St Joseph’s Primary School
Gayndah
Newsletter Date Wednesday
15 March 2017
2017 Term One
Week Eight
Hi everyone,
Last week, I had the privilege of attending a spirituality retreat run by Brisbane Catholic Education, which is part of their spiritual
formation program for staff. This program aims to affirm and guide each participant’s spiritual journey, and also develop our capacity to
fan the flame of the Holy Spirit in our school community. I was fortunate to attend with two other staff from our school, Mrs Roth and
Mrs Smith, and together we learnt more about our own spirituality and discussed how we express this in our lives.
Of the many valuable insights I gained from this retreat, one that struck a chord with me was the modern obsession with always being
busy. An article that was shared with us was one by Hugh Mackay, a social researcher, in The Age in 2005. Mackay comments on the
fact that being busy can be seen as a sign of importance and productivity, while if someone isn’t busy, people wonder what on earth
they are doing with their life! I know that I am guilty of discussing my day in terms of how busy it was, or talking with people about
how fast the weeks are flying by, without stopping to really think about whether this is a good thing or not. The line that most stuck
with me from this article was: “It goes without saying that, up to a point, staying active is likely to keep you young. Mild levels of stress
are apparently good for us. Some structure in the day gives us a necessary sense of purpose. But it's very easy to slip over the line that
divides healthy activity from busyness for its own sake, and to assume that inactivity is somehow letting the side down.” This made me
stop and consider my own life, and to make more time to stop and just ‘be’, rather than constantly rushing from one thing to the next. It
is a hard task in our productivity-driven society, but the research shows that allowing time to relax, and participate in activities such as
mindfulness and meditation, can significantly reduce stress and improve overall wellbeing. This is one of the many reasons we have
allowed 5 minutes in our timetable at school each day for students to participate in some form of Christian meditation – not only to
further develop their spirituality, but to nurture their wellbeing. If you are interested in reading the full article by Hugh Mackay, it can
be found at: http://www.theage.com.au/news/hugh-mackay/busy-mind-your-own-busyness/2005/09/16/1126750124980.html
With that in mind, we do have many events occurring throughout the remainder of the term, but rather than lamenting how busy it is,
let’s be grateful for the many opportunities to build community and share each other’s company.
Year 6 will participate in a Leadership Day next Tuesday, run by Caritas, and will receive their shirt, badge and paver at our
Leadership Ceremony next Friday. In addition to our Anti-Bullying Day celebrations this Friday, we also acknowledge Harmony Day
next Tuesday, which promotes tolerance and mutual respect between all groups of people. Our Year 5 students will attend a celebration
for this at the Gayndah Library on Tuesday morning. We will hold our celebrations for our patron saint, St Joseph, on Monday morning
next week, beginning with mass at 9am.
Last night, we held our P&F AGM, followed by our first meeting for the year. Nathan Hitchcock was elected as our new president.
Details of all the role holders in the P&F committee can be found further in this newsletter. Thank you to all those who have agreed to
take on roles or continue in their current role, and thank you to all who attended. A final thank you must go to Laura Parr, who has been
the president for the past 2 years. She has done a tremendous job and many wonderful things have happened thanks to the support of the
P&F and Laura’s leadership. We are so appreciative of the time and energy our parents dedicate to our school. The next meeting will be
held on 9 May in the staffroom and all are encouraged to attend.
Congratulations to Gayndah Guardian Pharmacy for being awarded National Community Engagement Guardian Pharmacy of the
Year! We are so fortunate to have your support and we are very appreciative of all you do for our school and community.
I look forward to seeing everyone in their orange best on Friday, ready for the
National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence.
Rumour has it there may even be an orange coloured treat in store for our students!
Have a great week,
Amy.
Acting Principal’s Letter to Parents It’s a girl!
A big congratulations must go to Mr and Mrs Gray
on the birth of baby Imogen Eva.
She was born last Wednesday night at 10pm, weighing 8lbs and measuring
49cm in length. Brooke and Imogen came home at the end of last week, and
are settling in really well. Ben passes on his thanks for all the support over the
past 9 months, and all the well-wishes that have been sent.
Welcome to another busy week at St Joseph’s! It’s hard to imagine we only have two weeks left after this, and
with so much to fill our time!
Holy Week
Every year we take the final week of term to remember and celebrate Holy
Week and the events in the life of Jesus leading up to his Crucifixion and
Resurrection. Unusually, this year Easter falls in the last weekend of the
holidays, not the first, however our school celebrations will go on
nonetheless! This time is the pinnacle of the Catholic Calendar and of
utmost importance to us all. As per previous years, we will take time each
afternoon of week 10 (except Friday) for a different class to re-enact a
stage of Holy Week and I openly invite parents and friends to come along
and watch. It would be great to see you all there.
St Joseph’s Day Mass and Celebration
This Sunday the 19th March is the Feast day of our school patron Saint, St. Joseph. Joseph
was a humble, working, man and although he wasn’t rich he descended from the royal line
of David. Joseph was caring and compassionate, and readily took on the role of raising the
son of God, although he knew he wasn’t his own son. Joseph is the patron saint of the
dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary
close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth. Joseph is also patron saint of the
Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travellers,
immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general.
We will celebrate this day next Monday 20th March with a
church mass, starting at 9am. All are welcome to join us.
Caritas
Our support of Caritas’ Lenten fundraising appeal Project Compassion continues on.
This week on the Project Compassion website, they focus on the story of Martina, a
woman from Timor-Leste, and how funds from Caritas have gone towards
supporting her and other women to overcome domestic violence. A very worthy
cause. Read more at
http://www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion/weekly-stories/week-2-martina
National Day of Action Against
Bullying & Violence
This Friday is the National Day of Action against Bullying and
Violence. St Joseph’s ardently supports a zero-tolerance attitude
toward bullying and violence so we’re asking all our students to
dig out their orange glad rags and wear them to school in
support of this terrific initiative. Just remember to make sure all
shirts have sleeves, bottoms are an appropriate length and shoes
are enclosed. See you there!
That’s it from me. Have a great week,
Jim
ICAS Please return any orders with any payment due to the office by
next Wednesday 22nd March.
SPORTS NEWS: Reminder to students participating in North Burnett
trials to return any forms and levies ASAP. NB Touch trials are on 16th
March, Netball, Soccer and Rugby League 24th March.
TUCKSHOP - Tuckshop order forms went home yesterday. Please return by Monday 20th
BOOKCLUB: Please send in any orders and payment from Issue 2 by this Friday 17th March. A great
chance to order for Easter!
COLOURING COMPETITION: Included with today’s newsletter is an Easter colouring comp from L J
Hookers Gayndah. There are 2 catargories: Under 8’s and 8-12 years with 1st & 2nd prizes in each.
Return to school by 31st March or LJ Hookers before 13th April.
EPILEPSY AWARENESS DAY MERCHANDISE
Epilepsy awareness day is Monday 27th March so we are encouraging
everyone to wear purple on that day to show their support. We also have a
range of merchandise available from the school office.
P & F NEWS
The AGM was held last night . Thank you all for your attendance. It was
great to see so many new faces!
The new committee members for 2017 are:
President Nathan Hitchcock
Vice President Kym Baker
Secretary Jody Doyle
Treasurer Helen Smith
Tuckshop coordinators Sarah Webster & Lisa Baker
Uniform coordinator Kym Baker
With today’s newsletter: Tuckshop order form
Fr Biju’s Installation Mass Invitation
Week 7 Year 5 Jacob Smith, Year 1/2 Matilda Doyle,
Year 6 Torra MacDonald,
Prep Mia Holden, Year 4 Erica Wenck
St Joseph’s Primary School
38 Meson Street
PO Box 119 Gayndah
Queensland
Phone: 07 4161 1889
Fax: 07 4161 2655 Email:
Website: www.stjosephsgayndah.qld.edu.au
“In All Things
Glorify God”
ST JOSEPH’S SCHOOL
TERM
DATES 2017
Term One
Tues 24 Jan—
Fri 31 March
Term Two
Wed 19 April—
Fri 23 June
Term Three
Tues 11 July—
Fri 15 Sept
Term Four
Tues 3 Oct—
Fri 1 Dec
Public Holiday—ANZAC Day
25 April
Public Holiday—Labour Day
1st May
ORANGE FESTIVAL QUEEN ENTRANT Anna Ulcoq (sponsored by St. Joseph’s Primary
School) is running a Golden Draw raffle. 1st Prize—$500, 2nd prize $200 & 3rd prize -
$100. There are also weekly draws to win your money back. Limit of 100 tickets at $20 each.
Weekly draws have started so get in quick!
Golden Draw Winners
Week 1 - The D’Alessandro family
Week 2 - Reg and Janette Brown
Week 3 - Ashley & Carol Meyer
Tickets still available! Contact the school office or Anna Ulcoq 0428 611 560 for details.
NETBALL COACHING CLINIC FOR 8-12 YEAR OLDS
Sunday 19th March 2017 11am to 2pm
JUNIOR COACHES CLINIC—For all junior coaches and interested
parents.
March 19th 9am– 2pm
Gayndah Sports Ground - To register please contact Chris Duncan 0419 518
423
SOUTH BURNETT EQUESTRIAN COMPETITIION: Thursday 27th April Nanango
Showgrounds. Open to all students of South Burnett School. Includes team penning, Working
Cow Horse, Western Bending, Barrel Race, whip cracking. Nominations close Tuesday 18th
April. Please contact the school office for details and nomination forms.
JUNIOR NRL DEVELOPMENT CAMP: Monday 3rd April—
Wednesday 5th April at Currimundi for players eligible for U9’s -
U14’s in 2017. Expert coaching by NRL & QRL staff. Skills, games
and fun. For more details and registration go to www.playnrl.com
AUSTRALIA GOVERNMENT MOBILE SERVICE CENTRE
Incorporating Centrelink, Medicare, Australian Tax Office and Child
support, will be located in front of the town hall, Capper St. Gayndah
on Friday 17th March 9am to 4pm. Contact 132316 for more detail.
ST JOSEPH’S COLOUR RUN TEAM: You may have heard that there is a Colour Run being
held at the Golf Course on Sunday, April 2 at 9:30 AM - 2 PM.
If a group of 10 nominates, the registration cost is $35 per person as opposed to $40. If you
are interested in being part of a St Joey's team, can you please let the office know no later than
Monday 20 March
DROUGHT DECLARATION: While we are very thankful and appreciative of the recent
rain, the region was recently officially drought declared. If there are any families within our
school that may be affected, please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can help in anyway.