Principal’s Message

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday and enjoyed some special time with your family.  This year's celebration was very different to previous ones with many restrictions still in place across the country.

I am very pleased to welcome our Kindergarten students back to school today as we commence our gradual return to normal.  Kindergarten are able to attend school today and Friday, with Stage 1 on Tuesday, Stage 2 on Wednesday and Stage 3 on Thursday (and their siblings).  Children of essential workers may attend each day, as necessary.  

I am so proud of the teachers, education assistants and administration staff for their dedication to our students.  They have worked tirelessly to make sure the children have access to appropriate learning experiences via the Google Classroom and Zoom platforms.  They have found ingenious ways to instruct the students such as using videos to not only provide instruction but also provide feedback on learning.  Much of this work was done (particularly for Kinder and Stage 1) at an intensely rapid rate as we had to adapt so quickly to the challenge of learning from home.   It is also important to acknowledge the amazing efforts of our parent community who have been very patient and supportive during the many challenges that learning from home brings!  

We've Moved In!

We have finally moved in to the newly renovated administration block which exudes a distinctly welcoming 'feel' as you walk up the steps into the school.  We received our last order of new furniture on Wednesday and so Kindergarten and Stage 1 (Yrs 1/2) will be able to enjoy a much larger and very impressive learning space filled with contemporary furniture as they return to school.  There are a few more sections of work to be done over the coming months which is very exciting and will add greatly to our school playground area.  At the moment, Shay Brennan Constructions are working on renovating what was previously the primary classrooms and will now be the parish centre.  They have already knocked the interior walls out and the space looks incredible.  A huge thank you to the team from SBC, project manager Neil Mangledorf, Fr Anthony Koppman and the Catholic Schools Office for their commitment to this project.  We are very fortunate to have what is essentially a brand new school.  Unfortunately, we cannot allow parents inside the gate at the moment, due to social distancing rules but as soon as we can, we will invite everyone in for a big celebration of our new learning spaces.

Covid-19 Update

Please continue to practice social distancing at pick-up and drop-off times and if your child has any signs of being ill, please keep them at home.  If we believe your child is unwell, we will contact you to come and collect them.  Thank you for your support as we begin to gradually phase our students back to school.

May God bless you,

Katie Hanes

Principal

St Joseph's School - a Faith Filled Community Where Learning Matters.