Dear parents and carers,

As we continue the season of Lent, it is always encouraging to reflect on those things that we do, do well, and to take note of an area where changes can be made to develop related skills.

At Mass last Sunday, Fr James spoke about fasting and the fact that it can take many different forms including fasting from speaking in a negative way, or fasting from arguing, or fasting from being unhelpful at home.

I trust that the children will be able to refresh and renew themselves and their relationships at school over the next six-week period.

Clean Up Australia – last Friday, we spent some time cleaning up around our school and the surrounding streets. We also cleaned a couple of drains around our schoolyard. It was quite surprising just how much rubbish we collected in a very short time in our immediate area.

As we move towards the middle of the term, it is terrific to see the children working hard to learn new skills and to share their learning with others.

This week, I will be attending the Principal’s Conference and Retreat. It is always terrific to have an opportunity to spend time with peers and both share what we do here at St Joseph’s as well as learn about the work being done in other schools around the Archdiocese.

On Monday, we hosted Felicity de Fombelle from our Archdiocesan newspaper “The Voice”. Watch out for an article about St Joseph’s School in the April edition of the paper.

St Joseph’s Day – we will celebrate St Joseph’s Day on March 19; Joseph is the patron saint of our school. As part of the celebrations, we will be having our first publication celebration for this year. You are most welcome to join us at 12:45pm for some publication sharing and to stay on and enjoy lunch with the children.

The rain that we have had has brought out the weeds, especially catheads. We have been working to remove them without taking away from the grass that is now growing. Any practical suggestions/help with this will be appreciated.

Safe Internet Use – we are very aware of the ever-changing challenges that children face today. In order for parents to have a greater understanding of the challenges relating to this, we have arranged for Police youth liaison officer Karen Clark to run an information session for all members of our community.

I encourage you to put this date on your calendar.

PCYC Safer Internet Information Session

St Joseph’s Primary School, in conjunction with the PCYC in Young, will be hosting a free event for parents, carers, and children, on Thursday March 12, to discuss safe internet use.

Crime Prevention Command Police Officer Senior Constable Karen Clark will be running the free Safer Internet session starting at 5:30pm in the St Joseph’s Primary School library.

All parents and young children in the community are invited to encourage discussion between parents and young people about what they are experiencing and seeing online.

The information session will explore how to be safe online, given that the use of the internet and social media is such an integral part of everyday life. It aims to educate parents and their children about trending online issues that young people are facing on a daily basis.

When: March 12 at 5:30pm

Where: St Joseph’s Primary School Library

Who: Parents, carers and young children                                                                                         

Congratulations to Genevieve and Hamish who both competed in their respective age groups in the butterfly event at the Archdiocesan carnival at Narooma on Monday. Genevieve won her event and Hamish placed 6^th. Both swam new personal best times. Well done!

Library – thank you to everyone who is making suggestions for new books that can be added to our library, hopefully you will see these title appearing on the shelves in the coming weeks.

Please remember to bring your library bag (and books) on your Library day.

Book Fair – this year, our book fair will be held from March 9-13. Information about the book fair was sent home last week.

The Fair will be open from 8:45am-9:05am and 3:15 – 3:30pm each afternoon.

Winter Uniform Order – please find attached a uniform order sheet. If you require winter uniforms, please fill in the form and return it to school by Friday March 6.

Sincerely,

This reflection for Lent has been attributed to Pope Francis. It is one of my favourite Lenten reflections. There are plenty of challenges in it for all of us including children!

Fast from hurtful words… and say kind words.

Fast from sadness… and be filled with gratitude.

Fast from anger… and be filled with patience.

Fast from worries… and have trust in God.

Fast from bitterness…and fill your hearts with joy.

Fast from pressures… and be prayerful.

Fast from pessimism… and be filled with hope.

Fast from grudges… and be reconciled.

Fast from selfishness… and be compassionate to others.

Fast from words… and be silent so you can listen.

May God’s peace be with you as we continue our Lenten journey,

Many Blessings,

This year has started very well for our library users.

There are new books being added to our collection on a regular basis. Often, these books have been special requests of the children. We have also been adding to the collection based on recommendations of class teachers, visiting staff from CE and suggestions that come to us via organisations such as the Children’s Book Council of Australia.

The children are encouraged to continue to make suggestions for new additions.

This year, children will also be participating in the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

The purpose of the challenge is to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.

The 2020 Premier's Reading Challenge opened on Monday March 2. Anything you have read from August 31 2019 can be counted towards the 2020 PRC.