Principal's News
It isn't very often that I feel like a famous person or a star. But one thing I know from working with children is that they can surprise you at any second. I had a principals meeting at St Xavier's Primary School, Gunnedah, two Fridays ago and upon entering a year 3 class a particularly student saw what he believed to be a famous person.
The student immediately came over to me and said the following words. "Excuse me, are you rooster from top gun?" The moment the words came out of his mouth I could tell he was going to be disappointed, however a fellow Principal from another school intervened before I could reply and said of course he is have a look at him. A couple of laughs were had and we moved on to asking our 5 learning walk and talk questions.
After asking the student a couple of these questions about his learning he soon realised that I unfortunately wasn't the hero he thought I was. But it got me thinking about the impact we can have as educators whether it be pretending to be a famous person, helping a student to write their name or a simple smile and hello at the front gate.
At any stage of the day we can be there to help, engage, identify, interact, talk and listen to the students of St Joseph's. Our duty of care is a vital component of the Living Well Learning Well document that the Armidale Diocese strives to make present in all schools and teachers. It is within this document that we acknowledge our responsiblity to be there for all students in our care. Even if that means I need to pretend to be a famous person to assist with a students interest in a reading activity. Ultimately we will support and nurture all who enter a Catholic school in the Armidale diocese to the best of our ability.
Regular Attendance - "Every day Counts"
We remind parents to notify the school when their children are absent from school. Our school roll is marked electronically at 9 am each morning through the COMPASS portal.
It is important that you add an 'attendance note' on Compass or contact us if your child is absent from school. The CSO follows up on unexplained absences and it is vital to keep this to an absolute minimum.
Our attendance rate is still sitting at an impressive 91% well done to all families and students. Lets continue to give our students the best chances for success by attending school as regularly as we can.
A day away from school here or there doesn’t seem like much but absences add up.
When your child misses one day per fortnight,
they miss upwards of 4 weeks per year which equates
to one year missed over their school life.
from NSW Government - Education
