Term 1 Week 6

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we enter the second half of term one we are beginning to get back to some sense of normality after what seems to have been a long Covid period.

Classes are now able to sing in unison and our choir (limit of 30) will once again be able to perform.

Whilst parents are still unable to enter school grounds except for specific meetings, we are confident if things keep going as they are this will change in the near future.

With this in mind we will hold our first School Forum meeting for over a year early next term. A priority for the forum this year will be to hold social events which will help us rebuild our community which has been heavily affected by the events of the pandemic.

I hope to see you at the meeting. Stay tuned for date and time details in future newsletters.

A reminder to new parents that you must come down the hill in Frances Street and cross over Enid Street to enter the zone at both morning drop off and afternoon pick up.You MUST NOT enter the zone by coming around the corner from Enid Street. 

If you are coming along Pearl St and the queue has already formed you MUST turn left up the hill and join the end of the queue you MUST NOT cut in.

PLEASE be courteous and kind to each other.

Thankyou for your cooperation in this important safety issue.

Quite often the word bullying is used out of context. I share with you a definition of various behaviour to better your understanding.

Many events that take place at school are one off situations and not protracted bullying behaviour.

Please refrain from constantly using the term "bullying" so the children understand the true meaning of the word.

Please talk to your children about these words and their meanings.

Year 2 ROY have been caught playing with sticks! They were told to "PUT DOWN THAT STICK!"  but before they could...  their sticks turned into all sorts of magical things.  The students have been exploring how body movements, posture and expressions can convey meaning during their Drama lessons.  They chose their favourite idea to be represented in an art work.

Our February winners are:

6W: Avalon Rengel : for her mature attitude, continually demonstrating the MJR values of helpfulness and inclusiveness when dealing with others.

4M: Sofia Kolovos: For her welcoming and friendly manner and the encouraging support and inclusiveness she offers to her classmates. A great example of MJR at  St Josephs.

2Roy: Addalynn Cassidy: For being a wonderful example of MJR at St. Joseph’s by radiating positivity, respect and kindness towards everyone, throughout her day.

It's Easter again and we have decided to hold our annual monster Easter Raffle. So once again we are asking for donations for the Raffle.

Families are asked to donate Easter eggs, chocolates, wine, vouchers or anything Easter related etc for the raffle which will be drawn on the last day of the term, Thursday April 1st.

We also ask if you have any baskets or pots that you could bring in to wrap the various items. 

The more donations we receive the more prizes we will be able to raffle (usually we have around 50 prizes).

A small book of raffle tickets will be sent out to each family in coming weeks.

I thank you for your anticipated support of this community initiative.

All money raised goes to the School Forum where the parents in consultation with the staff, decide what resources the children need at school.

Professional Development Days for 2021 are as follows;

Friday          April 23rd

Wednesday  May 5th

Friday          June 25th

Monday       July 12th

Friday          Sept 17th

These are set at the moment, however, they are subject to change

due to Catholic School Office requests.

Apologies to Willow Millar and Neve McGee, whose names were left off the list of students attending the Diocesan Carnival in the last newsletter. 

The Diocesan Swimming Carnival was held in Murwillumbah on Friday 26th February. This is where students from the 32 Diocesan Catholic Schools come together to compete. Congratulations to Keira Everingham, Sienna Gazal, Blake Millar, Pippa Cook, Willow Millar and Neve McGee who represented St Joseph's in the pool. It was great to see students competing at such a high level, with many personal best times recorded. A special mention to Willow Millar who was successful in gaining selection in the Lismore Diocesan Team. Willow will travel to Sydney to compete at the Polding Trials in Sydney on the 22nd March. We will all be cheering for you Willow.

Jingi Walla (hello)

This term we have produced signs for classrooms with the local Bundjalung language for HELLO "Jingi Walla". These signs are displayed in each classroom and in various places around the school. It is really wonderful to hear students using Bundjalung language around our school.

We would also like to congratulate Jacob Gibson 5T and Katie Mays 6M for working together on this year's NAIDOC theme - "Heal Country".

They wrote to Mr Boyle asking to implement their idea to take 5 minutes on Wednesdays to clean up rubbish around their line-up area.

As indigenous school leaders they are really thinking of ways to help our school take care of our environment and country. Well done Jacob and Katie, '5 minutes for healing country' is an awesome idea!

Kim Webb

Indigenous Educator

https://www.walkforautism.org.au/fundraisers/michelleleavey