12 December 2023 (Term 4 Week 10)
Principal's News
Dear St Joseph’s Community
We have reached the end of a very big year! We look forward to celebrating the year that was with the community at our final Mass, Prize Giving ceremony and Year 6 graduation on Thursday. On behalf of our school leadership team, I would like to thank our community for their support of our new team this year. We are incredibly grateful, and we are looking forward to another amazing year in 2024.
Today we had our Swimming Carnival. These days are always so busy but also full of fun and laughter. We thank all of our parents who were able to attend and support us and who volunteered to help out. This really makes a tremendous difference for us. Some photos of the day are below.
As we approach Christmas Eve, we warmly invite all school families to attend the Family Mass at 6:00 pm in the school hall. We have a number of children singing before Mass, and it should be a terrific night. Fr Max often has some small gifts for children who attend this Mass to celebrate the birth of Christ. We hope to see you there.
CONGRATULATIONS NEW ALTAR SERVERS!
Congratulations to our newest altar servers! Maddie Egan served at Mass for the first time this past Sunday and Ethan Cox will serve for the first time this coming Sunday. This is a wonderful ministry of service in our local parish and we acknowledge the gift these students have made of their talents to support others.
YEAR 6 DINNER
Our Year 6 Dinner on Friday night was an excellent night. Our parent committee did a great job in organising an event that their children truly enjoyed. It was a wonderful celebration for our Year 6 students and their families.
ACADEMIC REPORTS
Our academic reports were published on Friday via Compass. Please note that we do not have a formal Parent-Student-Teacher Conference period for this reporting period. However, if you would like to discuss your child’s report with their teacher, please email them directly to arrange a short meeting or to touch base over the phone.
Reports have changed based on the system expectations and the requirements of the new curriculum. We elected to compose narrative comments for English Mathematics and Other KLAs with a focus on both student achievement and growth and some guidance regarding future student goals. The other option would have been to do the same, but with shortened dot-point comments. If you have any feedback on the structure of reports, we would welcome this to help us to continue to improve our approaches to reporting to families.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
As we conclude our school year, this Sunday’s Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Advent (Mark 1:1-8) offers a reflective pause on beginnings and preparations. In this passage, John the Baptist readies the way for Jesus, calling people to repentance and baptising them as a sign of new beginnings. This message of readiness and transformation is particularly poignant as we bid farewell to our Year 6 students. Just as John prepared the way for Jesus, our school year has been a journey of preparation for these young learners. They are now poised at the threshold of a new and exciting chapter in their lives. As we celebrate their transition, let’s cherish the lessons learnt and the growth they have experienced. Their journey through primary school, like the baptism of John, symbolises a period of nurturing and development, equipping them with knowledge, values, and resilience for the challenges ahead. To our Year 6 students, as you embark on this new adventure, remember the foundations laid here. Embrace the future with the same enthusiasm, curiosity, and kindness that you’ve shown in your time with us. We wish you all the very best as you step into this new phase of your educational journey, filled with new learnings, friendships, and opportunities. You are invited to listen to Bishop Greg’s Homily from Sunday’s Mass.
PARENT HANDBOOK
Our Parent Handbook for 2024 has been revised. You can view and download the document via the link below. The Parent Handbook will also be on the school website.
SLIGHT CHANGE TO THE STRUCTURE OF OUR DAY
As we move into 2024, we have a slight change to our school schedule. This will only really impact the timing of lunch and recess, with the start and end times of the day remaining the same. Our current morning session is very long, with our first break at 11:50 am for lunch. This season has made it difficult to accommodate the needs of the new Maths and English curriculum released this year for K-2, and with the new curriculum launched in 2024 for Years 3-6, the time to make a change is now. We have consulted widely among other schools in our region and with the Catholic Schools Office, and our revised schedule aligns well with those of other schools, with the research and with the advice from the CSO. The new timeline of our day is outlined below. We will implement this new structure and review this at the end of Term 1 to determine if any changes might be necessary.
2024 TIMETABLE
- 8:30 am Supervision begins
- 8:57 am Bell to move to lines
- 9:00 am Morning organisation and fruit break
- 9:05 am Morning Block - English
- 10:55 am Lunch - Play Time
- 11:15 am Lunchtime - Mealtime
- 11:30 am Middle Block - Maths and Religion
- 1:20 pm Recess - Mealtime
- 1:30 pm Recess - Play Time
- 1:50 pm Afternoon Block - Other KLAs
- 3:13 pm Pack up and prepare for home
- 3:17 pm Final Bell and Dismissal
UNIFORM EXPECTATIONS 2024
As parents and carers prepare for a return to school in 2024, a reminder about the school’s expectations in relation to uniform, jewellery, hair and grooming. This is particularly important as parents purchase school shoes and organise return-to-school haircuts. Please ensure these align with school expectations. Details can be found in the Parent Handbook.
Note particularly the expectations in relation to schools as shown in the image below.
2024 DATES
The key dates for 2024 have been scheduled, and we have compiled an overview of these for families. The PDF of these dates is available below, please add the dates to your calendar or the fridge. We will endeavour to honour these dates as best we can, but sometimes circumstances require some dates to be revised. We will try to give as much notice as possible when this occurs.
Please note that our governing body, the Catholic Schools Office, determines the number of Professional Learning Pupil-Free Days each year. For 2024, we have 5 Professional Learning Days to support the implementation of the new NSW curriculum. We also have our Staff Spirituality Day and the System Proclaim Mission Day. These are outlined below for families to support in the arrangement of care for their children. We understand that managing Pupil Free Days is a challenge (it is a juggle in my family as well), and we appreciate your understanding of their important role in supporting our teachers with professional learning to ensure your children can receive the best education we can provide.
I have passed these dates on to Rainbow Region Kids in the hopes that they can offer vacation care on these dates. As an independent company, unfortunately, we don’t have any influence over the dates that Rainbow Region offers each year.
- Monday, 4 March Professional Learning Day - Pupil Free
- Thursday, 28 March Professional Learning Day - Pupil Free
- Wednesday, 29 May Staff Proclaim Mission Day - Pupil Free
- Friday 7 June Professional Learning Day - Pupil Free
- Monday 19 August Professional Learning Day - Pupil Free
- Friday 27 September Staff Spirituality Day - Pupil Free
- Monday 14 October Professional Learning Day - Pupil Free
MAI ASSESSMENT TIMES
For Years 1-6 2024, the Mathematics Assessment Interview dates are scheduled for Wednesday, 31 January, to Friday, 2nd February. The MAI is an important tool used to evaluate a child's mathematical understanding. It provides valuable information to your child's teachers about their strengths and areas for growth, which is used to guide instruction and support. We will share your child’s results when we meet for Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences in Week 6, Term 1.
The Conference booking for MAI assessments will be live in Compass later in the week for parents to select times for their child’s interview. Parents will be advised via Compass when bookings are open. You can access the portal to book your child's interview via the Compass App. An example image of the button to select is shown below.
SCHOOL FEE SCHEDULE FOR 2024
The schedule for 2024 school fee payments can be downloaded from the link below.
Learning & Teaching News
HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH LITERACY AND NUMERACY AT HOME
This booklet has been created for parents, carers and families of children in the early years of school. It is full of activities to support the important learning that happens at home. The activities are designed for you to have fun with your child and to help them have a great start at school. For those parents who have children starting in 2024, this could be a great resource to engage with before starting school in February. You can download the booklet on the link below.
EMU GRADUATES 2023
Congratulations to all of our EMU (Extending Mathematical Understanding) graduates in 2023. They have worked so hard to improve their mathematical skills, focusing on counting, place value, addition and subtraction and multiplication and division. They understand the importance of discussing strategies and proving their solution and a love for lifelong learning in Mathematics. We can celebrate the growth all of these students have made in their learning. Well done, Braith, Amalia, Noah, Maggie, Charlotte, Beaudie, Layla, Lachlan, Jordynn, William, Eve, Olivia and Ella.
CLASS REQUIREMENTS LIST - 2024
Library News
ALL LIBRARY BOOKS ARE NOW OVERDUE
All student library books are now due back to the library. Borrowing for 2023 has now finished, thank you to all of the families who have supported their students in their reading. Students can return their books by dropping them into the library.
Swimming Carnnival 2023
Our annual swimming carnival was held today and was a resounding success. We were blessed with beautiful weather for our event at Alstonville Pool. Our students displayed exemplary behaviour and sportsmanship.
Congratulations to Dara (494 points) who were our Swimming Carnival Champions. Cawley (478 points) came second and McCarthy (424) came third. Well done to all of our swimmers (competitive and non-competitive for their great efforts. Dara received the winners trophy at the pool today, our age champions will be awarded next year.
Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support and assist at the carnival and to our staff for their hard work. A huge congratulations and thank you to Miss Linsey MacDonald for her hard work and dedication, our school is extremely lucky to have her expertise!
The Zone Swimming event will published in Compass either late this year or early next year.
Canteen News
Wednesday 14th December is the last canteen order day for the year.
Canteen will be closed on Friday 15th of December.
Sudents will only be able to purchase iceblocks at lunch and afternoon tea.
Some canteen items may become unavailable as we near the end term. Thank you for your understanding.
Celebrations
Happy birthday to these students who have celebrated their birthday since the last newsletter and to those who will celebrate before we return in 2024!
- Marlon Atkin
- Charlotte Dyson
- William Brady
- Addison Clifford
- Sai McElligott
- Jecht Stone
- Harriet Smith
- Zaydie Zubani
- Lily McVey
- Hannah Young
- Daniel Collins
- Lillian Trollope
- Amala Chee
- Eve Davis
Coming Events
Use the link above to see all of the coming events for Joeys!
Parish News
Community News
