Dear Parents and Carers 

It is hard to believe that we are at the final day of Term 3!  The past few weeks have been very busy with our staff preparing for the external review.  This week we welcomed five members of the Catholic Schools Office to spend two days in our school speaking to all staff and some students and parents. 

We were congratulated on the welcoming and inclusive community we have created at St Joseph’s and the increasing focus on academic achievement.  It made me very proud to be able to showcase our school and highlight the many fantastic things that are happening at St Joseph’s. 

The feedback that we will receive in a formal report will guide us in the development of our next 3-year strategic plan.

JAFA

What a fabulous event JAFA was.  Our students rose to the challenge and put on a very entertaining evening.  It is always so special to be able to watch the students as they walk off stage after their performance, from being a bundle of nerves before they start to being so proud of themselves and full of joy when they finish is something that I truly enjoy being able to share in. 

Congratulations to the following award winners;   

Bravery- Sophie Hook
Best costumes -Yr 1 
Supporting female- Caitlin Watters
Lead female- Destiny Mastop 

Lead male- Adam Rees
Supporting male- Riley Knoke  
Choreography- Yr 3
Best props and scenery -Yr 6 
Bast narrator- Lewis Downie

Ensemble work- Yr 5
Adjudicator- Yr 2  
Encouragement-Kinder

Well done to all of our in-between acts! 

I would like to thank the teachers and staff who helped to prepare for the evening and also thanks to Karen Scriven and Zedd Dine, Jane Murray, Mary Stepowikow and Amcal Chapman and Wood Chemist in Wingham for their very generous donations for our raffle prizes.  Thanks to Jodie Raison, Lisa Hagarty and Heidi Eikmann for selling tickets in the foyer, it is just amazing that we sold out of tickets. 

Congratulations to our Raffle Winners: 

1st Prize: S Godfrey; 2nd Prize: Finn Atkins; 3rd Prize: Tammy Knoke

All fundraising from the evening will go towards our new playground equipment which our students are very excited about, so thank you again for your support of our school.

Tell Them From Me Survey

The Tell Them From Me Survey is now open and will close on the 7^th of October.   All teachers and students from Year 4 to 6 also complete a survey.  The information that parents provide us in this survey helps us to continue to improve as a school and provides us with guidance in future direction and planning.  I encourage you to please take the time to fill out this survey.  To access the survey please click on the following link http://tellthemfromme.com/95kdp

Pupil Free Day

Don’t forget that this Friday we have a pupil free day.  Our staff will be working on our next 3 year strategic plan.  Term 4 will start on Monday the 10^th of October and we look forward to welcoming everyone back then.

 Please join me in saying a prayer for our school community, that we enjoy a restful and enjoyable two week break.

God Bless

Prime Minister Award

 ‘ Being a steward of creation’, ‘trying your best’, ‘speaking with kindness’ and ‘ being a responsible learner’ are some of the qualities that teachers consider when awarding ‘Prime Minister’ at our weekly assembly. It is an acknowledgement of the student’s efforts and they have the privilege of wearing the badge with honour, of suggesting a focus the school can work on, award Gotchas to other students at lunch time as well as earning Gotchas for themselves. Congratualations to Daniel Sutherland (Week 9).

MJR Awards

As part of our MJR system ,we acknowledge that the following students, Kade Bailey has received a Positive Behavious Award; Bentley Minns, and Mia Nash have reached 200 Gotchas; Adena Campbell has reached 400 Gotchas.  Well Done!

Mary Mackillop Award 

This award is presented to one student each term that consistently goes above and beyond to put the needs of others first. This award is founded on one of the most motivating and known sayings of Saint Mary MacKillop “never see a need without doing something about it” (1871). We present this award to someone who follows in Saint Mary’s footsteps by reaching out to the most needy and vulnerable in our school community. Congratulations goes to Cooper Nowlan for Term 3.

Children’s University 

 Our Children’s University students have been working hard towards achieving hours in their passports and getting ready to graduate. This year the excitement is building as we organise our trip to Newcastle to graduate in the Great Hall at the University of Newcastle campus.  

The Children’s University program is all about recognising that learning can happen outside of the classroom and last week we visited the Wingham Museum and had great discussions around what life was like in the past.  

This week our focus has been on technology with students able to participate in International Dot Day activities; using an Augmented Reality app to bring our drawings to life! We have also been learning some coding skills using the Scratch app. 

Evie Paris-Everingham turns 6; Susannah Healy and Hades Ellis turn 7; Bentley Minns and Thomas Marshall turn 8; Delilah Barbour-Williams turns 9;Tyceon Xuereb and Zeke Pereira turn 10; Parker Hagarty, Kyran Lewis, Lara Prior, Isak Van Der Merwe and Harry Macmillan all turn 12.