News from the Principal
Dear families and friends of St Joseph’s,
Can you believe we are heading into Week 6! Where has the time gone? Looking back over this time we can be very proud of all that has been achieved right across the school. Well done to our parents and staff who have worked together settling our children into the daily routines of learning across the school.
Lent Begins
Thank you to all our families who supported our Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday celebrations last week. It's really special to be able to begin our Lenten journey together in such a memorable way! Thank you to our wonderful parents and staff helpers for assisting with selling tickets, serving and pancake cooking on Shrove Tuesday. Our value action in focus, “Never see a need without doing something about it" was certainly lived out last week!
School Camp
This week I was privileged of spending some time with the Year 6 students and their teachers at Camp Patterson near Mareeba. It always gives me so much enjoyment to see our Senior Leaders experiencing the joy of going on camp together.
Being away from desks, devices, and the confines of school gates brings with it many opportunities for our students the opportunity to showcase different strengths and present new sides of their personality. Both teachers and students also get to see each other in a new light and build better relationships outside the classroom to bring back into the learning environment.
Principal’s Forum
On Thursday and Friday this week, I have attended the Senior Leadership Conference in Cairns. This was an opportunity for all principals and Senior Leaders across all Cairns Diocese to come together for professional development covering strategic intent and organisational leadership for 2023.
Prep Enrolments for 2024
Enrolment for Prep in 2024 has begun and are coming in fast. Existing St Joseph’s families with Prep age children receive priority placement. I urge you to please enrol your child before the 13th March so that we have a clear indication of class sizes in preparation for 2024.
I also ask for your help to encourage new families you may know to enrol their child here at our amazing school and to contact the school as soon as possible. Many thanks to those of you who spread the “good news” about St Joseph’s. We rely on word of mouth as the best form of communication in our small community and we are always grateful for the positive feedback we hear from new enrolments.
Project Compassion 2023
Our Project Compassion Campaign has officially begun! Over the coming weeks, our Senior Learning Hub will be sharing stories with St Joseph’s School Community about some of the people around the world who are supported by Caritas. The generous donations from our families go a long way in helping people just like the ones we will learn about, so please donate what you can. We are asking all families to send in Easter Eggs and Chocolates to go into our Easter Raffles, which will be drawn at the end of this term.
Parent Engagement
While the P&F has done some amazing work for our community for many years, it is evident by the engagement in recent years that a change of tact is in order. In 2022, we could not form an executive committee which simply meant that the P&F could not function. Fortunately for us, Catholic Schools Parents Queensland has been trialling new ways of working across the state to focus more on parent engagement in education over recent years. I have been working on forming the basis for our new-look parent engagement model, titled Family and Community Engagement. In essence, the focus will be less on meetings, and more on engaging the wider community regarding issues that are mutually important to education and parents. Things like Cybersafety, Parenting Ideas, Study Skills and Student Wellbeing.
Harmony Week
This year, St Joseph's will celebrate Harmony Week in Week 9! The theme for Harmony Week in 2023 is everyone belongs. Our senior students and staff have planned some really exciting things for Harmony Week. Further details will be shared about this closer to the end of the term. I have shared a URL to a song that will feature heavily in our Harmony Week celebrations this year. Happy singing! https://youtu.be/nJ1QEE_RXP8
Safety Procedures
Each year we hold practice drills for both Evacuation and Lockdown procedures in both semesters. Next week we will be practising these drills with our students to be prepared for an emergency situation. Teachers will talk through the procedure prior to the practice drill with the students. The staff and students will then follow the procedure to become familiar with the process that ensures the safety of all in the event of an actual emergency.
Student Learning Meetings
In week 9, on Monday 20th March and Tuesday 21st March, from 3:15 till 7:30pm Student Learning Meetings (originally Parent-Teacher interviews) will take place. These interview sessions are of 15 minutes duration. As no formal written report will be issued until mid-way into the school year, Student Learning Meetings are a chance for parents and teachers to catch-up and for parents to receive valuable feedback on their child/ren’s general progress and performance in school so far. Should the day and time not suit, then do not hesitate to organise a more convenient time with individual teachers.
Parents are asked to access our Parent Teacher On-Line (PTO) via our website. This system allows you to book the interview time that suit you best. Further details of how to access will be sent out to you from our Leader of Teaching and Learning, Amanda O’Brien.
International Women's Day - Wednesday 8th March
International Women’s Day (IWD) provides us with an opportunity to educate and inspire students about gender equality. It is important to this cause that we celebrate the achievements of women and challenge gender stereotypes and bias. Here at St Joseph’s, we will be sharing these messages in the classroom and the playground, to supplement the conversations that families have over the dinner table. We asked our students to help ‘Embrace Equity’ (this year’s IWD theme). We have learnt that collective activism is what drives change. This means creating inclusion and success for all. Equality is the goal, and equity is the means to get there.