10 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

News

Principal’s Report

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

On behalf of the staff, I wish all the students a happy return to school for the commencement of the 2020 school year. I’m very excited to have been given the opportunity to lead such a wonderful school community. I look forward to working with our dedicated teachers and support staff to give your children the opportunity to grow socially, emotionally and academically in a nurturing, supporting and joy-filled environment. Welcome to our new Kindergarten students, Mason Abraham, Remi Ashby, Leon Blanch, Isabelle Eager, Eli Fenning and Jesse Volley. To the Kindergartens and their families, we hope you have a happy association with our school community.

We welcome Mr Adam McCann who will teach in Year 2/3, be the Religious Education Coordinator (REC) and share the role of K-2 Literacy & Numeracy Teacher with myself. We are also very pleased to welcome Miss Teegan Rowsell back to St. Josephs as Kindergarten/Year 1 Teacher. Mr Aaron Fox joins us in the Library this Term and teaching in Mr McCann’s class, most Monday and Tuesdays. We welcome Aaron and hope he enjoys his time at St. Joseph’s. Miss Prosser continues as our Year 4/5/6 Teacher. Mrs Alison Perry, our School Counsellor, continues to visit odd weeks each Thursday. Our support staff consist of Mrs Kelly Middlebrook, Mrs Jennifer Shultz and Mrs Joanne Relf, our Pastoral Care Worker. We also welcome Father Terry Horne to our parish as our sacramental priest. Father Terry is a retired priest from Kotara and will be residing at Krambach and assisting with our masses. Father Terry had a tour of our school last Friday and enjoyed meeting our staff and students.

During the first half of Term 1, Mrs Hollingsworth will be on leave. Mrs Jennifer Shultz will be in the office of a Monday & Tuesday and Mrs Jacqui Burgess will be in the office of a Wednesday and Thursday.

A big thank you to Miss Rowsell for her organisation of the Swimming Carnival on the Wednesday 29th. Thank you also to all parents who were able to be there and assist. It was wonderful to see many students swim their best and support their peers. Our Regional Swimming Carnival will be held Wednesday 12th, with Catholic schools from Forster, Bulahdelah, Wingham and Taree attending. Students who have qualified have received notes and need to return these by Monday 10th.

Thank you to all parents who were able to attend the P&F Meeting on Monday evening. It was wonderful to have so many parents present supporting the school and discussing new ideas and infrastructure for the school and for the benefit of students. Hardcopies of minutes went home today. Next meeting is AGM scheduled for Monday 2nd March @ 6:30pm.

Thank you to Mrs Relf for organising the Meet and Greet on Thursday afternoon. This event provided a wonderful opportunity to welcome new parents to the school and to meet others.

The school calendar is quickly coming together for Term 1. Please note that Friday 21st February (Week4) and Friday 20th March (Week 8) will be Pupil Free Days. Each year all registered schools are allocated between 4-5 days to plan or spend time on professional development of compliance as a whole staff. We appreciate your understanding in the school being closed on these days and will attempt to give as much notice as possible. There will also be a Pupil Free Day in Term 3, Monday 27th July (Week 2).

Earlier this week two letters regarding school fees, one from the Catholic Schools Office and one from myself went home. Families who are suffering from genuine financial hardship are encouraged to contact the office and arrange an appointment. If you have any concerns or questions regarding school fees please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Week 6, March 1 to 7, is Catholic Schools Week. This year the 2020 theme is 'Drawing From The Well - Invitation. Encounter. Witness'. During this week the school will celebrate Catholic Schools Week as a community through several events. We look forward to celebrating this special event with you.

Mr Peter Nicholls, Principal of St Clare’s High School will be attending St Joseph’s Gloucester on 2 March from 2pm to discuss 2021 enrolments. All welcome to attend if you are considering enrolling your child at St Clare’s High School in 2021. St Clare’s High School will be holding an Open Afternoon on 9 March from 4.00pm to 5.30pm. The afternoon begins with a meeting in the Learning Centre followed by a tour of school facilities and then an opportunity to meet with members of staff. Parents/guardians along with their child/ren are invited to visit the school on this afternoon.

I hope your students have had a great week of learning.

Peace and best wishes,

Amy Maslen

Religious Education Coordinator Report

After my first full week at this school it has been wonderful to see such caring and helpful students. It has been such a change for me to see students who genuinely demonstrate care and concern for others and their environment. MJR (Making Jesus Real) has been implemented into our school and it is truly wonderful seeing the students follow this ideal every day at this wonderful school.

This week Years 4/5/6 attended our first Parish Mass of the year. We are extremely lucky to have Father Terry leading our Masses from the start of the year. Father Terry actively works with the children during the Service and explains various symbols and parts of the mass which really helps with the students understanding of the mass. Each grade will attend the Parish Mass on a Tuesday throughout this term.

Other whole school Masses/Liturgies that we have this term include Ash Wednesday 26th February, St. Joseph’s Day 19th March and Easter 9th April.

Adam McCann

Library Report

Library borrowing will be each Wednesday. Students need to bring their library book and a library bag.

Aaron Fox

Sport Report

Term One, 2020 at St. Joseph’s began with a wonderful start, with all students from Year 1 to Year 6 participating in the School Swimming Carnival. It was fabulous to see all students who were present on the day participate with enthusiasm and a positive attitude.

On top of this, I would like to thank all parents and teachers who attended the carnival for their support at the Swimming Carnival and would like to make mention of Lara Maslen, Brooke Turner, Cameron Turner, Poppy Yates and Bianca Turner who also helped on the day.

Congratulations to our Senior Boys and Girls Swimming Champions: Stuart Turner and Charlotte Marchant & our Junior Boys and Girls Swimming Champions: Rory Ashby and Xanthe Fenning.

School sport started back on Thursday 6th February. All students are now grouped and will begin lessons next Friday 14th February and lessons will return to Thursday’s the following week on Thursday 20th February.

Teegan Rowsell

Awards

P & F News

Thank you for all who attended our first P&F meeting for 2020, we had a wonderful representation of parents. A reminder the AGM is Monday 2nd March at 6.30pm in the school Library. Amy will be sending a note home for nominations in the coming weeks.

Reminders and Notes

All volunteers in Maitland-Newcastle Diocesan Schools are required to complete a Working With Children Check. These checks are free for volunteers. You can apply online and then must attend the RMS to have your identification validated. Once you obtain your Working With Children Clearance number this must then be provided to Lisa in the front office who will pass the information on to Zimmerman House and the Catholic Schools Office for further processing. We love having volunteers in our school but me must comply with this requirement. If you have any queries regarding this please contact Lisa who is only too willing to assist you.

Staff at Joeys