Term 1 Week 2 - February 6th, 2024

From The Principals Desk

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our first formal newsletter of 2024. It was a pleasure to welcome the year 1-6  students back on Monday morning, smiling faces and positive attitudes for their first day back at school! We look forward to our kindergarten class joining us to complete our 2024 cohort on Wednesday. Our school has grown to 162 students this year, from 152 in 2023.

We warmly welcome our new students and our new staff members; Miss Annabelle Nance (Year 6 teacher), Miss Chloe Quinn (Stage 2 Support teacher) and Mrs Bronwyn Parry (Student Wellbeing Officer).

We will be holding our first formal event this Wednesday morning at 9am, our annual Welcome Mass and Leaders Induction in the church (Our Lady Of Perpetual Succour Church) behind the school. With this coinciding with kindergarten’s first day of big school, they will not be in attendance, but instead settling into their classroom. All are welcome to join us!

Parent Information Evening - Thursday 22nd February, 2024

We have our Parent Information sessions for years 1-6 in week 4 here at school. (Kindergarten had theirs during the transition program late last year) These meetings are held in stages within the stage classrooms. Times for each stage have been staggered to cater for families with children in different classes.

1st Session: Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2) 5:00pm – 5:30pm

2nd Session: Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4) 5:40pm – 6:10pm 

2nd Session: Stage 3 (Years 5 & 6) 6:15pm – 6:45pm 

Attendance

Help your child to have a positive start to the year by building the habit of good attendance.

Building the habit of good attendance is crucial for a positive and successful school year. Here are some tips to help your child develop this habit:

• Establish a Routine. Set a consistent daily routine for your child, including wake-up times, breakfast, and a specific time to leave for school. Having a predictable schedule helps your child understand the importance of punctuality.

• Create a Positive Morning Environment. Make mornings enjoyable by creating a positive atmosphere at home. Encourage open communication and express your enthusiasm for the day ahead. 

• Establish Clear Expectations. Clearly communicate your expectations regarding attendance and emphasise the importance of being present at school every day unless there's a valid reason for absence.

Help your child establish a positive and consistent attendance habit, setting the foundation for a successful 2024 school year. 

Watch this clip by Michael Hawker for strategies to help an anxious child return to school.

Staying Informed

As always you are encouraged to ensure that you stay abreast of the many events and activities that are happening throughout the year. The newsletter will continue to be published each fortnight (on even term weeks) and other notices pushed out through the Compass app. Please be sure to contact the school if you ever have any issues with accessing newsletters or Compass.

Canteen

Our Canteen will continue to be organised and coordinated by Mrs Nicole Mann and our admin team this year. I sincerely thank Nicole for her ongoing support and commitment to this service to our students and families. Canteen will commence on Wednesday 14th February (Week 3). As always we are seeking volunteers to help out in the canteen throughout the year on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Cooks Needed!!

If anyone would be able to support our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Cooking at 12-2pm next Tuesday 13th February, please contact the school.

Looking forward to a positive and successful year of learning and growing together!

Peace and blessings,

Jason Clarke

Principal

Sharing the Gospel

Sports News

AFL COACHES TO VISIT IN PE:

Next Thursday we will receive a visit from some AFL coaches! This will take place during our PE sessions as they come to promote the local AFL sign up for the season. More information will come when they visit and handout their flyer explaining all the details.

ZONE SWIMMING CARNIVAL:

The Zone Swimming Carnival will be taking place in week 4, Monday 19 th February. Parents are welcome to attend. If you wish to take your child home early please see Mrs Martin to have their name marked off. The St Joseph’s swim squad has been working hard to prepare for this competition and we wish all 26 competitors the best of luck: Pippa Bourke, Shelby Walsh, Bonnie Lindsay, Ava Hunt, Layla Walsh, Eadie Workman, Millie Anderson, Meadow Chapman, Ayla Bourke, Amelia Bedser, Ella Hunt, Holly Dorahy, Lalyta Brockbank, Carter Alexander, Caleb Bourke, Max Bourke, Lorenzo Pahlow, Archie Anderson, Harry Lindsay, Luca Anderson, Levi Campbell, Sam Stovold, Xavier Workman, Jaxon Mann, Nakoha Heterick and Misha Reed. We hope you all have a great day of racing and congratulate you for representing our school at the Tweed Zone trials!

DANCE FEVER:

This Friday we will begin our first week of Dance Fever (now known as Zing) for our School Sport in Term 1. This year Zing will be teaching the students from two programs. The first five weeks will be their Body, Mind, Wellbeing Program. This program focuses on: understanding our emotions and how to deal with them, antibullying and strategies for managing stress and anxiety. Students will be given yoga mats to lay on and wireless, noise cancelling headphones which will have calming music played and the instructors voice fed into all headsets. This allows for a distraction free environment as the instructor leads them through various stretches, poses, breathing techniques and guided meditation. I hope the students will enjoy the opportunity to relax, unwind and learn important strategies for managing life’s stresses! The remaining five weeks will be Gymnastic Program where they will be able to test out their strength, balance and flexibility across all areas of Gymnastics. (Gymnastics photos shown from last years’ experience.)

RUNNING CLUB:

With Cross Country in Week 9 (Thursday 28th March), trials taking place in a range of sports and a variety of sports beginning their season, a running club will be starting to help build fitness for all students. This club will meet every Friday morning starting next Friday 16th February on the school oval.

Students are welcome to join at any stage after the 8.20am start time but will need to report to me for a quick warm up before joining the group to avoid any injuries. Students are encouraged to track their achievements on the recording sheet as we note: ‘Number of laps run’ and ‘Level Achieved’ in the Beep Test. One week will be set aside for laps and the other week for the beep test. The week the Beep Test is held, will be the same week families will be meeting at the Murwillumbah Showground (fortnightly) on a Saturday morning. Families are invited to meet at the Murwillumbah Showground at 8am each fortnight starting next Saturday 17th February to run the Zone Cross Country course. This a community-based running group, bringing together families from all schools in the local area and is a great opportunity for children to run with a range of ages and abilities. Parents are responsible for their children and must be able to supervise at all times (even if from the stands but we encourage all levels of participation!) So, join us for a walk / run and finish with a coffee from our local coffee provider Alistair Gibb!

Library News

General News

Poppy Wayne continues to work tirelessly, as usual to get our grounds looking great again, ready for students return to school. What would we do without you?
Thank you!

Road Safety News

Canteen News

School Bus Travel 2024

Compass

Have you logged onto Compass?

Compass is a school management solution that allows parents and cares to access up-to-date and meaningful information about St Joseph's school and your child's progress.

Compass is a user-friendly app that will allow you to pay school fees, send out sick notes. contact teachers, order from the canteen and give permission to attend and pay for excursions and sporting events. 

If you haven't set it up yet, please click on the link below to see what it is all about.

If you need any assistance using your Compass account, please contact the school office. We are here to help with any questions you may have about:

• accessing Compass
• viewing your newsfeed
• fee balance
• canteen ordering
• school events
• permissions & payments

Information is also available in the links below.

Parish News

Friday 9 February                   9:30am - Legion of Mary / Parish Meeting Centre
                                                         12:00 pm - Mass
Saturday 10 February             9:30 am - Rosary
                                                         5:30 pm - Rosary
                                                         6:00 pm - Vigil Mass
Sunday 11 February                 8:30 am - Rosary
                                                         9:00 am - Mass

Health & Wellbeing

Community Sport News

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