Term 3 is looking to be very busy and action packed across the school! We’ve already had the Grade 3/4 camp which from all accounts was a great success, cold weather notwithstanding! Students participated in Life Education lessons last week. Footsteps dance lessons are happening each Monday and will culminate in a whole school performance on Monday August 26 between 2-3pm in the school gym: all are welcome to join us. We had the Green and Gold dress up day, to show our support for our Olympic athletes, on Friday August 2nd. The Grades 3-6 Swimming program will occur in weeks 6 and 7. Book Week will begin with our annual parade on Friday August 16 and continue into the next week with Bake a Book on Monday August 19 and the Book Fair for all of that week. Later in the term students will enjoy performances related to Book Week and Italian Day. An Open Afternoon to share the students' learning will occur on the last Monday of term, September 16. There will also be sporting events, incursions and excursions so the students have many things to look forward to!

I have been spending some time in each of the Grade 5/6 classes and 3/4 classes over the last couple of weeks. I have been seeking students' voice, feedback and ideas in relation to our annual socio -emotional survey results. The Insight SRC survey is conducted each year, in the first few weeks of Term 2. All the staff complete the survey along with a number of 5/6 and 3/4 students. The results have indicated that student behaviour is a cause for concern. Along with seeking students' input, the staff have been reviewing policies, protocols and procedures around student behaviour and we have been looking at our other sources of data and current research around evidence based practices. Obviously we are looking at ways to improve. We look forward to making some informed changes to our practices to facilitate improvement.

Life Ed

Some information about Life Ed:

Life Ed prides itself on a holistic approach to education that ensures the tricky decisions children and young people face on a daily basis are made a little easier.  

Life Ed helps children to:

• Connect the choices they make with short and long-term consequences.
• Value their safety, health and happiness.
• Develop positive attitudes for safer, healthier and happier choices.
• Build confidence and skills to manage potential coercive behaviours.

Life Ed’s curriculum aligned programs tackle tomorrow's issues today covering a wide range of topics across the areas of physical health, safety and social and emotional wellbeing. These topics are integrated and our lessons are delivered in an engaging and age appropriate way.   

Click on this link for more information.

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy.

Please click on the link below to read the Fact Sheet for Parents.

NCCD Parent Fact Sheet

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal.

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

Joanne Coldebella

Principal

Well done to our award winners who were presented with their certificates at our last assembly, congratulations on all your hard work.  

The 1/2 students have been having a great time learning about the Olympics! We had so much fun making Olympic torches to celebrate the opening ceremony. The kids really got creative decorating their veggies to look like amazing athletes. And last Friday, we all showed our Aussie spirit by dressing up in Green and Gold.

1/2 Team

The start of Term 3 has our Grade 5/6 students hitting the ground running! This term, we have embarked on a variety of engaging projects that promise to enhance our learning experiences.

We have begun focusing on information reports, with students currently in the process of writing about an Olympic sport. They are diving into research on various sports featured in the Olympics, exploring their history, rules, and notable athletes. This project not only hones research and writing skills but also fosters an appreciation for the dedication and sportsmanship seen at the Olympic Games.

In Maths, we are concentrating on multiplication, learning various strategies to build a deeper understanding. Through hands-on activities and collaborative problem-solving, students are developing confidence in their math skills. We are also working hard to build our times table facts, aiming for quick and accurate recall.

Additionally, in our Inquiry unit, we are embarking on a fascinating journey through life in Australian colonies. Students will explore the daily lives, challenges, and achievements of early Australian settlers, connecting past events to the present. This immersive learning experience encourages critical thinking and allows students to draw parallels between historical and contemporary Australia.

With such an exciting lineup of topics this term, our Grade 5/6 students are well on their way to a productive and enriching learning experience! We look forward to seeing their growth and enthusiasm as they engage with these topics.

5/6 Team

On Wednesday 31st of July, St Joseph's Wonthaggi Primary went to the School Sports Victoria (SSV) Gippsland Regional Netball competition. After a long trip down to Sale we arrived at 9:45 at Gippsland Regional Sports Complex Sale.

This day was the result of success at district level and divisional netball tournaments.

After the briefing at 9:50am, the games started at 10:00am. For the first round we had the bye which gave us an opportunity to see how the other teams played and by the end of the round we knew it was going to be hard. 

Our first game we played Maffra Primary, they were pretty tall but we came out on top with our first win of the day. After a short break we came up against Garfield PS. It was a close first half but after a strong second half we ran away with another win. 

We had another short break and went into our third game determined to keep up our winning streak. We played against Yinnar PS which was our toughest game yet, but came out with a tight victory.  

The next, and final game, we came up against Lucknow PS, with tired legs after the last three amazing games. Lucknow was by far our closest match of the whole day, we only just came out on top. The second the siren sounded, we realised that we had won Regionals and were going through to STATE! In the presentation we went up and received the blue flag for our school. It was an amazing day and everyone had fun. A big thank you to our coach Mrs Bertacco, our PE teacher Mrs Richards, the stadium, SSV, the other teams, family and friends, umpires and to the team for helping us achieve our goal and making our day possible. We can’t wait for STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS on 18th September at Waverly Sports Centre.

By Mila W and Maya.

Healthy Harold and the Life Education team have been visiting the students at St Joseph's and will visit again in Week 7. 

This is a great program that is engaging and educational for all students.
The modules covered across the school are: 

Prep - My Body Matters 

1/2 - Harold's Friendship

3/4 - Friends and Feelings

5/6 - Take a Breath 

We encourage you to have a conversation with your child/ren about what they have learned in Life Education this term. 

Our whole school Mass celebration for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary will take place on Thursday, August 15 at 9:30 am at St. Joseph's Church. Parents are welcome to attend.

Allocated times for sessions one and two have been sent via email to all families who have confirmed their child's acceptance for Prep enrollment in 2025. If you have any questions, please contact the office. We are excited to welcome our new Preps at our orientation sessions

Exciting news! Our school Book Fair is running from 19-23 August, alongside our school's Book Week celebrations. Join us before and after school for a magical event where you can purchase books, stationery, and posters. Every book bought helps fund our school's Library.

Happiness is defined as the balance of positive and negative emotions, combined with overall life satisfaction. Happiness and gratitude have been studied in positive psychology for many years and researchers have found that gratitude is always strongly associated with greater happiness. Although everyone has their own definition of happiness, many of us want to feel more positive emotions than negative ones. However, negative emotions are still important. They have a lot to teach us and alert us when things need to change. Practising gratitude helps people feel more of the positive emotions, enable us to relish good experiences, improve our overall health, deal with adversity and build strong relationships.
Here is the link to this report - https://stjwonthaggi.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/happiness-gratitude

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Well done to all our school community for dressing in Green and Gold on August 2 to show our support for the Aussies in Paris!

The TheirCare team are excited to be back for another term! After a successful term 2 we can’t wait to see both familiar and new faces at before and after school care for term 3.

Each day we have exciting new activities on offer that are customised to meet the needs and interests of the students attending, a variety of healthy breakfast and afternoon tea options are also provided.

We look forward to seeing you there!

After School Care: 3:25pm - 6pm

TheirCare provides a stimulating & safe environment where children develop life skills, friendships, confidence, and creativity.

Parents are asked to register their children on the Theircare website. 

Children will be required to take a one minute bus ride to the service at Wonthaggi North Primary School on the Harley’s Buslines Wonthaggi township bus  ($1.50 per trip to be paid to the bus driver), where an educator will greet them from the service.

For further information, visit www.theircare.com.au or call our support office on 1300 072 410.  Further information regarding the program can be viewed via the links below.

Program Information Flyer - TheirCare

How to Enrol

CCS Flyer

Parent Handbook

Statements for Term 3 have been emailed to families.  If you have not received your statement or have any queries please contact the office or email kcarew@stjwonthaggi.catholic.edu.au

School closure dates for your diary

Monday September 2, will be a school closure day.

Weekday Masses:

Tuesday Our Lady Star of the Sea, Inverloch 11:00a.m.

Wednesday 9:30am  St. Joseph’s Wonthaggi

Friday 9:30am St. Joseph’s Wonthaggi

Weekend Masses Our Lady Star of the Sea, Inverloch Sunday 9:00am

St. Joseph’s Wonthaggi Saturday 6:30pm, Sunday 10:30am

PLEASE PRAY FOR; 
Recently Deceased:  Vin & Nellie McDonald
Anniversaries: Bill Munro and for the deceased clergy of the Diocese of sale. For all who have died will be granted eternal happiness in Christ

Parish Office will be open on Wed & Fri 8.30am-4.30pm. All items for the bulletin or Mass intentions to be received by 5pm on Thursdays.

Prayer Group: will be held at Wonthaggi Church on Mondays at 1.15pm. All Welcome

Prayer Shawl Group: Plenty of wool & patterns are freely available . Come along to enjoy a cuppa & chat while knitting or crocheting ! For enquires please contact: Philippa Warby 0408 331 340

National Vocations Awareness Week: Dear Friends in Christ, As National Vocations Awareness Week dawns upon us, we are invited to reflect on the unique calling God has placed in each of our hearts. This special week, starting from the first Sunday in August, is a time for us to become conscious of our vocation to holiness as we serve God and our community.
Vocation is not just about priesthood or religious life; it encompasses several walks of life, through which we can live o ut our f aith, in clud in g marriage, single life, and lay ministry. Each vocation is a precious gift from God, and each of us plays a vital role in the life of the Church.
During this year’s Vocations Awareness Week, let us pray especially for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, which are essential for the Church's mission. Let us also support those discerning their paths, offering our encouragement, prayers, and guidance. Families, parishes, and communities play a crucial role in fostering vocations by creating an environment where individuals feel supported and inspired to answer God’s unique call in their lives.
Let us pray earnestly for more vocations while also becoming individuals who educate and invite others to consider their u nique calls. Let us listen to the stories of those who have found their calling, and reflect on how God might be calling you to serve as well.
This year’s celebration coincides with the feast of our country’s first saint, St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Like her, let us be open to God’s invitation to work for His kingdom, in whichever way He might be calling each one of us.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Stanly Devasia Vocations Director, Diocese of Sale.

Our Parish is committed to the safety, well-being and dignity of all children, young people and adults at risk. Find out more at: catholic.org.au/childprotectionsunday and www.catholicregligious.org.au/safeguarding

St Joseph’s Wonthaggi Cuppa after Mass held on 1st Saturday & Sunday of the Month

Our Lady Star of the Sea—Inverloch Cuppa after Mass held on 1st Sunday of the Month

If you are concerned about any form of abuse, or believe that someone is at significant risk, you should immediately raise your concerns with one of our Parish Safeguarding Officers. Contact the Parish Office: 03 56 721 111 or St. Joseph’s School Safeguarding Officer 03 56 721 052.   Take care, we are here to help.                  

If you are in need of urgent assistance, please phone either Father Darren Howie 0356 722 923 or Ann on 03 56 72111 or 04999 15 784.

Father Darren Howie                                                              Ann Hemming  
Parish Priest                                                                          Parish Secretary
                               St. Joseph’s Parish Wonthaggi