St Joseph's Primary School

Principal's News

Dear St Joseph’s Primary School Community,

 

I hope that you all have a restful Kings Birthday long weekend. There are three more busy weeks of Term 2 before our winter holiday break. 

 

Over the past fortnight, a lot of assessment has been happening within the school to determine the results for our Semester One reports. 

 

We have been focusing on a type of assessment called 'Assessment For Learning'. This helps us evaluate where your child is at in reading, writing, and maths. It also provides feedback to teachers and school leaders on where each child needs to focus next in their learning. Although these assessments are important for the data they give us, we understand that they can cause anxiety for some children. We work very hard to normalise assessments and ensure that students have as much support as they need when doing assessments. I am grateful for the support of all the staff here at school - the teachers, support staff, and school leaders - who have helped students feel at ease to therefore do their very best.

 

This data also helps our classroom teachers to assign grades in each student’s Semester One report, as well as plan learning goals to support students throughout the following semester. The next step for parents is to read your child’s Report when it is released on 23 June. 

 

Our Semester One Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled for the afternoons and evenings of Monday, 26 to Wednesday, 28 June. These meetings are created for parents to come in and discuss the Semester One Report and work with your child’s teacher to plan learning goals for Semester Two. 

 

Please see Compass for further information on booking Parent Teacher Interviews.

 

Earlier this week, our School Advisory Council met for our Term 2 meeting. Some of the topics of our meeting were an update on attendance, some future projects around our school, and other maintenance projects that we are working together to complete. 

 

Therefore I wanted to share some information about one of the upcoming projects we plan to complete here at St Joseph’s Wee Waa.

 

Upcoming Projects

Our Aboriginal Education Assistants and some of our students have been working with me to plan a cultural and spiritual space within our school. It will include a Yarning Circle in the centre, surrounded by seating and garden beds. Our AEAs are meeting with our local Aboriginal Lands Council and Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) to seek feedback and guidance on possible elements we can incorporate into the design.

 

As a school community, I would like to work with our parents to help us construct this project. We are seeking quotes on materials but will need assistance in levelling, weed matting, construction of some key elements, labouring in paving or concreting and filling the garden beds. 

 

More information will follow, but if you have time and talent in this area and could help us, I would like to hear from you. We will have a working bee at some point in the near future to prepare this space.

 

We also seek people to help us repair fencing around the new grass area. If you have experience in repairing wire mesh fencing or have a contact or supplies that might help us, please get in touch with me via the school office.

 

Attendance

One major focus I have for this is sustained school attendance. I presented to our School Advisory Council our current attendance rates at our meeting this week:

  • We have a current Attendance Rate of 90% (The number of days attended as a percentage of the total number of days we have been open for instruction.)
  • We also have 55% of students with an attendance rate equal to or greater than 90%.

Attending school is very important, especially as there is a direct link between attendance and achievement. You will find a personalised attendance rate on your child’s upcoming Report. If you have any questions regarding your child’s attendance rate, please contact the school office, and we can discuss this. 

 

ADPSC Rugby Union

Last week on Monday, 29 May, Cameron Baird, Demi-Renee, and Percy Hayes travelled to Tamworth to participate in ADPSC Gary McSweeney Cup and Rugby Union trials. All students played very well and represented our school with pride and sportsmanship. We are proud of your efforts and commitment.,

 

Congratulations to Cameron Baird, who was selected into the Diocesan Rugby Union Team to compete at the Polding trials in Forbes on Monday, 26 June.

 

Congratulations to Demi-Renee Cruickshank, who was selected to trial for the Polding Girls Rugby Team at the Central Coast.

 

School Closure Day

This is a reminder that the school will be closed on Monday 12 June, due to the King’s Birthday Holiday.

 

Students are to wear Sports Uniform next Friday, 16 June, as Jake and Ellie from JSP Sports will take the students for Sports on this day instead.

 

Official Change to Winter Uniform

This is a reminder that children are officially required to wear their winter uniform next Tuesday, 13 June. For reference, a copy of our uniform guide can be accessed via bit.ly/3vn5UhT. 

 

If you require any uniform items, these can be purchased via the Made for School portal or our onsite uniform shop via the Compass app. If a specific item is out of stock online or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

 

Nurruby WWOOSH Before School Care

The Nurruby WWOOSH have started a Before School Care service. The ability to offer before and after-school care within the Nurruby WWOOSH program is an excellent service that is set up to support all families in our district.

 

Any students from St Joseph’s that are attending the before-school care program will receive breakfast and will walk to St Joseph’s, supervised by Nurruby’s staff. You are able to utilise your Service NSW rebates to help with the cost of before and after-school care.

 

Please see the News & Notices section of this newsletter for further information.

 

School Photo Day

This is a reminder that School Photos will be held on Monday, 19 June. All students will be required to wear their full winter uniform on this day.

 

School Photos are available to order online via Compass. To view options and purchase a photo pack, access the MSP Photography notification under My News or through the menu via the Compass app by Friday 16 June.

 

For further information on how to order photos, go to https://www.compass.education/guide#photos

 

Please note that Sports Day for this week has been changed to Wednesday 19 June. 

 

Athletics Carnival

This is a reminder that our Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday, 18 July, at Cook Oval. Please see the News and Notices section of this newsletter for further information.

 

This year we are offering free Morning Tea and Lunch to all volunteers, so if you are able to help out, please go to https://bit.ly/43RsrVo 

 

Have a great long weekend.

 

God Bless,

 

Alistair Stewart

Principal