Principal's News

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend and has a wonderful time with their families.

I would also like to thank the staff for their dedication and support over the past two weeks, particularly Mrs Karlee Hatton and Mrs Elise Avery, for their leadership during the past fortnight.

As principal, I have been away from school attending professional learning and diocesan meetings. Last week I had the privilege of attending the Armidale Diocese principal meeting in Armidale. There we had the opportunity to interact with Dr Dan White. Dr White was the previous Executive Director of the Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic Schools. In his presentation, he took us through a process of recognising if we are “Nurturing Pilgrims or Educating Tourists” within our schools. It was a journey of self-discovery and reflection. It allowed me to reflect on our student’s faith development and how we can continue to keep Jesus at the centre of our vision and learning.

This week Miss Teagan Conomos and Miss Alice Woodhill spent time on retreat with Dr Dan White, and they have had the opportunity to deepen their faith and understanding. I know they have enjoyed their learning and made great connections with other educators from across the diocese.

I was invited to attend Adelaide's Building Learning Ecosystems conference with a few principals and the leadership and facilities team from the Catholic Schools Office Armidale. Attending this event, we have had the opportunity to connect with several different manufacturing, architectural and education resource creators. 

This is in anticipation of making some structural changes to the school in the future. The best part of this conference was attending a number of schools for site visits. This has given us direction and a future vision of how we can build great learning spaces in our schools. It has also been very affirming to see other schools and the journey they are going through with co-teaching and different learning styles. 

St Joseph’s Wee Waa is a great school. It is wonderful to see how our co-teaching model supports student learning and helps each student grow; we are doing this even without new buildings! Our pedagogy is well embedded, and it will be fantastic to imagine what our school could look like if we ever do have a building project in the future.

Pupil Free Days

This is a reminder that the school will be closed next Monday, 13 June, due to the Queen’s Birthday Holiday.

Winter Uniform & Missing Belongings 

The official change to our winter uniform will be next Tuesday, 14 June. Please ensure that your child is dressed in their full winter uniform as follows:

*Please note that when wearing the Boys Grey Shorts, Grey Knee High socks must also be worn.

Over the past week, we have also had several jumpers, jackets, and hats missing. Please check the tag on your child’s belongings, and ensure that they a labelled with their name.

Also, if your child is not wearing the correct uniform, please send a note to their classroom teacher.

Christmas in July Jolly Jumpers Night

Our St Joseph’s P & F will be hosting the long-awaited Christmas in July Jolly Jumpers Night at the Wee Waa Golf Club on Saturday, 30 July, starting at 6 pm. 

There will be a Christmas Feast, reindeer race sweeps, best and worst Christmas Jumper competition and a night of dancing. 

Tickets are available to purchase online via https://www.trybooking.com/CAFCE. We hope to see you there!

Athletics Carnival & Volunteers

This is a reminder that all students will participate in our upcoming Athletics trials on Tuesday, 26 July. This year, we will be holding all events at Cook Oval.

As always, an event like this cannot be run successfully without the assistance of helpers. If you can volunteer to help out on the day as a timekeeper or in any field events (which would be greatly appreciated!), please complete the following form via https://bit.ly/3aNxLms. 

Further information will be communicated via Compass next week.

Student Progress Meetings

We will be holding our Student Learning and Progress meetings in Week 10 (the last week of the term). Appointment bookings will be available via Compass starting next Tuesday, 14 June.

School reports will be released on Compass at 4.00 pm on Friday, 24 June.

Have a wonderful Queens Birthday Weekend.

God Bless,

Alistair Stewart

Principal