Assistant Principal's Message
Dear Parents, Carers and the St Joseph's Community,
Loving God,
Thank you for the gift of our children.
Help us to set boundaries for them, and yet encourage them to explore.
Give us the strength and courage to treat each day as a fresh start.
May your Holy Spirit help them to grow in faith, hope, and love,
so they may know peace, truth, and goodness.
May their ears hear your voice. May their eyes see your presence in all things. May their lips proclaim your word. May their hearts be your dwelling place. May their hands do works of charity. May their feet walk in the way of Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord.
Amen.
Social and Emotional Learning
It has been wonderful to be back in the classrooms as I continue to teach the students skills to help support them to feel confident as learners and to help them manage the array of difficult and challenging emotions that arise in day to day life. Over the coming fortnight, my focus is on growth mindset. Research has shown that students hold two ‘theories’ of intelligence, in that that they believe intelligence falls into one of the following categories:
Fixed: It is unchangeable or uncontrollable despite one’s efforts.
Growth: It has a malleable quality and can be improved over time.
We want our students to develop a growth mindset in order to embrace opportunities to grow, and to make and learn from mistakes. Students with a growth mindset embrace challenges and persist in adversity. During my time in the classrooms, I am focusing on the power of ‘yet’. A statement such as, “I cannot tie my shoelaces” changes considerably when we add the word yet. “I cannot tie my shoelaces yet” allows students to understand that with practice, commitment and effort they are able to strive for mastery.
Follow this link to a Ted Talk by Professor Carol Dweck which highlights the power of believing that you can improve, it is worth a watch!
What’s happening in the Classrooms!
Whilst the staff and students have made an easy transition back to face to face teaching, in reflection, I started to think how hard it must be for all of you, our amazing parents who are helping to keep us safe by not coming into the school. Today I spent some time in classrooms checking out all the amazing learning that is happening. Foundation are learning about shapes in Maths and life in the time of Jesus, Year 1 are still enjoying Fairy Tale Fridays and using a growth mindset. Year 2 are learning about the seasons and Year 3 is engrossed in Harry Potter and enjoying dancing, whilst Year 4 are working on lots of maths investigations and comprehension strategies. Year 5 are focused on migration and Year 6 are learning about light and getting prepared to make lamps. Have a look at the gallery for photos from each class!
Car Park
At present, our school carpark is busier than usual as we adapt to current restrictions that are in place. In order to help keep everyone safe, please remember to use the school crossing if you are walking from the carpark to the blacktop and, if in your car, please give way to those using the crossing. This not only ensures the safety of pedestrians but also models safe practices for the students.
Canteen Manager
We are again looking for a wonderful new Canteen Manager to work in our canteen and to provide a much-needed service to our school community.
We are blessed to have two long weekends in a row and this coming weekend we are even more blessed that we are able to travel. If your family is travelling like myself and half of Canberra down the South Coast (or anywhere), please stay safe, I dare say it will be a slow trip down the Clyde! We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday.
Yours in Christ,
Amy Doszpot
Assistant Principal