Principal's News

Dear Families

Welcome back to the start of the 2026 school year. The first week has been a calm, settled and relaxed start to the year. It has been wonderful to see students smiling as they enter the school grounds, happy to see their friends, teachers and new classrooms. If you haven't been in their rooms go and check them out as the teachers have done an outstanding job at making them a wonderful learning space. 

Our grounds are also looking great thanks to some work done over the holidays. Anyone who knows how to scare away a few hundred birds eating away at our trees, grass and basketball courts please come and see me. A special thanks to Wayne Petty who has mowed our oval for years who throws in lots of free mows - we really appreciate it. 

We welcome one new face to the team - Sophie Tenni, our new Learning Support Officer and welcome back Evie as our 1/2 classroom teacher. We also welcome Macey in her new role from Learning Support to classroom teacher for 2026. These three extraordinary women add so much to the already amazing staff we have at St Joseph's. A beautiful mass was celebrated on Friday with our school community and Fr. Ruell- welcoming our 12 Foundation students, acknowledging our Year 6's with their Leadership badges and our new staff. We look forward to having more opportunities to come together with families throughout the year.

Meet and Greet:

This week there is a great opportunity to meet families and staff at our annual Meet and Greet held at Nagambie Splash Park this Thursday 12th February from 5-6.30. It is a very informal gathering where the kids can play while parents get a chance to mingle and meet new families and talk to staff. There are bbq facilities available or you can byo picnic etc, or even just come for an hour before heading home for dinner.

Student Safety:

As always, student safety is a priority at St Joseph's. We are very fortunate to have a Crossing Supervisor who supervises both the main and service roads in front of our school. It is imperative that parents set the example of using the designated crossing both at drop off and pick up times. 

Student supervision of a morning begins at 8.30. Please ensure your child is not dropped off before this time as staff are preparing for the day. If students  arrive before this time they are asked to sit on the seats near the front door of the school building until a staff member begins the supervision.

At the end of the day it is wonderful to see so many families gathering/chatting while waiting for the dismissal bell. Please discuss with your child/ren where you will meet/ pick them up etc.  All child must make contact with their parents and ask before going off to play. All children waiting for their parents must come to the admin building  and be supervised until a parent arrives. We absolutely love that the children want to stay and play with their friends but we also need to know they have been picked up by their parents and are now in their care. 

Swimming Sports:

Tuesday 17th February our School Swimming Sports will take place. All families are welcome to join us at the Nagambie Swimming pool from 12-3pm to cheer on our students as they compete in a variety of swimming and water activities for their House teams - Mackillop (green) and Malachy (red). More information will be sent home this week.

This Friday we wish 6 of our students all the best as they represent our school at the District Swimming Sports at Euroa. Sebastian, Hunter, Scout, Ruby, Zarah and Finley will compete against other schools in the area in 50 metre races. Good luck to you all!

Administration:

A number of forms went home last week. Please look at these carefully and make changes to any information so we can update our records if needed. With the cool mornings and warmer days please ensure all uniforms are clearly labelled, especially hats and jumpers.

Dates for Term One have been included in this newsletter. Please check this regularly to ensure you know what is happening in the school - it is a busy place! 

New Notice Boards:

Two old notice boards have been beautifully restored and will be used throughout the year to keep you updated on events etc that will be taking place. A huge thank you to Geoff Haiger and Steve for their time in doing this. I'm sure you'll agree that they blend right in and look like they have been here for years.

Have a great term everyone. I am super excited to see what we achieve this year together.

As always, I am available for any conversations, feedback, suggestions that will improve our great school. My door is always open.

Take care and stay safe,

Maree