Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the school holidays, I want to take a moment to reflect on the blessings and achievements of Term 1. This term has been filled with growth, learning, and a deep sense of community, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your continued support and involvement.

I would also like to extend my deepest appreciation to our outstanding staff. The teachers and support staff have worked tirelessly to provide quality Catholic Education and pastoral care for our students. We are blessed to have such a committed and passionate group of educators, and I am truly grateful for their hard work and care.

Next Sunday marks Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week. Holy week concludes with the joyous celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Easter is considered the most important event in the Christian Calendar and the foundation of Christian Faith. We have included our local St Joseph’s Parish mass times for Holy Week in the newsletter.

We hope you can join us tomorrow for our Easter Paraliturgy starting at 11.30am in the courtyard. All students K-6 will re enact the events of Holy Week and Jesus’ Resurrection with reverence and meaning. The dress rehearsal today went really well and they are excited to share this holy story with you all. Following the Paraliturgy, we will have the Easter Raffles and announce the winners of the Egg Decorating Competition. Children are welcome to go home with their families afterwards otherwise supervision will be provided for those who will remain until hometime.

Grandparents/Great Grandparents

We are so fortunate to have such a supportive community of grandparents and great grandparents who are such a presence in our school community. We offer our sincere condolences to the Lindbeck, Macaulay and Sweeney families who have lost grandparents this term. We continue to keep these families in our thoughts and prayers.

Farewell Lucy McDonald: Centacare Wellbeing Practitioner

Tomorrow we farewell a much cherished and loved professional who has been part of our staff for two years - Lucy Mc Donald. We are so very grateful for the way Lucy has supported our whole school community during her time here and we have all benefited from her gifts that she has shared with us. Lucy’s professionalism, expertise, care and commitment have been very evident during her time here at St Joey’s. In particular, she has built trusting relationships with our students and assisted them in many ways during counselling and her contributions to the wellbeing team have been invaluable. Lucy always joined events in our school whether it be dressing up and dancing as a Barbie for Book week or attending the school swimming carnival. She has been so invested in our school and for this we are so thankful.

Lucy has been awarded a scholarship by the Dept of Education to complete her Masters in Psychology and then work for the Dept. We wish her the very best for now and the future and we know wherever she goes her light will shine on others to give them the love, care and hope they need. God Bless you, Lucy!

Pupil Free Day Term 2

On Monday 28th April, it will be a pupil free day for all our students. Staff will return on the Monday for Professional Development and the school office will be open from 9.30am for any enquiries.

Winter Uniform

During Terms 2 and 3 the students will wear their winter school and sports uniform.

We have included a picture of the winter uniform requirements. The students can wear their summer uniform for the first two weeks of Term 2 from 29th April - 9th May.

Students will need to be in their winter uniform from Monday 12th May, 2025.

School Photos

School Photos will be held Thursday 1st May in Week 1 Term 2. Students will need to be dressed in their full SUMMER WHITE uniform with their tie. If your child does not have a tie, we will provide them with one for the photographs. Please ensure your child’s uniform is neat and clean.

ANZAC Day March

Yesterday the staff and students practised marching in preparation for ANZAC Day. On Friday 25th April, our staff and students are invited to participate in the Junee ANZAC day March. Students will need to wear their full summer school uniform including their tie and meet at Memorial Park at 10.15am. They will march at 10.30am. Parents can pick their child up from the cenotaph after the ceremony has concluded. If it is cold, children are asked to wear their school jumper.

Junee Youth Council

Yesterday, Zailee Pratt and Miranda Sim attended their first Junee Youth Council session with student representatives from the other 3 school in town and Mrs Emma Hedlund who is coordinating this new initiative. This forum will give our youth a voice in the Junee Shire which the community is really grateful for. The girls spoke to their peers before the meeting and created a list of concerns/requests that they discussed.

Bulb Fundraiser

Tomorrow is the last day for our biannual Bulb fundraiser. Anyone wishing to purchase bulbs can do so online via the following details.

Thank you To Felicity Harris who organised this fundraiser for our school.

Mother’s Day High Tea

Our annual Mother’s Day High Tea will be held on Friday 9th May starting at 1.15pm. This is such a special afternoon for our school community as it is our way of celebrating and thanking the amazing women in our school community.

This event has grown from very humble beginnings whereby our staff put the afternoon tea on for the women in our school community. Last year we estimated that there was around 150 women in attendance so this event has grown considerably. This will be the third year our Kinder mums have organised and run this event. After reviewing the event, we have made some minor changes to assist all involved and ensure we are covering the cost of the afternoon. There will be a raffle as there has been previously and any money from the raffle will go towards fundraising for our student resources.

There will be a $5.00 entry fee for all attending which includes tea, coffee, food and lucky door prize ticket. This will need to be purchased on QKR. Multiple tickets can be purchased and this will close on Friday 2nd May so the organisers know how many they are catering for.

Our students will be providing entertainment on the day as well which is always a highlight for all. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Kinder parents in advance for their organisation and efforts.

I wish you all a blessed Easter season filled with new life and hope. May the spirit of Easter enrich your family and remind us of our school's mission to educate and nurture our students in faith, hope, and love.

God Bless,

Angela Scott

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