Dear Parents and Friends,

Next Tuesday evening 10 of our Year 3/4 students will undertake the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is a reflective, personal sacrament and in the middle of National Reconciliation Week, very timely. I ask you to keep these students in your thoughts and prayers.

A shout-out of gratitude to the parents who organised the Mother’s Day Street Stall and those who were able to help on the day. Congratulations to Max who won our Wood Raffle!

IT Changeover

As you are aware last week, we changed over from Google to Microsoft 365. There have been a few issues with this changeover, and I thank you for your patience. We are currently having difficulty with sending and receiving group emails and are working with office staff to rectify this.

Kitchen Garden: Pizza Competition

Students have loved making pizzas with Maria in SAKG. They now have a chance to create their own and win a fantastic prize!

Most students have had a chance to enter already by completing a sheet in class called “Create your own pizza”. Using their cooking knowledge and creativity they drew and wrote their ingredients before naming their pizza. Any students who missed out can request a copy from their teacher. Don’t forget!

A reminder all entries need to be in by this Friday!

The chefs at Bridge Road Brewery will pick the winner. The pizza will then be featured on their specials board for a few weeks; the winner will be invited to dinner with their family and make the winning pizza in the brewery kitchen with Maria!

School Council Bio - Diarmuid Kelly

About Me:

I am Diarmuid Kelly, father of Aidan (Grade 3), Fintan (Grade 1) and Cian (3 years old). I moved to Beechworth just over 6 years ago from Melbourne with my wife Nell (who was brought up in the area) to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life. I currently work at Charles Sturt University based out of the Albury Campus. We are well settled into life in Beechworth with us making a great circle of friends (many parents at St Joseph's), and enjoying the outdoor space and activities it has got me involved with.

Why I am on the School Council:

When our eldest (Aidan) started at St Joe's I was keen to have some involvement in school life and with the community. I once had a wise person say to me that getting involved in school will be something you won’t regret and that it's good for the kids to see that. I think this was particularly important for me as with Nell I go through phases where I can’t make drop-offs and pick-ups and found the council was an easier way to commit involvement. Having said that, it has been very flexible as I sometimes can’t make meetings but that’s ok – the fact I’m on the council means I have more conversations with Carly and other council members in between meetings which contributes to broader school outcomes. I have also found the council itself a fun space to meet other parents and get to know the teaching staff and Carly which is a great thing. This year I've decided to step into the Chair role which is an evolution of the last 3 + years being on council, with my main aim of seeing how we as council can be as effective in providing advice, feedback and support for Carly and the team. I'm always happy to have a chat with anyone who wants to learn more about my role, the council and how you can engage with us.

What do you love about St Joe's:

I love the community spirit. Parents are very engaged with the kids, and are great for working through things together. There’s a real commitment by parents to get involved- we see that when we do Easter parades, volunteering for swimming, Stephanie Alexander kitchen, working bees, the social committee, parent reps and so on. I really enjoy getting to school pick-up and chatting with other parents before the bell goes off – I don’t take that for granted as not all schools are like that. Finally, I think it’s great we see teachers really invested in the kids learning and well-being – our kids love St Joes and I think that speaks volumes to the environment that is setting by all the St Joes staff.

Prayer