Dear St Joseph’s Families,

What a vibrant and busy week we are having! Our students continue to excel across the arts, sport, faith, and academic domains, demonstrating the wonderful spirit of our school community.

Attendance Matters

As parents, your daily support plays a critical role in setting your child up for a bright academic future. When you ensure your child arrives at school on time every day, you help them stay on track with their learning and strengthen their connection to friends and teachers.

By making attendance a priority at home, you instill strong habits that give your child the confidence to succeed both inside and outside the classroom.

Missing just two days a month can quietly add up to an entire lost year of education over their school career. Unexplained lateness or early departures accumulate quickly into lost teaching hours.

Parents are required to notify the school (typically via Compass or school office) within 7 days of an absence with a valid reason. Office staff are unable to backdate or amend any leave after the 7 day period.

Every Friday, letters are sent via email, to families regarding any unexplained student absences. Please do not ignore this notification. If a student's attendance drops below 89%, parents may be invited to an Attendance Improvement Plan meeting to discuss support strategies.

If you would like to see a visual graph of your child's attendance, please contact the office.

Moorambilla Choir Camps

A huge congratulations to our talented students who have headed off to participate in the Moorambilla Choir camps - Nina, Jackson and Gus. This is a fantastic opportunity to collaborate with inspiring musicians and showcase local talent. We wish all our participants the very best of luck as they rehearse and perform in the upcoming concerts. We know you will represent our school with pride.

Saint Carlo Acutis Exhibition

Recently, our students had the privilege of viewing the visiting Saint Carlo Acutis exhibition. It proved to be a deeply informative experience, offering our young people a wonderful space for prayer, devotion, and reflection.

Carlo Acutis (1991–2006) was a regular teenager who loved playing video games, playing football, and hanging out with friends. However, he also possessed a remarkable devotion to his faith and a brilliant gift for computer programming.

Known as the Church's first "Millennial Saint," Carlo used his technology skills to build a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles around the world. He famously called the Eucharist his "highway to heaven" and spent his spare time helping the homeless and teaching parish catechism before passing away from leukemia at just 15 years old.

Learning about his life showed our students how ordinary pastimes and modern tools can be used to live a life of holiness, kindness, and faith.

Photos from the exhibition are in Our Catholic Community page within this Newsletter.

Year 6 RE Test

Every year, Year 6 students across the Armidale Diocese and other NSW dioceses sit the annual Religion Exam, which assesses religious knowledge covered throughout multiple learning stages. We are exceptionally proud of our students' outstanding results this year and extend our sincere thanks to Mrs Schiller for her dedication in preparing them.

Congratulations!

High Distinction: Kallie, Maxwell, Rhani, Lucy, Ollie, Eliza, and Ella,

Distinction: Janali, Bon and Javeah

Credit: Dillon

Certificates will be presented on Monday 31st August at morning assembly (8:50am).

Ricky Walford & Jenny Wright Shields

Our athletes shone brightly at the recent Ricky Walford and Jenny Wright Shields! Every student who participated played extremely well, demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship on and off the field. Photos from the day are uploaded to Facebook.

Team Results & Highlights:

Joey's Jets – Jenny Wright Netball Senior (5/6 Division) Champions

Joey's Blue – Jenny Wright Netball Junior (3/4 Division) Champions

St Joseph's Walgett (5/6 Division) – Ricky Walford Shield Rugby League Champions

Joey's Jewels & Joey's Yellow – Played with incredible heart, skill, and teamwork all day long!

Year 3/4 Division Rugby League – Played with relentless determination and passion in a tough semi-final tie/draw, just missing out on advancing to the Grand Final due to the George Rose Shield first-try rule.

Individual Honours:

Millie – Grand Final Best & Fairest (Year 3/4 Division - Jenny Wright Shield)

Jess T - Grand Final Best & Fairest (Year 5/6 Division - Jenny Wright Shield)

Charli – Player of the Day (Year 3/4 Division - Jenny Wright Shield)

Grant – Player of the Day (Year 5/6 Division - Ricky Walford Shield)

Ollie – Grand Final Best & Fairest (Year 5/6 Division - Ricky Walford Shield)

Brain Olympia

Brain Olympia

Our school was proud to host the Western Region Brain Olympia competition on Tuesday 25th August! We were excited to welcome visiting teams from Moree, Wee Waa, and Narrabri for a day of engaging competition spanning general knowledge rounds, mathematics problem-solving, public speaking, and drama. Well done to all teams as they put their skills and creativity to the test across these diverse events.

Congratulations to St Joseph’s Walgett “Mind Keys” team for finishing in 1st place and St Philomena’s Moree “Philley’s Trolls” team who came second. “Mind Keys” proceed to the Brain Olympia Final at St Edwards Tamworth on 15th September. More information to follow.

Armidale Diocesan AEA Retreat

This week, we are also honoured to host the Armidale Diocesan Aboriginal Education Assistant (AEA) retreat. We have AEAs visiting us from across the entire diocese for a two-day meeting and spiritual retreat. We extend a very warm welcome to our visitors—both to our school and to Walgett—and hope they enjoy a productive and renewing time with us.

Annual School Survey

An annual satisfaction survey of parents, students and staff will be conducted on behalf of all Catholic schools in the Diocese this term. The surveys are designed to gather feedback from parents, staff and students about our school and will be used to inform school improvement. Responses are confidential, and individuals can not be identified.

The surveys will be launched via email on Monday, 24 August 2026 using the email addresses supplied to the school. If you do not receive an email with a link to the survey, please contact the school administration for assistance.

The survey will close on Wednesday, 2 September 2026.

MOBILEYES Optometry Healthcare Initiative

We are pleased to announce our participation in the MOBILEYES Eye Care Program to support our students' vision and well-being. Visiting optometrists will provide comprehensive, bulk-billed eye examinations at no cost for students with valid Medicare details (or $60 for those without). Following the check, parents will receive a detailed report and prescription if needed.

Please complete the online form ASAP if you would like your child's eyes tested: https://mobileyes.com.au/consentform/

IMPORTANT - Please select the Optometry (Eyes) only consent form from the online menu.

Eligible students—including all First Nations students and families meeting specific NSW Vision Care income/asset criteria—can access free spectacles through Vision Australia. Affordable frame and lens options ($129) are also available for non-eligible students who require glasses.

This visit will occur in Week 10 of this term, Monday 21st of September to Friday 25th of September. A Compass notification will be sent to families today with all the information required for consent. This opportunity is also open to ALL family members, not just St Joseph’s students. I highly encourage everyone to sign up to this great opportunity. If you have any questions, please contact school admin.

Important Dates

25th August - Brain Olympia
1st September - Book Week Dress-up Parade
4th September - St Joseph’s Rugby Union Gala Day
7th September - Father’s Day Breakfast
9th September - Open Classrooms
10th September - Netball Regionals
15th September - Brain Olympia Finals
21st-25th September - Mobileyes - Mobile Optometrist visit
25th September - Last day for Term 3
12th & 13th October - Staff PD Days
14th October - First day for students Term 4
14th -16th October - RFD Dental Van visit

Thank you to our dedicated staff, families, and community members who help make all of these rich opportunities possible for our students.

Blessings for the week ahead,

Donna

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