PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Welcome Back to Term 3!
A very warm welcome back to all of our wonderful students, staff, and families! I hope you all enjoyed a restful and refreshing break. It has been such a joy to see our classrooms filled with happy faces, laughter, and enthusiastic learners once again. We are looking forward to a fantastic term ahead filled with learning, connection, and fun where students are thriving!
Welcoming New Faces to Our Team
We are thrilled to welcome two new faces to our school community this term:
- Ellie Cook: Ellie joins our teaching team on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as working with us in a casual capacity on other days. She will be teaching PE across the whole school and will also be leading our exciting 2027 Kindergarten Transition Program.
- Chelsea Brazier: Chelsea joins us for the next four weeks as she completes her final teaching practicum with us.
Please join me in giving both Ellie and Chelsea a warm welcome
when you see them around the school!
Celebrating Excellence: Week 1 Joey Award
A massive congratulations to Eylah, who received our Joey Award for Week 1! Eylah has set an outstanding demonstrating our school values right from the very first day back.
Keep up the brilliant effort, Eylah!
2027 Kinder Teddy Bear’s Picnic 🧸
Do you have a little one starting school in 2027, or know a local family who does?
As part of our upcoming transition activities led by Ellie, we would love to invite future students and their families to our Teddy Bear’s Picnic!
It’s a wonderful, relaxed way for little ones to explore the school, make new friends, and meet our team.
- Bring: A favourite teddy bear
- Details: Please contact the school office to let us know you are coming or for more information.
World Friendship Day – Thursday 30 July
This Thursday 30 July, we are celebrating World Friendship Day alongside our Teddy Bear's Picnic! It is a wonderful reminder of the supportive culture we build together every day. Our special focus for the day centres on a message we love sharing with our students:
"People have a better day because I am here as part of the school team."
We encourage everyone to think about how their kind words and actions can make someone else’s day a little brighter.
100 Days Smarter & Friday Assembly! 🎈
This Friday, our Kindergarten students celebrate an exciting milestone—100 Days Smarter! To mark the occasion, the entire school is invited to dress up for the day.
We would love for you to join in the fun!
Why not pop by on Friday morning duirng drop off to check out everyone's creative costumes or help us count to 100! If you can't make it in the morning, we would love to see you at our school assembly on Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm.
NAPLAN Reports Sent Home
NAPLAN individual student envelopes have now been sent home. As always, NAPLAN provides a helpful snapshot of student progress at a single point in time. Our teaching staff look forward to using this data alongside our ongoing classroom assessments to continue supporting, challenging, and encouraging every child. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.
2027 Enrolments
As we start to plan for the 2027 school year we invite all families with students planning to commence school in 2027 to please complete the new online enrolment form.
Be sure to share if you know of anyone interested in joining our school community next year! Contact the school if you have any questions.
https://stjosephswarialda.catholic.edu.au/enrolment-information/
Transition to Kindergarten: Welcoming Our Newest Learners
Looking ahead to next term, we are incredibly excited to begin welcoming our future students and families through our Kindergarten Transition Program. Preparing for 'big school' is a major milestone, and we have a fantastic program lined up to ensure a smooth, confident start for our 2027 Kindergarten students.
Transition Sessions: We commence our transition visits on Thursday mornings. These sessions are a wonderful opportunity for the children to familiarise themselves with the classrooms, meet their future peers, and get a taste of school life.
Information Evenings: To support our families through this exciting journey, we will be hosting two dedicated Information Evenings:
- Wednesday, 5 August
- Monday, 24 August
These evenings are designed to provide valuable insights into our school curriculum, and routines. We welcome new and existing families to attend.
Communication
We have been working hard to transition to Compass for communication to families. This is happening across all Armidale Catholic Schools. It is a useful platform to keep in touch with a range of school sources including - event permission, Semester Reports, attendance notes and so much more!
We understand some families do not have access, however, this is our main form of communication. It is important to please provide timely permission for student excursions and events. Without parent / carer permission, students may miss out. If you require any assistance to access the Compass Parent Portal - please contact the office.
Please see attached the HELP link to assist -
Do you 'Like' and 'Follow' our Facebook page?
If not, jump on board. We share regular updates of life at school and details for upcoming events.
Thank you all for your ongoing support, energy, and partnership.
Let’s make it a wonderful Term 3!
Warm regards,
Jacqui Wait
Principal