Dear Lord,

We ask you to bless St Joseph's School Community.

We pray that you guide us to be just and to see,

listen, speak and act like St Joseph.

May we be inspired by our Founders to be the best
that we can be.

May we always keep Jesus at the centre of all we do.

St Emilie          Pray for us

St Marcellin      Pray for us

St Joseph         Pray for us 

And may we always remember to pray for one another.

AMEN

Dear Members of St Joseph's Community

As we draw closer to the end of the school year and the busyness of December becomes a reality for us all, we must also remember that we have entered the liturgical season of Advent.  Advent starts four Sundays before Christmas and is a time of preparation for, and celebration of, the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. Advent emphasises hope and joy, and reminds us what we need to add to our lives - grace, light, joy.

Thank you to those who attended our Awards Presentation on Wednesday night. Despite the warm weather it was lovely to come together to celebrate the students' successes this year.  A big thank you and congratulations is extended to Kitt Byfield and his bands for their performances throughout the evening.  A full list of Award winners and 2023 Student Leaders can be found here https://sjsnortham.schoolzineplus.com/_file/media/1023/2022_presentation_night_awards.pdf

We had a good response to our Christmas present drive.  If you have not donated but would like to, please send a gift (unwrapped) into our Administration Office at either campus. 

The building works on the Primary Campus is due to be handed over to us next Friday 9 December and will be cleaned and ready to go for the start of next year.  It was very exciting when all the fences came down in time for Step Up Day and the lucky students in Mr Ewing's 2023 class got to spend some time in what will be their new classroom.  The last of the clean up and fixing up is happening in the next week so there will be a troop of tradies around the campus as they head for their deadline.

Weekly Gospel Reflection

Please view the Gospel reflection for this week.

This week's clip has a focus on "Christ the King"

Marist Student Leaders

Across 27 and 28 November, our 2022 Years 11 and 12 Student Leaders embarked on the Marist Student Leaders gathering which was held at Ern Halliday Recreation Camp. Student leaders from Northam, Newman College, Bunbury Catholic College, Cardijn College and Sacred Heart College Adelaide attended.

The three-day gathering focused on the skills needed to be an effective Student Leader in the modern world and challenged participants to adopt characteristics of the Marist Way.

Our seven participants represented the School with great confidence and developed aspects of their personal leadership styles. The connections and friendships that emerged between students from each school were immediate and it is obvious that many will be long lasting. The opportunity to be able to gather as multiple-school leadership groups was absolutely invaluable.

We give our wholehearted thanks to the Marist Youth Ministry team and the extra support staff who made it all possible, including Mr Reidy and Mrs Marasco.

We, as members of the St Joseph’s Student Leadership team, look forward to engaging with our peers throughout 2023 and allowing our skills to help enhance the charism and community spirit of our great School.

Stephanie Irvin
2023 Student Leader

Year 11 MaJEC Service Days 

The Year 11's completed their MaJEC service days in Perth and Northam on Friday 18 November.

Students contributed to Good Samaritan Industries, St Vincent de Paul Society, St Joseph's Primary and Share & Care.  The students demonstrated a great amount of action and initiative and are to be commended for their excellent service to these vital institutions.  All participants came back to school with a heightened sense of how good it feels to serve in order to make our communities better off.

Lloyd Reidy
Religious Education Teacher

Parish Sacramental Program

The Parish Sacramental Program Coordinator, Mrs Kathy Pollard, wishes to advise families that the Parish is considering holding the Commitment Ceremony for each Sacrament prior to or at the first parent/student workshop.  If you have any queries regarding the Sacramental Program, please contact Kathy on 0429 685 632.

Dear Families & Friends, 

As we draw closer towards to the end of the year, we are flooded with events to acknowledge our student’s efforts throughout this year, celebrate Christmas and prepare for 2023. 

Across the past two weeks, we have held our 2023 Early Years Parent Information Sessions and our annual Step-Up Day.  On Step-Up Day, students had the opportunity to meet their teacher for next year and spend the morning in their new classrooms.  We also welcomed many students who will be joining us in 2023.  We hope they enjoy their time at our school as much as they enjoyed Step-Up Day.

On Friday, 25 November, our Year 6 Student Leaders led their final whole school Assembly.  Students and staff dressed in clothes to represent their family’s heritage and we had a wonderful Highland Dance Performance by Alexie and Grace.  Thank you to our Student Leaders for organising such a fun day.

Today, we held our Year 6 Final Assembly and FunDay.  Our entire Year 6 cohort have led our school with energy, enthusiasm and kindness.  I will miss seeing their beautiful faces on our Primary Campus, but wish them all the best for the adventures that high school will bring.

This afternoon our Year 6s held their annual FunD Day stalls on the Primary Campus and much fun was had by all our Primary Students.  Congratulations Year 6s for all your hard work and fundraising efforts.

Please take note of the events still to come before the end of term:

• Monday, 5 December: Kindy Final Assembly, 10am in the Undercover Area
• Tuesday, 6 December: Primary End of Year Water Fun Day
• Wednesday, 7 December: Pre-Primary Final Assembly, 10am in the Undercover Area
• Wednesday, 7 December: Year 6 End of Year Excursion to Outback Splash
• Thursday, 8 December: Pre-Kindy Christmas Assembly, 10am in the Undercover Area
• Friday, 9 December: Thanksgiving Mass, 9:15am in the Church
• Friday, 9 December: Whole School Christmas Assembly, 12:00pm in the Undercover Area.  Students will be provided with a sausage sizzle lunch and are welcome to come in Christmas themed free dress.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Blessed and happy Christmas season - I hope it is filled with love, laughter and special memories.

Michelle Christian
Head of Primary

Head of Secondary

After another very busy two weeks, we are well and truly looking forward to the holidays. We had some wonderful results from our Years 9 and 10 students who took part in the Australian Mathematics Competition.  Well done to our Year 9s who gained Credit and Proficiency Awards: Leah Morrell, Jesica Tony, Swaka Yengkopiong, Sebastian Rutter, Tyson Clarke, Patricia Moyo, Josna Jojo, Fredrick de Beer, Gemma Post and Susu Phung.

Congratulations to the following Year 10 students who received a Credit or Proficiency Award: Zackary Bowles, Grace Treloar, Chelsea Harries, Tegan Ward, Braeden Lane, Hugh Rocas, Lily Parker, Maggie Halford and Madison Dymnicki.

Thank you to our wonderful staff who presented hands-on, fun lessons to our Year 6s for the ‘A Day in the Life of a Year 7’.  Students took part in a PE lesson which incorporated getting wet on a 37 degree day and participated in an orienteering activity around the school where they answered questions about features of the Secondary Campus.  Students also got to cook, create art, experienced Science experiments in the “Lab” and were incredibly competitive in a Maths quiz.

Our Year 10s have finished up for the year and must be feeling very relaxed now that their examinations are finished and the Year 9s are well on the way to completing their examinations for the year. 

It has been a wonderful first year at St Joseph’s School, Northam and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe, and relaxing Christmas and New Year. See you in 2023! 

God bless 

Sharon Cusack
Head of Secondary

Secondary Sporting News

Hills Netball Cup

Friday in Week 6 saw a group of Years 9 and 10 girls head down to Eastern Hills SHS to compete in the Hills Netball Cup.  Although it could have been mistaken for a mid-winter day, the students enjoyed the competition and displayed their skill and talent. We had a team in the Gold and Bronze division competing against schools such as Governor Stirling, Aveley, Northam Senior, Hampton and Ellenbrook. Our Gold division team bought home the championship trophy coming back from a 4 point margin at half time to win in the grand final by 1 point. The Bronze division girls played for 4^th position and took home the win.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the competition and thank you to Mrs Nicki Parker for helping to coach and umpire our teams.

Years 9 & 10 Outdoor Education

Over Term 4, Outdoor Education classes have been participating in water safety, rescues and snorkelling.  Students from Years 9 and 10 have enjoyed spending time at the pool learning new skills. Students in Year 10 participated in rescues and water safety procedures, while student in Year 9 learnt the basic skills of snorkelling, safety when snorkelling and other water awareness skills.  Year 10 students also enjoyed some free time at the end of their final lesson in Week 6 and the Year 9’s look forward to running their own snorkelling practical activities in Weeks 8 and 9.

Adrienne Suckling
Head of Learning Area - Health & Physical Education

School Calendar

As we have transitioned over to our new website, you will be able to access our school calender via the website or the Schoolzine app. Please ensure that you keep refering to this calendar as events planned at the start of the term may have been moved or cancelled and new events added.

2023 Booklists & Early Years Handbooks

All the 2023 Booklists including the ViSN Booklists for Years 11 & 12, plus the Early Years Handbooks can now be found on our website.  For those secondary parents, with students in the middle year groups, needing to know if your child will be in Course A or B for certain subjects, this information will be sent out early next week.

Website Link: Booklists

Opening Times:                         Mondays -   3.15pm to 4.45pm       
                                                   Thursdays - 2.45pm to 4.15pm    

Please be reminded that in Term 4 and 1, students are required to wear their summer uniform.

Please also keep in mind when ordering, that your items will go home on Tuesday and Friday of each week, as Monday and Thursday are the days the Shop is open.  When placing an order via the Online Shop, it will appear on a report the following day.  For example; if you place your order on Monday, the report issues on Tuesday which means it will not be organised until Thursday, and will go home on Friday.

New Families and School Holidays Opening Hours

The Uniform Shop will be open during Week 10 on Tuesday 13 December for new families only - bookings are required.  Please call 9621 3500 to book an appointment.

The Uniform Shop will also be open in the new year on Wednesday 25 January 2023 by appointment from 9am-12pm for current or existing families and from 1pm-4pm for new 2023 families.

Michelle James 
Primary - 9621 3524

The Primary Canteen has worked hard to provide the children with some amazing healthy and yummy food this year and we hope that they all enjoyed the recent Chistmas Treats that the Canteen provided.  The Canteen will continue to operate for the remainder of the term with the following changes - 

On Tuesday 6 December the Canteen will be closing the regular menu for Water Funday.  There will be a special of a sausage roll, and a juice for $5 combo (or Spinach and Ricotta sausage roll and juice) instead which will be available to order online. The P&F will also be supplying the children with a free icy pole.

On Friday 9 December Canteen orders will be closed on the last day of school as a free sausage sizzle and juice box (GF sausages and bread available for those who need it) will be provided.  Parents are asked to advise the Canteen of any dietary requirements before Friday as it will be appreciated so your child can participate.

You are encouraged to order online at all other times.  If we experience connectivity issues with the online ordering, please revert to using lunch bags to place orders for that day. 

Recess or snack items ordered online are available for students to collect from the Canteen at their Recess break.  Milo pops and icypoles can be collected from the Canteen following the second lunch bell.

Canteen Support - Volunteers Required

Due to high demand on our quality food and service we need helpers to ensure that our kids get their lunches on time.   In order to function to our highest potential, we ideally need 2 or more  volunteers a day.  Volunteering is a great way to teach your kids about giving, modelling them for the future.  Also, every shift you do at our School helps you towards qualifying for a Parent Participation discount on your annual fees.  

We would love to welcome you into our fun, and busy environment and see the smiles on your children’s faces when they see you in their school.  If you are able help, please sign up online at the new sign up link https://signup.com/go/esPvGqK

Our Primary Canteen Helper Roster for the last week of Term 4 is below.  Volunteers are always needed so please consider offering an hour or two one morning.

Primary - Week 9 

I extend a big THANK YOU to all of the wonderful Canteen helpers this year and wish all of our famlies a wonderful Christmas.  I look forward to working with more of you in the coming year.

If you have any queries, you are always welcome to contact the Canteen on the number below.

Angela
Canteen - 9621 3525 

Parish Christmas Mass Times

St Joseph’s Catholic Parish of Northam will be celebrating Advent and Christmas at Parish Centres in Northam, Toodyay, Jennacubbine, Wundowie and Cunderdin.  Please visit the Parish website:  www.northamchurch.com for all Mass and Reconciliation times and venues.

Fathers George and Konrad extend their best wishes to the School community for the coming Christmas season and trust everyone will have a safe and happy holidays. 

Parish Priest - Fr George James

Assistant Priest - Fr Konrad Gagatek

Regular Mass Times ~ Saturday Vigil @ 5.30pm

                                ~ Sunday Mass @ 8.00am

Children's Liturgy

Children’s Liturgy sessions are held during the 8.00am Sunday Mass.

Presbytery Phone: 08 9622 5411
Email: northamcatholicchurch@iinet.net.au
Website:  www.northamchurch.com

Class/Library Book Covering

Ever wanted to help from the comfort of your home?

We have boxes of books processed and ready to be covered, all supplies (tape and plastic) provided. Pick-up is from our primary campus.

Welcome to anyone new, grandparents and friends can cover on your behalf.

All support and help is appreciated.

Please don't forget to complete your parent participation form.

Email Kylie Dymnicki, Education and Library Assistant: 8605svc_library@cewa.edu.au

Canteen Assistance

A reminder about Canteen assistance - if parents have an hour to spare after dropping children to school, or between 11.30am and 12.50pm, Angela would appreciate any help you can offer.  The number of lunch orders received each day is the highest it's ever been, which means more food to get ready.  You can also have these volunteer hours marked off on your Parent Participation Card, which deducts $100.00 from your School Fees account.  Your kids will also love seeing their parents at School!

See our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1764507137145087/?ref=share for more updates.

Lauren Holten
President

Summer Reading Quest

Astrotourism WA ~ Spectacular Night Skies

Christmas Stargazing!

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s a hectic and crazy time. So why not take a breath throughout the month and head outside and look up at the night sky.

Throughout December, the planets are celebrating Christmas by putting on a ‘Parade of Planets’!  From our perspective here on Earth, as the planets continue their never-ending path around the Sun, their orbits can sometimes bring the planets together to form incredible conjunctions.

Stargazing is awe-inspiring and yet peaceful and calming at the same time. It’s bound to refresh your spirits, relax your mind and get you ready to tackle the Christmas preparations with renewed vigour.

This month, stargazers will be treated to a special display from the Geminids Meteor Shower.  On a dark night, away from artificial light pollution, you might see up to 120 meteors (or “shooting stars”) an hour!

The Geminids meteor shower is generated from asteroid 3200 Phaethon and is one of the most active and best meteor showers to see.

When and where to look: The best time to watch is after midnight on either 13 or 14 December. Look to the northeast and north about 45 degrees above the horizon.

When and where to look: For something interesting, the Summer Solstice occurs on 22 December, being the longest day of the year when the Sun is at its most southerly position. https://astrotourismwa.com.au/summer-solstice/

When to look: Around 8pm, 24 December

On 24 December, Venus and Mercury will be joined by a thin slither of the Moon, low in the western sky, while Saturn is higher up in the sky.  Jupiter is high overhead and Mars will be rising in the northeast.

When and where to look: 29 December talk about a ‘Planet Party’, how about this!  Venus and Mercury close together and Jupiter joined by the Moon! https://astrotourismwa.com.au/december-planets/

Find more stargazing tips and country events at www.astrotourismwa.com.au. 

If you’re a budding “astro-enthusiast”, check out…

Stargazers Club WA’s telescope classes & astronomy events for beginners at: www.stargazersclubwa.com.au.

Have a wonderful Christmas from the team at Astrotourism WA.  We will have more stargazing tips and helpful hints coming up next year!  Have a very sparkly Christmas!