Newsletter 60 – Term 1 Week 4 2021

On Wednesday morning of this week we held our Ash Wednesday liturgy to acknowledge the start of the Lenten period. This liturgy was conducted in a different manner this year as Miss Ford had organised for each member of our community to receive a small wooden cross which had been singed as we were not allowed to distribute the ashes under our current COVID guidelines. I would like to thank Miss Ford and the student liturgy group for the beautiful liturgy they prepared and led us in.

During the liturgy I suggested to our community that if they were looking for something worthwhile to do for the coming season of Lent, rather than give up chocolate, they should look to engage with the Joey’s Way and be more compassionate or respectful or they could exercise more empathy toward their peers.

As we know, lent is often a time given over to “holy” words of repentance and promises of self-reform but the fact is that it doesn’t matter how many words you speak, as they will do no good unless you act on them. St Paul in his inspiring letter to the people of Philippi encouraged them to, “Show an agreeable attitude to everyone”. He suggested how they might be able to do this: “All that is true, all that is worthy of reverence, all that is holy and good, all that is lovely to look at and beautiful to hear, all that has virtue and all that deserves praise, let that be the content of your thinking.” Phil. 4: 5,8,9.

As we move through the forty days of Lent, as a community we pray that we might on occasion, surrender freely to the quiet within us, to rediscover the resources and strengths that are there. In doing this we might begin to see better and appreciate more, the value of our existence, to see ourselves with more compassion, more empathy and more gratitude and respect and to see others in a like manner.

A Lenten Prayer

Lord, I know how much you love me.

It’s hard for me to feel it sometimes

but I know your love is always with me.

Help me to use your love as a way

to persevere in my Lenten intentions.

I am weak, but I know with your help

I can use these small sacrifices in my

life to draw closer to you.

Amen.

Learning in Community – Staff are learners, too.

St Joseph’s College emphasises a commitment in providing and supporting our staff to champion the Joey’s Way. To accomplish this goal, and to ensure that all students achieve rigorous standards, the College is building staff capacity by creating a culture of empowerment, accountability and self-directed research that leads to the development of a professional learning community.

As a collective we learn from and are inspired by each other. We invest in further advancing knowledge, skills, and capabilities of all staff, using internal expertise, research platforms and external providers. As such, it is my pleasure to acknowledge the commitment, perseverance, and success of two St Joseph’s College staff members, Mrs Karen Tobin (Program Leader- Senior Schooling) and Mr Bill Whiting (Curriculum Leader – Science). We congratulate them on achieving a Master of Education from Southern Cross University.  Karen Tobin and Bill Whiting embody the values of the Joey’s Way—Aspire to Excellence—not just in their successful completion of the Masters degree but both staff also received an additional ‘recognition of excellence’ award and selection on the Dean’s list in 2020.

Congratulations Karen and Bill.

Kort Goodman

Principal

Term 1 is in full swing and in a perfect world, all our students should be settling into a routine that helps them achieve academic growth, success and ‘aspire to excellence’.  Sometimes, adolescents can find it difficult to establish a balanced routine that works for them, but there are some general tips that can be useful.

1. Create a study timetable. Understand what commitments you may have over the course of a week – work, family time, training, rehearsals, performances, games, socialising. Your study time is just as important as all the other activities that you commit to. Commit to blocks of time where you will study. Last week all students set Term 1 goals and developed their SJC Student Planner for Term 1. You should see this planner displayed in a highly visible area of the home, e.g. fridge, bedroom door, above desk, etc. You might like to ask your child about this and discuss their gals with them.
2. Set a goal/s for each session. Know what you would like to achieve in the dedicated study session and start working toward that. Some students might like to make this time bound and work in blocks of time. A useful strategy here is the Pomodoro method.
3. Avoid distractions.There are many obvious distractions in any household but the most difficult one to remove is a mobile phone. According to recent research (Ward et al., 2017) the mere presence of a mobile phone, even if turned off, reduces available cognitive capacity. Mobile phones should be completely removed from the room for the most effective study to occur.
4. Start with the most difficult topics first. It can be tempting to start with the subjects you are confident in but in doing this you run the risk of tackling the challenging subject when you are more fatigued or worse, run out of time altogether.

By being organised and focussed in your studies, you are able to keep on top of the workload and reduce the stress that often accompanies assessment time. Good habits, great sleep, social contact (not social media contact!), exercise and a healthy diet pave the way to success.

Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain drain: The mere presence of one’s own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140-154.

Audiological Testing

Good hearing health is essential for children to reach their full potential in all life areas, especially when it comes to school performance.

Quite often, hearing loss has a profoundly negative effect on academic performance and social and emotional wellbeing. Research indicates that approximately 15% of children between the ages of 5 and 19 have mild hearing loss of at least 16 dB in one, or both ears. This potentially means that in every classroom there could be 3 or 4 students experiencing hearing loss.

Most commonly, hearing loss in children is temporary and treatable, but if left undetected, it can have a significant negative impact on a child’s development. Often the signs of poor hearing can be overlooked and mistaken for other behaviours or conditions.

It is recommended that children have an Audiology test every 1-2 years. This is to ensure that a child’s hearing health is being monitored on a regular basis, and early intervention is available if required.

Children with a history of ear infections, grommets or other poor hearing health are particularly encouraged to have an Audiology test.

Other concerns may include:

• Academic difficulties
• Irrelevant responses to questions
• Difficulty following directions
• Difficulty remembering information
• Speech concerns and language concerns
• Phonological awareness delays
• Ongoing illnesses such as regular colds and runny noses
• Auditory Processing concerns

A particular concern for secondary students is permanent hearing loss from exposure to noise. This includes listening to music through head phones, recreational activities such as motorbiking, shooting and other machinery, and other activities such as gaming.  Parents are asked to be mindful of their child’s exposure to this sort of noise induced trauma, and ensure that proper hearing safety is worn. One event could result in permanent hearing loss.

St Joseph’s College has facilitated Audiology testing during Week 4.  We thank the families who have participated in this program. Over the two days Audiology testing was offered, 40 students were part of this program.

We are currently investigating the feasibility of offering this service again. If you are interested in participating, can you please contact office@sjc.qld.edu.au and your name will be added to the waitlist.

Upcoming Events

Deputy Principal
Brendon Willocks

bwillocks@sjc.qld.edu.au

Reflection  

Spirit of God, who led Jesus into the desert to fast and pray,  

Lead us as we enter this time of Lent. Give us courage to scrutinise our hearts with honesty; Give us strength to deal with what we find; Give us love to forgive ourselves and each other, So that, in peace and joy, we may celebrate at Easter The death and resurrection of Jesus And all that it means for each of us. 

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.  

All:  Amen.  

Ash Wednesday 

This week we marked the beginning of Lent with our Ash Wednesday liturgy.  

On this day we come together as Catholics to declare to the rest of the world our willingness to change and turn again towards the Gospel values that Jesus taught. While we were unable to mark ourselves with ashes, each student was given a small burnt cross a reminder of our preparations for Easter and our commitment to living Jesus’ mission.  

Our Year 12s took the time to create a video to share with our students the real meaning behind why Catholics eat fish on Fridays. 

As we reflect on eating fish on Fridays, we come to the realisation that the main purpose of this tradition to be more conscious of our choices and use the time of Lent to make our choices reflect our faith in God. 

The Gospel of Matthew clearly provides the three pillars of Lent – prayer, almsgiving and fasting. In this time, we are called to these three intertwining acts of our faith.  Eating fish during Lent reminds us to simplify our lives and return to God. The students add three fish to our net to represent the three pillars of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. 

May we take the time in Lent to: 

• Pray and connect with our God, 
• Give up something and understand the privileges we have in life,  
• And give to those in need.  

Rosies 

This year we continue our outreach through Rosies each month at Harlaxton Park. A group of our Year 12 leaders joined the Rosies Volunteer team to serve a delicious barbecue and play basketball with the patrons.   

Our evenings working alongside Rosies show our students the challenges that face some in our community and the resilience it takes to overcome the disadvantages in society. They learn humility and compassion as they learn to interact with the people they served.  We are grateful to Rosies for allowing our students the opportunity to ‘Serve Him in Others’. 

Breakfast Club 

Murphy 1 and Murphy 2 visit Clifford Park Special School to serve breakfast over this last fortnight.  

Our two Year 11 Leadership groups had their first opportunities to lead the younger students through the processes and introduce them to the familiar faces at Clifford Park.  

Our Chaplain, Jason, attended and was impressed by the initiative and compassion of our students.

Student Mission Groups 

We have many opportunities for students to be a part of our mission and formation groups here at the College. 

If your child is interested in learning more about these groups, please email kford@sjc.qld.edu.au or cbarton@sjc.qld.edu.au  

Kellie-Marie Ford

Acting Assistant Principal – Religious Education

E kford@sjc.qld.edu.au

Assessment Calendars

Students and Parents have received a copy of the Semester One Assessment Calendar for 2021.

Assessment Calendars can also be located on the College Intranet (for students) and on the College Website :

https://www.sjc.qld.edu.au/sjc-resource/assessment-calendars/

If you have any questions about assessment, please contact your child’s classroom teacher or Curriculum Leader.

St Joseph’s College is responsible for gathering evidence of student achievement on or before the due date for internal assessment instruments.

All students have electronic access to their assessment schedules and it is their responsibility to adhere to these due dates.

Students are responsible for planning and managing their time to meet the due dates.

Students and parents can contact teachers and Middle Leaders via Phoning or emailing to help with communication. Teachers are not able to grant extensions directly with students and parents/carers.

St Joseph’s College is required to adhere to QCAA policies about due dates accepting assignments only on or before the due date unless an extension through AARA processes has been approved.  For example, a student who is absent due to family holidays will not be granted an extension for an assignment as this doesn’t meet the AARA guidelines set by QCAA.

Academic Support

Each Tuesday afternoon from 3.15pm – 4.15pm Academic support occurs in the College Seminar Rooms.

Teachers may request students attend these sessions if they have not met expectations at checkpoints or drafts for assignments.

This time is an opportunity for students to complete work and receive assistance if required.

Curriculum Team

If you have any questions about your son or daughter’s classes please refer to the diagram below.

Please contact the Classroom teacher in the first instance via phoning the College or emailing, or for pastoral matters please contact the Joey’s Way teacher.

If you have further curriculum questions and you have already contacted the classroom teacher you are then asked to contact the relevant Curriculum Leader. If your son or daughter is in Year 7 please contact Mrs Wighton who will be able to assist you.

Questions about curriculum and  subject changes for electives each semester can be referred to Mrs Park-Ballay for students in Years 7-9, while in the Senior School curriculum questions can be directed to Mrs Tobin.  We also have a wonderful new Careers team comprising of Mrs Harman, Mrs Stafford and Mrs Millett to assist with work experience, career planning, school based apprenticeships and traineeships.

We are excited about working with your son or daughter and hope that open communication is the key to this support.

Mrs Kerrie-Anne Fellenberg

Assistant Principal Curriculum

E kfellenberg@sjc.qld.edu.au

The Philosophy of The Ignatius Room

The introduction of the Ignatius Room in 2021 is the product of months of work from leaders across St Joseph’s College. Additionally, we remain indebted to students, parents and teaching and ancillary staff who have provided feedback on these processes respectfully and through appropriate channels. St Joseph’s understands that, as with any strategic initiative in schools, the moment we believe we’ve got something perfect, is the moment it all starts going wrong.

Many schools across Queensland utilise a Responsible Thinking Classroom, sometimes known as an ‘RtC’, there is significant research behind the process and all of it would say that, when implemented well, RtCs have a profound impact on the engagement of students, especially in a secondary setting. The research and experience of our colleagues in other schools has provided the groundwork for our Ignatius Room Processes.

We hope, however, to add another layer to our process that, in part, explains why we don’t use the term RtC, we instead call it ‘The Ignatius Room’, and to do that we must dig in to what it means to be a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition.

The story of Jesus’ passion is a great example. When He is being nailed to the cross by Roman soldiers, knowing the ensuing days and weeks would be excruciatingly painful and humiliating, Jesus refuses to harbour resentment towards them, despite the pain they were causing him. Jesus is our ultimate example of Restorative Practice, that is, separating the person from their behaviour. The Ignatius Room was, and still is, our College chapel. This is quite deliberate as it is a fundamental way in which we tell the redemption story to our students at vulnerable times.

No student is ever ‘sent’ to the Ignatius Room, sending means that the teacher doesn’t care. Instead, a student is referred to the Ignatius Room in the same way a very-caring General Practitioner might refer a patient to a specialist if they are not best-placed to solve the problem. A teacher referring a student to the Ignatius Room is a way of saying ‘I care very much about you and your behaviour, but I’m not best-placed to solve this problem at the moment’.

The Ignatius Room is designed to give us all time and space to problem-solve challenging behaviour. Students, like teachers and even parents or guardians, can be part of the problem-solving process. Students use the room to reflect, make a plan and then restore the relationship with the referring staff member.

With these underpinning philosophies in mind, we hope our Ignatius Room has the following six qualities:

1. It is sacred- we believe every student is created in the image of God and they will be treated as such in the Ignatius Room.
2. Dignified- everybody at St Joseph’s is entitled to dignity, at all times, with no exceptions.
3. Safe- No student’s physical or emotional safety will ever be threatened in the Ignatius Room.
4. Accountable- students will be asked to own their behaviour in the Ignatius Room, and to use this ownership to learn and repair harm.
5. Inconvenient- problem solving and repairing harm usually means going out of our way to do so. Taking this time says a great deal about our desire to make things right.
6. Boring- no student should want to be referred to the Ignatius Room, being in class where great learning is happening is far more exciting!

If you have any questions or concerns about the Ignatius Room, please contact a member of the Student Engagement Team.

Joe Cryle

Assistant Principal- Student Engagement

E jcryle@sjc.qld.edu.au

Claire Pretorius   &   Saxon McGregor

As the first Academic Captains, we have grand plans to make St Joseph’s College the academic school of choice for future students and their families. Of course, this cannot happen in one year alone; however, minor changes to the way we think and work can better position us for success. 

All of us are guilty of allowing the concept of failure to impede on our motivation to continue learning. As such, we are aiming to redefine the word ‘fail’ to mean the ‘First Attempt In Learning’. On Assembly last week, we began opening the conversation surrounding failure and how it can be taken as a positive experience, rather than a negative. Among the two of us, crashing cars and being blamed for the loss of a debate are amidst the events we shared with the SJC community. In the coming weeks, more of the Student Leadership team—as well as staff—will be sharing their stories to help quash the stigma of failure. 

We plan to hit the ground running this year with many academic opportunities in-store. Having already congratulated students on their bronze, silver, and gold academic awards (and more recently the ICAS distinctions in our College) our next big plans involve International Women’s Week and Joey’s Day.  

Looking at the school calendar, our plan is to utilise every occasion to re-iterate the importance of ‘Aspiring to excellence’. Framed as one of the school’s imperatives, this embodies exactly what we wish to achieve for EVERY student.  

English

Welcome to English, Term 1! As an introduction: I am Jacqui Dignon and am acting in the position of Curriculum Leader English and Languages for Term 1. The year has started off with a bang and we are all slowly settling into our routine after a lovely break.

This year we welcome three new members to our amazing English team, and they have already made their presence felt through their warmth and willingness to get stuck in.

When I stumbled on this quote, it had so much more meaning to it after the year that was 2020. We all know it was one that had many firsts, and certainly one that we hope won’t be repeated soon! Being limited to homes, towns, or regions with no idea when we will be unleashed into the world again, has made the escapism that is reading even more important.

It is a focus of the English department to instil a love of reading into our students and to encourage them to see it as a way of experiencing new worlds and ideas without having to go too far. We are working very closely with the library staff and are going to be using reading areas and reading lessons, particularly in the junior years to grow this area. Sometimes it is just about finding the right genre, author or series to get students reinvigorated by reading.

We are maintaining our reading times in class, so please encourage your children to have a book with them whenever they go to English classes.

Literacy Improvement:

A new addition to our Junior English classes is a fortnightly Literacy Improvement lesson that is run in the seminar rooms in the library. The aim of these lessons is to allow all students of all levels to build on their existing knowledge and to gain confidence and ability within the area of literacy. Although it is embedded into English and Humanities lessons, we believe the impact and value of these lessons will be felt across all learning areas.

Japanese

Welcome to 2021 in the Japanese Department.                 日本語　を　勉強しましょう。。。。

As you would be aware, students in Years 7 and 8 have chosen their preferred language and so will sign up to a 2-year course. As we see students for only three lessons per cycle, they are encouraged to actively engage with the wonderful resources on Education Perfect to keep their language study moving along. Please ask your child about their use of EP.

We will reap the benefits of smaller class numbers in years 9 to 12, allowing greater time to address students’ individual needs. Although we have more contact time with these elective classes, ideally students will continue to factor in regular revision and practice, maybe adding in some anime or manga time, to enhance their language ability. If we don’t use it, we lose it – unfortunately languages do require a fair bit of work!

COVID has had a huge impact on the extras we like to offer with our courses, such as international travel which is definitely on hold for the time being, but we do hope to participate in activities a bit closer to home, such as language film festivals throughout the year, to put our language learning in  context.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s Japanese studies, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the College.

ありがとうございました          (Arigatou gozaimashita – thank you)

ナン先生                                           Mrs Nunn

 French

Ms Adriana Sardoni            Mrs Emma Tocher

Bonjour! French students have all started their Term 1 topics and we have been overjoyed with the excitement and enthusiasm of our new Year 7 students. The current Year 7 cohort will study their chosen language for the next two years, with the option to continue as an elective in Year 9 and beyond. All students studying French are required to complete regular homework tasks to maximise retention of vocabulary and correct application of grammar. The online platform Education Perfect is used to supplement in-class learning activities and we continue to witness the positive impact of Ed Perfect on our students’ learning. An excursion to the French Film Festival is currently being planned for students studying French in Years 10 and 12. Understandably, no plans for overseas travel can be considered at the moment, however, for future reference, students and their families should be aware of reciprocal exchanges to Quebec (6 weeks) and Switzerland (8 weeks) which are available to Queensland students studying French. Hopefully interested students will be able to participate in these exchanges in the not-too-distant future. Information on the Quebec exchange is available here: https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-educators/international/global-opportunities/opportunities-in-americas/canada-student-quebec and information on the Swiss exchange can be found here: https://education.qld.gov.au/schools-educators/international/global-opportunities/opportunities-in-europe/switzerland-germany-student-exchange . If you have any queries related to your child’s French lessons or homework, please contact the relevant teacher. À la prochaine !

Jacqueline Dignon

Acting – Curriculum Leader – English & Languages

E jdignon@sjc.qld.edu.au

Murphy is proud of our motto of “with vision and spirit” with all student and staff striving to live this in all that we do. The start to Term 1 has certainly asked students to develop our resilient spirit and look to the future.

Our captains Emily Lewis and Xander Jackwitz have been leading well through their actions and examples. In 2021 we have extended our Student Leadership team to support and enhance the student engagement of the house. Congratulations to the students below.

2021 Murphy Student Leadership.

Captains

Emily Lewis (YR12)

Xander Jackwitz (YR12)

Vice Captains

Emily Gebbett (YR12)

Georgia Savage (YR12)

Jordan Lucido (YR12)

Rohan Mc Donald (YR12)

Aliandra Pedernal (YR11)

Maddison Duggan (YR11)

Savannah Toohey (YR11)

Dominic Deng (YR11)

Jonah Joseph (YR11)

Joseph Watson (YR11

Our Joey’s Way classes are a very important part of college life and students make these their own with the support of our wonderful Joey’s Way staff, Mrs Baker and Mrs Park-Ballay in M1, Mr Fellenberg in M2, Mr Keighran in M3, Ms Wighton in M4, Mr Cook in M5, Mrs Dwyer in M6, Mrs Harmen and Mr Goodall in M7, Mrs Barton in M8 Mrs Skinner in M9 and Mrs Nunn in M10. These staff go above and beyond to care for the students in their JW classes and are always happy to hear from the parents of their students. I would encourage parents to notify our JW teachers of any achievements your child attains in any community pursuit. We look forward to acknowledging these efforts and congratulating students on their achievements.

During Term 1 we have encouraged our students to operate from an “infinite mindset”, glass half full rather than glass half empty. Below is an article written by Gary Klaben which looks to highlight the practical application which can assist in students achieving their goals through wanting to part of the journey. Here at St Joseph’s we call this the Joey’s Way.

“In school, you likely took a number of exams, many of which were true or false quizzes or tests. The answers were clear-cut, binary choices – they were either right or wrong, with no middle ground. If you didn’t know the answer, you still had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. There’s a simplicity to true or false tests, making them more popular with students (especially the poorly prepared students) than, say, essay question exams.

Now, if life were an exam, the only true/false question would be: “Do you play your life as infinite?” The remainder of the questions are of the more complicated essay question variety.

Simon Sinek writes about the finite versus infinite mindset in his article, “Infinite Life.” If you live your life with a finite mindset, your primary goals are to be richer than others, get promoted more quickly than others, have a bigger house than others…in other words, you’re always looking to win. And if winning is always your goal, then the only alternative to winning is losing. It’s one or the other, a binary result.

However, if you choose to live your life with an infinite mindset, you see a bigger picture in life. You look to build relationships with others, and you work toward a common good. Your goals center around making progress in these areas, as opposed to an end-game win/lose result.

Many areas of our lives can benefit from an infinite mindset. Whereas a finite mindset sees and focuses on scarcity, an infinite mindset will view abundance. Whereas a finite mindset says “I have to do this,” an infinite mindset frames it as “I GET to do this.” A finite mindset will hold on to sorrow. An infinite mindset acknowledges there is sorrow in life, but embraces joy and seeks it out.

For business owners with a finite mindset, employees are viewed as an expense. Infinite mindset business owners view their employees as an investment in the company and the future.

A finite mindset holds on to fear, which, in turn, leads to making poor decisions and to feelings of despair, ultimately closing you off from others. On the other hand, an infinite mindset chooses love, leading to an understanding of the world, opening you up to those around you, connecting you to each other.

Finite Mindset vs. Infinite Mindset | CoyleFinancialBlog.com”

It has been a very busy start to the school year and I encourage students and staff to support each other over the coming term and to live by our motto “With Vision and Spirit” so that we will see these opportunities and embrace them with excitement.

Rodney Spain

House Leader – Murphy House

rspain@sjc.qld.edu.au

This week we introduce Mr Bill Whiting and Mrs Mel Baker.

Mr Whiting is our new Cirriculumn Leader for Science and will be taking Joey’s Way A10, as well as teaching Science, & Biology.

Mrs Baker will be taking Joey’s Way M1 and will be teaching Religion & Ethics and Study of Religion.

Please click on the below link to view the live stream of the 2021 Ball arrivals via the St Joseph’s College Facebook page.

Year 12 Students will start arriving from 5.30pm Saturday 20 February, 2021.

Friday Night Basketball

Our first game was a home game against Toowoomba State High School.

Again, COVID is playing havoc with our competition but at least the students are able to play and enjoy the competition. Unfortunately parents cannot come in and watch the games but viewing from the outside is still acceptable.

7/8 Girls

The night commenced with a strong game from the Year 7 and 8 girls who won by an astounding 61 – 0, which was a great effort by all the girls. Everyone contributed to the scoring board with Libby Cooke having a brilliant night scoring 23 points. Tyla Salmi supported her with 16 points. Lilly Wiemers scored 8, Rihanna Whittaker and Samantha Hunter 4 points each and Sienna Lockwood, Evie King and Emmi Ranford put two points each on the board to round the score our to 61.

7/8 Boys

The boy’s game was a little more contested with the score line going our way 47 to 16. The game was quick and quite skilled for a young team. We have some tall timber in Kizito and Adam who rebounded well all night and Kizito kept the scoreboard ticking over by scoring 19 points.

The boys played well as a team and shared the scoring well. Ryan Richardson scored 8 points, Liam Hogan 6, Dean Sowry and Oliver Smyth 4 points each. Mason Deakin, Jonah Bennett and Luther Drew completed the scoring with 2 points each.

9/10 Girls

This team of young ladies gave a very dominant performance outscoring TSHS 52 to 6. We were strong all over the court, but it helps when you have height in Thryfene and Tiarnee and the speed to match in Nancy and Jess Donaldson.

Nancy Daniel and Tiarnee Smith both top scored with 16 points each. Thryfene Muteba put away 10 points, with Anna Deng scoring 4 and Abuk Aleer, Indie Ranford, Jess Donaldson all scoring 2 valuable points.

9/10 Boys

This game with the boys was fast and furious – probably our biggest mistakes was that we tried to play too quick. The score line was very close, and our boys never ever gave up losing 40 to 46. We had plenty of shots, but they just didn’t want to fall for us.

Theo Hess led us around the court finishing on 11 points which included 3, three pointers. Charlie Meyer had a good game and came away with 8 points. Shane Hurlock attempted many three pointers, but his radar was a little off and they just didn’t want to fall. He finished with 3 points. Blake Burrows, Matt Dunn, Mason McNamara and Xavier Bennett all had 2 points.

Open Girls

If we had scored every shot that we put up in the game we would have won heaps to very few but unfortunately our shots had a good look and then decided to fall out into the arms of our opposition. Whereas they put a shot up and it went in. We played way too quick for ourselves and rushed many of our shots and lost the game 24 to 39. We got ourselves into foul trouble as well so not a good night was had by all.

Maria Zillmann top scored for us with 7 points, Jodie Lubigan scored 5, Kalei Brighton and Claire Pretorious both scored 4 points each. Rounding out the score were two points each for Sarsha Coll and Emily Gebbett.

Open Boys

The boys had a strong win scoring a 79 to 12 win against the Lofty boys. Our team is almost new as most of the boys were Year 12’s from last year. Patrick Aleer led the team from the front with a good 22-point display of shooting skills. He also flew above the pack for rebounding skills.

Exauce Muteba was also strong off the boards scoring 13 points. Hayden Maripa has lost none of his speed and scored 11 valuable points. Dominic Deng scored 10, Pepo Leju 8, Phil Donaldson 6, David Deng 5 and Ashton Waters and Owen Debney 2 points each.

Week two saw us travel to Highland to play Glennie in the 7/8 and 9/10 girls and Highlands in all the boys and open girls.

7/8 Girls

This week the 7/8 girls did not have it all their own way. We had the year 7 girls coming off Year 7 camp where they were physically and mentally exhausted but came to fulfill their commitment to the College. We had to go into extra time to defeat Glennie 38 to 36 points. Glennie had plenty of enthusiastic fresh legs where we had tired and exhausted ones. Luckily Tyla Salmi had her fast feet working and top scored with 16 points, Libby Cooke was a little more contained this week and only managed to score 10 points. Samantha Hunter scored 6 point, Rihanna Whittaker 4 points and Sienna Lockwood 2 points.

7/8 Boys

The boys had a big when against the Highland boys scoring 68 to 10. They were energic and enthusiastic throughout the whole game running down lose balls and rebounding strong off the boards both in attack and offence.

Kizito Oreym maintained his average scoring another 18 points this week. Darby Reid had his radar tuned in this week and scored 13 points. His speed around the court was brilliant and he picked up a lot of loose balls for the team. Oliver Smyth scored 8 points while Liam Hogan and Adam Ladd both scored 6, Ryan Richardson 5, Dean Sowry, Max Murphy and Jonah Bennett all scored 4 point to round out the score.

9/10 Girls

The girls had another good win even though Thryfene Muteba was out with a knee injury. All the girls stepped up to fill her shoes and combined well for a good score.

Abuk Aleer top scored with some free-flowing basketball scoring 14 points. Tiarnee Smith rebounded well off the boards and put 10 points against her total. Nancy Daniel scored 8 valuable points, while Bec Scott scored 6, Anna Deng 4 and Jess Donaldson 2 points. The girls have a good combination working so hopefully they may be able to go all the way.

9/10 Boys

The boys had another strong win against Highlands dominating both attack and defence. They seem to be working better together as a team, so the big scores are coming. They managed to win 57 to 19. Theo Hess certainly has his radar on target for the night scoring 29 points with 4 three pointers. Xavier Bennett put 7 on the board, while Mason McNamara, Blake Burrows and Dominick Wark all scored 4 points each. Shane Hurlock scored 3 points and Charlie Meyer finished the night with 2. Quick passes, good boards and accurate shots were the key for the night’s success.

Open Girls

The open girls started off their game against Highlands with plenty of pace and ball control, the only thing we couldn’t do was put the ball in the hoop. If everything we put up had gone in, we would have won by heaps. However, the score line favoured the opposition by 28 to 36. We were just trying too hard and forget about the soft hands to put the ball in the hoop.

Our defence was excellent as our netball skills are shining through. We did improve in the second half and slowed our game down and we actually looked like basketball players on the court. It was super.

Mariah Zillmann had a good night with 10 points, Claire Pretorius scored 6, while Kalei Brighton and Emily Gebbett scored 4 points each and Ayak Madut and Sarina Kuhn scored two points each.

Open Boys

Even though the score line favoured us 49 to 26 the boys did not have the game all their own way. Highlands were strong and had some tall timber in their team. We held them to just two points in the third quarter with good defence and strong boards.

Hayden Maripa and Ashton Waters controlled the court this week scoring 14 points each. David Deng did some good work and come away with 7 points. Exauce Muteba and Patrick Aleer put 4 points on the score sheet each and Dominic Deng and Phillip Donaldson contributed 2 points each.

This week we are back at home against Wilsonton State School, but please remember we have no spectators at the games please unless you are watching from outside.

Darling Downs Teams

Congratulations to the following students who have made Darling Downs teams after the recent for Cluster Day trials.

15 Boys touch: Kaden Willmot, Zac Lucido, Darby Reid and Bailey Deakin

Open Boys touch: Blaise Prendergast

Open girls touch: Kalei Brighton

13-19 years Softball: Harry Clancy

13-19 years Softball: Addyson Jones and Bridie Nicol

Sienna Deurloo travelled to Hervey Bay as part of the Darling Downs triathlon team over the weekend. She finished about 32nd in her age group, which is very commendable.

Currently being called for are the following sports:

Football 17 – 19 years boys

Football 16 – 19 years girls

Netball – 15 and 19 years

Softball trials for 10 – 12 years boys and girls

Rugby League Gala day – 15 and 18 years boys

Basketball – 18 years boys and girls

Football – 13 – 15 years boys and girls

AFL – 10 – 12 years boys and girls.

We are also very keen to get a Bill Turner boys and girls team up and training, so if your play football(soccer) and want to be part of the teams please see Miss Newton. We have some keen coaches ready to train you.

Build a growth mindset and encourage positive thinking

 Praising your child’s efforts rather than telling them they are smart, can encourage children to develop something called a Growth Mindset.  A Growth Mindset is simply the belief that our abilities can be developed and improved through hard work.  Research has shown that children that believe that their intelligence can be developed (through hard work and effort), outperform those students who believe their intelligence is fixed (or born with set abilities).  Parents and caregivers can have a powerful impact on helping children to develop a growth mindset.  The language you use and the actions you take to teach your child about what you expect.  Here are a few ways to support your child to grow and reframe how they face challenges in life.

• Teach your child about the brain – explain that it works like a muscle and can grow through hard work and determination. What strengthens the brain is practice, asking lots of questions and being actively involved in learning tasks.
• Acknowledge and embrace mistakes made. Explain to your child that this is part of the learning process.
• Praise the process – rather than telling your child they are smart, praise the effort, hard work and practice made.
• Encourage your child to learn at a deeper level, understanding topics from a meaningful perspective.
• Teach your child about emotions that can be experienced when we feel under pressure (e.g. angry, scared) and how to manage these feelings with learnt strategies (e.g. slow, deep breathing).

For more information:

 Understood – Growth Mindset: What You Need to Know

Big Life Journal – How to Teach Growth Mindset to Kids

The start of the year is always a busy time in any school library with the issuing of textbooks and our start to 2021 was no different! It was lovely to meet all of the new students and our Year 7 cohort as they came to borrow. We look forward to seeing these new faces in the Library, partaking in activities, and borrowing texts from our general collection.

What’s new in the Library?

Over the holiday break, our new furniture arrived! By all accounts, the new furniture and layout was well received, and staff and students alike have been enjoying using it. We now have zones within the building to provide every student with a dedicated space that aligns with their needs and interests:

We are very fortunate to also have a flexible classroom space within the library, which is now being used for Library lessons with Mrs Andrews, Literacy Improvement lessons, French lessons, and for a range of other subjects. With its mobile desks, couches, stools and ottomans, this space provides a dynamic learning space that can be quickly rearranged to suit a range of different purposes including group work, whole class discussions, individual study and reading circles.

Figure 1: Our new, flexible learning classroom within the Library- Room 103.

What’s on in the Library?

We would like to take this opportunity to share with our community the activities that we are providing to students in the Library in Term 1, 2021. These activities will take place during lunch, from 1:20-2:00pm:

In addition to these structured activities, we have some free choice options that are always available including:

• a community puzzle which students can contribute to at any time;
• a range of board and card games (including Chess, Uno, Phase 10, Rubiks Race, Monopoly Speed) that students can play;
• colouring-in sheets and craft materials;
• shelves full of fabulous books to read;
• and our e-book and audio book platform SORA.

We would love to see as many students as possible take part in these free, fun activities in the lunch break.

Assistance needed:

As a part of our ‘Tinker Thursday’ activity we would like to be able to offer students the opportunity to tinker with Lego, using it to build chain reaction machines and other items. To this end, if you happen to have any Lego at home that is no longer used, we would welcome any donations to our Library. We are looking for the standard Lego, rather than the larger Duplo sized option please.

Valentine’s Day Display:

With Valentine’s Day occurring over the weekend, the Library staff took inspiration from the day and created a display, inviting students to try a blind date with a book. Books were wrapped in paper- so as to avoid anyone judging them by their covers- and reviews of each title were printed on the front to guide students’ choices. Though Valentine’s Day has passed for another year, we have left the display up for a few extra days to allow any students who haven’t had the chance to be brave to come and try a blind date with a book!

Library Lessons:

Over the last four weeks, Mrs Andrews has been busy taking lessons with the Year 7 and 8 English classes, showing them how to use our library website to:

• see their loans,
• renew their books,
• request a book,
• search for a book and refine their search results,
• access our digital platforms like Clickview and SORA.

She has enjoyed getting to know all of our Year 7 and Year 8 students better during this time. Should any students need some extra assistance with any of the concepts covered, they are welcome to email the library: staff-library@sjc.qld.edu.au or come in to speak with the staff.

In 2021, the Career Development Team will be working to support your son or daughter in their learning and career pathways.

The Career Development Team is:

• Mrs Maree Harman, Career Development Practitioner
• Mrs Angela Stafford, Career Support Officer and VET
• Mrs Leah Millett, Career Support Officer

We can assist your son or daughter with:

• Vocational Education and Training
• School-based Apprenticeships (SBAs)/Traineeships
• Work Experience
• QTAC
• Headstart Program
• University pathways and courses
• TAFE
• Certificate course – external course providers

We invite you to visit our SJC Careers website for information on Careers, including; Careers calendar, job vacancies for SBAs, scholarships, QTAC, how to apply for a Tax File Number, how to apply for a USI, and much more.

You can contact the Career Development Team at career@sjc.qld.edu.au.

This year has started with the Uni Showcase that was held on Wednesday, 10 February 2021.  This was a successful learning experience for students to engage with Queensland universities and QTAC to discover and explore career pathways beyond school.

Congratulations to Alexandra Kohlbach new School Based Trainee with Cherubs Early Learning, Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Congratulations to Aahliya Drought new School Based Trainee with Learning Pathways Child Care and Kindergarten, Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Congratulations to Riley Warrener New School Based Apprentice with  ADC Electrical Contracting Pty Ltd,  Certificate III in Electrotechnology

Congratulations to Flynn Hennessy New School Based Trainee at Petstock Toowoomba, Certificate III in Companion Animal Services

Creating Pathways to Employment – Year 11 & 12 students

Please see Mrs Stafford for more information and Expression of Interest forms ASAP

Commencing soon!

Click here for more information

Click here for more information

If you are interested in pursuing a School Based Apprenticeship, please see the links below.

Click here for more information

Click here for more information

Click here for more information

Click here for more information

Please see the attached flyer for 2 events coming up for individuals with disabilities who would like to be a part of the growing All Abilities touch football program in Toowoomba. What is All Abilities Touch Football? It is a completely inclusive program that provides opportunities for people with disabilities to learn touch skills and play as part of a team alongside family and community members.

The 2 events are:

1. For children 10-16 years of age there is a Come and Try Day on Saturday 27^th February ( see attached flyer)
2. For young adults 16 and older, a sign on day, to play in the Toowoomba Touch Football Association All Abilities Division of the Winter competition.

Sign on Details: 9.30-10.30 am Sunday 21^st February at Kearney Springs Touch Grounds or ring Janet 0427685500

Click here for more information

Please click on the links below for the reports from the February meeting.

Minutes Meeting 2 Febuary 2021

Febuary treasurers report

Property Report 2.2.215260

PF Board Jan 2021

Please check your child’s hair as we have a few confirmed cases of Head Lice.  Please treat according to directions and advise the office of any absences.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We are seeking volunteers to help out in Tuckshop throughout the year.  Volunteers are required between the hours of 8am and 3pm each school day, however we understand people may not be able to give up an entire day –  if you only have an hour or 2 to lend, it would be a great help as well. We appreciate any time that is given to help out and would love the opportunity to get to know some of the parents in our school community, especially the new families this year.  You do not need experience to volunteer in Tuckshop, we are happy to guide you along the way – it’s a fun day of helping out and your kids will love seeing you at school for the day.  Volunteers are required to wear closed in shoes, neat hair and a great smile .  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the College  with your availability as soon as possible so we can put together a roster for term 1.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Deb Ditchmen and Michelle Tully

Canteen Convenors

E dditchmen@sjc.qld.edu.au
E mtully@sjc.qld.edu.au

The uniform shop is currently out of stock of the following and waiting on orders to arrive:-

Size M boys formal hats                                ETA 25/2

Size 12, 14 and 16 boys S/S Jnr Shirts       ETA 3/3

Size 10 girl formal shorts                               ETA TBA

Girl cross-over navy ties – all orders have been filled (but not all orders have been collected), waiting on shop stock to arrive. ETA 24/2

Online ordering available at :-

www.midford.com.au

pass phrase StJC1956

New stock into the shop:-

House and school coloured scrunchies and hair accessories

Bike shorts

Girl formal shorts

Girl formal pants

https://MidfordBooking.as.me/StJosephsCollegeToowoomba

Reminder – EFTPOS – only

Due to health concerns the Uniform Shop will only be accepting EFTPOS payments until further notice.  Online ordering and payment over the phone are also available.  ph:  4531 8514

Online ordering.

www.midford.com.au

Pass phase          StJC1956

TRADING HOURS

TUES & THURS        –        8AM TO 12PM

WED                            –         8AM TO 4PM

Maximum 4 people in the store at once.

Midford Retail COID – 19 03 2020

Click here to view Refund Policy

Click here to view College Uniform Price List 2020/2021

Second hand uniforms are also available at the Uniform Shop.

If you have used uniform items that would like to donate, please drop off to the Uniform Shop during opening hours.  Donations are greatly appreciated.

If you have used uniform items that you would like us to sell for you, please call into the uniform shop and collect a “Used Clothing” form. Used uniforms items MUST be in good condition, hems intact, no holes, stains or missing buttons. They also need to washed, ironed and be the current uniform.

If you have any questions, please call us on 4631 8514 during opening hours.

If you have mislaid some of your belongings, please visit Student Entrance to check if we have it.  Remember to name ALL of your belongings as any items left unclaimed will either be given to the Uniform Shop or St Vincent’s De Paul at the end of each term.

Are your details correct in our system?

Is your information up-to-date?
Will your report card go to the right address?
Don’t miss important messages sent through the email system or App notification.

Please email any changes to office@sjc.qld.edu.au