Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that there are only three more weeks left of Term Three, after this week, before school holidays commence on Friday 20th September. We have had some wonderful, rich learning experiences recently including Book Week and Whole School Athletics Carnival. Thank you for your support of these events.

Tom McIntosh's Visit

Last Friday Tom McIntosh MP, visited our school to hear what the new building project and $2.35 million from the State Government grant means to our community. We look forward to welcoming him back during the project next year. Works will not begin this year.

MACSSIS

As part of compliance with regulatory guidelines, schools are expected to engage with, and gather feedback from, their communities as part of their school improvement cycle. We view MACSSIS as a positive opportunity for gathering feedback and engaging communities in ongoing school improvement efforts. Some of the initiatives in our Annual Action Plan from last year's data include parent information evenings and a focus on feedback. All families will receive an email containing a link to the survey on Monday. The survey is open for the last three weeks of term. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Parish Mass for Young People

This Saturday evening, 31st August, the parish is hosting a mass for young people at 6:30pm. All families are warmly invited.

Whole School Athletics Day

Congratulations to McAuley House for winning the whole school athletics carnival yesterday and to all the students for participating enthusiastically and displaying good sportsmanship in events. Many thanks to all the parents who cheered on participants, ran events, supervised students, cooked and served sausages and assisted with transportation of equipment. The collective efforts contributed to a wonderful day.

Father's Day Stall and Breakfast

All dads and father-figures are invited to breakfast this coming Friday morning from 8:00am on the basketball court. Thank you to Prue, Ash and Sarah for cooking the eggs and bacon. Don't forget the Father's Day Stall on Thursday. Students are asked to bring their money along in an envelope with their name on it. Thank you to Giulia for organising this and her team for assisting students with their purchases.

Wakakirri

Last Thursday evening was a wonderful evening of celebration for dance, story, public speaking and the theme for his year of “belonging.” Thank you to Jasmine Gregory who worked with a group of interested students who performed Cinderella. The students received the Spirit Award on the evening for encouraging each other and other schools and we received notification yesterday that the group won a Highly Commended Award. An amazing achievement.

St Joseph's Award

Congratulations to Flynn Dwyer and Summer Kofoed for consistently displaying our school values of respect, teamwork, learning and honesty.

Book Week

Students and staff enjoyed dressing-up and celebrating Book Week on Monday. Book Week is an annual event organised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) that celebrates the magic of books and promotes a love for reading. It serves as a nationwide reminder of the importance of literature in our lives and the invaluable role it plays in children’s development. By celebrating Book Week, we encourage a vibrant reading culture and create opportunities for children to explore the wonders of storytelling.

Tricky Conversations

The Tricky Conversations evening has been rescheduled to Monday 14 October. Formally known as Family Life Evenings, the sessions are facilitated by a staff member from Interrelate. There will be two sessions -

Session One: Where did I come from? (5pm)

Session Two: Preparing for puberty (6:15pm)

More details about the sessions can be found later in the newsletter.

Hotel Sorrento

All parents are warmly invited to attend Hotel Sorrento this coming Friday from 5:00pm. All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to St Joseph's School. It should be a wonderful social catch up. I look forward to seeing you then.

Many thanks,

Monica

moshannassy@sjsorrento.catholic.edu.au