We have had another wonderful fortnight with much to celebrate.

Season of Lent

Wednesday, 2nd March marked the beginning of Lent, the 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. Lent is a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms, and we practice self-control through fasting. We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully.

As a College community, we celebrated Ash Wednesday in our PC groups with a live-streamed Liturgy and receiving of ashes.

Thank you to Mr Timo Gobius Leader of Evangelisation, and Mr Michael Walsh, Acting Assistant Principal - Mission, for coordinating the Ash Wednesday Liturgy. I congratulate Youth Ministry Officers, Emily Burg and Ella Smith and senior students for their participation in the Liturgy.

I refer you to Mr Walsh's full report in the following newsletter article.

Out of Uniform Day for Flood Victims

You would be aware of the devastation due to the floods in the north of our Diocese. Our Diocese stretches from the Tweed Heads border in the north to Laurieton in the south and west to The Great Divide. So many parishes in our Diocese have been affected. A couple of years ago our Bishop, Greg Homeming OCD, established a Disaster Fund for situations like this. We were recipients of these funds after our own devastating floods in 2021. There will be collection buckets located in our churches and chapels for donations to this Disaster Fund. These funds will then be distributed to those in need over the coming weeks and months. 

We participated in an out-of-uniform day today and all funds will be donated to the Diocese of Lismore Flood Appeal. This is the initial way we felt we could assist.

Families can donate directly to the Diocese of Lismore 2022 Flood Appeal by transferring funds to the account below: 

BSB: 037-889 

A/c No: 1061 5829 

Name: DOL Flood Appeal

(NB. Donations to the Diocese of Lismore Flood Appeal are NOT tax deductible)

Junior PC Leaders Assembly

Congratulations to the 79 Junior PC Leaders who have been elected to represent their PCs. At our College Assembly on Wednesday, they were presented with their badges and made their leadership pledge to the College Community. Sincere thanks to Ms Cheryl Hyde for organising the Leadership process, and parents and families who were able to attend the ceremony. This was our first whole school gathering for many months and it was great to be able to share it with our parents.

I refer you to Mrs Jennifer Furney, Assistant Principal - Pastoral Care's newsletter article, for the full list of names of our new PC Leaders.

Spencil Art Prize

It is always wonderful to receive news that a student has been recognised in the community for their gifts and talents. I would like to congratulate Sheyleace Stevens who on Friday, 4th March was one of the winners of The Spencil Art Prize, a kids' art competition that is conducted every year. 

This year, almost 1500 works of art were submitted by students all over Australia and New Zealand. Sheyleace took out first prize in the 9-13 years category, a wonderful effort! The College will also receive a $500 gift pack from Spencil.

Here is Sheyleace’s beautiful entry, titled ’Waterways’

International Women’s Day

On Tuesday, 8th March, the Hastings Business Women’s Network held an International Women’s Day breakfast and welcomed keynote speaker, Elizabeth Broderick, Independent Expert (UN Special Rapporteur), UN Human Rights Council.

Elizabeth is a global leader, social innovator and advocate who works to break down structural and social barriers and promote gender equality.  She was Australia's longest serving Sex Discrimination Commissioner (2007 - 2015) and sat on the United Nations Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls.

Amelia Stubbs and Olivia Montgomery, our College Captain and Vice-Captain attended the breakfast with Mrs Kellie Croft (Year 12 Leader of Student Wellbeing) on behalf of the College. Olivia was inspired by the 3 women, particularly Emillie LaPointe, Managing Director, Pointe Engineering, who created her own Business and navigated through the challenges in a male-dominated industry. Olivia was also inspired by Elizabeth Broderick’s advice about taking care of yourself and doing what you can when you can.

Staff gathered in the College Library for light refreshments to hear Elizabeth speak via Zoom about the powerful theme of discrimination against women and girls.  Elizabeth founded the ‘Champions of Change’ equality strategy and conducts cultural reviews into Australia’s leading institutions.

Staff Spirituality & Development Days - Pupil Free Days

Staff will be participating in two Professional Learning Days. Students will not be required to attend school on those days.

On Friday, 8th April, the last day of Term 1, SJRC staff will be participating in our annual Spirituality Day. The aim of the day is to engage and support staff in their faith development. The program has been developed by the Bishop of Lismore and the Catholic Schools Office and will be presented by the Leadership Team of the College.

On Tuesday, 26th April, the first day of Term 2, staff will be undertaking professional learning focusing on three key areas: NESA requirements around registration and accreditation, differentiation, and continued development of literacy and numeracy programs within the College. 

Term 2 will commence for students on Wednesday, 27th April.

Mrs Tanya Daley
Acting Principal

Child Protection Policy for Staff, Volunteers and Tutors

Our College's Child Protection Policy is located on the College Website; hover over the 'Parent' tab and select the option 'Policies and Procedures'. https://www.pmreglism.catholic.edu.au/policies-procedures

Please be assured that all tutors, volunteers and staff members hold a current Working with Children’s Check and are regularly in-serviced regarding Duty of Care and Mandatory Reporting requirements.

All employees of St Joseph’s Regional College under Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 are mandatory reporters. We are mandated to provide the following for students in our care: to provide an environment for them that is free of violence and exploitation and provide services that foster their health, development needs, spirituality, self-respect and dignity.

Junior PC Leaders

NAPLAN 2022

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. All NSW schools will sit NAPLAN online in 2022.

Our school will be participating in NAPLAN between 10th and 17th May 2022 and the following tests will occur on the dates indicated:

Tuesday 10th May: Writing

Wednesday 11th May: Reading

Monday 16th May: Conventions of languages

Tuesday 17th May: Numeracy

Additionally, catch-up exam times will be organised for those students who miss a NAPLAN test on one of the four nominated test dates.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will also be participating in practice tests on 24th March 2022. The practice test is a trial run and key preparation activity for NAPLAN in May. It is not an assessment of student ability, and the tests will not be marked.

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not recommended. Students can use the public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in NAPLAN.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact our NAPLAN Coordinators, Ian Lutton, Lisa Freeman or Matthew Bushe

Mr Ian Lutton
Leader of Curriculum

The Year 11 Reflection Day was held during Week 5 of this Term.

The day for Male students was facilitated by Matt Wilesmith from the YourChoicez organization.  Matt Wilesmith is a passionate, gifted and sought after youth speaker. Matt comes with an extensive background as a helper of young people: PDHPE Teacher within Christian education, Senior School Chaplain and Youth Minister. Matt is also the current State Director of Youth Alive NSW. In both a personal and a professional capacity, Matt demonstrates an incredible ability to engage and influence young people. Matt currently holds the role within Your Choicez as the boys’ school specialist.

Matt was able to raise and discuss difficult and yet relevant topics that face all young men of their age, particularly as social media and YouTube gives access to much content that was once fairly inaccessible.

The sessions covered common misconceptions or perceptions of manhood, what values young men aspire to, what society perceives as important morals for men, pornography and its negative effects on the brain, socialisation and relationships, and finally the important issue of consent. Feedback from the small groups indicated a high degree of involvement in discussing the issues in an open an honest manner with significant male role models on staff. A big thank you to those teachers who committed their day to the Year 11 boys!

The day for female students was facilitated by Beck Neale. Beck is a presenter, copywriter and content specialist for Your Choicez. In addition to having graduated with a Bachelor of Communication from The University of Newcastle, she comes with ample experience as a gifted communicator, Youth Minister, and speaker. Beck's commitment to the wellbeing of young people is second to none. Her ability to build strong relationships with teenagers stems from a capacity to mentor and disciple effectively and communicate clearly on both small and wide scales.

Beck guided students through topics such as body image, the impact of social media, healthy relationships, consent and asked students to consider their role models for womanhood. It was lovely to hear so many young women acknowledging their mothers, grandmothers and coaches as women they see as strong, resilient and people they aspire to be. Beck mentioned at the end of the day that she was so incredibly impressed with the conversations that were happening in small groups and that not only were the students so open but the teachers and students seemed to have a lovely rapport which really facilitated open and frank conversations. Beck commented that this was in fact the best group of students and staff that she had worked with.

Mr Timo Gobius
Leader of School Evangelisation

Ms Heidi Flanagan
Leader of Wellbeing Year 11

At Assembly on Wednesday 8/03/2022 we launched Project Compassion for 2022. The theme for this year is “for all Future Generations”. At the launch, students were shown how Caritas is positively affecting the lives of individuals and communities and how small amounts of money join together to support the work that Caritas is doing.

At Assembly on Wednesday, 8th March 2022 we launched Project Compassion for Pastoral Classes were asked to Commit to raising small amounts of money by choosing a Project from those below and holding their own small fundraiser to raise money for all Future Generations.

Mozambique

Solomon Islands

India

Democratic Republic of Congo

Australia

Mr Timo Gobius
Leader of Evangelisation

Transitus is a retreat for invited Year 7 students from Parish Secondary Schools in the South of the Diocese to create a smoother transition to secondary schools, celebrate and be nurtured in their faith at a diocesan level.

The retreat will be a chance to bring students together to meet like-minded peers and to celebrate with other young people who want to grow and be supported in their Christian faith. The activities will be a mixture of large and small sharing groups as well as celebrating the Eucharist together. The program has been geared to meet the needs of these Year 7 students.

The gathering will be an overnight experience that will allow students to build relationships with other students from throughout the Diocese as well as a chance for students to talk and share about their faith journey. Students will be sleeping in male and female dorms with at least one student from their school.

What: Transitus – a youth retreat for Year 7 students from every Parish school in the Southern Region of the Diocese.
When: Thursday 31^st March – Friday 1^st April, 2022
Where: Yarrahapinni Adventist Youth Centre, Grassy Head

Cost: Nil All transport and booking expenses met by the Catholic Schools Office.

This retreat is for students who:

• Attend Mass, want to further their faith or wish to know what having a faith means.
• Are involved in some other form of Church involvement either at school or in the parish
• Show initiative, common sense and maturity, and
• Are seeking to grow in these areas

We can offer 19 places for Transitus this year. Any student who would like to be considered is asked to complete the Student Application Form provided by Mr Gobius knowing that they are committing to be available at the time of the retreat. Attention should be given to the stated selection criteria. Nominations close today, Friday 11^th March however, further applications may still be considered, please hand them to Mr Gobius or the College Office by Monday, 14^th March at the latest.

Mr Timo Gobius
Leader of Evangelisation

Year 7 2023 Information and Open Evening

The Year 7 2023 Information and Open Evening will be held at St Joseph's Regional College Hall on Tuesday, 3rd May commencing at 5.00 pm. Children are encouraged to attend with their parents. Tours will commence at 5.00 pm followed by a presentation. The 'Enrolment Welcome Packs' will be available to families towards the end of Term 1 Further information regarding enrolment procedures can be found on our College website.  https://www.pmreglism.catholic.edu.au/how-to-enrol

Kindergarten 2023

The enrolment process for Kindergarten 2023 has begun. Information Nights will be held in March and school tours in April. Registration is essential to attend Information Nights. Register your attendance through the St Agnes' Parish website: https://stagnesparish.org.au/education/ or enrolinexcellence.org.au

Subject and Activity Accounts
Accounts were sent to families last week. Prompt payment of these accounts would be appreciated.

Student Verification Forms
Thank you to the many families who have already returned the updated form. We ask that you make it a priority to return your child's Student Verification Report, noting any changes. It is important that this report is returned even if there are no changes made.

Attendance
Research shows that even one day off can be detrimental to student learning. Whilst we realise sickness and family situations arise we encourage all students to aim for 100% attendance.

How can I notify the College if my child will be absent?

• Call the College on 5525 4100
• Submit a notice of absence via our College website at the following link:

*  https://www.pmreglism.catholic.edu.au/absentee

*Please use the above link, rather than emailing or phoning the College.

St Joseph's Regional College yearly reports for all students in Year 7-12 will record attendance at special events such as Masses, Feast Days, Retreats, Camps, and Sporting Carnivals. The report will simply indicate whether or not students were in attendance on these days irrespective of sickness, leave etc.

If you would like further explanation of this reporting initiative, please contact Mrs Jennifer Furney.

Late Arrival to the College

Students arriving late must report to the College Office prior to going to Pastoral Care (PC). This includes arriving late during PC time 8.45am- 9.05am. Doing this will avoid students being marked absent.

Early Departure from the College
We ask that families endeavor not to pick students up, unless in an emergency, prior to 3.15 pm. Arriving late and departing early places increased pressure on students in relation to catching up on missed work. It is also disruptive for other students and teachers when students enter or leave a lesson during class time.

Wherever possible, please ensure appointments are made outside of school hours. However, if this is not possible, it would be appreciated if collection times can be arranged for the end of a period.

When collecting students early from the College, please follow the procedure below.

• Note from parent/guardian. Noting the reason for early leave, time the student will be leaving, and who will be collecting your child.
• Students are to report to the College Office prior to morning PC, with the note from home, where an Early Leave Pass will be issued.
• The student shows the pass to their respective class teacher at the beginning of the lesson they will be leaving from. When close to departure time, the student will then politely inform the class teacher that it is time for them to go to the office to be collected.

Please note: If a student does not come to the office at the arranged time, we may not be able to call the classroom or use our internal or external systems. This may result in parents having to wait until the end of the period to collect their child.
We thank you for your cooperation with these procedures.

We have received a number of emails requesting messages in regards to leaving early to be passed onto students. Please note, our College email is checked intermittently throughout the day, therefore, we may miss the time required for the message to be passed on. Please contact the College Office if the above procedure was not able to be followed. 

Messages/Items passed onto Students
Our College Office staff are happy to and will do their very best to pass on messages and forgotten items, however, on some occasions, students have not come to the office to receive these messages/items. We encourage students to take responsibility for preparing the required items for each school day.

We ask that any items to be passed onto students are to be in a plastic bag with their name clearly written on it.

Mobile Phone Usage

A reminder that students in Years 7-10 are not permitted to use their mobile phone between the hours of 8.15am-3.15pm. The College rules clearly state this, and it is College policy that students using their mobile phone will have it confiscated until parents can collect it, and the student will be given afternoon detention.

Senior students may use their phone at recess or lunch, however, no student is to phone parents to be picked up. This call must be made by the College Office.
Students are very aware of the rules regarding mobile phone usage. The Acceptable Use Agreement for Digital Technologies Policy on mobile phone usage can be found on pages 20-22 of the College Diary.

Sick at School Procedures
Students are not permitted to phone parents from mobile phones when they are ill and requesting to be collected. Students are to advise their class teacher that they are unwell. The teacher will then sign their diary and they will be allowed to go to the sickbay where office staff will contact their parents/carers.

If your child does contact you from a mobile phone, we would ask that you phone the front office prior to coming out to the College in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation for all concerned, and detentions having to be issued. Please note that regular late arrivals and early departures are detrimental to your child’s overall attendance rate and education.

Lockers

We still have a number of Lockers available. Locker hire for the year is $20.00, which will be billed to your account once your child has been allocated a locker. This fee includes locker hire & use of the lock for the school year.

If a student requires a locker for medical reasons, please contact Mrs Julie Hickling in the College Office to make immediate arrangements.

All locks must be returned at the end of the school year or if the student leaves the College. If locks are not returned the student account will be billed an additional $20.00.

Medical Alert - please keep us updated

The College maintains a “Medical Alert Information Card” for students which is displayed in an appropriate area in the staff room. Please be mindful of informing the College of any diagnosis or change in medical conditions for your child. This is especially important for those students with Anaphylaxis, Asthma, Seizures, Diabetes, and Epilepsy.

In order to keep our records up to date, we ask that you update these very important details at your earliest convenience, via the following link. Medical Information Form

If your child has an allergy or anaphylaxis, please forward to the College the ASCIA form completed by their doctor.

If you need further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Joanne Williams in the College Office.

Excursions

All excursion information is sent to parents/guardians via email. A link to an online permission form is included for your convenience and must be completed in order for your child to attend any off-campus activities. On some occasions emails may land in your spam/junk inbox, if this does happen, please add the pmreg-excursion@lism.catholic.edu.au email address to your contacts. 

Upcoming excursion details may also be accessed via our website under the Parents tab, Excursion Information - https://www.pmreglism.catholic.edu.au/excursion-information. If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact Lisa Bulley, Excursion Coordinator at the College on telephone: 5525 4100 or email: pmreg-excursion@lism.catholic.edu.au

Visual Arts

WANTED: Old sheets, newspapers, plastic containers with lids, and towel donations are always welcome in the art department. Donated items can be dropped off to the College Office.

Music

All Music Lessons and Ensembles have resumed at the College. If any students would like to learn any of the following, please see any of the music teachers for a note or download the permission form on our website https://pmreglism.catholic.edu.au/co-curricular-music

Library Lowdown

International Women's Day

With this week celebrating International Women's Day,  St Joseph's Regional College zoomed in to the Hastings Business Women's Network's keynote speaker Ms Elizabeth Broderick before school. A small group gathered to listen to the UN Special Rapporteur talk about breaking down structural and social barriers and promoting gender equality. Following this, there was a panel of local women leaders discussing the theme for this year:  #Breakthebias.

We also asked a few of our keen reading staff and some of our students to share with us one of their favourite books by a female author. We created posters and distributed them throughout the College…....so if you're looking for a great read check out these recommendations.

Coming up:

Find us on social media - For photos and information in the library like us at:

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/sjrcexchange

Instagram - @sjrcexchange https://www.instagram.com/sjrcexchange/

Ms Karyn Mooney
Teacher Librarian

karyn.mooney@lism.catholic.edu.au

Weekly Lunch Specials

The Canteen opens at 8.00 am every school day.

CLICK HERE for the Canteen's everyday menu.

Ms Donna Hamlin
Food Services Manager

Uniform 2022

Purchase of new Uniform Items for 2022

Port Macquarie Hastings Council

Helping Learner Drivers FREE Workshop. Transport for NSW and NRMA are running FREE one hour workshops from now until early June 2022 to support those supervising learner drivers to be confident and effective teachers.  For further information go to:  Learning to drive  - NSW Road Safety