Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to St Joseph’s Primary School for Term Two. I hope you all had a restful break with your family and had time to recharge and enjoy your experiences together.

Firstly I would like to thank all the families who were present on Tuesday at our communities ANZAC Day service. It was fantastic to see so many families marching and paying their respects to our servicemen and servicewomen who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our current freedom. John’s Gospel states, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13. To see so many students wearing their relatives' medals during our service always fills me with pride. Our ANZAC rituals will stay with us while we have great people continuing to remember and honour those that have gone before us.

Attendance

This is a reminder to families that ensuring your child’s regular attendance in school is crucial. Even missing just one day every two weeks can result in four weeks' worth of missed learning per year. Over time, this can add up to a year's worth of learning lost. In addition, consistent attendance helps students progress with their studies, fosters a sense of belonging, promotes friendship development, increases engagement, and enhances awareness of career and life options.

Please see the following informative infographic from the NSW Education website to learn more.

Soft Drinks/Prime

This is a friendly reminder that energy and soft drinks should not be sent to school with students. There have been some cases of students coming to school with Prime or buying bottles of soft drinks and then drinking these at school. These will be removed from students and given back to them or their parents/carers at the completion of the school day.

Winter Uniforms and Onsite Uniform updates

This is a reminder that if you need to order new uniforms for winter, please do so within the next few weeks via bit.ly/3LsxCEL, for our official uniform change on Tuesday, 13 June. However, please note that Ties and Navy Pinafores are only pre-orders through Made for School at this time (please see below for further information). Please also keep in mind that hats and ties are only available for purchase onsite (via school).

If the weather becomes colder before the official uniform change date, students may wear their full winter uniform beforehand. However, we will keep families updated on when this changes.

Also, we would like to announce that our onsite Secondhand and Incidentals Uniform Shop is now available via Compass under Canteen > Uniforms. You can find second-hand, hats, ties, jumpers and other new items that are available for a limited time until sold out. The ordering process is similar to ordering canteen items each Wednesday by selecting Uniform instead of Canteen.

We will check orders once a week at 9 am every Wednesday and send them home with your child the same afternoon. If you have any uniforms you would like to donate, please send these to the school office with name tags removed etc.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Girls Navy Pinafores

Please note that there are delays with the Girls Navy Pinafore, with pre-orders being fulfilled from late July. We realise that this is after the official change to winter uniforms.

However, we have secured some stock that can be purchased through the onsite Secondhand and Incidentals Uniform Shop via Compass, which will be sent home with your child in late May. If you cannot find your child’s size in this uniform, or it is unavailable, please contact the office as soon as possible to organise this.

NSWCPS Swimming

Last term, Edward Carolan, Emma Dixon and James Gleeson participated in the NSW Catholic Primary School Swimming Championships at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. James placed 13th in Breaststroke, and Emma placed 14th in Butterfly. Edward placed 6th in Breaststroke, 8th in Freestyle and 10th in Butterfly.

These are fantastic sporting achievements, and Edward, Emma and James, we are very proud of your sportsmanship and collective commitment to achieving your sporting goals.

Polding Winter Trials

Yesterday, Jack Wilson and Jag Carroll travelled to Tamworth to join the Armidale Diocesan Rugby team under-12s and under-11s, respectively, for Polding. Again, congratulations on making it to Polding, and well done on your achievements!

P&F Meeting

This is a reminder that our next P&F meeting will be held at 6 pm on Monday, 1 May. All parents/carers are welcome to attend.

Cross Country

This coming week will be an exciting one! On Wednesday, we will be running our School Cross Country event. Students from Years 1-6 will compete in our annual cross country at Cook Oval from 9:00 am. Our Kindergarten students will complete a fun run and other fun activities at school.

This year there is an added element of competition. All students will compete for their school houses and aim to get as many points as possible for St Joseph’s or St Andrew’s house. Completing laps, placing in events, and of course, a cheer-off, will all be opportunities to gain house points for their respective team. It will be a great morning.

Just a couple of reminders:

All students are to wear their sports uniform and their sports shoes (no spikes/footy boots)
Students need to have morning tea packed in their bag as there is no canteen at recess
Bring your school hat, as you will wear it while waiting for your race and when we are back at school
Students can be dropped off at Cook Oval (Yrs 1-6) or school (Kinder) from 8.30 am

North West Science and Engineering Challenge

This is a reminder that Stage 3 students will travel to Narrabri to participate in the North West Science and Engineering Challenge next Tuesday, 2 May. The bus will depart at 9 am sharp, so please ensure they are at school before this time. Please see Compass for further information. Also, if you have not yet provided consent, please do so as soon as possible.

Mother’s Day Celebrations

Please note that we will be celebrating Mother’s Day on Friday, 12 May. The P & F will hold a Breakfast with Coffee, Tea & Muffins, starting at 8:00 am and a Stall, with gifts available for $5 and $10. This will then be followed by a Mass held at St Andrew’s Catholic Church in the afternoon, starting at 2 pm. All are welcome to attend.

If you can join us for the Breakfast, please complete the following RSVP via bit.ly/3NfgpzY, and if you are available to volunteer on the day to help with gift wrapping and have a valid WWCC, please complete the following form via bit.ly/3LBL6gr by selecting the date and start time.

We hope to see you there!

Ladies Night Out

This is a reminder that on Friday, 12 May, the P & F will be hosting a Ladies Night Out at the Wee Waa Bowling as a part of our Mother’s Day celebrations. Come and help celebrate with others from the community.

If you would like to attend, tickets can be purchased for $60 per person via bit.ly/3mXvE5m.

Catholic Schools Week

Please note that our Catholic Schools Week celebrations will be held on Tuesday, 22 May this year, and all families are welcome to attend. Please see Mrs Baird’s news in the Learning Gallery for further information.

Have a great weekend.

God Bless,

Alistair Stewart

Principal

St Joseph's Primary School

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Issue 5 · 29 Apr 2023

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