Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

In Mrs Scott’s absence, I feel privileged to be in the role of Acting Principal and leading our beautiful Joey’s community over the next two weeks. I thank Mrs Penny Kerr and Mrs Kellie Salmon, along with all our committed teachers, teacher assistants and administration staff for their support of me in this role. During this time at Joey’s, it will be business as usual and I encourage anyone to contact or come in to see me with any questions or just a hello.

Although it is only a few weeks until the end of term, the calendar is very full. Along with our commitment to learning, which is a focus for both our teachers and students at all times, we have the Athletics Carnival, Cross Country, St Patrick’s Day Mass, Parish School Mass and Easter Liturgies that our teachers and students are preparing for. Please join us for as many of these events as possible over the coming weeks.

NAPLAN

After a rocky start for Year 5 students, with a nationwide technology glitch, NAPLAN testing is well underway for the students in Year 3 and Year 5.

At St Joseph’s, we are focusing on the value of commitment and trying our best every step of the way. This mindset promotes striving for excellence without creating anxious moments, which is optimum.

NAPLAN measures foundational skills in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar, punctuation), and numeracy. It is conducted online and results help track student progress and inform school improvement.

SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee

The Social and Fundraising Committee is a branch of our School Advisory Council, focused on community building and fundraising initiatives. There has been a change in the date for our first meeting for 2026. It will now be held on 23rd March at 5.30pm at the Junee Hotel.

All new and existing families are warmly invited to attend. Children are welcome to come along, play and enjoy a meal if you wish. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet other parents and share ideas about social events and fundraising for our school. We will also be seeking parent volunteers to act as Class Contacts to assist with communication around class events and fundraisers. These will be scheduled at the meeting and shared with families.

Harmony Week

Harmony Week, from the 16-20 March, is a week in which Australians celebrate diversity, inclusiveness and respect for the many different cultures that make up our community—at SJJU, it will be no different!

Next week we have  a busy week planned with students and staff:

• Monday - reading books with a multi-cultural focus
• Tuesday - creating a Harmony Day Graffiti Wall
• Wednesday - learning a Wiradjuri Cultural Dance
• Thursday - singing a Harmony Day Chant

• Friday - wearing a pop of orange (the official Harmony Week colour), watching students perform a cultural dance and Harmony Week Liturgy.

   

Please join us for the liturgy at 2:15 pm, just before our Friday assembly at 2:30 pm.

Burgess Care Fund

We continue to pray for the Burgess Family and send them our love and best wishes.

To assist the family during Peter’s recovery, Fr Paddy will be leading a Care Fund. If you wish to donate, we will have a donation box in the school office or alternatively, please use the St Joseph’s Church Bank details listed below to deposit your donation.

Please use the reference The Burgess Family when transferring.

Junee Catholic Church

BSB: 066-789

Account No: 206 110 746

Professional Development for Maths

Last Thursday, some of our very dedicated teachers travelled to Canberra to participate in some professional development about effective pedagogical practises when teaching Maths. As a result, teachers are explicitly including strategies to allow students to navigate the information processing procedure, interleaved learning and creating dynamic and responsive learning environments.

God Bless

Catherine Munn

Year 2 Creative Art: Ladybug Habitats! 

Our playground became a treasure trove this week as students searched for natural materials to create the ultimate ladybug habitat artwork. 

Along with crayons, our mini-artists had a blast turning twigs, grass, bark, berries and leaves into creative masterpieces.