Dear Parents and Carers,

We are moving quickly through Term 4. It only seems like yesterday I was writing the Week 1 Newsletter. As I mentioned at the assembly on Friday, it’s been so heartening to move through the classes and see how the students are so focussed in their learning and the work they are producing is showing excellent growth.

Today, we celebrate All Saints Day in our Church Liturgical Calendar. As such, when we celebrate All Saints Day, we honour and commemorate the lives of Saints who, like us, were earthly citizens driven by virtue, love and sacrifice for God, essentially leading a life in Christ, available to all. The whole school celebrated mass with Fr Paddy today at 9.30am in the church. It was lovely to see so many families join us.

All Saints Day is always proceeded by All Souls Day on the 2nd November. It is a day of commemoration and prayer where we remember those who have gone before us.

Fr Paddy is having mass tonight to celebrate All Souls Day at 6pm. All are welcome to come and pray, particularly for those who have lost someone in the last 12 months.

ALL SAINTS DAY PRAYER

Dear Lord,

You have given the saints in heaven eternal happiness and they now live in the fullness of your glory.

Because of their holy love for you, they also care about us, our family, our friends, our church, and our neighbours.

Thank you for the gift of their friendship and the witness of their holy lives.

We ask our patron saints and every saint who has become especially dear to us to intercede for us.

We ask them to help us journey safely on the narrow path that leads to heaven.

O Lord, give us their protection.

AMEN

Kinder Transition

Our 2025 Kinder students are with us today for their 2nd Transition Day. As part of their transition today they attended Mass this morning and stayed behind to have a chat with Fr Paddy to find out more about the church. There were some very curious little minds and great questions asked. The children have settled well into their new school environment and we are grateful for the amazing support they have from Mrs Brady, Mrs Huard and our Stage 3 students.

Parent Survey

A survey will be sent to all parents to provide feedback for us as a school to continue to improve. We would really appreciate parents' thoughts on various aspects of the school, what is working well, what may need improving and any ideas you might be able to suggest. The survey will close at the end of Week 6 Friday 22nd November, 2024.

Deb Ball

This Saturday evening, St Joseph’s will be hosting our annual Debutante Ball for those young women in our Junee Community. This is not only a very special milestone in these young ladies' lives but a very special event which brings our Junee Community together.

There are countless hours of time, energy and organisation which go into a Deb Ball. I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very special thank you to Mrs Bianca Brady, Mrs Nikki Duck , Mrs Kylee Huard and all the Year 3 /4 parents who have contributed to making this fundraising event possible. Everyone has been very generous in offering time, money and goods to make this special event happen.

We would also like to also thank Junee Shire Council for all their assistance in providing the venue and license for this event to take place.

We wish all 11 Debutantes all the very best for tomorrow evening and we know that it will be a very special night night for them.

Joey’s Cup

As advertised on Facebook, we will still be celebrating Joey’s Cup with students and teachers racing next Tuesday 5th November but we will not be hosting the luncheon this year or have staff sponsored by business houses. Parents and families are welcome to join us to watch the races and then move into the hall to view the Melbourne Cup race from 2.15pm - 3.15pm. School pick up will be from the hall at the end of the day.

SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee

We held our final meeting last Wednesday and on behalf of our school community I would like to offer our sincere gratitude for all the help and support our parents have given to events and fundraisers throughout the year. It’s been another amazing year with incredible dedication and commitment from our families. Thank you for all you have given to our school to help it continue to flourish. It’s been wonderful to see parents band together in their class groups and run different events.

Family Christmas Movie and Pyjama Night

We are offering families the opportunity to attend our Christmas Movie and Pyjama night on Friday 22nd November starting at 6pm in the Athenium. Everyone can wear their Pyjamas for some fun and comfort. There will be no charge for the movie the menu is below for families to purchase snacks if they wish.

All students MUST be accompanied by an adult when attending this event. More information regarding the movie title to come.

Please save the date and get your PJ’s ready!

School Canteen

As everyone has been aware, we were able to reopen our school Canteen last year due to the generosity of Mrs Annette Sweeney, who has so kindly volunteered her time to coordinate and operate it. Mrs Sweeney will step down at the end of this year, and we are so pleased to announce that Mrs Melissa Skewes has offered to volunteer her time to coordinate and operate the school canteen in 2025. Thank you Melissa for this generous offer and we are grateful for you dedicating your precious time to assist our school.

At the SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee meeting last week, we discussed having a Canteen Committee to support Melissa and the operation of our school canteen. If you are interested in joining the committee or willing to assist in the canteen on Friday's please complete this google form: Canteen Committee & Helpers by the 29th November 2

Puppet Show

Our whole school has been invited by Junee Shire Council to attend the interactive Puppet Show titled 'LITTLE WING PUPPETS PRESENTS: TRINKET THE ROBOT', which promises to be a captivating end-of-year performance for our students.

Date: Thursday, 5th of December

Time: 1.45 -2.45pm

Location: Junee Athenium Theatre

Cost: $7 per child which includes Puppet Show and bus transport to and from venue

Overall Run Time: 40 minutes, with a Q&A session

This performance has been made possible through a generous subsidy from the Council and their partnership with Eastern Riverina Arts. This collaboration aims to enhance cultural enrichment within our community.

A Compass notification will be sent out next week for parents to give permission and pay for this show.

School Fees

Final payment for school fees are due on 6th December, 2024. If parents have any queries or wish to discuss school fees, please make an appointment to see me so I can assist you.

Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

God Bless

Angela Scott

The 2023 Joey's Journal