…and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Dear parents and carers,

From our focus scripture for 2025, we can draw out this key belief, that indeed hope does not disappoint us. When this hope is founded upon facing our challenges and giving our best, we can be confident in the hope we have. As we all settle into the new school year, it is my hope that all students and families can thrive this year, in whatever way is personally important, and as part of the St Joseph’s community.

It has certainly been a frantic start to the year, with our new students and families settling in and getting to know more about our school. On Tuesday the students in Lourdes attended mass to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, after whom one of our four Houses is named. The other three Houses, Loreto, Madonna and Fatima, also named in honour of Mary the mother of Jesus, spent time in cross-age groupings learning more about their House and completing a craft activity. Throughout the year, we will repeat this focus activity, on the feast day of each of the House patrons.

I am looking forward to seeing all parents this evening as part of the Meet and Greet, followed by the Welcome BBQ. A reminder that this is an opportunity to visit your child’s classroom and to briefly meet their teacher. It is important that children remain with their parents while here at the school, as our After School Care providers have duty of care for those students still at Kids Biz until 6pm.

The Welcome BBQ will be held under the trees between the school and the ELC. 

Canteen Money

St Joseph’s is very fortunate to have a canteen (The Snack Shack) that operates three days a week, providing a great service to our families and an enjoyable experience for our students. Lunch orders can be placed via Qkr! and over the counter sales are available at both break times.

A reminder though, that if your child is bringing money to school to spend at the canteen, that they need only bring enough to purchase a small number of items. Over the past week, there have been several $20 notes and even a $50 note arrive at the Snack Shack window! Having this amount of money at school is not necessary and it is likely that Mrs Wilson in the canteen will check with teachers and even hold onto large notes to ensure any change gets home safely. Often though, parents have not been aware that these large amounts of money have been brought in, nor that sometimes items are being purchased for friends. Thank you for your support with this.

School and Family Counsellor

As communicated last week, St Joseph’s has a School and Family Counsellor that works two days a week. Please see below an introduction to our new counsellor. Michelle is very keen to be active and known in the school, and will next week start visits to classroom to introduce herself and to get to know a little more about the school. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle directly or contact the school.

Swimming Carnival

Next Tuesday 18 February is our annual Swimming Carnival for students in Years 2 – 6 at Dickson Aquatic Centre. Our Foundation and Year 1 students will have a normal day here at school but with a water play session in the afternoon session – more information to come from class teachers.

The carnival information and consent request was sent out via Compass this afternoon. Please ensure this is actioned as soon as possible. Please Note – there will be no canteen made available to students on the day. They must bring their lunch food and water bottle. The canteen will still be open for any parents / carers.

I would ask that all parents encourage their children to get involved as much as they are able on the day. In recent years we have noticed a drop off in participation particularly in the competitive events, which impacts the success of the day overall. There are a number of events in and around the water in which all students can be involved.

Happy Families

St Joseph’s is subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership! Owned and run by Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, the membership offers a wealth of parenting education and resources.

We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Webinars. You can also access your resources at any time using the below URL (unique to our school) and password.

URL - https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/stjosephs

Password – happysjps

A new Insights article is released weekly during the term and will periodically be included with the school newsletter. You can also access 300+ previous Insights articles on our school’s URL.

Please make the most of this membership by accessing and perusing the great articles and past webinars. If there are resources that you find useful, please share these with other parents and let me know, so I can promote them across the school.

Water Polo

Team entries are now open for the Term 1 Primary Comp! This competition is open to students in Years 3–4 and 5–6 at ACT schools. Just email at info@canberrawaterpoloacademy.com.

More information on the CSC can be found on our schools comp page

Details:

• Day: Fridays
• Time: 6:30–8:30 pm
• Dates: February 14, 21, 28, March 7, 14, 21, (28 is a bye round, so no games), April 4
• Cost: $150 per player (includes GST)

How to register:
You can register as an individual here .

At St Joseph’s, we are fortunate to have Melinda McGregor who is the parent contact, if you are looking for more information. Please contact Mel at - melvin@bigpond.net.au

Chess

Family Kahoots Triva Night – SAVE THE DATE

On Friday 21 February, the School Community Council is hosting an online Family Kahoots Trivia Night. All families are invited to join what promised to be a fun time for families, answering questions and solving challenges and impromptu games. More details to come… but here is what is important –

• Date – Friday 21 February – online at home (link to be sent out)
• Time – 6.30 to 7.30pm
• Completely open to all families and ages – questions and challenges will be for everyone!

If you would like to be part of the organisation of this fun night, please contact Council Chair, Linda Uzubalis at - sjo.schoolcommunitycouncil@gmail.com