Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been a busy fortnight here at St Joseph’s Wee Waa. We have been celebrating success both inside and outside of the classroom. Students and staff were cheering and screaming loudly yesterday, watching Edward, Lincoln, Wylie and James as they competed with excellent spirit at the NSW PSSA Athletics tournament. Everyone was so happy for their success, and the playground was a buzz during our break times. More information about this can be found below.
We have also been celebrating success in the classroom. As classroom teachers are collating data and conducting individual assessments, we have been so proud of our student’s growth this year. At the end of Term 3, we were able to collate reading assessments from our Infant’s team, and we were able to report to the Catholic Schools Office, that at that time, over 73% of students had achieved their end-of-year benchmark! This is fantastic, and it has come from a great relationship between home and school. The work that parents have been completing to help support students in their learning across our whole school is phenomenal.
As a leadership team here at St Joey’s, we have been reflecting on this year and the goals we had set for 2023. It has been wonderful to see the dedication to learning pay dividends with student achievement. We will be meeting with other teams from Catholic schools in the western region of the Diocese of Armidale next week, and work alongside the Catholic Schools Office Armidale to reflect on the current year and share our Annual Improvement Plan for 2024. It is exciting to be able to share the successes of all of our students this year.
NSW PSSA Athletics
This week, Lincoln Baird, Edward Carolan, Wylie Cruickshank, and James Gleeson travelled to Sydney to participate in the NSW PSSA Athletics competition. Congratulations on your remarkable achievements, sportsmanship and teamwork.
Edward competed in the 10 yrs Boys 100 m race and progressed to the finals, showcasing his talent and placing 7th in the state!
Additionally, our Junior Boys relay team, consisting of Lincoln, Edward, Wylie, and James, successfully progressed to the finals as well. A sensational run and team effort saw them place an incredible 8th in the state! This is a tremendous achievement.
Thank you to our families for your commitment and to our school community for all your support. A special thank you to Toby Knight for coaching our boys and making the trip to Sydney.
Family Funraiser
Thank you to the St Joseph’s P & F and all of the volunteers who have helped organise our Family Funraiser, which will be held today.
This has been an event that we have been looking forward to. I hope many families, relatives, neighbours and community members can join us tonight and have a great evening with our wider school community.
Water Safety
All students will be involved in weekly Water Safety and Familiarisation lessons for this term. It is organised as part of the NSW PDHPE syllabus document and, therefore, plays an important role in your child’s education. Due to this reason, it is expected that your child will attend these lessons.
Please note that our Sports Day on Mondays each week with Platform & Co (Jake and Ellie) will still remain. Students will be required to wear their Sports Uniforms on Mondays and Thursdays (starting Thursday, 9 November, and when swimming is scheduled):
The dates are as follows:
Thursday, 9 November
Thursday, 16 November
Thursday, 23 November
Thursday, 30 November
Thursday, 14 December
All students are required to wear their sports uniform and are asked to bring their swimmers, rash vest, towel, slip-on shoes and sunscreen. Students are asked to bring a plastic or suitable bag for their wet swimming attire. A $2 entry fee or season ticket will not be required.
If your child is unable to participate but still attending school, a message outlining why should be communicated to their classroom teacher via note or email.
Please note that intensive swimming sessions will only be run for selected students from K-6. Parents will be notified when their child is chosen to participate in the program, scheduled from Tuesday, 21 to Friday, 24 November.
For further information and to accept this event, access the Events page via your child’s profile on the Compass app or, alternatively, go to
https://stjosephsweewaa-nsw.compass.education/Organise/Activities/Events/ by Thursday, 9 November.
Have a great weekend.
God Bless,
Alistair Stewart