Term Two - Week Two
Our Vision and Mission
Vision Statement
With Jesus Christ as their role model, all children can and will achieve.
Mission Statement
Inspired by Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and in partnership with parents, our Parish and the wider community, we aim to impart a holistic education on all children in our school. We endeavour to live by the values of our school motto.
Learning, Understanding and Peace.
St Joseph’s is distinguished by a great sense of belonging, where each person is valued and where learning is enjoyable.
Prayer of the day
Acts 8:26-40. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy – Ps 65(66):8-9, 16-17, 20. John 6:44-51.
Bread of life
In ancient Hebrew, the term for eating bread and having a meal was one and the same. As the staple item in every diet, bread meant something more than food; it meant survival. Bread was common – barley-based for the poor, wheat-based for the rich – but it was labour-intensive. I wonder whether Jesus’ listeners would have known about the grain dole: the Roman social welfare program of grain distribution kept the masses fed in times of famine. That would have given Jesus’ words a different layer of meaning. When Jesus declared himself the ‘bread of life’, he was making a radical claim about the daily distribution and reliance on something necessary for survival. In doing so, he revealed something about a loving God who nourished not through wages earned but as gifts distributed to a starving populace. And there’s an implicit tension: this bread of life is freely given, but it requires the recipient to admit hunger for something more than the world can offer.
SCHOOL NEWS
Mother's Day Afternoon
Last Friday afternoon was truly special. We were fortunate to spend a sunny day with our mums, grandmas, nans, and other cherished people in our lives. As they relaxed with a cup of tea and a delicious scone, we created heartfelt portraits of our beautiful mums. Laughter and joy filled the air as we played a variety of games together in the sunshine - Jenga, dominoes, Scrabble, and more. It was a celebration of the love we share and a meaningful reminder of how lucky we are to have such special people in our lives.
School Spelling Bee
Last week, students from Years 3–6 took part in the school Spelling Bee to determine our representatives for the Diocesan Spelling Bee. Everyone made a tremendous effort in the lead-up, with students practising their word lists tirelessly over the past month.
Congratulations to Amzi Arokiaswamy and Huon May, who will represent our school in the Stage 2 competition, and to Dustin Lawrence and Hugo Ansted, who will compete in the Stage 3 competition.
These four students will now represent our school at the Diocesan Spelling Bee on Wednesday, 28th May, at St Mary's in Wellington. We wish them all the best!
CWA Speeches
This week in class, students from Years 3–6 have been delivering public speaking presentations they have been working on over the past four weeks. Students selected from a range of engaging topics, including:
A Day in the Life of...
It’s Too Noisy!
Taking a Risk
Up the Yellow Brick Road
We were thoroughly impressed by the creativity, confidence, and effort shown in each presentation. Congratulations to the following students who have been selected to present to the whole school next Tuesday morning at 9:00am.
Year 3
- Archie Sullivan
- Sarah Toynton
- Elke Brazier
Year 4
- Lacey Murphy
- Lewis Elliott
- Riley Elliott
Year 5
- Maisie Evans
- Belle Bowman
- Darcy Duncan
- Gil Dowling
Year 6
- Georgie Bowman
- Bryson Elliott
- Bella Murray
Following these presentations, we will determine which students will go on to represent each Year at the CWA Public Speaking Competition in Week 5.
Taylah Woodhouse
School Fees & Attendance
School fee statements were sent home with the eldest child yesterday. If you have any concern or would like to discuss payment options, please contact the school Office.
Attendance notes were also sent home, please complete these and send back to school ASAP.
Healthy Harold
The Life Education Van will visit the school on the 27th & 28th May. If you wish to order something for your child, please see the flyer below for details.
Please note you can only order online and your must order before the 26th May. The school will not accept cash orders.
Student of the Week
ST JOEY'S COOKING CLUB
Cooking Club
This week our Cooking Club made Nutella pinwheels and Vegemite & cheese pinwheels. The children enjoyed eating the pinwheels at recess on Wednesday. These are a great lunch box treat.
The options are endless with these simple pinweheels.
- Spinach & Cheese or Feta
- Pesto & Cheese
- Pizza sauce ham & Cheese
- Bacon & Cheese
These weekly experiences not only teach valuable cooking skills but also highlight the importance of growing and using fresh, healthy produce along with helping make treats for their lunch box's and also we are finding a lot of the children are trying new things.
We’re proud of our budding chefs and look forward to more tasty creations each week!
Recipe is below.
Mrs Bowman and Mrs Reid
Cooking Club
SPORTS NEWS
Polding Hockey
Congratulations to Henry, Jock, Georgie and Bella who represented the Catholic Education, Diocese of Bathurst at Polding Hockey last Friday in Bathurst. Our hockey stars had a wonderful day playing against the best players from other Diocese in the Polding group. What a great experience!
Special congratulations to Jock Lyons, who was selected to represent Polding at PSSA Hockey in Newcastle later this month. Go get 'em, Jock!
Coolah Cross Country
The gun fired, and they were off, a stampede of determined St Joseph’s Molong athletes charging on the Coolah track.Legs pumped, arms swung, and lungs burned, but they pressed on, driven to finish strong. The course was a challenge, a rollercoaster of a hill and turns, but they embraced it, their spirits unbroken.Along the sidelines, a wave of cheers. Friends, family, and teammates lined the course, their voices a chorus of encouragement. "You got this!" "Keep pushing!" "Almost there!" The runners drew strength from their support, their strides lengthening, their pace quickening.As they neared the finish line, the exhaustion was palpable, but so was the determination.The air was thick with sweat and elation. Runners embraced, their faces beaming with pride. They had given it their all, pushed their bodies to the limit. The look on their faces after the race clearly shows this!!!A big shout out to Gil Dowling who placed 1st in 11 year boys and Georgie Bowman who placed 6th in 12/13yr old girls. Both children will now compete at the polding champs in Sydney on the 11th June.
Rugby Trials
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the school rugby trials for the Bathurst Diocesan selection—you all showed great skills, teamwork and sportsmanship throughout. Special congratulations to Bryson Elliott, Peter Fletcher, and Guy Shannon on being selected to go through to the Bathurst trials. Most importantly, we extend our sincere thanks to Mr Ben Redfern for generously giving up his time on both the weekend and Wednesday to run the trials and make the final selections—your support is greatly appreciated.
Athletics Carnival
We still need more helpers for the Athletics Carnival to run successfully on the day. Please click on the Volunteer sign up link below.
We have had a couple of enquiries regarding the running of the Field events at the carnival this term. This year we had planned to hold preliminary rounds of the Field events at school prior to the carnival and have ten qualifiers compete in the finals at the carnival. The reasons for this are the following:
Large numbers in the junior boys and girls events;
Time restraints;
Low number of staff and helpers available;
Including sub juniors in events;
And the safety of your children.
This decision was not taken lightly. We always want children to participate and to be included in all school activities, both in and out of the classroom. We, as a school, pride ourselves on inclusion. In essence, we have created this problem for ourselves with the way we include all children in such events. St Joseph’s has always included the Infants in our carnivals. In many schools this is not the case. We do not want to exclude our Infants children from our carnivals. To have all children there on the day is what makes these days very special.
We would love nothing more than to have all children participate in all the events they want to participate in on the day of the carnival. However, a few things need to happen for this to occur.
We may need to run two shot put events concurrently, two discus events concurrently and possibly two high jump events concurrently. This will mean there will need to be more parents to put their hands up to help. If we are able to get enough volunteers to help on the day, there is no reason we cannot have all children compete in all events. If we are unable to get enough volunteers, we will need to run preliminary rounds of the field events at school the week before the carnival on Tuesday, 13th and Wednesday, 14th May. If the Field events are run prior to the carnival, parents will be invited to watch.
Please note 2 session times - Boys Track & Girls Field will be the morning session and Girls Track & Boys Field will be the afternoon session. We cannot provide you with an exact time.
Please click on the following link to sign up to Volunteer.
FROM THE REC
Mother’s Day
As we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day, we take a moment to give thanks for the extraordinary gift of mothers in our lives. Whether they are biological, adoptive, spiritual, or mother-figures, we honour their nurturing hearts, selfless love, and tireless support. Mothers reflect the compassion, strength, and grace of God in countless ways, and this Sunday, we pray especially for them.
At school, we regularly discuss how Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a beautiful example of faith, courage and love. Just as she lovingly cared for Jesus, so too do our mothers guide us with gentleness and wisdom.
Let us show appreciation this week not only through words and cards but also through our actions—helping out, being kind, and showing the love that our mums so generously share with us every day.
A Mother’s Day Prayer
Loving God,
We thank You for the gift of mothers.
We thank You for their love, their patience,
their wisdom and their strength.
Bless all mothers, grandmothers, and carers today.
May they feel appreciated, supported, and surrounded by love.
May Mary, the mother of Jesus, be their guide and comfort.
We pray for those who miss their mothers,
and for all women who share a mother’s heart.
Amen.
Wishing all our mothers and carers a joyful and blessed Mother’s Day!
Date to remember:
- Sunday 15th June, 10am - Sacrament of Confirmation
- Sunday 22nd June, 10am - Sacrament of First holy Communion
Upcoming Masses:
- Wednesday, 14th May (Week 3): Infants Mass – 9:30 AM
- Wednesday, 21st May (Week 4): Primary Mass & Year 4-6 Reconciliation – 9:30 AM
Miss Taylah Woodhouse
Religious Education Coordinator
STUDENT WELLBEING
Wellness
A good podcast listen -
The Good Enough Dad with Maggie Dent
Jeremy Hutchings – How kids can learn true grit
Season 1, Ep. 27
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Jeremy Hutchings grew up on a farm and has carried the lessons he learnt there into his own parenting experience. As a business coach and CEO of the Farm Owners Academy Jeremy is often talking to his community about resilience. It’s a trait he believes many kids develop through living and helping on a working farm – but there are also other skills he’s picked up along the way. He chats to Maggie about why he values the farming community so highly, and how it’s impacted the way he’s raised his kids.
These were some findings from the 2024 state and national youth resilient youth report for Primary school student wellbeing…..
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY SYMPTOMS
1 in 3 students reported low depression and/or anxiety. 1 in 4 students were at high risk of depression and/or anxiety. Males reports the lowest depression and anxiety symptoms, followed by females, with gender diverse students reporting highest risk.
HOPEFULNESS
Around ¼ of students reported high or low hopefulness, and half reported mid-range hopefulness. Males reported higher hopefulness than females, and gender diverse students reported the lowest hopefulness.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
8 to 9 in 10 students frequently felt loved and supported by family, had a supportive parent, a supportive teacher, and at least one good friend at school. More than 1 in 3 experienced frequent (at least monthly) bullying.
ABILITY TO TALK TO OTHERS
Almost half of students reported frequently being able to talk about upsetting things. 1 in 6 were never or rarely able to do so. Males reported greatest ability to talk to others, followed by females, then gender diverse students.
SENSE OF SAFETY
Between 8 to 9 in 10 students frequently felt safe in their neighbourhood, home and school.
LIFE SATISFACTION
Nearly half of students were thriving, and 14% were struggling. Males reported slightly higher life satisfaction than females, and gender diverse students reported lower life satisfaction than both males and females.
HEALTHY BEHAVIOUR
8 in 10 students reported frequently eating healthy food and being physically active for at least 1 hour a day, and 7 in 10 reported frequently sleeping.
The whole report can be found on the link below
P & F / CANTEEN NEWS
CANTEEN
Thanks to everyone who gives their time - with your help, the canteen continues to be a vibrant part of our school community, and a consistent fundraiser for our P&F.
We’d love you to get in touch if you are interested, or would like to know more about how you can be a part of our great little school as a canteen helper.
Please see below the Term 2 Canteen Menu.
Please click on the link below to sign up to volunteer for the canteen and baking/making goodies for our "Specials" Days
Enquiries welcome: Jane Shannon 0428656167
P & F Meeting
The next P & F meeting will be:
Tuesday 13th May
6pm at the Molong RSL
All Welcome, we encourage new parents to attend.
Any agenda items can be emailed to stjosephsmolong@bth.catholic.edu.au by Friday 9th May 2025.
PIE DRIVE
The annual pie drive is here, get your orders in to stock up your freezer for winter. All money raised will supply extra resources for your children.
Orders are due back to school by Monday 26th May.
Delivery date for pies is Thursday 12th June.
COMMUNITY NOTICEBOARD
