Week 5, Term 2 2024

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:8

Before anyone experiences a loved one’s death someone else’s grief is only a formality. Before you feel humiliated yourself, you can never know how painful the daily paper can be to those who find themselves in it. And only until your own reputation is at stake, can you look at another person’s shame without the grace to turn away.

This struck me when Jack Charles, the aboriginal actor, said on the ABC’s Ahn’s Brush with Fame, “I do not know how to love, because I have never in my life experienced love. I have never felt loved. I have never had someone tell me they loved me. How can I be expected to know how to love another human being?”

We cannot experience night without experiencing day.

We cannot experience victory without a loss.

We cannot feel strong without having felt weak.

And without the experience of sadness, we can never experience happiness.

The human experience is one of struggle. Out of struggle we come to see what is important. No one comes out of suffering, the same kind of person they were before they went in. It’s possible, of course, to come out worse. Struggle at times, turns into bitterness. But it is also possible, if we choose to reflect on it, to come out stronger and wiser than we were when it began. What is not possible, is to stay the same.

The biblical meaning of community invites us to consider the significant relationship between Jesus and us. Jesus intended to fuse people together in groups where they could grow in character and live generously. Community is about two or more people who make a deliberate choice to accept one another. To commit to each other in this context is no incidental event. It requires discipline, humility, selfless love, grace, and the heart of a servant. It demands staying power, flexibility, and loyalty.

This National Reconciliation Week, let us all be brave and make change for those in our community, who struggle and become inspired by the last line of John Denver’s song ‘Perhaps Love’:

My memory of love will be of…..you!

As we reach the midpoint of term 2, we have much to celebrate and reflect upon. The first half of the term has been filled with an array of wonderful events and milestones, from the joy and unity of Catholic Education Week to the meaningful observances of Laudato Si' Week and Reconciliation Week. Each of these celebrations has enriched our school community, fostering a deeper sense of connection and purpose. A particular highlight for us has been the well-deserved recognition of Louise Stavrou's outstanding contributions to our school, culminating in her receiving a Catholic Education Award. This honour not only acknowledges her hard work and dedication but also inspires us all to continue striving for excellence in everything we do.

Looking ahead, we are excited to mark a significant milestone in our journey towards updating the school uniform. Families can now place pre-orders, and the new uniforms will start arriving in July. This change represents our commitment to fostering a sense of pride and unity within our school community and to match the uniform to the contemporary and diverse needs of our students. Additionally, our Year 3/4 class is nearing the completion of their Maker's Empire project, which focuses on finding innovative solutions to the fruit fly problem in our Riverland region. Through their collaboration with PIRSA, the students have gained valuable insights and skills. They will present their projects to families next month, and we are honoured to have Con and Jason from PIRSA judging their efforts. One fortunate team will have the opportunity to showcase their solution in Adelaide, a testament to the incredible learning and creativity happening at St Joseph's School in Barmera.

At St Joseph's School Barmera, we are committed to fostering a positive learning environment through Positive Behaviour Intervention Strategies (PBIS). As part of our ongoing professional learning, we are collaborating with our students to create a whole schoolteacher matrix that clearly outlines what effective learning looks like at our school. This matrix is underpinned by our core values of Kindness, Safety, and Learning, ensuring that these principles are consistently reflected in our classrooms. By engaging both teachers and students in this process, we aim to cultivate a supportive and structured environment that promotes positive behaviours and enhances the overall educational experience for everyone.

As we approach the end of semester 1, it's a time for reflection and celebration of all the hard work and progress our students have made. Student reports will be sent home at the end of week 9, providing a comprehensive overview of your child's achievements and areas for growth. Reports will be emailed to families unless a hard copy is requested. Last year, we updated the format of our reports, and they are now more accessible and easier to understand. Each subject is graded on an A-E scale, with a 'C' indicating that a student is working at the expected standard. In addition to academic grades, we also include a rating for attitude, which is a crucial aspect of understanding whether your child is working to their full potential. We hope these reports will offer valuable insights and foster further growth and development in the second half of the year.

During week 5 and 6 of each term students take part in the Classroom Pulse Check in. The purpose of the Classroom Pulse Check In is to find out how students are feeling about their experience of school. Our aim is simply to “check in” with our students and measure how they are feeling. Your child’s responses will help us to identify any potential social, emotional, or learning needs that they may have.

Please remember that Friday, July 7, is a student-free day. This day is dedicated to professional learning for our staff, an essential practice to ensure we continue to provide high-quality education for all our students. By investing in our teachers' professional development, we enhance their skills and knowledge, ultimately benefiting every student in our school. We appreciate your understanding and support as we commit to continuous improvement and excellence in education.

Nanda de Winter

As we continue to navigate the challenges and opportunities of raising children in a digital age, I wanted to touch base on an important topic: internet safety.

Do you know what apps your children are using and what they are accessing online? Many of us would never allow our children to walk to school alone or roam around in the dark unsupervised. Yet, without realising it, we might be allowing them to venture into potentially dangerous online environments without appropriate supervision.

As parents and guardians, it's crucial to ensure our children are safe online just as we ensure their safety in the physical world.

One of the most concerning issues is the way young students may use inappropriate language in online chatgroups with their friends, language they would never dream of using in real-life situations. Internet safety goes beyond just protecting our children from harmful content. It also includes guiding them to develop respectful and responsible online behaviour.

Please take a moment to check your child's online activity, review the apps and websites your child is using, engage in conversations about internet safety and set clear rules and guidelines for online behaviour.

At school students are learning about e-safety through the Open Parachute program, and the Keeping Safe Curriculum. The students will also engage with police about staying safe online during a session in week 10.

Hi we are Lainie, Grace, Imogen, Xavier, and Jordan the 2024 YEL group.

One of our projects this year is getting the veggie patch healthy again. First we talked about getting vegetables such as tomatoes, snow peas, garlic, sweet corn, beetroot, cauliflower and baby broccoli. Then we walked over to our local plant store called Beech Hardware and picked out some seedlings. With a bit of help from Mr. Clark we planted and watered our vegetables. We can’t wait to harvest our veggies and do some cooking with them.

In Celebration of Laudato Si Week, our very own Westley's Waste Warriors have been busy spreading the word around our school about the importance of putting rubbish in the correct bins!

Their enthusiasm and dedication to keeping our school clean and green is truly inspiring. By educating their peers about proper waste disposal and recycling, they are helping us all take better care of our environment.

Students from years 5 and 6 travelled to Loxton to participate in SAPSASA Netball. It was a great 2 days filled with fantastic netball, sportsmanship and a lot of fun aswell. Well done everyone!