St. Josephs Catholic College Katherine eNewsletter Term 02 - Week 06

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

There’s a saying that always brings a smile: “Children will be a great comfort to you in your old age… and they help you reach it faster, too!” – Lionel Kauffman. Parenting is a beautiful, often humour-filled journey, and while it comes with its share of challenges, it also offers endless moments of joy and growth.

As parents, we’re constantly on call—whether it’s for a lift to sport, a forgotten lunchbox, or a bit of extra pocket money. But sometimes, more serious concerns arise—such as when our children face conflict or unkind behaviour from others. These moments call on our full attention and care.

It’s important to recognise the difference between teasing, taunting, and bullying. While children will often joke or tease each other harmlessly, bullying is something much more serious. It is intentional, repeated behaviour designed to hurt or intimidate. Understanding this distinction helps us respond with clarity and compassion when our children come to us for help.

That said, not every disagreement or hurt feeling means bullying is taking place. Learning how to navigate social ups and downs is an important part of growing up. One of the most valuable skills we can nurture in our children is resilience—the ability to bounce back, to learn from experiences, and to grow stronger from them. This doesn’t mean leaving them to face challenges alone, but rather walking alongside them as they build the confidence to manage difficult situations.

Sometimes children may hesitate to speak up about their experiences. They may feel ashamed, or worry they’ll disappoint us. It’s vital that when they do come to us, we listen without judgement, praise their courage in speaking up, and reassure them that they are not to blame. Together, we can create a plan to help them feel safe and supported.

Here are some simple ways we can help children navigate social difficulties:

• Encourage your child not to respond to unkindness with more of the same. Escalation rarely solves the problem.
• Help them practise staying calm and confident. Sometimes, a firm “stop” and walking away is the most effective response.
• Encourage them to spend time with friends who make them feel good about themselves. Positive friendships are a great source of strength.
• Be a role model. Children learn how to manage relationships by watching how we treat others and handle challenges ourselves.

At St Joseph’s, we are committed to fostering a caring, respectful, and safe environment for all our students. Together, with your partnership and support, we can help our young people grow into confident, compassionate adults.

Thank you for your continued support.

Peace and best wishes,
Sunniva Antonucci
Principal

Primary News

Simultaneous Storytime – The Truck Cat

On Wednesday 21st May, we celebrated Simultaneous Storytime with this year’s featured book, Truck Cat.

A heartfelt thank you to Brett and Jodie for bringing their truck to visit us after the reading. The highlight for many students was seeing the impressive vehicle up close—though we’re still not quite sure where the cat was hiding!

It was a wonderful way to bring the story to life and make the day even more memorable.

Year 2: Exploring the Zones of Regulations

In year 2 we are enjoying learning about the Zones of Regulation each week. The Zones of Regulation teach us all about our emotions. There are 4 Zones - the Blue Zone, the Red Zone, the Green Zone and the Yellow Zone. To help us better understand each zone and what the emotions look like, we watched some short clips from children’s movies including Harry Potter, The Lion King, Inside Out, Beauty and the Beast and Finding Nemo. We then held up zone coloured paper to match what emotion we thought the character was displaying and what zone they were in. We then discussed the how and the why of our thought process. The students responded well and gave well thought out answers. Through doing this we hope that the students can better understand their emotions and responses to things that happen to them in their daily life.

Secondary News

Celebrating Our Year 11 & 12 Formal – A Night to Remember!

The Year 11 and Year 12 Formal, held on Friday, the 2nd of May from 6:00 to 10:00 pm, was truly a memorable evening filled with elegance, laughter, and celebration.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of our students, the event was a shining example of teamwork and dedication. They took charge of planning, catering, decorating, and running the evening seamlessly. The evening was made even more special with the generous donations of decorations from some of our wonderful families—your support truly made the venue look spectacular!

A big thank you also goes to everyone who contributed to raising funds for the evening. Our sausage sizzles, bake sales, fundraising initiatives, and ticket sales all played a vital role in making this event possible. The College community’s generosity and hard work ensured that our students could enjoy a fantastic night.

We are grateful to our dedicated staff and the wider St. Joey’s community for their ongoing support and for helping create this beautiful ‘red carpet’ experience. It’s moments like these that remind us of the strength and unity of our school family.

Here’s to many more memorable moments together!

Yr 11 - Do It For Dolly Day fundraiser

A big well done to our Year 11 Food and Hospitality students for catering today’s “Do It For Dolly” teacher fundraiser! They rose to the challenge as part of their unit on designing menus to meet customer needs. A special shout out to some of our Year 10 students who lent a hand and contributed to making the event a success!

Little Joeys News

My New Gallery

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The last few weeks have been a hive of activity at Little Joey's ELC.
We celebrated Mother/Special Person Day with a wonderful afternoon tea and special gifts made by the children. We have been learning about road safety and celebrated Road Safety Week with a visit from our local police members Sargent Maher and Sargent Young. We have been getting our bodies moving with the commencement of our Mini Mover's Program with PT Lydia (and baby Beau). This wonderful initiative is supported by Healthy Living NT and is focused on building the skills and physical wellbeing of children in the early years. We have been learning more about Indigenous culture and getting closer to nature with bush walks. 

Library News

Sports News

School Events

Do It For Dolly Day

A heartfelt thank you to all the parents and caregivers who joined us for our Do It For Dolly Day assembly. Your presence and support made this meaningful day even more special.

A huge congratulations to Hunter de With and Markus Mynhardt for receiving the Kindness Award, presented by the inspiring Tom Curtain. Well done, Hunter and Markus—you’ve truly shown what it means to lead with kindness and make a positive impact in our College  community!

We also extend our sincere gratitude to Tom Curtain for generously taking the time out of his busy schedule to be part of our event. His heartfelt performance of "Speak Up" alongside our Year 1 students was a highlight of the day and a powerful reminder of the importance of kindness, courage, and connection.

On behalf of everyone at St Joseph’s Catholic College, thank you, Tom, for helping us make Do It For Dolly Day a truly memorable and meaningful occasion.

Celebrating the delivery of 1 million books. - The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF)

Farewell to Mr. Alex

Last week saw the end of an era as Mr Alex left St Joseph's for the final time.

Alex commenced at St Joseph's Catholic College part way through Year 7 in 2017. Mr Alex continue at St Joseph's Catholic College, ending his time as a student when he completed Year 12 as College Captain. Since then, Mr Alex has worked as an Inclusion Support Assistant across both Primary and Secondary Campuses. Most recently Mr Alex has been assigned to Year 10 classes, earning their respect through his quiet support of those who in need.

With great initiative Year 10 planned and organised a farewell celebration for Mr Alex, which demonstrated the extent of their admiration and high regard they have for him.

We wish Mr Alex all the best as he moves to South Australia to begin his next chapter.

Do It For Dolly Assembly - Kindness Nominees and Winners

Community Events & News

Health Pathway Program

Katherine Camels - Junior AFL