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Dear parents and carers,
Thank you for the warm welcome which has been shown to me by staff, students and parents. Over the last two weeks Ms Clancy has been generous in providing me with plenty of support as I transition to St Joseph’s.
While I am only here for Term 2, I look forward to meeting you.
School Advisory Committee - The School Advisory Committee will be meeting tonight. The Committee has a governance role and assists in advising the principal about the strategic direction of the school. Generally, the Committee does not deal with management matters
The committee members are: -
Mr Rob McLelland (Chair)
Mrs Rebecca Knight
Mrs Sally Metcalfe
Mrs Amanda Protheroe
Ms Danielle Schneider (Staff member)
I look forward to the hearing the wisdom of the Committee.
K – 2 Excursion to Canberra - The excursion to Canberra proved to be a great experience for the K -2 classes. The visit included visits to the National Portrait Gallery, the Canberra Arboretum, National Zoo and Aquarium, and St Christopher’s Cathedral as “drive passes” around Parliament House, and the Lodge (the Prime Minister’s residence).
While a long day the students enjoyed the day.
Thank you to Ms Schneider for organising the day, Mrs King for accompanying the students and Ms Clancy who generously offered to drive the bus. Thanks also go to St Mary’s School, for the use of their bus.
Overall a wonderful learning experience for the students.
NAPLAN - Next Tuesday to Thursday there will be NAPLAN assessment tasks for Year 3 and 5. The school has a very good record in the NAPLAN assessments. Students are encouraged to do their best without getting over worried about the assessments. If you have any questions about NAPLAN please do not hesitate to contact me.
Compass – last week, information was sent home relating to accessing the parent portal.
You should now be able to download the App and/or access the program via your various devices.
One feature that should be helpful is the option to report student absences via the app. If your child/ren is absent from school, please remember to let us know the reasons for the absences so that this can be recorded accurately.
The school fee component of Compass has not been turned on. I will advise when the school fee component is live.
Mother’s Day –
Our P & F have been busy preparing for Mother’s Day on Sunday May 9. On Friday there will be a stall with gifts available for purchase.
Afternoon Tea served for the mothers from 3:00pm.
Athletics Carnival - The Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday May 14. This year we are looking at holding our carnival in a slightly different format to help the day flow more smoothly. The running and long jump events will be held at Henry Lawson High School. High Jump Discuss and Shot Putt will be held at St Joseph’s during Wednesday Sport sessions over the next couple of weeks. The Carnival is expected to start at approximately 9:50am at the High School.
Grooming - At this time of year there may be issues with hair lice in children could I ask you to be alert to this matter.
Contact with teachers -I encourage you to keep in contact with class teachers if you feel there are issues about your child’s learning. Your support is appreciated.
Peter Hamill
Acting Principal
Another Mother’s Day has rolled around and I have been thinking about my mother and what an amazing woman she was, both as a mother, and an inspiring person in her own right. Not only did she choose to stay home to raise her children, she also loved returning to the career she loved…teaching.
She went on to do many things in her career, such as teaching Czechoslovakian refugees English as a second language (and welcoming those students into our home on many occasions), writing a Science textbook for a community college (because they needed one), and helping many adults to earn their high school certificates so they could go on to gain further education or more meaningful employment. She was a truly inspiring person.
As I grew up, my relationship with my mother turned into a special friendship. We could talk about anything and she would always offer sage advice or encourage me to see things from a different perspective. Mother’s Day became an important day for us to be together if we could. Now, I think about her often and try to draw inspiration from all of the things that she did.
This Sunday when your ‘littlies’ offer you your Mother’s Day gifts, treasure them, even if you have to have a bit of cold or burnt toast or admire a drawing you can’t identify. These are special moments to be together and your ‘littlies’ won’t be that way for long.
I include a special prayer here for all mums. Never underestimate how important your work as a mother is, or what an important impact you make on your children’s lives.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sacramental News for St Joseph’s Parish
Here are the meeting times for the final three Confirmation sacramental program meetings:
Tuesday 11th May -6 pm
Tuesday 18th May- 6 pm
Tuesday 25th May- 6 pm
All meetings will take place in the library of St Joseph’s School. The homework for this week is to begin to think about a saint’s name and to choose a sponsor. Confirmation will be celebrated at the parish mass at 9 am on the 30th of May.
