Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the final term for the 2025 school year. It is set to be a wonderful term with all of the planned Term 4 activities including camp, swimming, beach days, Christmas activities and many other engaging activities.

We continue to have a high focus on our Literacy and Numeracy and ensuring every student reaches their full potential and the highest academic standard possible. We are aiming to have no interruptions to learning for the first five weeks of the term. This is to ensure our focus on explicit teaching of Literacy and Numeracy can be of the highest standard.

We are so proud of our growth in our data with St Joseph’s being recognised as one of the schools that made the top growth in recent Naplan results.

Please make sure your child is at school every day from 8.45am to 3.15pm. One of the areas of MACS new Vision for engagement strategy is on school attendance. We have a high number of students with above average absenteeism and many families who are arriving late or consistently picking their children up early. This is having a significant impact on the learning growth of the students and is a high priority area for us in Term 4.

Additionally, please make sure you are reading every night with your child and completing their home learning. If you are unable to do this please let us know so we can support you and your children at school.

A huge thank you to Brad and his team for painting the new lines in the car park. The lines of travel are very clearly marked so please adhere to the new arrangement as we all work in partnership to ensure all of our students are safe.

Congratulations to our learning leaders for a highly successful STEM EXPO the last week of Term 3. It was a day where we saw so many students shining and flourishing, buzzing with new ideas and sharing learning with six other Catholic Schools. It was an absolute WOW! Factor day where high quality learning was evident and we were so proud of being able to host such a special day.

Another important part of the MACS Vision for Engagement strategy is positive behaviour. This is a high priority for our school and we are really proud of our school approach and the calm, orderly classroom environments we see every day.

We have a zero tolerance to any bullying or inappropriate behaviour and thank you for supporting us in this most important area.

Our students need to come to school and feel safe and have a high sense of belonging and we thank you for always working in partnership with us to ensure this is a high priority.

Please see our Positive Behaviour, child safety and wellbeing policies. Please do not hesitate to make an appointment if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s wellbeing or behaviour.

Positive Behaviour policy

Child safety and wellbeing policy

Anti bullying policy including cyberbullying

Finally, we pray for world peace in this present climate and for all who are suffering or in war torn countries. October is mission month with a focus on being more like Jesus, looking after the poor and vulnerable, respecting the dignity of every person in our school and working for the common good of all.

In our school we look to Mary Mackillop for inspiration with the work she did to always do all she could to assist and love every person she met.

Yours in Partnership,

Gab

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