Dear Parents/Guardians,

As the weeks roll by, St Joseph's Primary staff and students have been incredibly busy over the past few weeks with ANZAC Day, St Joseph’s Day, Mother’s Day celebrations, Athletics and NAPLAN. Thanks to the staff who guide our students through these events and parents for your support.

 On Wednesday we all joined the 1 000 000 Australians reading simultaneously this week. National Simultaneous Story Time (NSS) was held across Australia this week and was organised by the Australian Library and Information Association. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, family homes and bookshops across Australia. Now in its 19th year, it is a colourful, vibrant event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy.

 This year we enjoyed reading the popular children’s book - Alpacas with Maracas, written and illustrated by Matt Cosgrove. He has written over 20 fantastic children’s books – many of which we host in our school library. Macca and his pal Al are the best of friends and love spending time together. When there is an opportunity to enter a talent contest they just can’t resist. But what will their act be? Will they Shimmy and Shake? Will they Dance and Prance? Read Alpacas with Maracas to find out. Come into the Office and check out the beautiful ‘Macca and Al’ artwork that Prep have shared with us. Many thanks to Mrs Grant our travelling librarian and teachers who have been preparing this event for weeks.

 Early this week we came together for the annual athletics carnival. We were blessed with beautiful weather over the two days. Congratulations to Mrs Turner for the organisation of the carnival and all of our staff and parents who made it possible. It’s great to see how everyone pitches in and gets the job done well, even when we had the extra challenge of having two teachers away. Well done and I would also like to thank all of those who were able to assist in setting up and pulling down for the carnival. Congratulations to all of those students who performed to the best of their ability on the day. To all staff and parents involved, a very big THANK YOU.

 Our students need to be congratulated on the safe and orderly way they have been sitting quietly in the eating area before supervision begins in the mornings. As we only have one staff member on duty before school all children are asked to play on the basketball area during that time and not on the play equipment. Thank you for your support in encouraging your child to follow these safety rules.

 NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data) on School Students with Disability: Please find attached a letter about What is NCCD? Who is counted in the data collection? What does word ‘disability’ mean in the NCCD? What sort of help does the school give students? What happens to the NCCD data? Does the school need me to agree with them about counting my child in the NCCD?

 This Sunday 26th May we acknowledge Sorry Day. On our pathway towards reconciliation, Sorry Day is an important moment to remember the past policies of forced child removal. Here, we reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognise moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying Sorry.

Thank you parents for all you do to support your child’s growth and development, as the primary educators, thank you to our staff for giving students the support and opportunities to enable them to flourish, and thank you to all children who are open to trying new learning, challenges and experiences.

God Bless

Megan Pearce