Mother’s Day Breakfast 

It was such a treat to be able to gather as a school community on Friday morning for our Mother’s Day Breakfast. It is certainly a highlight of the school calendar and a wonderful opportunity to recognise all the wonderful women in our St Joseph’s community. We had an enormous turn out with just over 300 people, our biggest breakfast ever! A big thank you to all the staff who came to school at ‘early o’clock’ to help get the breakfast up and running.

Strategic Planning Evening

The strategic planning session tomorrow night has been postponed - there were very few able to attend this week. Instead, we have moved the session to next Wednesday 18 May from 6.00pm. If you are unable to make this time, there will also be a breakfast meeting on Friday 20 May from 7.30am.

The sessions will now be facilitated by our very own School Board Chair, Dr Bec Jackson. Bec is a psychologist who has worked across several domains and has over 20 years’ experience as a Leadership and Development Coach.

Please RSVP - https://bit.ly/39T63UP

Social and Emotional Learning  

This term I have returned to the classrooms to continue working with the students on their Social and Emotional Learning. I am using the Kindness Curriculum which focuses on the development of core attributes that underpin kindness, namely: Collaboration, Compassion, Empathy, Gratitude, Honesty, Humility, Humour, Mindfulness, Perspective, Positivity, Self-Acceptance and Trust.  

The focus of my lessons this week has been on Positivity. In Foundation to Year 3 we have been learning that positivity means thinking in an optimistic way and that positivity creates a ripple effect to those around us. With the older students, I have been talking about how a positive attitude can be cultivated through positive self-talk, a skill that students, sadly, often find difficult to do.

I am setting the challenge for positivity to spread throughout the school by being a ‘glass half full’ thinker and sharing positive statements in the classroom and on the playground.  

A reminder that student absences need to be logged via the Compass Parent Portal. Reminder emails were sent on Monday for unexplained absences. Thank you to the many parents who have already actioned these emails. If you are unsure of how to enter your child’s absence, you can access instructions here. If you have any questions or require support with any aspect of Compass, please do not hesitate to contact me.  

Afternoon Pick up

To ensure that our afternoon carline runs smoothly and safely we ask that the following measures are followed:

• There is no right turn into the school driveway from 2:45pm onwards
• Parents are to remain in cars at all times. If your child needs assistance in getting into the car, a member of staff will assist.
• The pedestrian crossing is used when crossing the carpark
• Family name cards are displayed on the front dashboard. For new families, these were sent home today. If you require a new card, please let me know.

Active Streets Program

Our school is participating in the Active Streets for Schools program. Active Streets delivers infrastructure improvements around schools to make it safer and easier to ride, walk, scooter or skate to and from school. To support students who may be beginning to travel independently, we have distributed an Active Streets resource pack to students in Years 4-6. The pack includes a map highlighting routes to our school. Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about how they can use these resources to support walking or riding to school. Starting small is often a good approach, so try using part way points a short distance from the school and accompany students to teach them safe habits. The Active Streets program helps children to develop independence, while providing health and safety benefits for the school community, with increased physical activity and fewer cars on the road. 

Global School Partners

For many years, St Joseph's Primary School has had an association with the Riamabana Academy in Kenya. The school has raised funds to go towards much needed resourcing and building projects to improve the schooling expereiences of the students who attend Riamabana Academy. The last two years have been difficult, but it nice to hear that they too are back at school for 2022.

Have a great end to the week.

Yours in Christ,