Dear parents and carers,

A sunny day was just what was needed for the Henry Lawson Festival parade and we were blessed with exactly that! Thank you to the students, parents and staff who supported this important community event. Thank you to parents and carers for assistance with kitting the children out in costumes. We trust everyone enjoyed the spectacle of the parade.

Athletics Carnival 

The weather has certainly been against us this year for the Athletic's Carnival and after two postponements, we finally managed to run the events, albeit between the rain, the wind and the cold temperatures. The highlight was definitely the K/ 1 running races back here at school on Wednesday afternoon.

Well done to all the competitors who gave their best on the day! Thank you to the  stalwart parent supporters who braved the arctic conditions to support the events. And of course we also express our gratitude to the teachers, who applied great flexibility and helpfulness to ensure the events took place.

Finally, I would like to pay particular tribute to Mrs Cindy Washbrook, Sports Coordinator. Cindy has worked very hard to make this event happen for the children and encountered many obstacles along the way. Thanks you Cindy for your perseverance and dedication!

Henry Lawson Poetry Recital

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, the children performed really well at the recital and St Joseph’s experienced significant success. Congratulations to all the children on their participation and special congratulations to the children who received special awards:

Saskia 1st Place Open Division

Charlie Highly Commended Open Division

Emily Commended HL Divisions

Angelina Commended HL Divisions

Brydie 1st Place HL Division

Jack F 1st Place Yr 4 Open Division

Angus Commended Open Division

Trinity Commended Open Division

Claudia Commended OPen Division

Zayd Highly Commended Open Division

Sadie 1st Open Division

Willa 1st HL Division

Thomas 1st Open Division

Darcy Highly Commended Open Division

Archie Highly Commended Open Division

Henry Lawson Art Competition

The St Joseph’s students also excelled themselves in the Henry Lawson Art Competition. Special thanks to Mrs Green who helped many of the students successfully express their creativity.

Harry F Highly Commended

Willa 2nd Place

Maya Highly Commended

Coby Highly Commended

Jed Highly Commended

Jack F Highly Commended

Georgia Highly Commended

Charlie 3rd Place

Saskia Highly Commended

Public Speaking Competition

After the success of the students in the Henry Lawson Poetry Recital, the annual Public Speaking Competition will build upon this confidence as the children share their own ideas on the given topics.

The Yr 3-6 children are busy writing their speeches this week and will be presenting them to their class early next week. It would be very helpful if the children have a run through at home as extra practise. 

The in-school speech competition will take place next Thursday afternoon, 20th June at 2.00pm in the Library.

Finalists will be chosen from each year group and these children will present their speeches on Friday 21st June at assembly. The finalists will compete with the St Mary’s Young students on Tuesday  25th May at 9.30am at St Mary’s.

Wishing all the students’ success in this year’s public speaking competition which provides another opportunity for building confidence and experience in this important skill.

Jump into Joey’s – Create It!

Thank you to Mrs Washbrook and the year 5/6 class for hosting the preschoolers on Tuesday. The little ones had a great time interacting with the older students and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the story of the Green Sheep and the following craft work. 

School Community Council Meeting – Wednesday 19th June

The next School Community Council is scheduled for this coming Wednesday at 5.00pm in the library. All parents and carers are invited to attend this meeting. The focus of the meeting will be planning events for 2024 and fundraising priorities.

We hope to see you there!

In Conclusion…

It’s been a busy few weeks and we are looking forward to settling in for three weeks of focused learning in the classrooms over the last three weeks of the term. End of semester reports will be issued during the week beginning 24th June. Parents and carers will have the option of a Parent and Teacher Conference to further discuss their children's progress on Tuesday 2nd July.

Finally, thank you parents and carers for all the much appreciated support for the recent events at school and in the community. These learning experiences and the opportunity to feel connected to the community and so very important for the children and make for a dynamic school experience for everyone.

With best wishes,