General News 

Collection Notice for parents/guardians 2021 Student Residential Address and Other Information

Please read the collection notice carefully and when completing the verification form that is going home today, keep in mind that we need all details in regards to your residential address to be correct. 

Bus passes are applied for online. Please use the link below for more information. Not everyone will need to reapply for a pass but students beginning school or moving on to high school may. 

Please find the students 2021 requirements list below;

• Art shirt – labelled
• Library bag
• Textas and/or special coloured pencils they may want to use
• Highlighters - yellow, pink, green, blue for VCOP writing.
• Headphones or earbuds for each child
• Extra pens / pencils as back up
• Pencil case
• Scissors
• Years 5/6 need a geometry set
• Pencil sharpener

School Times

Parents are reminded of school times and supervision arrangements. Supervision is provided from 8:30am until the last bus leaves for the afternoon (approximately 3:30pm). 

• Classes begin at 8:50am
• Recess:  11:00 - 11:25am
• Lunch:  1:15 - 1:50pm
• Classes conclude:  3:20pm

Once at school children are not to leave the school ground until afternoon dismissal unless written permission is given by parents.    

Attendance

Children are required to attend school from 8.50am to 3.20pm.  It is essential that children are always present at school, except in case of sickness or bad weather conditions for those in outlying areas.  

Whenever a child is absent, parents are required to explain this absence through the Compass App. An SMS message is sent to parents on the morning of the absence if no notification of absence has been received before 8:50am.  If an absence is not explained within 7 days, through Compass, your child will be marked as Absent Unexplained and this will also be documented on the semester report. After 7 days this cannot be changed. 

Compass

Compass is our School Parent Portal.  It will allow you to access up-to-date and meaningful information about our school and your child's progress.  Compass includes many different features, including the ability to:  

• monitor your child's attendance, and enter an explanation for absence or lateness
• communicate with your child's teachers and update your family contact details
• view your child's school calendar
• monitor your child's homework and assessment tasks
• download and view your child's progress and semester reports
• book parent-teacher conferences

Our school will advise parents when new features become available for parent use. 

Contacting Class Teachers

We encourage parents to contact class teachers by email between 8.00am and 5.00pm; Monday to Friday only.  Please be aware, teachers need time to reply to your email as during the school day they are either teaching, on duty or in meetings. We love to hear from you but just not late at night. If a matter is urgent please ring the school and leave a message for the teacher to contact you. Thank you for your cooperation in this. 

Morning Drop Off

Parents are encouraged to bring children to the front gate. If you enter the school premises you must sign in at the office. 

Afternoon Pickup

Parents remain behind the gates in the afternoon and children will be dismissed by a teacher.

Office News

Finance:  Mrs Tracey Klitsch Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.00 - 3.00pm

Administration:  Mrs Kate Thompson Monday-Friday 8:30 - 3.30pm

We ask that all parents sign up for the Qkr! App as this enables you to pay for most school activities online. You will need to have the location turned on, on your device to be able to pick up St Joseph's Quirindi as an option.

Child Safety

It is a requirement of the Child Protection Legislation that all staff and volunteers have a current Working with Children Check, stating that they have not been convicted of an offence relating to children.  These forms are held securely in the Administration Office and details remain confidential.  We ask that all parents/volunteers who have not completed this task do so through Service NSW online here  or visit our local agency in George Street.  There is no charge for volunteers who apply for a WWCC. Thank you in advance for attending to this matter promptly. 

Private Vehicle Conveyance (PVC).  

This subsidy is available for eligible students where there is no public transport for all or part of the journey to school.  A special return journey must be made in the morning and afternoon.  The student/s must reside more than 1.6km walking distance from the nearest bus pick up point.  You can apply online through the link here.