Principals' Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Week 10 and the final newsletter for the term. It's been another busy and productive term with lots of learning, events and hard work by the students and our fabulous staff.  We hope you all enjoy the school holiday break with family and friends - stay safe and stay warm.

First Eucharist

Congratulations and many blessings to our Year 3 students who received the Sacrament of Eucharist by making their First Holy Communion yesterday at St Patrick's Church.  It was a wonderful celebration for the children, their families and the parish community.  Many thanks to Mrs Bearman and Miss Sampson for preparing the students, and to Father Anthony for celebrating such a beautiful Mass for us on this very special occasion.

Semester 1 Three Way Learning Conferences

Last week, students, parents/carers and teachers commenced our three way learning conferences which will continue throughout this week. Student academic pastoral care is a high priority at St Joseph’s and we pride ourselves on a positive working partnership with parents to improve student well-being, faith development, academic outcomes and life opportunities.    

Tamworth Eisteddfod

Last week our Stage 2 students travelled to the Tamworth Town Hall to compete in the Choral Verse Speaking section of the Tamworth Eisteddfod. The children recited two poems, 'Dog in the Playground.' by  Allan Ahlberg and 'Saw my Teacher on a Saturday' by Dave Crawley. 

A huge congratulations to all the students for performing so well. They were awarded First Place with a fantastic score of 96 out of 100 and then received the Runner-Up Award for the Most Outstanding Verse Speaking Choir - Years 3-6. What an awesome achievement! They were excellent ambassadors for our school and should be very proud of themselves. Thank you to Miss Ellie Sampson for preparing and leading the group, and to all the teachers for their support. 

NAIDOC Week

St Joseph's will be celebrating NAIDOC Week this week. This year's theme is 'For our Elders'. The students have been working alongside Miss Taggart to break down and understand what the theme means to them. Today our First Nations students performed a dance at our special liturgy in the school hall. After the liturgy they took part in a yarning circle with community Elders. Thank you to those parents and carers who attended this event to commence our week. 

On Friday 30th June all our students are invited to come to school dressed in NAIDOC colours - red, yellow, black, blue, green and/or white. They will also participate in cultural activities organised by Miss Taggart to conclude our week of celebrations. 

Staffing News

Today we welcomed Mrs Libby Lockwood back from her holiday to Italy. A big thank you to Mrs Andy Lockwood who taught in Stage 2 with Miss Sampson for that four week period. 

On Friday we farewell Mrs Woolaston who is heading back to Queensland. We would like to sincerely thank Mrs Woolaston for everything that she done for our school during her time at St Joseph's. We are currently advertising this Educational Assistant position and hope to have a successful applicant ready to commence work in Term 3.

Also, next term we welcome Miss Alicia Salas and Miss Moira Watts to our school from The University of Notre Dame in Sydney. Miss Salas and Miss Watts will be completing their  final ten week practicum in Kindergarten and Stage 2 respectively under the guidance of Miss George and Mrs Lockwood. 

End of Term 2

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our teachers at St Joseph’s. They are a dedicated team of professionals, who work tirelessly to meet the needs of all our students. It is difficult to believe that the end of this week will draw the curtain down on another successful, yet busy term. This one seems to have flown at an even greater pace than most. 

The students and staff are to be commended on their wonderful achievements this term. It is hoped that the break from school provides some welcome opportunities for rest and relaxation for all the students and their families. We look forward to seeing everyone back for Term 3 on Monday 17th July.

Maree Holland & Greg O'Toole

Co-Principals

St Joseph's School - a Faith Filled Community Where Learning Matters.