Dear parents and carers,

Another week has flown past as we head into the busiest time of the year. There has been a flurry of activity in the last two weeks as we thought about how our school might be perceived by someone coming into the community for the first time. Suddenly, projects that have been on the ‘to do’ list for quite some time are actually getting done. The biggest project has been the new garden area near the old cricket nets. Mr Martens and his construction crew have been building box planters for vegetables and this week they have found their home. The soil from the old garden beds is being transported to the new ones and this has involved some creative thinking and team work in order to move the soil in the most productive and efficient manner. My sincere thanks to all who have been involved in this huge project. It just goes to show that there is definite truth in the old adage, ‘Many hands make light work.’

Tomorrow we will be welcoming Mrs Hotham to our St Joseph’s School community. She will be officially welcomed by Dr Tony Bracken, the Assistant Director of Catholic Education for the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese, at a morning tea for the staff. The rest of the school day Mrs Hotham will spend touring the school and its facilities, meeting the students and learning about the St Joseph’s School community from Mrs King and other staff members.

 Right after school finishes for the day, current families and new families who are planning to enrol their children for the 2022 school year, are welcome to come and meet Mrs Hotham at an afternoon tea. This will be an informal gathering and it will give Melissa a chance to meet some families prior to moving to Grenfell in the new year. We hope you will be able to join us even if you are only able to come for a short time. The afternoon tea is scheduled to take place from 3:30-5:30. Please enter via the front gate, check in using the QR code, and be aware that you will need to show proof of double vaccination. We are planning this as an outdoor event but please bring a mask in case inclement weather means that we need to shift indoors.

 Kinder transition day 3 went very well. The new Kinder students are starting to feel quite at home. As part of their program this week, they enjoyed the book, The Gruffalo, and participated in some tabloid sports.

Next Wednesday is our last Kinder transition day for this year. The Kinder students will stay until lunch time and all parents, both current and new, are welcome to come and have lunch with their children. Please bring lunch to share with your family. 

This year the Swimsafe program will be run in its original two week format. This means that all students will be swimming every day during weeks 9 and 10. These lessons will occur in the afternoons. Please provide a rash vest or an old t-shirt for your child to wear in order to comply with our sunsafe policy. The school will also ask all students to apply sunscreen, so if your child requires special sunscreen, please provide that as well. The students are to wear their school uniforms including regular school shoes. Thongs and sandals are only to be worn when travelling to and from the swimming pool.

Next week, Camilla Gibson and Emma Clifton will compete at the Archdiocesan Public Speaking Competition. We wish them all the best as they share their newly-created speeches with students and teachers from all parts of the Archdiocese.

Kind regards,

Acting Principal

Christmas Food Drive – Grenfell Food Hall

We have already received some wonderful donations of food for our Christmas Food Drive. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Each week there will be a new category for the donations. This week we have been collecting food that comes in a box and next week we are looking for donations of treat foods. Please scour your cupboards and send these items in if you can.

Below is a list of the items we will be collecting on a week-by-week basis, but we are open to receiving them at any time during the drive. For all items, please check that expiry dates extend into 2022. Thank you in advance!

Week 6: Food in plastic packets or bottles (pasta, rice, salad dressings, cooking oil etc.) and/or food in tins or jars (tuna, baked beans, soup, tinned tomatoes, pasta sauce etc.)

Week 7: Food that comes in a box (cereals, jelly, biscuits, cake mixes etc.)

Week 8: Treat food (chips, lollies, pavlova nest, long life custard, chocolate, crackers etc.)

 At the end of Week 8, all the items that we have collected will be delivered to the Grenfell Food Hall.

 Thanks for your support in this and all our school fundraising projects.

Sacramental Program News

Reconciliation and First Communion are both sacraments of initiation which form part of a child's spiritual journey. Sacraments sustain us and are visible signs through which the Christian Community celebrates God's loving presence or Grace. Congratulations to the children undertaking this journey.

Our final sacramental meeting will be held on Wednesday, the 24^th of November at St Joseph’s School.

 The confirmed Mass dates for these sacraments are as follows:

• Sunday 5^th of December (First Reconciliation)
• Sunday 12^th of December (First Holy Communion)

Danielle Schneider

Acting Religious Education Coordinator