St Joseph's Fete

Last Sunday saw a large crowd turn out to enjoy the many attractions at the fete.
Thank you to the many parents, grandparents and staff who worked so hard to make the fete a success.

Using Animoto

Collection of Recycable Plastic Bags

Every minute over 7 000 plastic shopping bags are placed in landfill.

Coles and the Junior Landcare organisation have joined forces tp collect 200 tonnes of these bags. They are seeking the help of schools.
If you have any of these bags lying around your house please send them along to school where we will collect and count them. We have until the 17th of October to collect as many as possible.

Mary MacKillop Garden

We now have seven Mary MacKillop bottle brushes planted in this new garden. Thanks to Sr Jenny, Mr Boulton and Ms Schloman for donating the plants for this garden. We're sure the garden will be enjoyed by students of St Joseph's for many years to come.

New Online Educational Game from Origin

This week Origin has launched a new, educational online game called Energy Force that encourages students to save energy and our planet by joining a secret spy force. As agents of A.N.Z.E.A (Australian and New Zealand Energy Alliance), students are challenged to track down and capture energy wasting villains from W.A.S.T.E (We Are Stealing The Energy), an organisation determined to steal the power of the sun.
It is suitable for children aged 8 to 12 years and requires the permission of parents to join. It can be found at energyforcegame.com.au, a link to the site is also available from the school blog.

Claymation

All of our Grade Three students and Grade 2N have enjoyed working on the new laptops using a program called Claymation. They have incorporated their study on plants with ICT to create animated models showing the growth of plants.

New Laptops

With Government funding and an allocation of funds from the P&F we have 20 new laptops available for use within the school. Each has an inbuilt webcam which will allow our students to add vodcasts to their repertoire of ICT activities. Keep a look out on these blogs for some examples of their great work.

Our New Native garden

Thanks to the efforts of Mag M, the Warriors group and a number of grade 7's , our new garden has been established in the area near 1V. a number of trees had been removed due to their roots and branches causing damage to the school building. It was decided that the rest of the vegetation, mainly plants considered pests would be removed, topsoil added, then mulched.
A number of Mary MacKillop bottle brushes are to be planted, along with a variety of ground covering natives. It is hoped that with the continued care from students the area will thrive and provide shelter for the many water dragons that once called the area home.

Healthy Lifestyle Expo

Thank you to everyone who made our expo such a success. What a wonderful display of learning experiences on offer for parents and visitors to the school. Thirty-six teachers from other schools visited us on the day and were greatly impressed by what they saw.

Kids Lunch Boxes

Kids' lunch boxes:
Decant: If you buy chips and pre-packaged snacks, change to buying a big bag and decant into reusable containers. Not only is it cheaper, there will also be fewer plastic bags in circulation.

Yoghurts: Kids love little portions, but those dinky little yoghurt pots add up to a big mountain of plastic every year. Buy cute re-useable containers and fill with yoghurt instead.

Sandwiches: Plastic sandwich wrap may look more appealing, but paper wrap will decompose swiftly (along with its uneaten contents).

Drinks: Refillable water bottles are the best option. Tetra Paks will be a long time in landfill; even when shredded, some tests have shown that after more than a month the cartons haven't degraded even slightly, due to the polythene layers inside and out.

Fruit: Fresh fruit comes in its own biodegradable wrappers (called skins). Fruit snack foods produced by commercial manufacturers are hygienically packed

Healthy Lifestyle Expo

St Joseph's will be holding a Healthy Lifestyle Expo on Monday June the 22nd. Each class will display work covered during the term.
This expo revolves around the 7NP's program.

Internet Safety

Over the last few weeks, students from the Middle and Senior Mag classes have undertaken an internet safety program. It was interesting and rather disturbing to see the number of children that are chatting to people via the internet whom they have never met. Students are at risk unless these online friends are known to family. Anyone can pretend to be someone their not when using social networking sites. A person who says their fifteen could actually be fifty. It is important you know what your children are doing and who they talk to when using the internet. And remember, it is a condition of social networking sites that members are at least thirteen years of age.

On the top right corner of the school blog there is a list of useful links, one of which is to the Federal Governments internet safety site called Cyberquolls. This site uses entertaining activities whilst
providing helpful hints to a variety of situations including, how to use chat rooms safely, what to look for in emails, and what type of photographs to put on the web. I would highly recommend that you spend some time with your child to view these activities.

The Smart Tip Excursion

Last Thursday, three classes and the environmental group participated in an excursion to the tip. Not your usual outing, but one that provided an insight to the problem of disposing of a large quantity of waste.
It was interesting to see how much time is spent in sorting through rubbish in order to reduce the actual quantity of waste that is placed in landfill. The council have recently opened a new cell which usually has a two year life span. With the recycling and reusing program that is now in place the council hopes to extend the workings of the cell to five years.




One more cell is available for use, which leaves the question as to what will happen to Logan City waste in ten years time?
We can all help by composting, recycling and reusing items . At school, worm farms are being utilised and we encourage parents to reduce the packaging on school lunches. Instead of wrapping sandwiches in plastic use small containers which are air tight and can be reused many times over.

Our thanks to Logan City Council for providing the bus and teacher to take us through this facility.

The 7 Natural Physicians

Today, Trish and Rob Thomas the creators of the new health program being used here at school presented a puppet show to our students. Each of the puppets represented one of the Natural Physicians responsible for a particular area of the program.

They include: Dr Think Right - Attitude

Dr Inhale Exhale- Air

Dr Gastro Nomical- Nutrition

Dr UV Ray - Sunshine

Dr Hydrop Therapy-Water

Dr Vi Tality - Exercise

Dr Zizz - Rest

These doctors are devoted to helping children understand the simple things they can do to look after their own health and wellbeing.

They are easily remembered by the saying Attitude is the answer.

We look forward to the benefits it will bring our students as they work through the exciting program. The highlights of the program will be showcased in a Healthy Lifestyle Expo at the end of this term. All parents and friends will be invited along on this day. So keep watching this space for further details.

If you would like to learn more about this program visit the link at the top of the page.

Waste Audit

At the end of last term Mag B undertook a waste audit of the rubbish left after one lunch. An amazing 11kg of rubbish had been produced. Here are some of the photos.

Start of Term 2

Welcome to the start of Term 2.

The first week back will be busy.
Firstly, as part of our campaign to reduce waste we have representatives from Logan City Council coming to school to present several activities to each of our classes. The first activity is The Smart Shopper lesson , which aims to show students how much waste can be reduced by using plastic containers which can be repeatedly reused instead of wrapping lunches in plastic or foil.
Secondly, they will show our upper school the advantage of using a worm farm to reduce perishable items. They will provide and set up several of these farms for school use.

The other presentations occurring this week involve introducing the 7 Natural Physicians to the school. This is a new holistic health care program which will be implemented throughout the school. The founders of the program Trish and Rob Thomas will be at school on Thursday to perform a puppet show to the children. You are most welcome to join us.

Holy Thursday

On Thursday the school community gathered in the church to celebrate the crucification of Jesus. Four senior students along with Mr Barron performed a puppet show called The Three Trees which gave us a recount of the Easter story.



We wish everyone a safe and holy Easter.

Lunch Time in the Library

Lunch times can get very busy down in the library. Apart from it being open for computer use and general reading , science club takes place on Thursdays and every Tuesday sees students trying to quicken their times at stacking cups, a fun way to stimulate the brain.

Preps and Safety Rules

Today the Preps gave a presentation at assembly on the safety rules needed around the school. Signs have been made and placed around the school to remind children to walk on the concrete. Well done Preps!

Angel Breathing

Friday saw the introduction to the school of the practice of angel breathing, three deep breaths while raising your arms over your head. This helps to increase the oxygen level to your lungs, improving concentration and general well being. This is one of the new practices which will be introduced as part of the 7 Natural Physicians program next term.

Mag B with a few of the plants to be relocated.

Last week saw the laying of two concrete slabs for rain water tanks to rest on. Funding was via government grants.



Some of the plants which had to be dug up were saved and replanted by Mag B who also weeded the garden near the library. Great work MAG B !