General News 

Thank you

As the school year comes to a close we reflect on the year that has been.  We cannot do the job we do without our whole team.  

This team includes; Fr Kingsley and parish secretary Bernie Press, The Catholic Schools Office, our staff, students, parents and carers, our service providers for speech, OT and counselling, members of the parish, PT&F and School Advisory Council, canteen volunteers, Impulsive Cleaning Staff, Greg Ford mowing and Handyman Services, Brian Smith Plumbing, Brett Holz Electrical, Quirindi Electrical and Air Conditioning and Steve Henderson Pest Control.  Without each and everyone one in this list, St Joey's would not have functioned so well in 2022.  

Thank you to Mrs Pauline Long for leading us through another year of education and growth and moving ahead with the many school improvements we have achieved in 2022. Your organisational abilities - and 'year at a glance' calendar - ensure that we all know what, when, how and why we are doing all the things we do each and every day!  

To the families who are leaving us for the final time on Friday; thank you for all of your contributions, whether you have been with us for a short time or for the full 7 years and 1 Term of School readiness and K-6 schooling.  We will miss you all as we begin a new school year in 2023 but please know that having you as part of our school community has been truly special.  

Thank you to Wendy Rheinberger for her amazing contribution to our school in so many areas. She will be missed by everyone who has had the pleasure to know her both in the Quirindi community and at St Joseph's School. We wish you and your family all the very best for the next adventure in your life.  

YEAR 6 STUDENT SCHOOL REPORT ADVICE FOR PARENTS AND CARERS.    

Dear Parents and Carers, Your Year 6 child's Compass Portal will close on the last day of the Term - if they are not attending a Catholic High School.  We recommend that you download all school reports to your own device for future reference. You will not be able to access their Portal Page after the 16th of December, 2022. Term 4 reports will be open to parents on the 9th of December however you can download all current school reports any time now. 

WEEK 10                                 

Wednesday:  Swimming 2pm-3pm

Thursday:  Year 6 Big Day Out

Friday:  Last day for students

YEAR 6 LEAVING ADVICE FORMS 

Forms have been sent home again today to those who have not yet returned them, please return these TOMORROW, Wednesday, 14 December, 2022.

NEW FINANCE SYSTEM AND SCHOOL FEES

We have now transitioned to a new financial accounting system.  This new system has added functionality in the way you can make payments to the school and now include BPay and CompassPay (via the compass app).  But, our current school's bank account will no longer be available to direct credit, therefore we ask that you make payments to the school via one of these new functionalities.

Shortly you will receive your new fee statement issued by the Catholic Schools Office (CSO), Armidale with your BPay payment details.  Regular payments can be set up directly from your bank account to the new School Bpay account.

Just a reminder that fees are due by Thursday, 08 December, 2022.

STAR WORDS AWARDS

Last week Mrs Hofman had the pleasure of presenting many students with their STAR Words awards. Congratulations: 

Rising Stars (50 words): Cash and Hazel

Shooting Stars (100 words): Kden, Reuben and Sieanna

Super Stars (200 words): Nate R, Tayla, Riley, Oliver, Molly and Jayden.

Mrs Hofman encourages everyone to keep practising their words and their reading over the holiday break! 

THE COOLAMON CHALLENGE

Congratulations to Lottie and Logan who were drawn out for this week's Coolamon challenge vouchers. These were their Christmas cracker jokes:

10c Bottle, Can and Juice Box Donation Drive

Tomorrow is the last day to make donations to our bottle donation drive. Thank you to everyone who hacontributed this year! We look forward to using our new STEAM equipment when it arrives early next year. 

ATTENDANCE 

It is a legal requirement that you log in to Compass to explain all absences within 7 days of your child being away from school, however it is so much easier if you attend to this on the day as soon as you receive the reminder.  

You will not be able to complete this task after the 7 days has passed which means they will be recorded as Absent Unexplained.  

If you are having trouble accessing all of the Compass features,  there should be a drop down menu on your home page which looks like 3 horizontal lines.  Open this menu and choose 'open in browser'. This will help you access the school portal features.