Dear Parents and Carers,

A warm welcome back to Term 2 to all our students and families. We hope you all enjoyed a well deserved break with family and friends, and are ready for another exciting term. The staff are enthusiastically looking forward to the wonderful array of learning opportunities that will take place at St Joseph's this term.

Clarity Professional Development

Last Monday and Tuesday Maria Wilson, Deb McDouall and myself attending a two day conference at St Xavier's Gunnedah. The two days consisted of working with Lyn Sharrat and breaking down the " Assessment Waterfall chart". We then completed an Action Plan for our school. This was then presented to the staff at our Professional Development day last Thursday. The focus of the day was breaking down Learning Intentions and Success Criteria and successfully embedding these into all classrooms.

Anzac Day

A big thank you to all the children who came to Our Anzac Day March. It was great to see so many families take time out of their holidays to pay respects have fought and those that are still fighting to make our country a safe place to live in.

Change to eating and playing time

This week be started our revised eating and playing time. This means that the children will play first and eat second for both recess and lunch. The feedback from the teachers and students has been positive. This will continue to be trialled over the coming weeks.

Mothers Day

Today we celebrated all the special women in our lives. We started the morning with a mass followed by a special morning tea in the hall. We hope all significant women in a school community have an extra special day on Sunday.

Uniform change over

It is great to see so many children wearing the correct school and sports uniform. There will be a 2 week change from Summer to Winter uniform. This means that Monday the 13th May all children are expected to be in full Winter uniform.

The wearing of a school uniform promotes a sense of belonging for students and creates a positive identity for the school community. School uniforms also contribute to the personal safety of students by allowing easier recognition of students inside the school and the community. It is a requirement at St Joseph’s Primary Barraba that students wear the correct school uniform when travelling to and from school, during school hours and when engaged in school activities outside of normal school hours.

Some specifics of our policy include;

Hair that is longer than shoulder length must be tied back at all times with royal blue, navy or natural coloured hair ties, ribbons or scrunches.
Hair colouring of any kind is not permitted without explicit permission from the Principal.
Hair is to be kept neat, tidy and clean at all times. Extravagant or trend hairstyles including mullets, shaved shapes or parts are not permitted.
Nail polish and false nails are not permitted.
Jewellery is not permitted with the exception of a watch, medical bracelet, a necklace with a small cross or crucifix and plain studs or sleeper earrings - maximum of two per ear.
In the event of needing to wear an alternate uniform, parents and carers must provide a note explaining the circumstances to the school.
Students are to wear black shoes that are in good condition.
St Joseph’s Primary school uniform should be clean, ironed and must be worn with pride at all times. This includes:
Shirts tucked in , at formal events and when arriving at school or leaving the school premises.
Buttons done up at all times
Ties worn high on the neck and tied correctly
If you need to purchase any pieces of the school uniform, the clothing pool is open Wednesday and Thursdays all day. The girls tunic can be purchased from Lowes in Tamworth.

Diocesan Cross Country

We are well and truly into preparations for the Diocesan Cross Country Carnival. You would have received a Compass post and an email requesting volunteers for the event. If you can spare any time on the 16th and 17th May this would be greatly appreciated.

Everyday counts

Education is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options. When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier as they are able to build on what was learned the day before. Just one day missed per fortnight equates to one whole year over a child's school life!

Arriving at school on time is also important. Classes start at 8:50 am so students should arrive at least ten minutes prior to this to ensure they have time to put their bags away and greet their friends. Arriving after the bell disrupts the flow of the class, and important daily reminders and learning opportunities are missed.

Schools, in partnerships with families, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students and for ensuring that non-attendance is addressed effectively. Thank you for prioritising your children’s attendance at school and please do not hesitate to contact us if your require support in this area

General Information