Dear Parents and Carers,

With a little over four weeks remaining in the school year, this term seems to be flying by. However, it does not mean that we are on the countdown to the end of the year.

Over the term, classroom teachers along with Educational Assistants have been working with students to set and achieve learning sprints in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office. These learning sprints are designed to maximise student learning with small groups of students, and it has been pleasing to see the results and targeted interventions.

Staffing Changes

It is with sadness that we announce that Mrs Denise Gallagher will not be returning to her position in 2022.

Denise has taken the past few months off to focus on recuperating from an injury and aimed to return to her position as an Aboriginal Education Assistant in the latter half of this year, but still needs time to recover and get better. She has passed on her regards to all in our school community.

We wish Denise all of the best and hope to see her working again at St Joseph's in the future.

COVID Updates

As a school, we are still under Level 3 restrictions for the remainder of 2021. However, within these restrictions, there are modifications required for different end of year events.

We have permission to hold our Year 6 Graduation Dinner at the Imperial Hotel. However, whole-school gatherings with parents onsite or attending are in a different category.

We are seeking clarity on what we can hold to help us celebrate the learning of all in our school. At this point, we are planning for our End of Year Awards Presentation to be conducted via Facebook Live on Thursday, 9 December. Our current COVID restrictions have dictated this decision. It would be great to celebrate with our whole school community, and this would be our preference.

More detailed information will be sent out regarding our End of Year celebrations in the next week.

Remembrance Day

Yesterday, Thursday 11 November, all students commemorated Remembrance Day with a liturgy in their classrooms.

It was a reverent time where we prayed together and learned about the history of this day. Our liturgies were concluded by standing for a minute's silence at 11 am and by reading The Ode, an extract from the poem 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon.

Kindergarten Transition

It has been great having our 2022 Kindergarten transition students onsite over the past couple of weeks. Just a reminder that students will need to bring a labelled bag, drink bottle, hat, and some food for recess and lunch on Monday.

They will be supported during recess and lunch by their Year 5 buddies as well as staff.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email weeadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au or call 02 6795 4038.

Monday 15 November	9 am - 1:45 pm (Recess & Lunch)
Monday 22 November	9 am - 3 pm (Recess & Lunch)
Monday 29 November	9 am - 3 pm (Recess & Lunch)

School Photos

This Wednesday 17 November, Miss Phelps and Mrs Schwager will be taking portrait photos of individual students and siblings at school.

All students are required to wear their full summer uniform.

St Joseph's P & F Fundraising & Raffle

Just a reminder that there are some exciting prizes to be won, such as a $1000 Hark Chubby Offset Smoker donated by Auscott and Olam/QLD Cotton, a ten pass session and sample box from Platform Foods x Studio and a $100 voucher to Hairstyles by Trish.

If you would like extra tickets, please complete the following form via https://forms.gle/9HTvsACtfkcSrJXp8, and we will send these home with your child.

Thank you for your assistance in this, as this is one of the only major fundraisers that our school P&F have been able to run over the past 2 years due to COVID. Let's get in behind it and make it a successful one!

Have a great weekend,

Alistair Stewart

Principal

St Joseph's Primary School

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Issue 13 · 12 Nov 2021

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