St. Josephs Catholic College Katherine eNewsletter Term 2 - Week 10
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we conclude another vibrant term at our St Joseph’s Catholic College, it's time to reflect on the myriad of activities and successes we've shared. From academic achievements to extracurricular triumphs, our community has once again demonstrated dedication, creativity, and unity.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
(Matthew 22:37)
Highlights of the Term
- Athletics Carnival Success: The athletics carnival was a great two-day event, with numerous students being selected for the Big Rivers NT Athletics squad.
- Academic Excellence: Students have been working diligently in their classes, leading to significant learning achievements across various subjects.
- Year 11 and 12 Formal Dance: The formal dance for Year 11 and 12 students was a great success, providing an enjoyable and memorable evening for all attendees.
- Year 9 Camp: Year 9 students had an excellent Science Camp experience at Charles Darwin University in Darwin participating in various activities and learning opportunities.
- The VETIS Programs undertaken by the Year 9 and 10 students once again provides them with numerous life and employment skills, as well as valuable graduation points.
These events have contributed to an exciting and successful term for everyone involved.
Reflections on Kindness
Reflecting on the essence of kindness, I am reminded of a touching story from Pamela Freeman's book, The Black Dress. In it, a small act of compassion transforms a child's day, embodying the spirit of kindness we strive to instil in our students. As Mother Teresa said, “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness, kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
Our college community has lived up to this ideal. The kindness and support shown by our staff, students, and parents have created a nurturing environment where everyone can thrive. As we move forward, let's continue to foster an atmosphere of empathy and generosity.
Looking Forward
As we prepare for the holidays, I encourage you to reflect on the importance of kindness within our families.
St. Paul's words remind us, "Let all that you do be done in love."(1 Corinthians 16:14) Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Eph. 4:31-32).
This holiday season, let's practice kindness in our daily interactions, ensuring our homes are filled with love and understanding.
Best Wishes for the Holidays
On behalf of the entire college community, I wish all parents, staff, students, and guardians a safe and happy holiday. May this time be filled with joy, relaxation, and cherished moments with loved ones. We look forward to welcoming everyone back with renewed energy and enthusiasm for the next term.
God our Father, we thank you for your “random act of kindness” that enabled us to have the children we do. Help us to establish kindness in our household, so it is found in our words, our attitudes, and behaviours. Amen.
Peace and best wishes,
Sunniva Antonucci
Principal
Primary News
Transition
Over the last couple of weeks Transition have been very lucky to have had some fun experiences with Year 7.1. Miss Abby and 7.1 made bouncy balls with us for STEM and then Miss Fan also brought them to our Investigations session, where they played “Hospitals”, completed puzzles and built towers together. We are so lucky and thankful to have the older students come and work with us and we hope to have some more experiences with them next term.
Year 1/2
As we come to another end of term, it has been fantastic looking back at the growth of all of the students in 1/2 W. This term has been extremely busy with many events happening in our school community. Over the past 3 weeks, we have enjoyed many cross-college learning experiences including participating in story telling with Year 12 with a key focus on bible stories and most recently, a 'craftanoon' with our 3/4 and 5/6 peers completing our entries for the Katherine Show. 1/2 has been loving reading throughout this term and we have been focusing on building our fluency skills.
Secondary News
Year 12 Students Engage Younger Peers with Creative Bible Story Adaptations
In a heartwarming display of creativity and collaboration, Year 12 students took on the role of storytellers as they shared adapted Bible stories with the Year 1/2 class on Wednesday, the 12th of June. This event was part of their Spiritualities, Religion and Meaning (SRM) class, with the task being to make Bible stories more relevant to Australian primary aged kids.
The students captivated the young audience by using sock puppets to narrate the Easter story, bringing the characters to life in a playful and interactive manner. The use of water-based play with animal figurines added a tactile element to the retelling of Noah's Ark, allowing the children to immerse themselves in the biblical tale in a hands-on way. Additionally, the students utilized interactive A3 large picture books to visually depict key moments from the New Testament, making the narratives more accessible and engaging for the Year 1/2 students. One Primary student had this to say: “I learned about how the rainbow is God’s promise to protect us, like how he protected Noah and the animals from the flood. Every time you see a rainbow, it’s God’s message that he cares for us even when we are naughty.” A Year Twelve student reflected on the experience: “It was fun to think of ways to make these Bible stories come alive. It made me feel so happy when the kids understood the story’s message and enjoyed the way we shared it.” Thank you to Ms Walker, Ms Bec, the Year 12 SRM class and the Year 1/ 2 students for a happy and enriching reading session.
Yr9 - CDU Science Experience
The CDU Science Experience is a national program proudly hosted by Charles Darwin University. The program is designed to inspire students with the world of STEM subjects and open their eyes to all possibilities available whilst exploring the abundance of career, study and employment opportunities available to them at home in the NT.
We were fortunate to have 9 students selected and students experienced interactive session in Paramedicine, the NT medical program, Exercise and Sport Science, health and environmental science , Engineering and Aquaculture.
Yr9 Tower-building Challenge
Year 9 students recently participated in an exciting and highly competitive tower-building challenge. Tasked with constructing the tallest tower using spaghetti, marshmallows, tape, and string, the students displayed remarkable creativity and engineering skills.
The competition was filled with energy and enthusiasm as teams worked meticulously to create sturdy and tall structures. Laughter and determination filled the room as students tested the limits of their materials, striving to outdo one another.
In the end, the girls' team emerged victorious, winning by a mere couple of millimeters. Their tower stood tall, demonstrating both the precision and ingenuity required to win the challenge. The event was a delightful blend of fun and learning, leaving everyone eager for the next competition.
CDU Science Excellence Experience
Darcy Alderson and Lucinda Healey-Bond (Year 11) were invited to attend the Charles Darwin University Science Excellence Experience. The purpose of the program is “for students who show exceptional talent in science to experience the cutting edge of science and inspire them to pursue further challenges in the field of science."
Darcy went to the Darwin campus for two days and spent time with 14 other students from across the NT; learning about Water Bugs under the microscope, Virtual Reality in Healthcare, investigating students' Cells, learning about Turtle conservation, Sniffer Dogs, 3D printing, Fisheries in the NT and Robotics. Darcy said of the experience, ‘It was cool to see what they were doing at university. Robotics was especially interesting.
Little Joeys News
June has been a busy month so far at Little Joey’s ELC.
Earlier in the month we hosted our LJ Sports Day. The children had a fantastic time getting active showing their skills on the back oval. A highlight of the day was the parent and child tug of war. A huge thank you to Ms Amanda and her helpers from the wider college community who made this day happen.
This week we jumped on the bus to head out to Nitmiluk National Park for an excursion with Ranger Stacey. The children have been very interested in the flora and fauna around Katherine and exploring the Aboriginal Seasons of the Jawoyn calendar so it was wonderful to look at these further on country.
Over the next few weeks we are looking forward to busily creating our entries for the Katherine Show.
Sports News
Athletics Age Champions 2024
Congratulations to Bosco House for winning this year's College Athletics Carnival!
Athletics Carnival Results:
Big Rivers Region Athletics Carnival
On Thursday, 13th July, 63 students ranging from Year 4 to Year 12 participated in this year's Big Rivers Region Athletics Carnival, which took place at the Katherine Town Oval. Schools from the Katherine Region were well represented, with a significant number of students competing in the event. All participants were selected based on their performance at our College Carnival held in May.
The day featured several standout events and impressive results. Each of our students demonstrated their best efforts, and the camaraderie and sportsmanship displayed were commendable.
Seventeen of our students have achieved benchmark and qualifying results, earning them invitations to the NT Athletics Championships in September as part of the Big Rivers Team. Following this event, a team will be selected to represent NT School Sport at the National Athletics competition and the All Schools National Championships in December.
Congratulations to these 17 students who have met the requirements and received invitations to compete at the NT Athletics Championships!
- Jessica Campbell
- Emily Henderson
- Riley Trenholm
- Mia Hart
- Rickie-Lee Ashley
- Kirkland Tanui
- Kahl Wienands
- Freddie Richards
- Emily Lahring
- Emilly Alum
- Ella-Rose Brown
- Callie Wilfred
- Xavi Speranza
- Tanner Covill
- Wade Bryant
- Ashley Walker
- Addison Covill
School Events
Year 11/12 Formal
Last Friday (14/06/2024) evening our senior school students came together for our yearly senior formal. There was amazing food (Thank you to Krystal and Hayden Otto for catering), fantastic tunes, incredible decorations (it was 'Casino Night'), some creative and energetic dance moves, and some old fashioned games of limbo and musical chairs.
Thank you to all the students who helped organise the event and set up during the week, and the teachers and support staff who attended and helped with the set up and pack up.
R U OK?
A big thank you to the R U OK team for coming to visit our College and for explaining the importance of always checking in on those around you.
The Salvation Army Fundraiser
Our college hosted one of The Salvation Army’s, Red Shield Appeal fundraising BBQ's. We appreciate all the contributions and loved seeing everyone in the best red outfits.
All funds raised will go to The Salvation Army to be used locally 
The College SRC
The College SRC has been running a project of collecting 10c recyclables since the end of last year and have so far raised several hundred dollars doing so! We were gratefully donated recycling bins by the town council in October last year and placed these in the staff rooms where staff members could support us. We have also been very blessed to collect recyclables at some big community events, with our next being at one of the tents at the Katherine Show. Of course, humans will be humans and not always deposit 10c recyclables into our bins, and so, once we have collected a large enough hoard, it comes down to our brave and willing SRC students, as well as their lead teacher, to don some gloves and masks and sort out the non-recyclables from the recyclables, before we can hand it over to our amazing grounds-keeping team, Ms Jodie and Mr Adrian, to take it down to the recycling center and exchange it into money for our fundraising account. As you can see in the photo above, it is quite a popular activity!
Community Events & News
Headspace Free Webinar & Workshop
Big River Region Health Promotion School Nurse
Katherine Mygolf camp & Teemates
