Dear parents and carers,

Welcome to the 2021 school year, I trust that it will be both a happy and successful one for all of us! It has been fabulous to see the children looking bright and excited about the new school year.

Welcome to our 2021 Kinder students – Adam, Claudia, Poppy-Rose, Luke, Heidi, and Isabelle.  We are all looking forward to getting to know you and working with you during this year.

There are always many questions when starting in Kinder, please feel free to check with staff if necessary, to help answer these questions as they come up.

Welcome to the Smith family who have also joined us this year, I trust that you enjoy being with us at St Joseph’s. 

 As always, the beginning of the New Year brings changes and new opportunities.  We look forward to seeing all students at St Joseph’s take on these new opportunities.

We are all continuing to be mindful of the Covid requirements as these currently are.  I ask that those visiting our school continue to sign in at the front office in the same manner as last year.  We are also asked to continue to observe the 1.5m social distancing requirements as they are still in place.

Swimming Carnival – we are looking forward to being able to hold our swimming carnival tonight, weather permitting, commencing at 4.45 p.m. for a 5.00pm start at the Grenfell Aquatic Centre.  We will have a mix of championship races, 25m races and 15m races, as well as several novelty events.

Please be aware that we will be following a Covid Safe Plan for the carnival.  We will also be subject to the Grenfell Aquatic Centre’s Covid safe regulations.  These include:

• Register using the QR Code on entry to the pool
• Maintain social distancing
• Timekeeper watches to be sanitised on changeover of timekeepers

Please be aware that if we must postpone the carnival, we will complete the championship events as part of our Swim safe program next week.  If this occurs, you are welcome to join us at the pool for these races.

In the event of bad weather, we will be guided by pool staff when making the decision to postpone the carnival.  We will get this information to you as soon as possible if the decision is made to postpone the event.

Emergency Contacts/Medical Updates- At the start of every year there are many things that we need to update here at school. An update form has already been sent home, thank you to those who have already returned this form.  This is the general permission slip and the emergency contact information sheet. Please fill in this form and return it to school, so that we will be able to contact you easily if need be.

This also helps us to be aware of any allergies that your children may have. Please note that if your child is an asthma sufferer it is up to you to provide an asthma plan to us at school.

It is important to return this update sheet to school as soon as possible, as many children have allergies to different items, sometimes these are food-based allergies and sometimes children have other triggers that cause their allergic reactions.

Making this information available to school staff helps us to be aware of possible situations that may cause an allergic reaction.  If your child needs to have medication at school, please send a note to the front office explaining times and dosages.

Asthma Plans – if your child suffers with Asthma, please ensure that you send an updated Asthma Plan to school.  A copy of an asthma plan is attached and can be filled in in conjunction with your family doctor.

Our chooks had a farm holiday and have also returned to school in great spirits, thank you to the Gibson family for looking after them during the holidays.

Swimming – the second block of our Swim Safe program will run next week, (Feb 8-12).  Thank you to those families who have already returned the related information sheets for Swim Safe.  The school is covering the cost of the program and bus travel.  Those families who do not have a season pass cover the cost of pool entry.

Annual General Meeting – the AGM for the St Joseph’s Parents and Friends Association will be held on Tuesday February 16, 2021 in the School Library commencing at 7:00pm – all welcome

The committee has Tea towels and Library bags featuring self-portraits of the children, available for purchase here at school.

These can be purchased at school as follows:

Tea towels - $15.00 ea.

Library bags - $20.00 ea.

Canteen – information for our canteen has been forwarded to you by our Canteen Coordinator.  A copy of the menu for Term 1 is attached.

Remember to pre order both Recess and Lunch

Uniform orders – an order form is attached for those in need of additional uniforms.  Please return all orders to school by Friday February 12.

Dates for 2021 as provided by Catholic Education, please note that there may be some adjustments to the dates listed below, for the second half of the year.

 Take care and stay safe,

The new school year is underway, and the students are beginning to settle into their new classrooms and class groups. They are thoroughly enjoying the extra workspaces that are available to them.

As parents, you are the first and foremost educators of your children, so this prayer is for you as well as us. We work together with you, to provide the best learning environment for your children, in order to help them grow and thrive.

Please mark Wednesday, the 17^th of February on your calendar. This will be our Opening Mass for 2021. Kinder parents and families with children who are new to our school in 2021 are especially welcomed, along with the parents of the students who are receiving badges as part of the 2021 student school leadership team. This includes school captains, members of the Student Representative Council and sport house captains. If you are not able to attend, please try to encourage another family member to be there to pin your child’s badge on.

Please be aware that this is also Ash Wednesday so this important day will be recognised, although the distribution of the ashes may look slightly different to the way we have experienced this in the past (due to Covid restrictions).

We hope that you can join us for the Opening Mass!

Welcome back to the new school year.