Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to everyone in our school community for a fantastic 2023 academic year. It has been wonderful to see the personal and academic growth of all students across this year. This letter is just to keep you informed of what is happening throughout the holidays, as well as some information that is pertinent to the beginning of the 2024 academic year.

There will be further advertisements for Education Assistants and teaching staff that will go live in January. This is part of an overall recruitment campaign by the Catholic Schools Office. If you can share these on your social media channels, that would be fantastic.

I will also be sending families an email regarding their school fees. These will go out before January. If you would like to discuss your school fees statement, please email me at astewart1@arm.catholic.edu.au.

School fees can be paid in a number of different ways, for example, via BPAY, EFTPOS, or the Compass App.

Swimming Carnival

All students who are turning eight or older next year will participate in our annual Swimming Carnival on Thursday, 15 February. Please note that all other students will be participating in a Water Fun day at school on this day.

Students will arrive at school as normal, have their attendance marked, and walk down to the Wee Waa Pool with their Leader of Learning. They will then sit in their designated house areas for the duration of the carnival. After the event, students may leave with their parent/carer after notifying a member of staff or will walk back to school with their Leader of Learning and follow the regular bus/walkers routine.

An entry fee of $2 or a season will not be required. We will provide information regarding a canteen facility closer to the date.

Students will be given the opportunity to participate in the following events:

Junior = 8, 9, 10 years old in 2024, 11yrs = 11 years old in 2024, Senior = 12 or 13 years old in 2024

8yrs - 12yrs Freestyle 33 m (age races)

Junior - Senior 100 m Freestyle

Junior - Senior Backstroke 33 m

Junior - Senior Butterfly 33 m

Junior - Senior Breaststroke 33 m

Individual Medley 4 x 33 m

Novelty Events (for those not participating in races)

If your child is unsure about entering a race, please nominate; it is easier to remove them from the program on the day of the carnival rather than add them on the day.

As always, an event like this cannot be run successfully without the assistance of helpers. If you are able to volunteer to help set up, be a timekeeper or runner, we would greatly appreciate it! Please fill out the form by selecting 15 February and the starting time via https://bit.ly/3TIkKMc. You will receive an invitation via Compass to confirm your participation closer to the event date. Thank you!

For further information and to accept/deny attendance, please 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 Friday, 22 December.

Uniforms

This is a reminder that if you require new uniforms for next year, they are available to be purchased online with Made for School (excluding school hats, school bags and Girls Blue Checked Shorts) via https://bit.ly/3P0OrHj.

Please note that you must be signed in with a Made for School account to add more than one item to your cart. You can also create an account via the Register page or sign in automatically using your Google or Apple account.

Made for School is closed for the Christmas holidays from Thursday, 21 December, to Monday, 8 January. Orders are still able to be placed during this time online, but they will not be dispatched until Tuesday, 9 January.

Orders placed before 1 pm AEST will ship the same day and are sent via tracked Australia Post directly to your street or postal box address. Please note that some large orders cannot ship to postal boxes. If this is the case, please use the school address, and we will let you know when it has arrived.

School hats, school bags and a limited supply of new and secondhand uniform items (including Girls Blue Checked Shorts) are available to purchase at the school office.

Our uniform guide can be viewed via https://stjosephsweewaa.catholic.edu.au/uniforms/.

Uniforms are available to try on at the school. If you would like to make an appointment for your child to try on a uniform, please contact the school office.

Note that Sports Days next year will continue to be on Mondays, Canteen on Wednesdays, and Library Days will be communicated early next term.

Thank you for your continued support, and we wish you and your family a Happy and Holy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

God Bless,

Alistair Stewart

Principal

St Joseph's Primary School

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Issue 18 · 20 Dec 2023

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