we are almost there! This year our St Joseph’s values have been more relevant than ever as we have navigated the challenges of fires, hail and Covid 19. As I reflect on how our community has faced these challenges my heart warms at the constant and ongoing displays of respect, humility, compassion, courage and generosity.

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With your plans for the upcoming holidays I pray that it is a time of much needed rest and renewal for you and your families. God Bless!

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Melanie Stratford

Religious Education Coordinator

melanie.stratford@cg.catholic.edu.au

Sustainability in Action

 

Plastic Free July

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Take the pledge to make your July one without the use of single-use plastics. Just say no to these BIG 4: plastic bags, drink bottles, coffee cups and straws. 

What is the Carbon Footprint of your lunchbox?

Year 4 investigated the environmental impact their food has on the environment. Breaking into their lunches, Year 4 had some surprising conclusions:

“The bread in my lunch is freshly made but the sugar is transported. The bread-maker was probably transported too. The wheat is transported by a tractor, which needs fuel. The wheat also needs fertilizer from a healthy animal...I didn’t think such a simple sandwich would take so much work and take so much from the world!” said Layla F.

“For just an apple it would have to be transported and someone would have to put a sticker on it,” said Jordan L.

“Obstacles are put in our way to see if what we want is worth fighting for.”-Anonymous

 

Ryan McGee

Sustainability Coordinator

ryan.mcgee@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Defence School Mentor News

Sounds like the kids are all excited about the upcoming holidays. Quite a few families will be travelling so enjoy the time away together. Looking forward to hearing all the stories when we return in Term 3.

27 June was PTSD Awareness Day. Phoenix Australia aims to raise awareness of PTSD. Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD, but about 5-10% of Australians will suffer from PTSD at some point in their lives. That means that at any one time over 1 million Australians have PTSD. Find out more information at the link below.

 https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/ptsd-awareness-day/

 

Sally Adams

Defence School Mentor

sally.adams@cg.catholic.edu.au 

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Thank You!

A big thank you to our wonderful families who have dropped off uniforms to go into the second-hand clothing pool. We have a large range of items available at a very cheap price! More donations are always welcome. 

Congratulations to this week's award recipients. 

Students are now receiving their Awards at Morning Gathering on Friday, but we are still unable to welcome parents to join us. Hopefully from early Term 3!

Foundation Red

Claire A

Charlee F

Foundation White

Ayla A

Aria F

1 Purple

Chloe R

Gianluca P

Sophia T

1 Teal

Annabelle F

Jack D

2 Magenta

Namgay T

Connor J

2 Yellow

Makur W

Luke D

3 Black

Stefano V

Vasili P

3 Navy

Sophie G

Olivia O

Jimmy P

4 Gold

Alyssa S

Zoe G

Adam S

Lucy P

Nate R

4 Green

Bridget M

Troy T

Lottie W-B

5 Blue

Angela L

Kennedy W

5 Orange

Milli C

Alli P

6 Lime

Max G

Tom O'K

6 Silver

Alyssa D

Alec F

Liam O

Sustainability

Happy birthday to these students celebrating their birthdays this week, and over the holidays:

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Emma P
William C
Louis B
Yaanih N
James A
Levi I
Conor McG
Luke D
Jordan L
Nate R
Layla F
Audrey B
Sophia S
Sebastian P
Vasili P
Amy D