Welcome back to another great week at St Joseph’s.

There is definitely a sense of positivity and energy amongst staff and students for the term ahead.  Let's pray that things remain that way and we can continue in as 'normal' a way as possible for the remainder of the Term. While we are by no means back to normal just yet, we’re getting closer every week. 

We are continuing our planning for Yr 6 camp and will be communicating with parents regarding this experience over coming weeks as we confirm arrangements considering COVID-19 requirements.  We are also seeing the start of some events at the school and in the sporting domain. We look forward to trialling in these endeavours in a safe and well managed way that looks after the wellbeing of our community. 

It is very important to note that our current focus is on providing opportunities for students to reengage, and later in the term, we will shift that focus, if appropriate, to reengaging the wider community back into the school.

It has been wonderful to have the AFL here again this week. Matt, Jake and the team do such a great job. A special thank you to Mel Turner whose attendance at the after-school session has made it possible to meet COVID-19 safety restrictions to allow our students to be able to attend.

Last week I had to unexpectedly be away on family leave. Thank you to Megan Newell who stepped up as Acting Principal and our other experienced staff who have supported Meg during this time.

While I was away, I had the opportunity to finalise the organisation of a special project to celebrate our five year milestone of the opening of St Joseph’s. I am very excited to announce that Josh Arnold will work with our students to write our own original school song. Josh and his team will be here in week nine to write, film and produce our school song.

Josh Arnold is a song writer, performer, music producer and film director with more than 20 years of industry experience from winning a Golden Guitar to having his music placed on TV programs around the world and played nationally on radio stations across Australia.

Josh continues to produce his own music while working with Schools, Communities, and various organisations to create original songs and music videos for his production company Small Town Culture.

Please check out some of his work on www.smalltownculture.com

Catholic Education Week

This week, Catholic schools across Queensland will celebrate Catholic Education Week. Although we are not celebrating as we usually would, we do have some special activities planned for students.

As we begin Catholic Education Week it is a great opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a Catholic School. Sometimes our school has been referred to as a 'private school', but it is important to note that we are a Catholic School, which brings with it some key points of difference from our Private, State or Independent schools. 

The most significant of these points is that we have Jesus at the core, as our School Motto reads, Bringing Faith and Learning to Life. With Jesus as our model, St Joseph’s School assists members of its community to develop their spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social and physical potential so that they may 'live life in all its fullness.'(John 10:10)

What does this mean in reality? It means that we are about inclusion, embracing difference and are supportive of students and families who are marginalised. It means we have high expectations; however, we start from where you are at!

As a Catholic school with Jesus as our guide, it is fundamental to who and what we stand for.

Staffing Update

Maternity Leave- A huge congratulations to Akira Ernst who is expecting a baby in the near future. Akira has been our School Counsellor and Educational Psychologist since 2018 and we have been very grateful to have such excellent support. We wish Akira and her husband every happiness and look forward to her return in the future.

Welcome Tosca Grainger-Dee- While Akira is on maturity leave we are blessed to have Tosca Grainger-Dee join us as our school Counsellor. Tosca is a very experienced School Counsellor and will know many of our staff and students from other schools in Cairns. Tosca will visit us in Week 3 and Week 6 of each term.

Internal Relief Teacher- We have advertised for an Internal Relief Teacher for the rest of 2020. Should you know anyone who may be interested in this role please encourage then to apply.

Amanda Rowe is doing well and is expecting to have her baby around the 10^th September.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Our parent/teacher interviews are being held this Monday 27^th July to Wednesday 29^th July, 2020.  

Each interview is for a period of 15 minutes. Social distancing and hygiene practices will be in place. If not already done, please book in via our Parent Teaching Online Booking System (PTO) to make an appointment at your preferred time. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing the Parent Teaching Online Booking System (PTO), please feel free to contact our office staff and they will be able to assist you.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with a disability or students requiring additional support to access the curriculum. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category in which students receive support: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students. The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

God Bless,

Megan