As we approach the season of Advent, we invite you all to embrace this time of joyful preparation with us. As a community, we have much to be grateful for and celebrating Advent reminds us to reflect, prepare our hearts, and focus on the hope and love that Christmas brings. It is also a time to think of others and share in the spirit of generosity. Last week we launched our annual Christmas appeal in support of St Vincent De Paul. It has been wonderful to see the hamper baskets being filled with all the things that make Christmas special for families and children. These donations and simple acts of generosity are a great way to teach children about the gift of giving.

At St Joseph’s charity is not just the giving of physical items but also the gift of time which we know is precious to all families. We have many parents and community members who are extremely generous with their time and give back to our community to ensure our children experience many special events and opportunities. We would like to pass on our thanks to the hard-working team of volunteers led by Nichole Hanlon who made our Taco Tuesday special lunch day yesterday the huge success that it was. A lot of time and planning goes into treats such as these and on behalf of our students we give our heartfelt thanks.

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Community Council AGM

This evening we have the Community Council Annual General Meeting at 6pm. The AGM will be held in person at school and a link to join online has also been shared via Compass this week. We invite you to come along and hear about the fabulous work of the council as well as share any interest you may have in being part of council activities in 2025.

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2025 Classes

In preparation for organising classes for 2025, the Socio-gram was sent home with all students in Foundation to Year 5 earlier in the term – please ensure this has been returned to your child’s teacher. This is always a very carefully considered process that begins with the current teacher and what they know of each student and, first and foremost, their learning. At the same time, all social aspects of friendships and new opportunities are taken into account. On the Socio-gram, we have asked you and your child to consider 3 friends that they would like to be in a class with in 2024. The intention is to ensure that each student is paired with at least one of their friends they nominate.

ACT Orienteering

Tomorrow the 21st of November St Joseph's will host Round 2 of the Spring SC-ORE orienteering challenge. Please be aware of increased traffic in the car park before school, and follow the regular safety precautions.