Dear parents and carers,

Continuing to Raising the ‘care factor’

How have you gone at home this week working to ‘raise the care factor’? It has been something that I have regularly referred to as I have moved about the school, using the prompt to acknowledge the students when they have been working well with each other, picking up their lunch boxes at the end of eating time and helping prepare for the upcoming musical.

Having something simple such as a ‘raise the care factor’ prompt tends to work well, for Principals and for parents, to remind the children about what our expectations are. However, I can tell you as a parent, I often lecture too long at home, rather than keeping it short and simple… not surprisingly I am quickly tuned out. As we continue over the coming weeks, I will be using this ‘raising the care factor’ to ensure a positive end to the year.

Enrolments

A reminder that we currently have enrolment places across the school and in the Early Learning Centre. Thank you for the wonderful support you all obviously give to the school, as almost all families that join our school mention hearing great things about St Joseph’s. Please, if you know anyone looking to enrol in 2022, encourage them to make contact with the school or ELC as soon as possible.

Wizard of Oz

Things are most definitely moving quickly down the yellow brick road as we prepare for the musical in a couple of weeks. Thank you to all parents and carers who eagerly bought tickets to the performances. We are aware that there was great demand, due to the limited numbers, but the ticket sales seem to have been successful. Over the coming days, we will look to promote any available tickets and then refer to the waitlist if necessary.

In the meantime, please ensure you are getting the outfits ready and keep an eye out for further details about the musical, in particular the times that all students will need to be at school for each of the evening performances.

Staffing

Over recent weeks we have been looking ahead to 2022 and preparing for some staffing changes. At the end of the year, we will be sad to farewell Ms Maria Paragalli who most recently has been a classroom teacher and before this, our Italian teacher. Maria is moving on to take a position at St Francis Xavier College, Florey. We will also farewell Mrs Sally Adams, our Defence Support Mentor who has done a fantastic job introducing this role into St Joseph’s. Ms Linley Ellis is making a move to Brisbane to be closer to family, securing a position at St Ignatius, Toowong, having taught across a number of grades in her time at St Joseph’s. Lastly, Mrs Alison Nesci, after many years of wonderful service at St Joseph’s, has accepted a position at St Joseph’s Primary at Mereweather, near Newcastle. Alison has finally found her way close to the beach!

With any change comes new opportunities, and our school is no different. I am pleased to welcome Mrs Kirstie Buckley, who is joining St Joseph’s with a lot of experience, coming from Brisbane. Mrs Anita Bettell has accepted an ongoing position, and Ms Naomie Grech will continue in her role as a classroom teacher, having joined St Joseph’s this year. There are still some staffing appointments to be made, but we are most definitely excited about what 2022 holds for us as a school.

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Today, a reminder alert has been sent to all parents via Compass with details for the Semester 2 Parents / Teacher Interviews. Please ensure that you make a time to meet with your child/ren’s teacher next week, if you haven’t already, as this is a great opportunity to discuss the progress throughout the year.

2022 Classes   

A final reminder to please discuss with your child the Sociogram that has been sent home. This green form is an opportunity for your child to select three friends whom they would like to be in a class with in 2022. From this they are assured of being in class with at least one of their nominated friends. Please return this completed form by Friday 26 November.

It is also necessary for parents to let me know via email, any relevant information that may assist with the allocation of classes for 2022. This also needs to be done by Friday 26 November.

Have a great end to the week.

Yours in Christ,

Cameron Tarrant

Cameron.tarrant@cg.catholic.edu.au