PRINCIPAL'S NEWS

SOCIALS...

Miss Jaclyn is always busy keeping abreast of our socials and sharing the terrific things happening at our school. 

Have you seen the 'We're Back for 2025' clip??

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2399812953739263

Today marks 12 days since the children started back for the new school year, and everyone has quickly settled into their new school routine. 

I'm thrilled to once again collaborate with our committed team of teachers and education support officers to create a learning environment that fosters a culture of excellence, a place where our children can have fun and learn alongside one another. The start of the school year has been smooth, and there's a wonderful, positive energy in the classrooms, with plenty of smiling faces—it's truly heart-warming to see!

I'd like to send a special welcome to all the families who are new to our community this year.  It's wonderful to see new faces in our school yard, and equally wonderful to catch up with our existing families.  

Last week I sent home a 'Welcome Back' flyer with information about 2025 staffing, specialist days, daily routines and timetables.  If you missed this flyer please see the attached PDF.

Our Coffee Mornings are in full swing! I apologise for missing this morning's Junior's gathering — I believe it was a fantastic turnout, as was the Prep Morning.

I look forward to catching up with Middle's families next week on Tuesday and the Senior's families on Thursday.

ASSEMBLIES

This year our assemblies will be held on each THURSDAY at 3:00pm.  Assemblies will commence next week, once we have installed our 2025 Assembly Team Leaders.  

STAFF MEETINGS/Admin Office news...

Staff meetings are held weekly on Tuesday mornings at 8:00 AM and Thursday afternoons at 3:30 PM.  During these times the staff will be unavailable  for appointments/parent meetings.  On Tuesday mornings, the office/admin area will remain locked until 8:30 AM as the Admin team will be attending the staff meeting.

This year, we warmly welcome Emmerson Clarke to our Admin Team! Emmerson will be working in the front office, supporting Kathryn and school leadership with administrative tasks and general office duties. She will be in the office on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please take a moment to introduce yourself and make her feel welcome!

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

Our school closure day this term will take place on February 28, with staff dedicating the day to enhancing our Writing program at St. Joseph’s.

Professional learning is a vital part of ensuring our teachers continue to grow and refine their practice. These dedicated days provide valuable time for staff to collaborate, explore new strategies, and deepen their understanding of best practices in teaching and learning. By focusing on Writing, we aim to strengthen our approach, ensuring students receive high-quality instruction that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and literacy development.

NEWSLETTER AND COMMUNICATION 

This year the newsletter day will remain on a Tuesday (other than today) and newsletters will be available fortnightly.  The newsletter can be accessed via email, the school website and is sent out as a push notification on the Audiri app.  Please ensure that you have the app downloaded as many ‘day to day’ messages are communicated as a push notification, including all permission slips for excursions and school events.

Please click HERE for instructions to download the Audiri app.

HOURS OF SUPERVISION

The schoolyard is supervised before school from 8:30am and after school until 3:30pm.  If your child is dropped off outside these times they will be unsupervised until the teacher commences yard duty.  Please avoid dropping children off before 8:30am.

 LEAP KIDS out-of-school-hours (OSCH) programme is offered to all families outside these hours. Before-school care is available from 7am-8:30am and after-school care is available from 3:15pm-6:00pm.

STUDENT ABSENCES

If your child is absent please inform us via the Audiri app or email Kathryn in the office (kcoventry@sjnorthcote.catholic.edu.au).  If we have not received notification of absences, a call will be made to confirm their whereabouts.

CURRICULUM EVENING

On Thursday Feb 27 we will be hosting a Curriculum Evening.  On this night your child’s teacher will present the learning journey at Saint Joseph’s and be available to you to ask any questions or clarify any issues that you may have. 

The meeting schedule is staggered so that families who have children across different year levels can attend each meeting.

This year we will be offering both online and onsite attendance.  More information will come home closer to the event - please mark the date on your calendar!!

FAMILY PICNIC EVENING

We invite all families to come along to a Family Picnic Evening in the school yard  on FRIDAY MARCH 21.  Bring along your picnic rug, chairs and a bite to eat - commencing at 5:30pm in the school yard.  More information will be provided closer to the date.

SWIMMING CARNIVAL

Good luck to the following children who will be competing in the District Swimming Carnival on Wednesday Feb 19...

50m FREESTYLE

*Mila Barker               *Charlie McGuire

*Zelia Barker               *Leo Katsoulakos

*Sansa Barker            *James Elliot

*Arya Chaudhry          *Mary Pullen

*Sam McGuire

50m BACKSTROKE

*Lola Barker                 *Noah Elliot

*Sophie Brunton         *Sansa Barker

*James Elliot                 *Chloe Webb

*Hamish Smith            *Millie Floyd

*Leo Katsoulakos

50m FREESTYLE RELAY

*Mary Pullen                 *Arya Chaudhry

*Mila Barker                  *Sophie Sturrock

*Charlie McGuire         *Sam McGuire

*Hamish Smith              *Noah Elliot