Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to the 2024 academic school year everyone!

It was so heartwarming to walk around to all the classes yesterday and see how calm but enthusiastic the students were to be back at school. I was greeted with so many smiles and lots of holiday stories in my conversations with them which kept me highly entertained.

Our staff met on Tuesday for the Staff Development Day and we are ready to move into this year with new goals to ensure quality Catholic Education at St Joseph's. We welcomed our new staff: Penny Kerr ( Yr 1 teacher); Joanne Virgona ( Yr 3 Teacher); Caroline Jones

(Teacher Assistant) and Bailey O’Neill ( Aboriginal School and Community Worker).

I’d like to welcome Caroline and Scott Jones along with their two daughters Ava (Yr 3) and Ivy (Kinder) who have joined our school community. On Monday, we have our Kindergarten students starting their first day which is very exciting. A big welcome to our other new families from Kinder joining our school community:

Leeds Family

Carr Family

Bennett Family

Turner Family

Wright Family

Class Letters from Teachers

By the conclusion of next week, each class teacher will send out a class information letter which will outline what is happening in the classroom, Library and PE days, timetables and contacts. We have Parent/Teacher Interviews coming up in Week 5. This will be an opportunity for parents to come and talk to the class teacher about their child/ren. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher for whatever reason. They are the first point of contact. Class teachers will also communicate with you throughout the term whether it be on See Saw or through another platform. Positive partnerships between home and school ensure that students thrive in their educational environment.

PE/Sport

In the past children wore sport uniform on Tuesdays and Fridays from K- 6. In order to meet curriculum requirements and timetabling expectations, Personal Development, Health and Physical Education may be scheduled on different days from class to class. I understand for parents it was easier that all children in the family would wear their sport uniform on the same days each week but this is no longer viable. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this change.

School Advisory Council

We are so fortunate to have an active School Advisory Council in our school.

The School Advisory Council is the leading advisory group for the Principal, as an active forum for: parent and community participation, providing support and advice in strategic planning, educational outcomes and stewardship of resources. School Advisory Council members do not have any financial or operational decision-making powers. The School Advisory Council Members in conjunction with the Principal, Parish Priest and a staff member meet as a group for a minimum of once a term usually in week 5 of every term.

On Tuesday 20th February at 6pm, we will hold our Annual General Meeting in the school staffroom followed by our Term 1 meeting. I’d like to say a big thank you to all our current School Council Members for their time and service over the last two years: Lisa Oliver (President), Fr Paddy Sykes (Ex Officio), Amanda Riley (Staff Member/Secretary), Mark Halliburton, Mitch Heydon, Lowana Sweeney, Jess Daley, Alex Kearins, Nick Wood & Adam White.

Alex Kearins, Mitch Heydon and Jess Daley will resign their positions on the School Council this year and we are looking for two parents to be nominated to join. If you are interested in being part of the School Advisory Council or you wish to nominate another parent, please contact the school and we will give you a nomination form to complete.

Below is the link to the School Advisory Council Policy from Catholic Education Diocese of Wagga Wagga. Please read through this if you want to learn more about the function of this Council and don’t hesitate to come and talk to me if you would like to learn more.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bBjx68n51OJGSZB0weWlorze5Idq3O75AydusaQ4IMQ/edit

SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee Meeting

The new formation of our new SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee last year was a huge success raising in excess of $30,000.00 for our amazing school. We will have our first meeting next Thursday 8th February starting at 6pm at the Junee Hotel. Parents can come along and bring their children for meal and meeting.

I invite our new and existing families to come along and socialise, share in ideas and help plan social and fundraising activities for the year.

School Hall Car Park

During the school Holidays the Oliver Family and their grandfather Mr Leigh Sheather spent 7 hours grading and resurfacing the hall car park. It is so much better and smoother to drive on and as a school community we are so grateful for all their time and effort to improve our school. This act was so generous and we are blessed to have families in our school community who are so giving of their time and resources. This was stage one of three stages to complete the resurfacing. Some pipes will be laid next followed by gravel.

School Opening Mass

To begin our school year, we have our whole school Opening Mass which will be held next Thursday in the church at 9.30am. I invite all our families to attend this special mass where our new teachers and school student leaders will be inducted. Parents of our Yr 6 leaders will be invited to come up to the altar and put the badges on their child. We look forward to catching up with you on Thursday.

Swimming Carnival/K-2 Water Play

Our Week 2 will conclude with the school swimming carnival at the Junee Pool for Years 2 - 6 on Friday 9th February. The year 2 students who are not competing in the carnival along with the K-1 students will come to school and have waterplay as part of their day. Mrs Salmon has sent out communication regarding next Friday so please ensure you reply promptly to assist with the planning. If you would like to volunteer at the pool you can let Mrs Salmon know by completing the Compass form or via the Swimming Carnival tab in this newsletter. Parents are very welcome to come and watch and enjoy the day with the students at the pool on Friday.

Please enjoy this Term 1 Welcome from Dr Andrew Watson:

https://catholic.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4b2de36c0eccc01f6eebfd21f&id=9374293cb7&e=e25a0956f0

Have a happy weekend everyone and I look forward to catching up with you all over the next few weeks.

God Bless

Angela Scott

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