Principal's News

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a busy fortnight we have had at St Joseph’s Wee Waa. Please read the following extracts to gather more information about upcoming events and information pertinent to the school community.

Staffing Annoucements

With great pleasure, I would like to announce that Mr David Hefferen will join our team to teach Stage 2 in Term 4 this year. 

Mr Hefferen is an experienced classroom teacher from New Zealand. He has close to 20 years of experience in the classroom and has a passion for teaching mathematics, science and all things ICT related. We are very blessed to have him join us, and he will be relocating to Wee Waa from New Zealand during the upcoming holidays.

Please join me in welcoming Mr Hefferen to our community; when you see him around town and around our school, please introduce yourselves and welcome him to our great Wee Waa community.

Retirement:

Early this week, Mrs Jill Haire let our staff know that she will be retiring at the end of the 2023 academic year. Mrs Haire has been a treasured member of our administration staff at St Joseph’s since 2013. Mrs Haire is sad to be finishing up here at St Joseph’s, but she is excited to be starting a new chapter of her life with Mr Anthony Haire on the Sunshine Coast. There she will be close to her grandchildren. 

As a school, we will have an opportunity to farewell Mrs Haire later this year. Please join me in wishing her and her husband, Anthony, all of the very best in their future.

100 Days of Kindergarten

Last Thursday, 27 July, our Kindergarten students celebrated 100 Days of learning! The students enjoyed the day by dressing up as if they were 100 years old, listening to music on a record player, playing different games, and writing about what they will be doing when they are older.

Thank you for a fantastic 100 days. Congratulations Kindergarten!

Athletics Carnival

Last Friday, 28 July, we held our annual Athletics Carnival at Cook Oval. A big thank you to Lucy Suttor, our Sports Coordinator, for organising the event and to all the staff, families, and friends who made the day possible.

Congratulations to all the students for their efforts and sportsmanship and to St Andrew's House for their win. A special mention to Edward Carolan, who set a new record for the Junior Boys Long Jump at 3.96 meters, surpassing the previous result of 3.87 meters, set in 2007, as well as the Junior Boys Discus at 23.6 meters, surpassing the previous result of 21.33 meters, set in 2000.

Further congratulations go to the following 34 students who have qualified for the ADPSC Athletics on Friday, 18 August, held at the Tamworth Regional Athletics Centre. Well done, and good luck! Please see News & Notices for further information regarding consent and payment via Compass.

Ellis Allen, Cameron Baird, Lincoln Baird, Alexis Bartz, Lucas Bartz, Samuel Carolan, Edward Carolan, Jag Carroll, Leyton Carroll, Demi-Renee Cruickshank, Wylie Cruickshank, Sophie Crutcher, Danny Crutcher, Emma Dixon, Harper Driscoll, Blaine Edwards, Emma Gleeson, James Gleeson, Ava Hall, Marlee Hannaford, Ebonie Hatton, Gracie Haverhoek, Percy Hayes, Riley Knight, Laycey Maxwell, Ellie Maxwell, Ruby-Ja Shortt, Quinn Towns, Edee Towns, Gracie Tully, Poppy Wall, Jack Wilson, Henry Wilson and Sophia Woolcock.

Polding Girls Ruby 7s

Congratulations to Demi-Renee Cruickshank, who represented the Armidale Diocese at the Polding Girls Ruby 7s Championships. Well done!

Upcoming P & F Meeting

This is a reminder that St Joseph’s P & F will be meeting at school next Monday, 7 August, starting at 6:30 pm. All are welcome to attend.

Saint Mary MacKillop Feast Day

This Tuesday, 8 August, we will be celebrating Saint Mary MacKillop Feast Day as a school. All families are welcome to attend Mass with us at 2 pm on this day.

Please see REC News for further information.

Canteen

This year we have faced challenges finding people to assist in the canteen. We have a core group of parent volunteers who have helped out this year. However, they are only a small number and have all volunteered multiple times.

We understand that everyone is busy and may not be able to commit to volunteering regularly. However, without sufficient volunteers, we will need to change the menu and offer a more limited selection. We have only one volunteer rostered for Wednesday, 23 August and are still looking for volunteers for our other six Canteen days remaining this term:

Wednesday, 9 August

Wednesday, 16 August

Wednesday, 30 August

Wednesday, 6 September

Wednesday, 13 September

Wednesday, 20 September

We would love to continue offering our students a wide variety of options, but we need your help. If you or a family member can volunteer even just a few hours on a Wednesday, it would make a huge difference. Please consider contacting us if you are interested in volunteering your time. Alternatively, please go to bit.ly/3EPBz1H, select one of the above dates and enter the details.

Once again, thank you to all of our past volunteers. Your time is greatly appreciated. 

Book Week Parade & Book Fair

This year the Book Week Parade & Book Fair is on Wednesday, 23 August, starting at 9:15 am.  Your child is invited to dress up as a book character or in a costume to match the 2023 Book Week theme “Read, Grow, Inspire”.

Two small prizes will be awarded in each class for Best Costume and Costume that displays the Children’s Book Council of Australia theme.

After the parade, families are invited to join us for a picnic morning tea, with tea and coffee provided by the Canteen. Parents are also asked to pack food to share with their child/children. 

Please note that the Canteen will be holding a Nachos Special on this day. While the usual morning tea menu will remain, there will be an adjusted Lunch menu. Pre-orders for Nachos will close on Monday, 21 August, via the Compass app. Pre-orders for all other items will be as usual, closing the same day at 9 am.

Finally, we will also be holding a Book Fair during the day for parents and children to purchase books under the COLA area. EFTPOS will be available.

Have a great weekend.

God Bless,

Alistair Stewart

Principal