Dear Parents and Carers,

This term is flying by; there are only three school weeks until the Easter holidays. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we started this academic year.

Several events and activities are planned over the next few weeks; communication of these events will continue via our newsletter and our Compass Student Management System.

Over the next three weeks, we will be continuing to focus on our “Three Rules for Living”, which is part of Living Well, Learning Well, a student support framework for the Diocese of Armidale. These three rules for living are:

I am Safe
I am Valued, Respected and Cared for
I am a Learner

We are blessed to have fantastic individuals in our school, as each student brings their own personality, strengths, and challenges to our school community. As educators, it is our job to help your child learn and grow into the best form of themselves they can be.

There are times when individuals can show unproductive behaviours, and it is our job as educators to help each individual learn from this and help them to reduce this in the future. Much the same as when we help students academically when they find an element of their learning challenging.

Next week, in particular, in classes and when I speak to the school each morning, we will be further unpacking our second rule for living; I am Valued, Respected and Cared for. This rule for living across our Diocese focuses on the following points:

Attend School (be part of the team)
Be friendly (greet people)
Be positive - it’s catching!
Take time out when you need to settle
Choose words and tone that are right for good conversations
Be a good listener
Care for our resources, belongings and wellbeing
Be a helper and a problem solver.

As a teaching staff, we will be identifying students that are consistently adhering to these main points, and sending them through Commendations. These special commendations come through Compass and they specifically inform families of the fantastic things that your children do. These are special, and if your child receives one, please celebrate these with your children. They would love to share their success with you and know how proud you are of them.

St Joseph’s Day Mass

Our whole school will be attending Mass on Monday 21 March at St Andrew’s Catholic Church in Wee Waa at 12.45 pm. All parents are welcome to join us for this celebration.

NAPLAN Practise Test

Next Thursday, our Year 3 & Year 5 students will participate in a Co-ordinated NAPLAN practice test. All schools participate in this practice test. It allows students to experience what a NAPLAN assessment looks and feels like and practise using their Chromebooks as the test is all online. Ultimately, as each school is doing the test simultaneously, it tests the nationwide system infrastructure. Completing this practice test simultaneously with other schools ensures that during the actual NAPLAN testing window in Term 2, the national system will cope with schools all logging in at once.

Students Progress Meetings

Next Tuesday, 22 March, you will receive a notification via Compass to make a booking for our Term 1 Student Progress Meetings. These meetings allow you to meet with your child’s classroom teachers and go home with data about your child’s progress and how they are progressing throughout Term 1.

Welcome BBQ, Parent Information Night and P&F Meeting

Thank you to all those who attended our Parent Information Night and Welcome BBQ on Tuesday, 8 March. It was great to see all of our new and existing families gather to celebrate the start of a new school year.

Also, a reminder that we will be holding a P&F meeting on Tuesday 22 March at St Joseph’s School. This meeting's focus is on our upcoming fundraisers and sharing ideas on a major fundraiser throughout the year. Everyone is most welcome to join us at 6.00 pm in the school’s staff room on the 22 March.

Lismore Flood Fundraiser

Many of you know that Lismore and surrounding areas have been impacted by devastating flooding. As a result, schools in our Diocese have been asked to fundraise to support the Lismore Diocese Bishop’s appeal. On Thursday, 10 March, our school held a Mufti Day, and we raised $287 for this worthy cause. Well done, St Joeys!

Touch Football Trials

On Friday 11 March, 4 Stage 3 students travelled to Tamworth to participate in the APDSC Touch Football Trials. Well done to Nate, Jaxon, Percy and Jack for their efforts. They participated in several drill sessions and then used these developed skills in competitive games later in the day.

Winter Sports Trials

Good luck to our students heading to Tamworth next Friday to try out for our Armidale Diocesan League, Netball and Football teams. We wish you all of the best and represent our school with pride.

Have a great weekend.

God Bless

Alistair Stewart

St Joseph's Primary School

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Issue 3 · 18 Mar 2022

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