Dear Parents and Carers,

It is hard to believe we have reached the final newsletter for Term 1, 2026. This term has been a wonderful celebration of dedicated teaching and learning, with so much achieved across our school community. We still have a busy final week ahead before enjoying a well-earned holiday break.

It was a pleasure to welcome so many parents, grandparents and friends to our Catholic Schools Week celebrations on Wednesday. The day began with a beautiful Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation. I sincerely thank Mrs Salmon, Fr Paddy and Mr Pratt for their work in preparing the liturgy and music. Following Mass, families were invited into classrooms to share in the learning taking place at St Joey’s, showcasing our strong commitment across all curriculum areas. The morning concluded with a shared morning tea in the courtyard.

This week we celebrated Catholic Schools Week. At St Joseph’s, we are proud to be part of the Catholic Education Diocese of Wagga Wagga, educating the whole child -academically, spiritually, physically and emotionally. We strive to foster communities of Welcome, Faith, Service and Learning, with Christ at the centre. As staff, we are committed to providing a high-quality Catholic education and nurturing each child as a unique individual made in the image of God.

The weekend ahead marks the beginning of Holy Week. Our Parish Palm Sunday Mass on Saturday 28 March at 6pm will be hosted by our K–2 students. Each term, our school joins the parish to celebrate Saturday evening Mass at St Joseph’s Church, and all families are warmly invited to attend. Thank you to Fr Paddy and Mrs Salmon for the organisation and celebration of the mass.

On Holy Thursday, 2 April at 11:30am, students will present the Passion of Christ in the school courtyard as part of our Easter Paraliturgy. This meaningful reflection on Christ’s suffering is a special part of our faith tradition, and we welcome you to join us. The presentation will be followed by our final awards assembly for the term and the Easter raffle draw.

I would like to extend our sincere thanks to IGA Junee & Coles Wagga for generously donating Easter eggs for this year’s raffle, easing the cost for families. Thank you also to everyone who has supported the raffle by selling tickets.

Farewell to the Peade Family

We wish Bec, Adam, Sonny (Yr 2), Jaxson and Mia Peade all the very best for their move to QLD starting next term. We thank them for their years of supporting our school community. Many blessings.

SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee

Thank you to the parents who attended the Term 1 Social and Fundraising Committee meeting on Monday evening at the Junee Hotel. We are so appreciative of the continued support and dedication of our parent body to organise social and fundraising events for our school. Plenty was discussed and planned for upcoming events throughout the year. Below is a list of the parent contacts for each class who will keep families informed of upcoming events on Messenger. A special thank you to these parents for assisting with this role to help with class fundraisers and events.

There have been some changes to the organisation of some of the events to ease the workload of parents. For our Mother’s Day High Tea we are looking to source help to set up the event, provide some cooking and serve the mothers. This means the mums from our organising class can enjoy the event without having to set up and serve on the day.

Families of Year 1 & 2 will be sent detailed information outlining what needs to be done for this fundraiser.

The Deb Ball will be held on Saturday 9th May. I would like to thank Mrs Kylee Huard who has been organising this event and we are asking our Year 3 & 4 parents to assist with this fundraiser. There will be a meeting for Year 3 & 4 parents next Wednesday 1st April at 3.30pm in the school library to discuss this fundraiser. An information sheet has been sent home outlining what assistance is needed by the Year 3 & 4 families for the Ball.

Parent Contacts and Phone Numbers

Kinder - Hannah Baldry (0437390247)

Year 1 - Danielle Wood (0447198860)

Year 2 - Becci Brabin (0421081140) and Felicity Moloney ( 0412996871)

Year 3- Lisa Oliver (0438244484) and Felicity Moloney ( 0412996871)

Year 4 - Becci Brabin (0421081140) and Lowana Sweeney (0400136738)

Year 5 -

Year 6- Lisa Oliver (0438244484)

SOCIAL AND FUNDRAISING CALENDAR 2026

Term

Event

Date

Class responsible/

contact people

1

Easter Raffle

Drawn 2/4/26

School organises with donations from IGA Junee & Coles

2

Mother’s Day High Tea

Deb Ball

Trent Barrett/Mortimer Shield Canteen

Trivia Night for Parents/Adults

8th May

9th May

TBD

29th May ( TBC)

Year 1 & 2 parents

Year 3 & 4 parents with Mrs Kylee Huard coordinating the whole event.

Social event organised by Committee.

3

Father’s Day Breakfast

Colour Fun Run

Friday morning 4th Sept

Fri 25th Sept ( last day of school)

Year 6 parents

Kinder and Yr 5 parents

4

Crane Ball drop

Christmas Raffle

TBD

Drawn speech night.

Committee

School

Cyber Safety Centacare Program Stage 3

Next Tuesday 31st March, Our Centcare practitioners along with Snr Constable Kiera Wilson from Wagga Police will be conducting a workshop for Stage 3 students and their parents in the Year 5 room from 1.40 - 3.10pm.

The topics include:

Bullying and Peer Pressure - Cyber Bullying
Bystander vs Upstander - Protecting each other
How to respond to Cyber Bullying and Getting Help
Being Kind Online

I strongly encourage parents to come to this workshop. Cybersafety is always evolving and it is so important to know what your child is doing online.

Transition to Kinder Program 2026

Today was the final day for Kinder Transition Program Term 1 2026. I am sure the parents who have children enrolled in the program will agree it has been such a successful program to date and I’d like to thank Mrs Brady, Mrs Huard and Mrs Jones for all their care and nurturing of the children.

Mrs Brady has some correspondence further in the newsletter. I would like to welcome those parents to join us on Wednesday 22nd April ( Week 1 Term 2) from 9.30am -11.30am, for our school Open Day. This is an opportunity for you to come and listen to our Kindergarten teacher speak about getting ready for Kinder, school tour and enrolments will be open for 2027. You can tour the school and see lessons in each of the classrooms.

If you know of any other families who have a child starting Kinder next year, they are welcome to attend.

Winter School Uniform

Students will return in their full winter school uniform in Term 2, Week 2 starting the 28th April 2026.

Student Private Music Lessons

I have been contacted by Tegan Wineman who owns and operates Riverina Music Cootamundra. She is interested in starting private individual music lessons at the school for our students. The lessons would be in class time and strategically organised so the students don’t miss the same part of a lesson each week.

There is a flyer in the newsletter to contact Tegan if you are interested in enrolling your child. If she gets enough students she will start lessons in our school hall next term.

Below is a little message from Tegan to introduce herself and her business. She teaches in other schools around this district including Sacred Heart Cootamundra.

My name is Tegan Wineman, and I run Riverina Music in Cootamundra. As a local, I’m passionate about music education in regional towns and the positive role it can play in a young person’s life. I believe learning music goes beyond technique as it builds confidence, creativity and a genuine sense of enjoyment. I’m committed to creating a supportive environment where students can develop their skills while discovering the lasting joy of making music for themselves. At Riverina Music we offer a student directed approach to learning music to ensure that they're learning what they love and in turn, learn to love music and all of the positive skills that it can teach. We love the opportunities that music brings and are excited with the possibility of bringing this to St. Joseph's.

To conclude, I’d like to wish all staff and families a very happy and Holy Easter with your loved ones. Have a safe holiday. Staff will return Monday 20th April for a professional development day and all students K-6 will return onTuesday 21st April.

God Bless

Angela Scott

Stage 3 Community Hospital Visit

Our Stage 3 students visited the residents of Junee Hospital during the week. They read to the residents and entertained them with a number of songs.

Thank you for having us Junee Hospital, see you again soon!

Awards

PBL