A Message from the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

Last Friday was World Teachers’ Day and as a staff we celebrated with morning tea and chocolates! The students also wrote heartfelt thank you letters to their teachers; which led to quite a few tears from the teachers. I congratulate and thank our wonderful teachers at St Joey’s for the dedication they display every day to the students in their care. This year we have faced many challenges; learnt new ways to deliver lessons and provide feedback to students. We have missed interacting with our parents and wider community and we have all been reminded of the importance of face to face communication in education. We trust next year restrictions will be lifted and we can share the wonderful learning experiences we provide at St Joey's with our whole community.

NAIDOC Week 2020 was postponed early this year with the hope COVID restrictions may be eased. NAIDOC Week will now be celebrated nationally from Sunday 8th November through to Sunday 15th November. Whilst some restrictions have been eased in the community, COVID measures in schools still prevent parents, carers, family members and the wider community entering the school for such events. Whilst these restrictions are still in place, this will not stop us celebrating the history, culture and achievements of the Indigenous people with our students in Week 5. We are fortunate to have Sharon Cook the diocesan Manager of Indigenous Education K-12 visiting on Friday 13th. 

Throughout the week the teachers will be integrating this year's NAIDOC theme - 'Always Was, Always Will Be' in a variety of ways into their classroom activities. We will end the week with a full day of celebration on Friday. A flag raising ceremony will begin the day, followed by the students participating in a variety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander focused activities. The day will conclude with a games afternoon. The games will be based on traditional ATSI games.

Another highlight for staff and students this term is welcoming our Kinder students each Friday. It is a pleasure to witness the older students being so caring and helpful to our new Kinder student.  We are so fortunate the Catholic Schools Office has supported our request for additional staffing and we have a dedicated Kinder class for the entire school day. What a wonderful start to school life these students will have in 2021! Please take a moment to look at the Focus on Learning section as Mrs Rheinberger has given an excellent outline of what the 'Readiness Class' entails.

Have a wonderful week

Pauline Long

Principal