St. Josephs Catholic College Katherine eNewsletter Term 3 - Week 4
Principle's Message
Dear parents, students, and staff,
Welcome back to what promises to be an exciting and productive term! As we embark on this new chapter, I am filled with pride and enthusiasm for the many positive initiatives and activities happening across our college.
Firstly, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new students and families who have joined us this term. We are thrilled to have you as part of our St Joseph's community and look forward to supporting you on your educational journey.
One of the highlights of our term so far has been the vibrant Green and Gold Day, held to celebrate the Paris Olympics. Our students and staff showed tremendous spirit and creativity, donning the national colours and participating in an Olympic-themed Assembly run by our House Captains. It was a great occasion that brought our community together in celebration of both sporting excellence and school pride. We were also privileged to have former Olympian Justin Anlezark address the students, inspiring them with his journey and achievements. Thank you to Miss Amanda our College Sports Coordinator for organising the day.
In addition to this, we are making great strides in our educational programs. Our focus on improving teaching practices and student outcomes through the 14 Parameters and data literacy initiatives is already showing positive results. Teachers are engaging in professional development to enhance their instructional strategies, ensuring that our students receive the highest quality education.
Our partnerships with local organisations continue to flourish, providing our students with unique learning opportunities and real-world experiences. These collaborations are essential in preparing our students for future success and fostering a sense of community involvement.
As a Catholic college, our values are at the core of everything we do. This term, we celebrated the Feast Day of St. Mary MacKillop with a special mass, reflecting on her life and legacy. Her example of faith, perseverance, and dedication to education continues to inspire us in our mission.
As we move forward, I am confident that we will continue to build on these successes. Our collective efforts, dedication, and the unwavering support of our community are what make St Joseph's Catholic College a truly special place.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment and involvement in our college. Let us embrace the opportunities this term brings and work together to create an enriching and inspiring environment for all.
Peace and best wishes,
Sunniva Antonucci
Principal
Primary News
Transition - 100 Days of school
Transition were super excited on Thursday the 1st August, as we had finally made 100 Days of School! To celebrate we brought our teddies to school and had a cupcake party. We also explored the number 100 with some craft and other fun activities. At the end of the day we all received a certificate of congratulations.
Golf Clinic
Thank you Sam and Brodie for hosting 10 of our Primary students at today’s Golf Clinic. Students participated in a Golf skills session before pairing off to compete in an Ambrose style competition at Katherine Golf Club. All the students who participated had a great morning and some were lucky enough to even win some prizes
Secondary News
Year 7- Maths
In Year 7 Ms.Fan's Math class, students have been Multibase Arithmetic Blocks to help them understand the conversion between improper fractions and mixed numbers. They all have been doing a great job in comprehending what can be a challenging concept.
Little Joeys News
It’s has been a busy few months for us at Little Joey’s ELC.
We all worked very hard on our Katherine Show entries and were very proud to win 3rd place for our horticultural entry with our bananas. Our art entires were not winners this year but we all had so much fun collecting our materials and constructing them as a community. We would like to thank all of our families for their contributions and feedback to our creations.
Our garden has been growing well and we have recently harvested tomatoes, bananas, herbs and are awaiting our eggplants to ripen. This week our sunflowers 
bloomed bringing a pop of colour and happiness to our garden. Our bananas have been great producers and we have made banana cake and used the skins to make the natural fertiliser, banana water for our garden. This is a wonderful way to teach our children about sustainable practices and how to reduce and reuse waste.
This week we have been exploring our senses with kinetic sand, discovering the science of making playdough, and practicing our patience and turn taking with our giant Jenga set.
Sports News
Athletics Australia School Visit
On 23rd July Sam Ajisafe from Athletics Australia coached a training session for selected Primary and secondary students. Students were given the opportunity to learn more about the correct running technique, Long Jump fundamentals and some useful training drills. We hope to facilitate more of these sessions in the future as some of these students will be heading to Darwin in September to compete at this year's NT Athletics championships. We definately have some future Athletes in the making!
Olympics Themed Assembly
Aussie Aussie Aussie
On Friday 2nd August Our students showed their Australian Olympic spirit by wearing Green and Gold to school, this also coincided with an Olympics themed assembly hosted by the House Captains. The College Hall was decorated with the Olympic Rings banner thanks to our Preschoolers in ELC, Green and Gold balloons were up and special guest speaker Justin Anlezark was inspiring to our students. Justin represented Australia at the Olympics 3 times for Shot Put, he is originally from Katherine and is now based here as the Director of Katherine High Schools Sports Academy. Justin spoke to students about his experiences at the Olympics but also about how he achieved at such a high level in sport, his training and nutrition program, the resilience needed to succeed and how far a positive attitude can get you in reaching your goals. Since returning to Katherine Justin now helps other athletes aspire to be the best they can be and is hopefully coaching the next Australian Athletics Champion for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Jsutin and the assembly was definitely the conversation around the College for the remainder of the day!!
Library News
School Events
Road Safety Visit
Driving with considerable lack of sleep is equivalent to driving drunk.
To be more exact, “Being awake for over 24 hours is equal to having a blood alcohol content of 0.10%.” This is just one road safety fact the NT ‘Towards Zero’ Road Safety presenters shared with our Middle School and Senior School learners yesterday. The event was divided into two sessions to cater to different age groups - one for Middle School (Year 7-9) and another for Senior School (Year 10-12).
Middle School Presentation (Year 7-9)
During the 60-minute session, students were enlightened on various aspects of road safety. The presentation covered crucial topics such as NT Road Safety Statistics, Pedestrian Safety, Passenger Safety, Distractions, Bus Safety, and Bicycle Safety. These discussions aimed to equip our younger students with essential knowledge and skills to navigate roads safely as pedestrians and future drivers.
A Year 7 student had this to say, “Wear your seatbelt. It's much more comfortable than wearing a caste or bandages. It takes 2 seconds to put on and might be the difference of surviving a crash or not.”
Senior School 'Choices' Workshop (Year 10-12)
The Senior School workshop targeted pre-learner, learner, and provisional drivers. It delved into deeper issues related to road safety, including Road Safety
Students were not only educated about the statistics and contributing factors to road accidents but were also equipped with practical strategies to make responsible choices, resist peer pressure, and ensure their safety and the safety of others while on the road.
Helpful tip: if you feel unsafe by someone’s driving and want to get out of the vehicle, tell the driver you are going to be sick. If they still don’t want to let you out, then say it’s going to come out of the other end. Once you are let out, call a parent or someone you trust to come collect you.
Overall, the road safety talk was not only informative but also a crucial step in promoting a culture of responsible and safe road usage among our students.
Tell Them From Me School Survey - Now Open!
Our annual school survey is now ready for your voice. Each year, schools across the country participate in school surveys to gather student, parent and teacher voice on what matters in our schools. The annual survey data assists our school and system leadership teams to make decisions around staffing, class sizes, funding, teacher professional development and support for schools.
Students in years 4-12 will participate in the online survey over the coming weeks. Teachers will also complete the survey. We also want to hear from families. Please click on the link http://tellthemfromme.com/
