Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent

We were very fortunate to have some parent helpers (Bec, Belinda and Susie) treat the students to pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday) is a way to prepare for the beginning of Lent and dates back to 1000 AD. I’m sure the students loved being involved in the tradition!

Yesterday the students participated in an Ash Wednesday Liturgy prepared by Mrs McFarlane. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. 

Lent  is  a  time  to  rediscover  the  meaning  of  life  and  prioritise  what  is  important  in how  we  live  our  lives.  We  try  to  simplify  our  lives, take  time  out  to reflect  and  pray,  and  listen  and  respond  to  those  in  need. 

Strategic Plan and Annual Improvement Plan

Our Strategic Plan for 2023-2025 and Annual Improvement Plan for 2023 have both now been finalised. These documents were presented to the School Board at this week’s meeting for final consideration before publishing to the school community. These documents can be read in full on our website:

https://stjosephsgrenfell.nsw.edu.au/documents

This year our teaching and learning goals continue to emphasise teaching quality and using student data to inform our practice. Specifically our three Annual Improvement goals to improve student outcomes in 2023 are:

Term 1 School Fees

Term 1 School Fees have now been raised by C.E. We apologise for the delay and appreciate your patience while we changed over to the new finance system. An email should have been sent to you this morning with your statement. Our preferred payment method is Bpay. These details are on your statement. Parents can set up a payment schedule through Bpay, if they would like to.

Parent Member on School Board

I am pleased to announce that Stephen Waples is the new parent member on the School Board. He was nominated unopposed and the Board has accepted his nomination. Congratulations Stephen and thank you for your service to our school community.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is THIS term in Week 7, starting on Wednesday 15th March for Year 3 and Year 5 students only. 

Cross Country Training

During whole school sport we have begun training for the upcoming Cross Country on Friday 3rd March at the Grenfell Country Club. This date is earlier than usual due to the new date for NAPLAN. The distances are:

Junior Category (8, 9, 10 years ) 2km

Intermediate  (11 years )  3km

Senior  (12 years)  3km

We hope to field a strong St Joseph’s team to represent at the Western Region level to be held here in Grenfell on Friday 28th April. We have many very capable runners who may like to train for this competition and I encourage parents to support a fitness routine if their child wants to build stamina and endurance. Please provide consent on Compass for this event if you have not already done so.

Weekly counsellor

We have a weekly counsellor onsite provided by Catholic Care - Danielle Hudson. Individual students can access the counsellor by referral from their class teacher and/or parents. The counsellor also plans to do small group work eg friendship, social skills etc as the need arises. What a fantastic service for our school, we are lucky to have Danielle back with us this year! Please contact your child’s teacher or myself if you would like your child to access this service.

Playgroup donations

As previously advertised, we have commenced a community playgroup at St Joseph’s for children aged 0-5 years and their parents. We are still looking for donations of good quality, second hand toys to suit children aged 0-5 years (e.g blocks/duplo, cars/trucks, train sets, dolls, imaginative play etc). Please drop into the office anything you might be able to donate.

Calendar

The school calendar is now available electronically both through the school website (calendar tab - https://sjpsgrenfell.schoolzineplus.com/calendar) and on Compass. This will enable the school community to keep up to date with planned events. 

Thank you

A very big thank you to Scott and Adam for removing the old planter boxes along the back staff room wall. They had definitely had their day and were becoming unsafe, so we appreciate their prompt removal!

Personal items at school (eg toys)

Many students have been bringing toys from home to play with at recess and lunch. I refer to the Parent Handbook, and would like to reiterate that the school is not responsible for any damage or loss to personal items.

"Children may bring along special items for their show & tell news time in class. They are not to bring along any items to swap or sell. Children are not to bring electronic game devices, mobile phones, trading cards, footballs or other sporting equipment. The school is not responsible for any damage to personal equipment."

Mufti Day

On a final note, a reminder that tomorrow is our last Friday of the month ‘Mufti’ day. Please ensure that your child is wearing appropriate casual clothing and footwear (enclosed shoes) and bring a gold coin donation towards Project Compassion.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind thoughts,