Message from Liz

We have many achievements to celebrate in this edition of our news. So many people are working together to make sure that St Joseph’s school, children and community thrive.

This week we have seen the start of NAPLAN. I would like to congratulate all staff for the way they have supported the children and each other as classes prepared for the two weeks of assessments.

DRA & NAB Foundation visited St Joseph’s on Wednesday 6th March. It was wonderful to welcome them to our school and to share some of our journey with the volunteers. We were very grateful to Echuca Kiwanis for the loan of the snow cone machine. It was a hot day and we were thrilled to be able to offer everyone a snow cone.

Special mention to Darren and Jack Trewick for removing two semi trailer loads of green waste following this work. They have been fabulous and generous supporters of our community (and me) for some time.

PUPIL FREE DAY

Catholic Education Sandhurst have granted us an additional Pupil Free Day on Monday 6th May. The purpose of this is to complete the final clean out of the resources that are being stored in the container. All staff will be working on this day to make sure this is the last of the sorting. We are very grateful to CESL for this support.

Our community came together last weekend to work at the Elmore Charity Ball. We supplied 15 workers across 18 shifts! Thanks to the families that answered the call to help with breakfast. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

On Tuesday 12th March, Jess McMillan swam in the Division Swimming Championships at Swan Hill. This superstar came first in freestyle and third in backstroke.

Jess, we are so proud of you and look forward to watching you swim live on Friday 19th April.

REMINDERS:

18th March: 1:1 agreements for iPads are to be returned. Even if your child is not going to bring their iPad home, this agreement is still to be completed. Students of St Joseph’s are expected to be CyberSafe and Aware regardless of the device they are using.

18th March: Courage and Crowns session 2 will begin at 6.00 pm with party pies and sausage rolls and 6.30pm for Megan’s presentation.

At the time of writing my message, I am on camp with the Grade 5/6 children and staff. The commitment of our staff to all students is outstanding. Their compassion and empathy to all is to be commended. There will be lots of stories to be told when we arrive home. We have had many compliments of our children for their manners and behaviour. Be proud parents, they’ve been a pleasure to have on camp.

Next week I am attending a Principal’s Conference in Lorne. I am excited to attend this conference that I have put off for two years. I am looking forward to taking the time to reflect on myself as a leader at St Joseph’s - with strength and gentleness. We have much to do together and I am looking forward to being inspired by my colleagues and new friends.

Attendance

We are seeing some concerning trends develop at school regarding attendance.

St Joseph’s as a learning community works in partnership with parents and carers to maximise attendance.

We understand that on occasion your child may need to be absent and justified reasons for student absences may include:

Appointment
Illness
Religious/Cultural observance
Exceptional or urgent family circumstances

Each day of school makes a difference, with the effect on learning accumulating over time. We know that teacher quality, student engagement and attendance are strong contributors to student achievement. What is most important is that ‘EVERY DAY COUNTS’ for your child when we talk about academic and social achievements.

Good attendance means your child is attending school 95% of the time OR 180-190 days of the school year. If you would like to know your child’s attendance percentage, please don’t hesitate to ask.

The Container Deposit Scheme is ready for donations to a drop off point OR we have two bins to put your containers in and we will do the rest.

Take care