NEWSLETTER

STEM Open Day

As part of Catholic Schools Open Week (Term 3 Week 3) and as a lead up to National Science Week (Term 3 Week 4), you are invited to join our school STEM Open Day on Tuesday August 5, 11:30am-1:30pm in the school grounds. Parents and family members will have the opportunity to join our children as they work in class groups engaging in STEM learning activities planned by our teaching staff. It is hoped that as many of our parents and carers as possible will be able to join us as it provides teaching staff with an opportunity to showcase the learning which takes place as part of our ongoing STEM learning focus. 

Dear Families

Welcome to Term 3.

Thank you for your welcome. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join your school community for 4 weeks while Shaun is on leave. From all reports, Shaun is doing well.

WELCOME TO NEW STAFF, STUDENTS and FAMILIES

Welcome to our new staff, students and families. We’re delighted to have you with us and hope your time here will be both enjoyable and fulfilling.

A special welcome to Alistair, Tiana, Taylor, Ryan, Selena, Akida, Paul, Nayara, and Aiden who have commenced Preschool with us this term as part of our Term 3 Preschool intake.

It has also been wonderful to welcome Zachary, Aldrich, Nathan, Ryan, Lucas, Nour, and Lincoln to our Reception classes. The children have settled in well to their new classes and it has been fantastic to see them being supported by staff and classmates.

We also welcome Thi An Ngo (An) who joins our school staff as a Curriculum Education Support Officers (ESOs). Curriculum ESOs Nicole Brown and Trinity Tilley will be on leave for most of Term 3 while they undertake their 4^th Year Preservice Teaching Placement.

STEM OPEN DAY - Tuesday 5 August 11:30am

Did you see Jayden, Millie, Vivian and Jack in the newspaper on Friday? We were excited to have The Advertiser visit us on Thursday and take photos of these students promoting our upcoming STEM Open Day. The article also recognises the innovative and engaging real-world learning taking place at St Joseph’s Ottoway. Well done to Jayden, Millie, Vivian, Jack and everyone involved!

As part of Catholic Schools Open Week (Term 3 Week 3) and as a lead up to National Science Week (Term 3 Week 4), you are invited to join our school STEM Open Day on Tuesday 5 August, 11:30am-1:30pm in the school grounds. We warmly invite parents and family members to join our children as they showcase STEM activities within their class groups. We look forward to seeing you there!

LIVING, LEARNING, LEADING PARENT/CAREGIVER SURVEY

details of how to access this online survey. To encourage participation from families we are providing an incentive with the class with the greatest percentage of responses by parents/caregivers receiving a surprise recess! (To be decided) Please look out for this letter in your child’s bag this week and send the return slip to your child’s teacher when you have completed the survey.

The Living Learning Leading parent online survey closes on Friday 22 August. We would love your feedback to assist us in tracking how we are doing and how we can continue to improve. Your feedback matters - thank you in advance for your response.

SAFETY AND SCHOOL ARRIVAL

Thank you for your care around our school. We appreciate parents/caregivers using the ‘Kiss and Drop’ safely and observing the 10km/h speed limit.

Please remember that the back gate is locked soon after 8:45am. If you are going to be late, then please come to the Ina Street entrance, to the front office and sign your child in. Please do not ask students (or staff) to unlock the gate for you, as this puts the children in a difficult situation.

NAPLAN REPORTS - Years 3 & 5

Our Year 3 and 5 parents/carers should have received their child’s NAPLAN report last week.  ACARA have notified us that there is a slight error in the information on the front of all reports.  The report states, “Your child completed their test on paper”, however students completed the tests online (apart from Year 3 writing).  All other aspects of the report are correct, and ACARA will not re-issue the reports.

We’re very pleased with many aspects of our students’ performance in the recent NAPLAN assessments. As a national assessment, NAPLAN provides valuable data and insights into student learning. This information is carefully analysed by our staff alongside other assessments to inform many aspects of our on-going work with your child.

Thank you to the families who have said hello and made me feel welcome.

Wishing you all the best for the week ahead.

Belinda Elliott

Mass this term:

Fr Marek is currently away and will return at the end of August. In place of Mass for St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and The Feast of the Assumption we will celebrate a prayer liturgy during Community prayer on Friday morning 8 August and 15 August. As always, please join with us if you are free to.

·        Liturgy for St Mary of the Cross Friday 8/8  

·        Liturgy for the Feast of the Assumption Friday 15/8

Walk a mile in my boots

As part of our focus on social justice, on Tuesday 12 August 2025 we will meet at 2pm in our House Teams. 

From there we will walk together to the Wingfield Oval and walk around this several times. You are very welcome to join in with us at the oval.

You have already given permission for local walks on our beginning-of-year forms. 

We would like to collect some food donations for the Hutt Street Centre

to support their work and your donation would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your great support!

Some items you could send in-

• Coffee
• Sugar
• Cereals
• Spreads, jam, Vegemite, peanut butter
• Museli bars
• Small chips 
• 2-min noodles 
• Long-life milk including almond, oat and lactose-free
• Pasta (no spaghetti please)
• Baked beans
• Juice boxes

Please ensure they are in date and have a long shelf life.

Parent Centre - near the office entrance

Please make yourself comfortable and help yourself to tea, coffee and biscuits.

The room will be open most days 8:25am and 2:30pm

Father’s Day Breakfast

We invite Father’s, Grandfathers or Carers to our Father’s Day Breakfast on Friday 7th September from 8:15am. Shaun and I will be preparing a breakfast and would love to see you. Following this we will offer a special blessing prayer for you as part of our community prayer gathering.

Multicultural Celebration  

A group of our students, staff and parents are organizing a multicultural celebration which will be held on Wednesday 10^th of September at 11:30am. Thanks you to our students, Peter, Jack U, Annabella, Charlee, Feben and Amelia for their leadership and preparation for this event. There will be more information shortly about the week including the day and time of performances.

There will be a special assembly lead by the students, and this will be followed by a shared school community lunch. We are inviting students to wear national costumes or colours from their family’s country of origin. You are most welcome to do the same. 

We hope you might be able to join us for this whole school family event.  

We would like to share in a picnic in the school grounds and ask that you consider if you would like to prepare and cook some food to share for this.  Children should still bring or order their lunch. The shared food will be available to all, but it is hard to predict how much we will have to share.

The rules for preparation of food off the school site are listed below. It is essential that all food is prepared in the correct way and labelled clearly with all ingredients that have been used. This is important so that we can keep all our students who have food allergies safe.

Please read the following guidelines below if you are bringing food to share.

Kind regards

Simon McCullough on behalf of the Multicultural Committee    

Safe food handling and labelling rules

Clean -- Wash hands and surfaces often  

Separate  --  Don’t cross-contaminate 

Cook - Cook to proper temperatures. 

Chill - Refrigerate promptly 

Storage 

• Always refrigerate perishable food within two hours (one hour when the temperature is above 90?

Preparation 

• Always wash hands before and after handling food 
• Don’t cross -contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish and their juices away from the food.  After cutting raw meats, wash hands, cutting board, knife, and counter tops with hot, soapy water. 

Cooking 

• Cook ground meats to 160?; ground poultry to 165?. 
• Beef, veal and lamb steaks, roasts and chops may be cooked to 145?; all cuts of fresh pork, 160?. 
• Whole poultry should reach 180? in the thigh; breasts, 170? 

Cook Thoroughly 

Cook food to a safe internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria.  Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. 

Serving 

• Hot food should be held at 140? or warmer. 
• Cold foods should be held at 40? or colder. 
• When serving food at a buffet, keep food hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays.  Keep food cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or use small serving trays and replace them often. 
• Perishable food should not be left out more than two hours at room temperature (one hour when the temperature is above 90?). 

Serving the Food 

When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter.  Don’t put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry.  Any harmful bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely cooked food.  In hot weather (above 90?), food should never sit out for more than one hour. 

Dear Parents and Caregivers.

Welcome to term 3 in OSHC.

Hoping you all had a restful break.

In OSHC children are in a safe supervised environment; learning happens while children play, have fun, and make new friends. Please feel welcome to visit.

Morning care in OSHC is available 6.30-8.30am.                                          

Afterschool care in OSHC is available 3.00-6.00pm Monday to Friday, 2.45-6.00pm Tuesday.

Please remember to make a booking when you need OSHC. All bookings can be made by ringing or messaging the OSHC mobile on 0437 863 067. If there is no answer leave a message on the service. I will call or message you back.                            

Making a booking helps us keep the child/educator ratio in line with legislation. 24 hours’ notice is necessary when cancelling a booking or charges will occur.

All parents using OSHC will need to check their myGov app to check for messages.              

When you attend OSHC Casually-     

Please remember check your myGov app and Centrelink for messages.        

When parents use OSHC casually you won’t automatically receive CCS (Childcare Subsidy).

Follow the prompts-confirming that you used the OSHC service.

Centrelink is just confirming that you are using the service.

Parents/caregivers are welcome to read the OSHC Policies, feel welcome to ask and I will make copies available for your perusal.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Mieke   

OSHC Director   

BOOK WEEK!

Children’s Book Week is The CBCA’s key highlight national event of the year. This year’s celebration will run from Saturday 16 to Saturday 23 August. Dress up date for Saint Josephs Ottoway to be announced soon!

The 2025 theme is Book an Adventure!

Our feature artist for the year, Jess McGeachin, has brilliantly captured this adventurous spirit in his artwork, which features a whimsical map filled with imaginary characters. Jess’ illustration invites young readers to embark on fantastical journeys, inspiring them to travel through the worlds that books open up. As an award-winning Australian picture book illustrator, Jess’ work encourages children to imagine, explore, and create their own adventures.

2025 is also a milestone year for us as we celebrate 80 years of Children’s Book Week!  

Behind the Scenes - Photoshoot for STEM Open Day

Last week, our school hosted a photoshoot highlighting the dynamic and hands-on learning taking place within our STEM programs. The behind-the-scenes photograph below from the session was featured in The Advertiser's Friday edition, drawing attention to the innovative work of our students.

From Bee Bots to complex LEGO engineering builds, students were fully engaged in showcasing their skills and creativity. We invite you to view the featured image that captured the spirit of STEM learning at it's best.

New Government Guidelines on Social Media Age Restrictions

The government has released updated guidelines on age restrictions for social media platforms. These changes aim to strengthen online safety for young people.

We encourage parents and carers to review the official guidance here:
Social media age restrictions | eSafety Commissioner

Staying informed helps us all support safe and responsible technology use.

Goodstart Angle Park currently have vacancies in the Nursery (0-2), Toddler 1 (2-2.5) and Toddler 2 (2.5-3 years) rooms.

You’re invited to a Retreat: Cast Your Anxiety and Burdens onto the Lord Saturday 23rd August 9:15am - 3:30pm At Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church 420 Seaview Road Henley Beach.

Speaker: Fr Josy Sebastian MSFS

Please bring your own lunch tea/coffee provided. Enquiries and bookings phone Pauline 0403002240 by 21st August Cost by Cash Donation All Welcome

Thank you, God bless

Pauline Cotton 0403002240

3^rd Term 2 Concludes