2025 School Dates

Please note the following 2025 dates in your calendars. Please note some of these dates are different to NSW public schools and other schools in the Armidale Diocese. These dates and other important dates for the coming year have been added to the Upcoming Events page in this newsletter.

Term 1

Thursday 30th January - Staff Development Day

Friday 31st January - Staff Development Day

Monday 3rd February - Staff Development Day

Tuesday 4th February - Years 1-6 commence

Tuesday 4th - Thursday 6th February - Kindergarten Best Start Assessments

Friday 7th February - Kindergarten commence

Friday 11th April - Term 1 concludes

Term 2

Monday 28th April - Term 2 commences

TBC Monday 26th May or Friday 30th May - Staff Development Day

Friday 4th July - Term 2 concludes

Term 3

Monday 21st July - Staff Development Day

Tuesday 22nd July - Staff Development Day

Wednesday 23rd July - Students return

Friday 26th September - Term 3 concludes

Term 4

Monday 13th October - Staff Development Day

Tuesday 14th October - Students return

Wednesday 17th December - Last day for students

Thursday 18th December - Staff Development Day

School Uniform

School Summer Uniform: Girls are to wear their summer dress and boys should be in grey shorts and blue short sleeve shirt. All students will need to wear short navy socks and black school shoes. Please ensure that your child has their hat clearly marked with their name.

Thank you for your support in maintaining our high standards in regards to uniform.

Jewellery and Piercings

Jewellery in not permitted to be worn at school except for simple sleepers, studs, medical bracelets or watches. Nail polish or make up is not acceptable at school and should not be worn. Piercings (other than ears) are not permitted at school. If your child comes to school with the incorrect items they will be asked to remove them.

School Disco

The school disco will be held next Thursday 24th October. Please walk your child to the Denison Street Hall entrance at 5:30pm. Staff will be supervising this event. We are looking forward to a great evening!

Crazy Sock Day

We are celebrating Socktober this Friday, 25th October by wearing our crazy socks to school! Please bring a donation on the day to put towards much needed funds for disadvantaged children.

Transition - Kindergarten 2025

We have 2 more sessions to go:

Tuesday 22nd October - 9am - 2:30pm

Tuesday 29th October - 9am - 2:30pm

Our transition parents are invited to attend the Transition Graduation Assembly which will be held during the last transition session on Tuesday 29th October at 2pm in the School Hall. Parents of our current Kindergarten students are also welcome to attend the assembly as these students will also be singing a song for us all.

School Advisory Council - AGM

Our next School Advisory Council meeting will be held on Wednesday 6th November at 5:00pm. This is our Annual General Meeting. The School Advisory Council provides the opportunity for members of the school community to be appointed to the council. Please contact the school office for a Nomination Membership form. Nominations must be received two weeks prior to the AGM.

P&F Meeting

Our last P&F Meeting for the year will be held at 5:30pm on Tuesday 28th November at the Joe Maguires Pub. All parents and friends are invited to attend and celebrate the wonderful events that this organisation has undertaken this year to support our school community.

Compass

If your child has an appointment and will be arriving at school late please do not enter this on Compass. Children will need to be signed in at school on the kiosk located in the school reception area. Only enter absent notes if your child will be absent for the whole day or longer.

Meeting With Teachers

Mornings and afternoons are very busy times for teachers as they are preparing for the day ahead and planning with their co-teachers, which unfortunately means that they are often unable to make time for a meeting without notice. For that reason, if you need to discuss anything with your child's teacher, please contact the school office to schedule an appointment. This will ensure you have the full attention of the teachers and the time necessary. Alternatively, an email can be sent to sjtadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au and will be forwarded onto the class teacher.

Afternoon Pick-Up

If you pick your child up from school in the afternoons via the back gate, please do so in a timely manner to allow for efficient use of the parking areas in Crown St during this busy time. A reminder that school finishes at 2:50pm with Esteem Kids after school care available for those children unable to be collected at 2:50pm. Please contact William Wong, info@esteemkidsgroup.com.au or 0410 841 628 for further information.

Supervision of Students

A reminder that school commences at 8:45am and concludes at 2:50pm

Please note that supervision of students commences at 8:15am and families are kindly asked not to drop off children before this time.

Attendance

Change in Routine

Can you please advise the school office before 2:30pm if there is any change in your child's afternoon routine.

2024 Canberra Excursion

Our Stage 3 students and staff will be travelling to Canberra for their excursion on Monday 11th November to Friday 15th November 2024.

Parents should have received a Compass Event notification which will include excursion details, consent and payment options.

If your child has any dietary requirements that the school is unaware of could you please advise.

A huge thank you to our wonderful P&F Association for their generous donation towards the Stage 3 Excursion, which has resulted in a $50 discount to all families. Also, the school has been able to subsidise families by contributing a monetary amount per child to assist in reducing the cost of the excursion.

Please contact the office if you have any questions or are experiencing any difficulties.

2024 School Fees

Term 3 fees were due by 26th September. Please contact Jodie via email jwesthorpe@arm.catholic.edu.au or by phoning 6765 4079 if you have any questions regarding your fees. Payments can be made via BPay - details are available on your statement, Eftpos or cash to the school.

Any family/carer requiring assistance with school fees is encouraged to make an appointment and come and meet with us as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued support of St Joseph's.

2024 Pupil Free Days

Please note the following Pupil Free Day in your diary:

Friday 20th December

Student Support

Miss Phoebe George