Principal's Report
Dear parents and carers,
We have enjoyed the weather this week with the children making great use of all our playing spaces during break times – we’ve had everything from fairy gardens to skipping to basketball to football to playing on the fort.
The children have also been hard at work in class, check out our Facebook page to hear about some of their more recent focus areas.
Welcome to Beau who has joined us this week. We trust that you will enjoy your time working with us here at St Joseph’s.
Tomorrow we will welcome Sen Const Karen Clarke back. She spoke with us early in March about cyber safety and is now able to follow up that visit. It is a terrific opportunity for us to establish links with essential workers in our community.
Last Thursday we received advice that the remaining CG sporting events for 2020 have been cancelled following advice from NSW School Sports. This decision has been taken due to the current concerns around running these events in a manner that is safe for participants, officials and spectators.
With the continuing changes coming from NSW Health and NSW School Sports we are now reconsidering how domestic events might take place.
Staff professional Learning – please be aware that the staff professional learning that was postponed earlier this term, will be held on Monday July 20. We will be working with Fr. Richard Leonard and colleagues from Western Region schools. As such the first day of learning for children in Term 3 will be Tuesday July 21.
Parent Teacher interviews – thank you to everyone for your participation in the interviews this week. We are very aware that the first half of this year has been challenging, and staff have enjoyed the opportunity to speak with you and reflect on how the semester has unfolded.
Reports - We have received advice from Catholic Education that the format of our reports for Semester 1 will be different to previous reports. We will be assessing the areas of English, Mathematics and Religion. The other key learning areas will be assessed in Semester Two. Reports will be sent home during Week 10.
The update of our behaviour plan is a work in progress.
In terms of our behaviour management, we are focusing on how we line up and/or transition from one activity to the next. Transitions take place between lessons, from the classroom out to the yard, from one teacher to another. These times of change may require moving from a favoured activity to one that is not so high on our enjoyment list or vice versa. At these times, it is helpful to listen carefully for instructions and focus on tidying away and preparing (collecting equipment) for something else.
Being able to move from one task to the next with practised ease enables classroom units and playground games to function smoothly.
Please continue having conversations with your children around the things that they can be doing that show an understanding of smooth transitions. This might even be helpful when moving from one activity to another at home.
Changes to routine - Thank you to those families who are keeping us informed when children are absent from school, or there are changes to the regular routine. Be aware that we are required to keep the rolls up to date and that thorough explanation for absences enable us to do so.
School Committee – our school committee have been looking into different projects that would benefit our school. Please take the time to fill in the survey that has been distributed. The link is below:
Please fill out this survey to support our school if you have not already done so.
Kinder 2021 – many families are already beginning to plan for 2021.
If you know of a family who would like more information about St Joseph’s, please invite them to contact us at school.
Thank you to those families who have already returned enrolment forms in preparation for 2021.
Book Club – flyers were sent home this week, please finalise your orders by tomorrow (Friday, 19 June).
Take care and stay safe,
