Dear Parents and Guardians,

We have had a wonderful start to the school year. This year we have begun with a focus on student wellbeing. All classes are dedicating the first two weeks to getting to know each other and setting up school routines and expectations. Students have settled and are working well, and I have been particularly impressed by how well our students have remembered and been following our school rules, both inside and outside the classroom. A great effort by our students.

We are beginning the year with a new School Improvement Plan. Our goals are:

Making explicit the catholicity of all that we do, so that the whole school community lives out the Catholic Traditions.

Elevating student voice, agency, and participation so that students are engaged and empowered in their learning.

Building leader and teacher capabilities as reflective practitioners, with feedback driving learning and growth.

We have already begun working on these goals with staff and will continue to update parents about our work during the year.

Our School Rules

Every member of our school community has a right to fully participate in a Catholic learning environment that is safe, supportive, and inclusive. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. We believe students learn best when they feel safe and happy in a caring, supportive and engaging environment. We foster positive, tolerant and respectful relationships.

At St Joseph the Worker we:

· follow directions

· listen to the speaker

· speak appropriately

· keep our hands and feet to ourselves

· take care of property and the environment and

· move safely

Communication

Effective and timely communication is very important. Our newsletter is online via our website and available for all members of our community to access. We also use our Audiri (formerly Skoolbag) app to keep parents informed regarding events and news related to our school. All school events are listed on the calendar. From next week, all notes that are sent home will be uploaded to the school app so if you misplace one, it can be easily located on the app.

Working together

Effective home-school partnerships rely on positive relationships being established. One way that this happens is through good communication between teachers and parents. The teacher’s role is to teach the children so they may not always be available to speak with parents. For minor concerns that do not relate to learning, parents can ‘catch’ a teacher after school. However, for important issues related to learning, it is necessary to set aside a time to meet. This will ensure that parents and teachers have the time to fully discuss the issue and work together on a solution to best support the student. I encourage parents to communicate with teachers via email or preferably to make an appointment to meet with the teacher so that concerns can be addressed appropriately.

Parents should note that if you are sending an email, teachers may not be able to respond immediately as they will be busy with their teaching responsibilities. Parents should expect an answer to their email within 24 hours’ time and only within business hours. Teachers will not respond to emails before 8.30 am and after 4.30 pm.

Save the date

We are looking forward to welcoming all our families onsite to a beginning of the year welcome event on Tuesday, 20th February. Further information will be shared next week however, we would love everyone to attend, so please save the date.

Prep Enrolment 2024

We will be conducting School Tours in the next few weeks. Dates are as follows:

Tuesday March 5th @ 9.00am

Tuesday March 12th @ 9.00am

Tuesday April 16th @ 9.00am

Tuesday April 23rd @ 9.00pm

Tuesday April 30th @ 5.00pm

If you need enrolment documents, please collect these documents from the office.

When submitting your enrolment applications, please provide copies of:

· Birth Certificate

· Baptism Certificate

· Immunisation certificate (can be provided later if not complete)

We ask St Joseph the Worker to continue to bless our wonderful Parish and School Community.

Regards

Maria Barnes

Dear Lord,

We ask you to guide and watch over us through our journey at St Joseph the Worker.

Let us Make Jesus Real by working together each and every day.

Help us to make our school a safe and happy environment for all teachers, parents and students.

Let us keep the ill and less fortunate in our hearts and hope that they find love, strength and protection.

St Joseph the Worker, Pray for Us.

Community News

St Monica's College

Keon Park Stars

Oxygen Youth Space