Newsletter Term 1, Week 2 2022

Dear SJC Families and Friends

I extend a very warm welcome to the commencement of 2022.  I trust that you and your loved ones and friends have managed to stay healthy during these trying times.  I would like to start by wholeheartedly thanking the SJC community for the way they have done their best to comply with what has been asked of us by the NSW Government.  These restrictions are a joy to very few in society but they are necessary if we are to protect those who are vulnerable.  If you have any questions or comments, I welcome all forms of communication and thank those who have taken the time to do so.

Please continue to read the specific documents that are sent through our communication channels and don't hesitate to ask questions when they arise. Families will be informed of how certain events listed on the calendar will be affected by the ever-evolving restrictions that have been devised by the NSW Government. 

Staffing for 2022

I have had the pleasure and privilege of appointing a number of talented and caring staff members to our College for 2022.  I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a little about each of these talented and valued members of staff. 

Mr Andrew Abood	Andrew comes to us during a very busy time in his life as he is currently completing his Masters in Education.  He has a marine science background and in a not too distant past life, was a highly competitive swimmer having represented Australia and then continued to share his acquired knowledge as a respected coach.  Andrew is teaching science and senior biology.
Mr Cameron Cook	Cameron has been working in a part-time capacity at St Ambrose as a PDHPE teacher for a number of years and will be sharing a class with Mr Gary Wheatley in 2022.  Cameron is a highly credentialed cricket coach and is actively involved in representative coaching.  He will be in the College on Thursdays and Fridays whilst continuing his role at St Ambrose.
Mr Martin Fairweather	Marymount College's loss has been our gain.  Martin lives locally but has spent the last decade and a half teaching in Catholic schools in the southern Gold Coast region.  He is a science and biology teacher and has a passion for marine sciences, a subject area he will also be teaching.  Martin is active in the sport of surf lifesaving and volunteers a lot of his time to the Cudgen SLSC.
Mr Jack Field	Jack was our Reynolds House captain in 2021 and returns to SJC as our Sport Trainee for 2022.  He is passionate about sport and is looking forward to seeing the school from 'a different angle' this year.  It is worth noting that Jack assumes the role his sister Alex filled in 2017.  Welcome back Jack.
Ms Maya Heighes-Ashby	The Student Support Worker role in the College is a vital role within our wellbeing and support structure at St Joey's.  Maya comes from a substantial background working with the Family Centre in Tweed and has completed a B. Psych.  She is very excited to be part of the SJC staff and will work closely with our Wellbeing Team to support our students.
Mr Josh McCormack	Josh is an experienced teacher and middle leader and assumes the role of Leader of Student Wellbeing - Year 11 and PDHPE teacher.  He has come to us from Mount St Patrick College where he has been for the last decade.  Josh is a passionate touch football coach and is looking forward to welcoming a new addition to his family in a matter of weeks.
Mr Lewis Morosini	Lewis comes to us from Kingscliff HS and has many connections to the area.  He will be working at SJC as an English teacher and in the Work Readiness Pathway programme.  He is a man of many talents including that of a shaper of quality surfboards.  Lewis is passionate about connecting with students who may have disconnected from learning and reinvigorating their love of acquiring knowledge and skills.
Mrs Tabitha Norton	We are indebted to Marymount College as we have not one, but two wonderful teachers who commence work with us from that great school in 2022.  Tabitha comes from a leadership position at Marymount in the Learning and Teaching realm and will be working as a Catholic Studies/SOR teacher.  As we continue with our literacy drive in 2022, her expertise in working in the past with Lyn Sharratt with be invaluable.  She grew up in the Tweed and is happy to be teaching in her home region.
Ms Elise O'Callaghan	If you were on the beach around the Caba coast over the Christmas break, you will have no doubt benefitted from the knowledge that lifeguards were present and ensuring your safety.  One of those on duty was our new College Youth Minister, Elise.  She has extensive experience in Youth Ministry, having most recently spent the year in Darwin with the National Evangelisation Team (NET).  Elise will be working closely with our Mission Team.
Mrs Priscilla Price	Priscilla comes to us from the beautiful Blue Mountains and has made the big move with her husband and two kids.  She is a passionate mathematics teacher and will also work as our Leader of Numeracy to enhance the general numeracy skills of all of our students.  Priscilla loves to be involved in all elements of school life and facilitated the SRC at her previous school.
Ms Kali Yopp	Kali is our Youth Ministry Officer for 2022 and will work closely with Elise and the remainder of the Mission Team at the College.  Being a 2021 school graduate from Lismore, Kali is looking forward to getting to know our students well and aiding them on their journey to knowing and loving Christ.  She has made the move to our region is and loves the area.

Further to what I have written above relating to our new staff members, I need to address the issue that has adversely affected the running of not just our school, but many in NSW.  We currently have three positions that we are continuing to advertise. Following the very late departure of long-term and valued staff member, Michelle Delaney, and a number of teachers who decided to accept offers in January to other schools, it has been difficult to recruit suitable staff members.  We are lucky that we have very generous and willing casual staff to fill the temporary void, but our experience is not different to many others in the state.  We thank all families for their understanding and patience and ask that you understand we are working as hard as we can to fill the positions. 

Communication Channels

At SJC, we firmly believe that working in partnership with our families will bring about the best outcomes for all of our students.  Communication is a key element in this partnership and to ensure the best outcome, I ask that all families know and understand the graphic below which outlines who you should speak to should an issue arise.  We welcome all forms of communication but I do request that all communication with the staff of the College is done so in a respectful and courteous manner. 

A warm welcome back to our SJC families and students.  A special welcome to our new Year 7 community.  It was wonderful to begin their learning journey at our College on Tuesday and having our Year 12 students present to celebrate this new chapter of their lives.  It is a special day beginning secondary school and we hope that all Year 7 students are adapting to their new learning environment.  We look forward to seeing the wonderful contributions all our students make over the next six years.  Also, to any new students joining other year levels, we look forward to journeying with you and your family and being part of your learning journey.

Last week and during this week teachers have/will be emailing families to introduce themselves and begin to develop strong family-school partnerships.  Strong partnerships are essential for students to achieve the fullness of life.  We encourage parents/carers to make contact with teachers at any stage of the learning journey if concerns arise. (Staff emails can also be found on the College website under Our College - Staff).

Our goal for our learners at SJC is for ‘All students achieve at least one year’s growth for one year’s learning (+1)’.  As a College we are continuing to reflect on our current practice and make shifts that allow for students to achieve +1.  To support students to achieve +1 each year a number of practical learning habits and dispositions need to continue to be developed in our learners.  One of our significant shifts is the addition of AWC (Academic and Wellbeing Care) for every student.  Each day, students will spend 24 minutes in AWC.  During this time, AWC teachers, two for each group of approximately 24 students, will work with students on:

• Students creating individual learning goals to drive their learning further
• Organisational skills (use of student diaries, balancing school life, work, extra curricular commitments)
• Learning at Home (Homework) - supporting students to keep up-to-date with their learning and supporting students with completing any set work, assessments
• Developing pride for their school uniform and personal presentation/appearance

Staff will work this year and into the future on developing literacy skills in our learners.  This will focus on fundamental elements of writing, sentence structure, paragraph development and communicating their learning in written form.  Over the next five years we aim to see significant learning gains in our students that are reflected in our Year 12 students HSC results.  We will be promoting students to ‘Strive for Excellence’ in all they do.  To support this learning, we ask parents/carers to regularly discuss with their child/children how their learning is progressing.  We also ask that you sign the student diary every week and review the information that has been included. 

Our goal, while some may say is ambitious, we strongly believe all students deserve this through their schooling and we look forward to sharing our progress with you throughout this year and into the future.  We hope to see you all soon when COVID restrictions continue to ease and we hope that you stay safe and healthy.

Mr Ryan Campbell
Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

School Photo Day - Friday 4 March

A reminder about our school Photo Day which will be held on Friday 4 March (Week 5).

Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following the details in the attached flyer or by returning the order envelope with your payment to our photographer on school photo day.  Order envelopes were distributed in Week 2.  Please be mindful that if you complete the online order, an order envelope does not need to be returned. 

As is the case for any school photo day, please also ensure that your child(ren) comes to school appropriately groomed and dressed according to the College Uniform Policy.  If your child(ren) has a sport lesson on Photo Day, please ensure they come to school dressed in their full school uniform and they bring their sports uniform with them to get changed.

** NOTE:  All students are required to wear their College tie for school photos.

Mr Eamon Brown
Assistant Principal - Mission

Year Group Breakfasts

Normally, as a way of celebrating the start of a new school year at SJC, each year group would be hosting a Welcome Breakfast, where their parents and carers would get to meet the teachers and staff and enjoy a social egg/bacon/muffin/coffee/tea/chat.  Unforturnately, we have had to cancel these experiences due to the current restrictions in place.

We all look forward to a time when we can once again invite our broader school community to join in our 'regularly scheduled program' of events at the College.

NSW School Vaccination Program 2022

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program.

In 2022 the following vaccines will be offered:

NSW Health provides us with Parent Information Kits which your child will bring home for you.

To consent to the vaccination of their child, parents/guardians are advised to:

• read all the information provided
• complete the consent form, including signing their name next to the vaccine/s they would like their child to receive
• return the completed consent form to their child’s school, and prior to the vaccination date
• ensure their child eats breakfast on the day of the school vaccination clinic

Only students who have a consent form signed by their parent/legal guardian will be vaccinated.

NSW Health nurses visit on-site for the sole purpose of operating a vaccination clinic for the abovementioned dates and vaccines and will not administer any vaccine without an original signed consent form in their possession.

Should you send in a signed consent form but then wish to revoke/withdraw that consent, we ask you to please email the College (sjcbanora@lism.catholic.edu.au) well before the scheduled date of vaccination.

We expect to send the Year 7 kits home with Year 7 students this week, as the first round of vaccinations take place on Thursday 24 February (Week 4, Term 1).  The Year 10 vaccinations are scheduled for Tuesday 7 June (Week 7, Term 2), and it is anticipated that those information kits will go home the fortnight prior.

To improve vaccination completion, NSW Health also offers those students who missed their specific doses, the opportunity of a catch-up – during Year 7 and catch-up into Year 8 (for HPV and dTpa vaccination) and during Year 10 and catch-up into Year 11 (for Meningococcal ACWY vaccination) for consent signed in 2021.  (Parents will have received a text from NSW Health regarding any of these catch-up vaccinations.)

A Record of Vaccination will be provided to each student vaccinated at each clinic either as a physical card or a text message sent to the mobile number recorded on the consent form.  Details about vaccinations given at school will also be uploaded to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) to support complete vaccination histories.

Mr Mathew Lynch
Leader of Pastoral Care

St Joseph's College is a subscriber to the Study Skills website www.studyskillshandbook.com.au

This website will help your child develop essential skills for academic success.  There are units of work on improving time management skills, how to study, research skills, summarising, technology use, brain and memory and much more.  Everything your child needs to know about becoming a more powerful learner and improving their marks at school can be found on this site.  For example, learn how the colour of your child's room affects their ability to study, what the best study techniques are for your child's type of brain, how to improve their handwriting and useful software and Apps to block your child from technology distractions.

You will also see lots of useful handouts, grids and planners at the bottom of the THINGS TO PRINT page.

To access the handbook, go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and login with these details:

username:  sjc
password:  24results

The more of this website you can work through, the more you will set your child up for academic success.

Below are to links to a series of questions that parents ask about their child's learning.

Mr Carlo Trimboli
Leader of Pedagogy

FAQs from Parents A

FAQs from Parents B

SJC Swimming Carnival

The College Swimming Carnival will take place on Friday, Week 3, 18 February.  All students are to come to school at the normal time dressed in their house colours and costumes and will walk to the Club Banora Pool, after an assembly, with the carnival starting at about 10:00am. 

No money is required for students to enter the pool as this cost is in their school fees.  The only money your child needs to bring is for purchasing anything at the pool canteen if they wish to do so. 

Every student has the opportunity to earn points for their House across both Championship and Novelty Events.  The swimming carnival is always a great College community event and an enjoyable day for all students and staff.  The theme and all the fun details of the carnival will be shared with students this week during their AWC lesson.  Students who wish to compete in the championship races for the 200m freestyle and individual medley need to complete the google form that is on the SJC Sports Desk.  On the day of the carnival, you will need to meet out the front of the parent reception and be ready to leave for the pool by 8:40am. 

Due to the COVID restrictions that are in place for schools in NSW parents/carers/visitors can attend the carnival this year, however they will need to remain in the grass area behind the starting tent as they are not allowed to interact with the student cohort.  If you do attend the carnival please follow this rule to ensure that this event meets the COVID restrictions that are currently in place. 

Swimmers who place 1st or 2nd in a championship race are eligible to compete at the Diocesan Carnival to be held on Thursday 10 March (Week 6) in Lismore.  The NSW Combined Catholic Colleges (NSWCCC) Carnival is at Homebush on Wednesday 6 April (Week 10). 

Swimwear at the Carnival

Students need to wear swimwear at the carnival that is modest and of an appropriate style suited to a Catholic School environment.  If swimwear is deemed unsuitable the student will not be allowed to compete and they will be asked to change back into the clothing they wore to the carnival. Students need to also be mindful that the clothing they do wear to the carnival is also modest and appropriate.  If a student's clothing is deemed inappropriate, shirts/shorts will be provided for them to wear.  If a student refuses to wear what is provided parents/guardians will be called to come and collect their child.

Leaving the Carnival early

If students are required to leave early they must follow the same protocols as a normal school day, which are; bring a note signed by their parent/guardian stating their name and the time they will get picked up.  Parents/guardians must pick their child up from the pool and sign them out with a staff member at the gate. 

Seniors are not to drive down to the pool.  They walk like everybody else.  If they choose to leave their car there early in the morning and leave during the day it will be noted on your school report.  Seniors can leave from the pool at the end of the carnival.

NSW CCC Sporting Opportunities

Families with students who wish to nominate for trialing for or representing in a sport at the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges (NSWCCC) level should make themselves familiar with the Catholic Schools NSW website https://csnsw.sport/.  Parents/carers will need to create an account to be able to register their child.  Once a student has been registered it will be sent through to myself for College approval.

The following NSWCCC Sports registrations for individual nominations for 2022 selections are now open:

Ms Madeline Ilic
Leader of Sport

It’s good to be back and welcoming students - new and old(er) into the library. The word is catching on that it’s a cool place to hang out during break (literally - we’re under no illusions about current humidity and our air conditioning's allure…). 

Seriously, it’s a joy to watch Year 7 students especially exploring the library and pouncing on the manga.  They bring an open-eyed wonder that’s so precious.  We’ll be doing a library orientation with them very soon to show them how to search for treasure - stories for enjoyment and expansion,  but also books in our non-fiction collection that can help with their learning and research.  Too much reliance on google (not knocking google - it definitely has its place) can lead to unfiltered, oft-repeated generic information, accurate and inaccurate, so it’s great to emphasise to our students that non-fiction specialist books have usually been written by obsessed enthusiasts and experts who make it their mission to know absolutely everything they can about their topic of interest. 

We have a policy in the library of supporting and fostering our students and staff’s reading however we can, so students are encouraged to come and ask us to order in books that they’d be interested in reading.

Over the summer break, as we were packing for Tasmania (I’d booked myself 40kg of flight baggage) I was asked accusingly: ‘Don’t tell me you’re bringing those fifteen books on our holiday?’ Actually, it was more like twenty and by the time we went through various Vinnies in tiny mining towns - pushing thirty… 

But it means I’ve come back fresh with the thoughts, flavours and reflections of both fiction and non-fiction. My favourite fiction read over the holidays was: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, while non-fiction included 12 Bytes by Jeanette Winterson (a series of essays on the possible impacts of technology for us and our children especially as digitally augmented and dependent humans), and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari (a history of how homo sapiens triumphed as one of at least six human species - I’ll give you a hint - it seems like gossip might have had quite a bit to do with it).  

Each of these are in our library, available for borrowing, and I would love more people to read them - students especially - so that we can discuss some hugely important themes.

Ms Melaina Faranda
Teacher/Librarian

HOMEWORK HUB will run again in 2022 in the College Library from 3:10 to 5:00pm from Monday to Thursday.

You may need this to stay back after school, wait for a bus, a parent or simply catch up on work.  Homework Hub is free, safe, and supervised.  Everyone is welcome.

The uniform shop hours are as follows: 

Every Tuesday during the school term: 12:00pm – 3:30pm
Every Thursday during the school term: 8:00am – 12:00pm

During shop hours: (07) 5523 9300
This shop is managed by Lowes staff only

Payments: Cash and EFTPOS Only
NO CHEQUES ACCEPTED

Or, if you'd like to make an online purchase, you can use this handy link.