Principals' Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to another fabulous week at St Joseph's! As we approach the end of another successful term we would like to acknowledge the students and staff for their wonderful efforts in completing our recent NAPLAN assessments which is just one form of assessment that we use to guide our teaching and learning for our students. Everything, including the technology went smoothly and teachers reported how the students did their very best. We hope the results will be with us in a timely manner so we can use the data effectively to support each and every child with their learning.
New Diocesan Administrator
Recently, six priests from across the Armidale Diocese met to elect a Diocesan Administrator to lead the Armidale Diocese until the Holy Father, Pope Francis I announces a new Bishop to officially lead the Armidale Diocese. Congratulations to Monsignor Wilkes who has accepted this position. We wish you all the best with your new temporary administrator role.
Vale Gary McSweeney
On Friday 17th March, Mr O'Toole and other staff memebers had the privilege of attending the Requiem Mass in celebration of the life of Mr Gary McSweeney. Gary has been an integral part of the Armidale Diocese for over 30 years as a Principal at St Joseph's Barraba, St Xavier's Gunnedah and St Edward's Tamworth. Most recently, Gary had moved into roles in the Catholic Schools Office, first as a Schools Consultant and then as the Special Projects Officer.
Gary also had a significant role in the development of school sport at a diocesan, state and national level. He was a key driver in the establishment of the Polding and MacKillop regions in the late 1990's to provide Catholic School students with the opportunity to compete against their Public School counterparts. In recent years, Gary was the head of the Australian Primary Schools Sports Association and contributed significantly to the developmental pathways for talented primary sportspersons.
The measure of his leadership as a Principal and mentor can be seen in the quality of leaders he has developed over the years, many of whom now hold Principal and leadership positions in the Armidale Diocese. He will be sorely missed by us all.
As this is the last newsletter for the term we would like to acknowledge our wonderful St Joseph's community for your wonderful efforts in all areas of school life this term. Also, we would like to wish all the students, parents, carers and staff a happy and holy Easter season and a safe, enjoyable school holiday break. We look forward to seeing you back at school on Wednesday 26th April to commence Term 2.
May God bless you and your family,
Maree Holland & Greg O'Toole
Co-Principals
St Joseph's School - a Faith Filled Community Where Learning Matters.