May Jesus come to bless you on your First Communion Day. May you feel His loving presence in a very special way. And as you strive to follow in His footsteps may He bless your life with many graces.

Dear parents and carers,

Last night, many of our Year 4 students made their First Holy Communion. In his homily, Fr Paul spoke about the ‘closeness’ that we have with God when we participate in the Eucharist, so the significance of this moment in the faith lives of those receiving the sacrament, is something to celebrate. As a Catholic school, we want to always find ways to be close to God, and the image we have of Him in Jesus. We speak about how we want to treat others and live our lives. As we pray for our Year 4 students today, let’s keep each other in our prayers also, as we try to be the face of Jesus to those around us.

QKR! and the Uniform Shop

A reminder to have the QKR! app loaded onto your phone. This platform is used extensively for school payments and for making purchases. One area where a great deal of work has gone into recently, is the use of QKR! to develop a system of stock control in the Uniform Shop. Thank you to Felicity and Nicole who have worked to ensure that we have an efficient and reliable service in the Uniform Shop. A key aspect of maintaining accurate stock levels, is to ensure that any purchases are done directly through QKR! Paying via the Front Office often causes issues with keeping an accurate record of sales. Please take the time to use the QKR! app to place your orders, and the items will be delivered to your child’s class within the week or can be collected from the Front Office once filled.

Carpark

Thank you to all the parents who are making use of the Drive-thru, especially in the afternoon. I am aware that this is taking a little longer at the moment, but it is still necessary. If you do choose to wait for your child of an afternoon, please ensure you do so under the trees and remain physically distanced from others. Please do not wait in the carpark and call you child across to the car.

COVID Update

In recent days, there has been further easing of some restrictions in the ACT. However, please note that schools, both government and private, are continuing to operate under tighter restrictions than those in the general public. This is due to schools currently experiencing exposures, and the reality that students under 12 years of age are currently unable to access a vaccine. Therefore, until notified otherwise, all communicated protocols remain in place in an effort to ensure the student are safe and we are able to best respond to any concerns should they arise.

8.50am Start

Last week I wrote about the importance of students arriving to school on time. This week we have actually seen an increase in the number of students arriving after the morning bell, many who enter the school unaccompanied and therefore needing to be signed in manually by the Front Office. Please, if you are running late for any reason, you still need to accompany your child into the school and sign them in on the Compass Kiosk in the Front Office. However, as we are wanting to limit the number of visitors in the school, please ensure your child is at school by 8.50am, in time for the bell.

Canteen

The Canteen will be closed all of next week, so there will be no lunches or over the counter sales. Stay tuned for information about our next Nachos Day on Tuesday 23 November.

2022 Classes

Today the 2022 Socio-gram is going home with all students in Foundation to Year 5. This is an important aspect to our planning as we begin to look at placing the students into their new classes for 2022. 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 ask you and your child to consider 3 friends that they would like to be in a class with in 2022. The intention is to ensure that each student is paired with at least one of their friends they nominate.

If there is specific information that parents would like to advise me of to assist the composition of classes for 2022, then this must be done so in writing to me either via email or letter by no later than Friday 26 November. This does not include requests for particular teachers, nor does it include considerations other than the learning needs of your child. Each year is a new start for all students, and teachers, and therefore only information provided this year is taken into consideration when putting classes together for 2022.

Supporting the School – The P&F and School Board

The P&F works to promote the role of all parents within the school, as well as support fundraising efforts to provide resources for the students. The P&F operates and oversees the Canteen and Uniform Shop, at the same time offering an opportunity for all parents to contribute to community events and the school in general.

Please consider nominating yourself to join the P&F. All parents are members of the P&F and can attend the AGM TONIGHT Wednesday 10 November at 7pm via Teams. All positions on the P&F are declared vacant each year, so any and all nominations are welcome.

Please email Cameron.tarrant@cg.catholic.edu.au to be sent the Teams link for the P&F Meeting, or to find out more about how you can support and contribute to the wider St Joseph’s community.
2022 is a fete year as well!

Likewise, the Board plays a vital role in the functioning of the school and is an extremely worthwhile avenue for parents to assist with the success of the school. The Board’s work is dedicated to enhancing all that happens for your children at our school and we endeavour to work towards our vision of St Joseph’s being an excellent school within a Christ-centred community.

Unlike the P&F, the School Board is comprised of elected members, voted in if necessary, who take on a two-year position on the Board. Members can only serve three consecutive terms. Please consider if you have particular skills and capabilities that may build on the excellent work of the current and past Boards.

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact me or refer to the linked information and nomination form below. Nominations close Monday 22 November, in time for consideration at the next Board meeting on Wednesday 24 November.

St Joseph's School Board Nomination Form

Big Night In

A big push for the Big Night In… it really would be great to have a large number of families join our online games night, to have some fun and also raise some much-needed money for the P&F, which comes directly back to the students in various ways. There are also fantastic prizes to be won!

This Friday night, via Zoom. Full details in the P&F Section of this Newsletter.

TICKETS SALES CLOSE 5PM THURSDAY!

Have a great end to the week.

Yours in Christ,

Cameron Tarrant

Cameron.tarrant@cg.catholic.edu.au

Sacrament of First Eucharist

Last night we celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist. Our candidates have been preparing over the last few months for this extremely important event. The guests and teachers who attended were very proud of these students and we congratulate them as they continue their faith journey.

Congratulations to:

Thank you to Father Paul for leading us in a beautiful mass.

St Joseph’s Sacramental Program

The Sacrament of Confirmation:

Date:                        Saturday 4 December

Location:                  St Joseph’s Catholic Church

Attendees:                Candidate, two family                                          members and one sponsor

Attire:                       Smart casual (It is                                               not mandated that students need to wear white)

Time:              2:00pm and 3:00pm (Please note the additional Mass time)

 Enrollments are not closed for this Sacrament. Workbooks will be sent home this week to all of the candidates who have registered for the Sacrament of Confirmation.       

Year 6 Graduation Mass

Date of Mass:                          Thursday 9 December

Time:                                       12:00pm

Unfortunately, due to capacity restrictions in the church, the numbers are strictly restricted to the Year 6 students and two family members. There will be allocated seating with the students' names. If restrictions ease over the coming weeks, families will be notified with an update.

Advent Prayer Celebrations

Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at

Christmas. Advent is celebrated over 4 weeks, each week holding a significant focus. Each of these focuses represent the virtues that Jesus brought us; hope, love, joy and peace.

This year, our Advent Prayer Celebrations will take place outside under the trees. These prayers will be an opportunity for us to acknowledge one of the most important times in our Catholic lives.

Advent Prayer Details:

Week 8 - Friday 26 November                       Hope - lead by 5 Blue

Week 9 - Friday 3 December                         Love - lead by 4 Gold

Week 10 - Friday 10 December                     Joy - lead by 5 Orange

Week 11 - Thursday 16 December                Peace - lead by 4 Green

Parents are invited to attend the prayer celebration their child is involved in. Please be mindful that COVID protocols will be in place. Even outside, social distancing is still required.

For further information or any questions regarding Religious Education and events, please feel free to contact me via email: michelle.vuli@cg.catholic.edu.au

Sustainability in Action

It’s Musical Time!   

We at St Joseph’s know that reusing and repurposing is a powerful way to reduce waste. As we have our musical, The Wizard of Oz, fast approaching, we are hopeful that our sustainable community can come together to donate these pre-loved items:

-Fabulous crown

-Lion outfit/ onesie

-Fake axe and large funnel

-Overalls for 10/11 year old

-Dorothy style dress for 12 year old

-Anything green! Feather boa, bead, hats, kids skirts, ties and jewellery. The more flamboyant, the better!

We are also in need of prop making materials, such as:

-Paint brushes and rollers

-Drop sheets

-Paint, spray paint

-Wheels on castors

- Thin MDF or plywood

-Calico

-Anything you think may be handy for building and designing a set!

“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” -Helen Keller

Ryan McGee

Sustainability Coordinator

ryan.mcgee@cg.catholic.edu.au

UNIFORM SHOP COORDINATOR NEEDED

• A uniform shop coordinator is needed to help with promoting the shop, coordinating volunteers, and managing stock levels and sales processes.

• If you can spare a few hours a fortnight, enjoy working with others, and maybe even have some experience in retail we'd love to hear from you.

Congratulations to the Week 6 award recipients. 

Happy birthday to these students who celebrated their birthday this week.