School News

PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

Whole School Expectation- Weekly Focus for Students

Be Responsible - Listen to and follow instructions the first time

COVID-Smart 

At St Joseph’s we operate with COVID-smart measures that have been developed in partnership with NSW Health to help minimise transmissions at school. The health and wellbeing of our students and staff remain our priority and these measures are designed to help keep our school open and our students learning in the classroom. A range of health and safety measures include increased daily cleaning, additional hygiene measures, physical distancing requirements, and rapid antigen tests. 

Please refer to the letter sent to parents on 25 January.

Rapid Antigen Tests Next Week

All families have now received their rapid antigen tests and next week are strongly encouraged to test children before school on Monday and Wednesday morning. 

If you are having any difficulty with your children taking the RAT please contact the school for support.

It is important that we continue to work together and remain vigilant in our response to this virus. Your ongoing support is very much appreciated. 

2022 Parent Information Packs and Important Information

On Tuesday families received the 2022 Family Information Packs. These were sent home with students.

Thank you to those families who have completed and returned the forms to the school office.  For those who have not yet returned the forms, please read the covering letter carefully and return by Monday 7 February 2022.

If your child did not receive this information pack, please contact the school immediately.  Students starting Kindergarten will receive their packs at their Best Start Appointment. 

Below are some important reminders for you as we tend to the necessary school administration requirements. We would be very appreciative if parents could set some time aside in the busyness of family and work lives to attend to the matters as soon as possible.  

Parent/Carer Helpful Checklist

• Update Contact Information (See below)
• CEDoW Student Internet Permission (complete 1 per student)
• CEDoW Student Responsible Use of Technology Permission (complete 1 per student)
• Parent Input/Going Home Arrangement Form (blue) (complete 1 per student)
• 2022 Lawn Mowing Volunteer Form (green)
• WWCC/Voluntary Declaration (both parents to complete 1 form each

Updating Contact Information

Using the COMPASS Parent Portal, please check all of your family details.

In particular check your email addresses and phone numbers are correct. You are able to update your email and phone numbers via this system. 

Also, check your home address/es. If this has changed, please email info@sjbdow.catholic.edu.au with the correct details.

Office staff will update addresses in Compass for you along with any other details that may need to be updated.

2022 School Fees 

School fees for 2022 have now been invoiced and statements will be issued by the end of this week with annual or first instalment payment due on 28 February 2022.  You may view school fees in the Compass Parent Portal.

All student activity levies include all costs except the Swimming Carnival and  Gala Days.  These items will be billed separately through EVENTS on the COMPASS Parent Portal.

More information regarding school fees will be forward tomorrow.

School Hats

At St Joseph's we have two types of hats on offer for our students, the slouch hat and the cap. Both are available at the school office for purchase. 

• Slouch Hat - $20
• Caps - $15

Please note our preferred method of payment is via EFTPOS.

Important Notice Regarding Allergies and Anaphylaxis 

The safety of all students whilst at school is critical and we do what we can to prevent any incident that causes harm to any student. Many of you will know someone who is affected by anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction.

There are many students across the school with severe allergies to either peanuts, eggs, or seafood and fish. These food items have the potential to put these students at risk. The school asks for your support in helping to make school safe for these children.

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School asks that food containing nuts or eggs not be sent to school with your child. This includes Nutella type products. Please consider these children when packing crunch and sip, recess and lunch each day for your child.

In addition, Year 3 parents are requested not to send seafood or fish products to school including canned fish such as tuna. 

To further reduce the risk for these children, products containing nuts are not sold in the school canteen. Also, fish products will not be available to Year 2 students to order for lunch, either online or over counter purchase.

You can also assist by clearly labelling your child’s food containers and drink bottle with their name.

No Sharing of Food Policy

At St Joseph’s we have a ‘No sharing of food’ policy and we ask that you reinforce this with your child.

If you have any queries or concerns about the management of those at risk of anaphylaxis, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thank you for assisting us in caring for students at risk of anaphylaxis.

SeeSaw

This year we will continue to use the Seesaw online platform. Seesaw is a simple way for students to record and share the work they are completing in class with their families and it also gives them a place to document their learning, be creative and learn how to use technology. Teachers will also use Seesaw to provide learning opportunities students can access in the classroom or from home, should they need to access learning due to covid-19 isolation rules. Students have been set up with their own personal login and parents who have had access to Seesaw previously should automatically be linked to this year's class. If you experience problems accessing your child's Seesaw page please contact your child's teacher or Mr Aguilera.

Seesaw works on any iOS/Android tablet or web browser.  All information on Seesaw is private between teachers, parents and students. 

Please find below a diagram explaining how Seesaw works!

Premier's Reading Challenge

At the end of last year, we congratulated all our students who participated in the Premier's Reading Challenge 2021. We would now like to acknowledge and congratulate Scarlett H (Yr 6), Vivienne H (Yr 4) and Chloe R (Year 4) who have been awarded a GOLD AWARD on the fourth successful year participating in the NSW Premier's Reading Challenge. This award will be given out to these students at Assembly on Friday afternoon. Well done!

Information regarding this year's challenge will be sent out in the coming weeks. 

Safer Internet Day

This Safer Internet Day, we are calling on everyone to play it safe and fair online. Join the global initiative that brings families, schools, organisations and governments from 170 countries together to raise awareness about online safety. There is no place for online abuse. We can all help to make life online enjoyable by being kind and respectful to each other.

At St Joseph's we will celebrate Safer Internet Day during Wk3. Students will be involved in a variety of eSafety activities.

Below is a link for parents to get involved in Safer Internet Day 2022.

• Parent webinar
  Book in for eSafety’s free webinar for parents and carers 'eSafety's parent guide to helping kids thrive online' and share the details with your community.

Happy Birthday

Wishing all our students who celebrated their special day over the Christmas and New Year period.

1 January - William M Yr6

3 January - Brody N Yr4

4 January - Jude H Kinder & Tatenda B Yr4

6 January - Jimmy R Yr2

8 January - Evie P Yr2 & Nash H Yr4, Olivia H Yr6

9 January - Hamish B Yr2 & Layken L Yr3

10 January - Yuna L Yr1, Callan P Yr5 & Zarli A Yr4

11 January - Abigail T Yr4, Scarlett C Yr4 & Jacob G Yr5

12 January - Harper M Yr3, Daniel N Yr5

14 January - Elleanor M Yr1

16 January - Isla J Yr1

19 January - Lachlan Q Kinder

20 January - Alby J Yr5

21 January - Savannah F Yr1, London C Yr5

23 January - Lachlan M Yr1 & Curtis T Yr3

24 January - Kim S Yr6

25 January - Mason R Kinder, Adam L Yr3 & Grace L Yr6

27 January - Ari W Yr4

29 January - Andrew P Yr2

1 February - Lani B Yr3

5 February - Maisie C Yr3

6 February - Jordan G Yr2, Felix P Yr3 & Vivienne H Yr4

7 February - Zoe C Yr2, Liam T Yr3 & Mikayla K Yr4

9 February - Chelsea L Kinder & Finn B Yr4

10 February - Georgia P Yr2

2023 KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS ARE NOW OPEN

2023 Kindergarten are now open and enrolment packages are available from the school office.

Places are available in some grades. If you know anyone thinking about enrolling their child please ask them to contact Mrs Charadia or direct them to find the enrolment form and information on the school website.