Dear Parents and Carers,

We are now moving towards the last week of a very busy term.  It has been another busy time during Week 10.

Last week we enjoyed the QUESTACON science visit – it was a great opportunity to think about science in a different manner – although I don’t believe that we’ll be able to repeat the hovercraft activity… it was amazing!

We also travelled to the preschool for the Taronga Zoo-mobile visit, seeing and touching some of Australia’s native animals and listening to interesting stories was terrific.

During this week we have had opportunity to speak with parents during the parent teacher conferences.  This has been valuable means of connecting with parents and sharing with them the successes and challenges of Term 1.  As we all know, mastering new skills is not always easy and it is good to be able to celebrate with Mums and Dads.

This week our Yr. 3 and Yr. 5 students completed an online practice test for NAPLAN, the purpose of which included familiarisation with the online environment and double checking to ensure that our network is ready and capable.

It was interesting to learn that the children are able to complete the requirements, however, being online meant that each time students logged in and out this was recorded – meaning that we have an accurate picture of how they worked through the test.

The network assessment also proved very successful.

NAPLAN is set down for May 14-16.

Festival of Small Halls – this is shaping up to be a terrific family night for the community and it is very exciting to hear that we have Axl and Jesse from THLHS as the opening act for the night.

Remember to go online and purchase your tickets if you have not already done so.  Thank you to those families who have already indicated where and how they can help with the preparations.

Camp - We are still working on embedding the camp take away message - less haste more thought. 

Thank you to those children who are really making an effort to focus on the task at hand and not get caught up wanting to rush on to the next activity.

Well done to those who are also taking time to reflect on how they are approaching the many events during our school days – those words such as “please” and “thank you” are really useful and make everything flow more smoothly.

It is noticeable that as we move towards the last week of this term, that some of the children are very tired – sometimes an early night can be the best medicine for us all.

School Cross Country - our school cross country will be held this morning at the Grenfell Country Club – you are most welcome to join us for this event.  We look forward to seeing you there!

This year, the Western Region Cross Country Carnival will be held in Murrumburrah on Friday May 3 (Friday of the first week of term 2).

School fees - Thank you to those families who have finalised accounts for this term, your support with this is greatly appreciated.

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.  Please be aware that we are required to keep the rolls up to date and that thorough explanations for absences enable us to do so. 

Professional Learning for Staff - Term two will commence on Tuesday April 30 for all children. The whole school staff professional learning day will take place on Monday April 29. 

This term staff have also been preparing for our Registration Review Process.  This review process takes place every five years and allows us to review processes and procedures to ensure that we are compliant with current regulations and practices.  The review team comprising staff from our head office and principals/assistant principals/RECs will be visiting us in May (20-22).  We are looking forward to working with the team during their visit.

Thursday April 25 – ANZAC Day – this year, Anzac Day falls during the school holiday period.  Those families who are able to join us for the annual ANZAC March are requested to meet at the Chinese restaurant at 10:30am.  The children should wear their winter uniform, if it is hot, we will not wear jumpers during the march.  I understand that the march will commence at 10:45am so that everyone can be in place at the cenotaph for the beginning of the service at 11:00am.  We have also been invited to participate in the Dawn Service.  For those interested, the service begins at 5:30am on Anzac Day.

This week we’ve had a number of books returned which is terrific to see.  In terms of overdue books, our best result for this week, was an item that had been on loan for 1374 days.Library – It’s time to start looking around at home to find and return any extra library books that might be hiding around your home.  Check in those out of the way places such as under the bed, behind the couch, on the kitchen bench, school library books often turn up in some very unusual places… 

Please be reminded that all children borrow from our school library, and ALL children should be using a library bag.

2/3/4 visit the Library on Monday

5/6 visit the Library on Tuesday

K/1 visit the Library on Wednesday

Our school calendar is updated every week and can be accessed through our school website at: www.stjosephsgrenfell.nsw.edu.au Please let us know if you are not receiving the Schoolzine updates once you have installed the SZapp.

Additional dates include the regular P & F meetings that are traditionally held on the third Tuesday of the month during term time.

21/05/19          18/06/19          16/07/19?

20/08/19          17/09/19          15/10/19?

19/11/19          17/12/19

Holy Week Services

Palm Sunday 14/04 - 9am

Good Friday – 19/04 - Passion/Veneration - 3.00pm

Easter Sunday – 21/04 - 9.00am

Sincerely,

Therese Clancy