Dear Parents and Carers,

What a tantalising taste of rain we had yesterday. It looked, felt and smelt like we were in for a downpour. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. In these dry times, we are all praying for rain.

If you need some extra support or need some assistance finding avenues of support, please come in and see me. As a school, we want to help all of our families, especially through these dry times.

STAGE 3 CANBERRA EXCURSION

Last week I had the privilege of attending our Stage 3 camp to Canberra. A massive thank you to our staff who attended, Miss Robertson, Mrs. Baird, and Miss Theobald. They orchestrated a wonderful camp that had our students engaged and immersed in learning. Also a huge thank you to our parent leaders Anna Haire, Amelia Carolan, Adam Davies, Kelly Thorne, and Terri Brodigan. Your support and guidance helped make this camp a success. Please see the photos in the Learning Gallery section of this newsletter detailing the fun all of our students had.

CANTEEN AND VOLUNTEERING

Our canteen is a wonderful addition to our school. They provide a service that most families utilise each week. We are very fortunate to have a small group of volunteers who give up their time each week. Unfortunately, to continue offering the canteen we need to get some more volunteers in. Even if you can only volunteer for a shorter time on a Wednesday, then that would be great. However, if this situation does not improve the weeks that the canteen operates next term will have to be reduced.

Please give Kathleen Coutts-Smith a call or the school office to get more information. New volunteers are positively encouraged to join!

NAPLAN RESULTS

Today, the Year 3 and Year 5 families will receive their child’s NAPLAN results. As a school, I am very impressed with the overall data that has come from NAPLAN. However NAPLAN is a test that is held over a week in May, it is a snapshot of achievement on a particular day and in a particular subject. Individuals can have good days and can have challenging days when completing these types of high stakes assessments.

If you have any questions or queries about your child’s results please make time to see your child’s teacher. They have up to date information regarding educational growth and will be able to let you know how your child has been progressing this year.

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

A reminder that next Friday 27 September is the final day for Term 3. Students will finish school at the normal time of 3 PM. Term 4 starts back on the 14 October.

2020 INTENTIONS

With this ongoing drought, a number of families are feeling the strain. Unfortunately, some of you might be considering relocating for family reasons, or to follow up on employment opportunities. If you are intending to relocate can you please let me know so we can plan effectively for classroom programs for 2020 and beyond. It is also important to work with these families so we can assist students in understanding the change process, as well as helping them to plan for their children’s education.

I am praying for rain, we have a wonderful school community at St Joseph’s Wee Waa, and I do not want to see any families leave. However, we will support all families through this if needed. Every day we are one day closer to this drought breaking. Bring on a downpour!

Yours sincerely,

Alistair Stewart

Principal

St Joseph's Primary School

Issue 4 · 18 Sep 2019

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