Newsletters

After this week, newsletters will be published at the end of each month. Which means at the end of week 5 and 9 this term. We will be utilising facebook, St Joseph’s Parish School, Weipa, as well as our website to share weekly happenings and to keep you updated with events in between.

Arrival at school 

We encourage students to arrive at school from 8:15am each morning.  Before this time there is no direct supervision of students.  Upon arrival at school students are to sit in the seating area at the front of the school. After 8:25am students head off to classes.  The school day begins at 8:40am, please ensure your child/ren are dropped off at school with enough time to prepare for class and be ready to begin their lessons at this time. 

KISS & GO

The Kiss & Go Zone is to provide a safe place with an efficient process for parents and carers to drop off and pick up their children. Please note that parents are to remain in their cars. Overtaking and walking through the Kiss & Go zone is NOT permitted Please be patient to help us keep all our students safe.

If you require a name label for your sun visor, please contact the school office and speak to Suzy or Susan.

Assembly

Our Assembly time has changed. We have made the decision to hold Assemblies first thing on a Friday morning at 8.45am. Parents of classes presenting assembly and award winners may attend but need to follow COVID guidelines for gatherings and maintain social distancing.

Back to School – implications of COVID in 2021

Thank you all for following COVID regulations as last week. I’m so pleased all Prep parents were able to come into classrooms and settle in their children as they began their first day of primary school.

Whilst the occurrences of COVID-19 in Queensland have been limited in the past few months very few of the guidelines and restrictions placed on us as an education service have changed from 2020.  We must still maintain high levels of cleaning and hygiene (a positive), physical distancing between adults, reduced number of adults based on square metre rules in indoor locations (number of adults allowed is written on every room door), and not encourage congregation.  We all miss the freedoms of pre-COVID-19 but we aim to do the best we can for our families and in particular our students as we travel this road together.

Staffing 2021

The start of a new school year brings with it the excitement of meeting new staff and this year we have welcomed new teachers Anneka Reynolds, Jodie Hall, Tammi Butters, Justin Smith and Terry Wilcox into our school community. We also welcome back Joe Simmons for Term 1 while he fills in for Mrs Libby Lange while she is on long service leave.

This year we have three new roles in the school. This is due to changing job descriptions across the Diocese and to meet the additional needs of the school.

Amanda Rowe Middle Leader -Learning and Teaching

Amanda is in a newly created role at the school – ‘Middle Leader’. This role is focused on supporting teachers in planning and delivering lessons to optimize student achievement and engagement.

Melanie Turner  Middle Leader - Diversity and Inclusion

Melanie is in a newly created role at the school – ‘Middle Leader’. This role is centred around supporting teachers to ensure all student’s learning.

Kelly Bienvenue  Curriculum Support Teacher

Kelly is in a newly created role at the school – Early Years Curriculum Support Teacher. This role is focused around supporting classroom teachers in the Early Years to optimize student achievement and engagement through targeted teaching.

Congratulations Miss Knight!

A huge congratulations to Andrieka Knight and Ben Lewis on their marriage in December last year. We wish them every happiness for the future. May the years ahead be filled with lasting joy.

This semester we are trialling playing before eating at second break. This change will allow a settling period while eating after playing and facilitate a calm transition back into the classroom.

Beginning of the Year Whole School Mass            

Next Monday 8th February St Joseph's will join together to celebrate the first Mass as a whole school for 2021. The beginning of school year Mass will see our new Prep to Year 6 students and staff come together in the Church to have Father Dariusz lead the celebration. Year 6 will lead this first Mass. We would normally extend the invitation to parents and caregivers but due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, Year 6 parents are only invited on this occasion. Please keep an eye out for photos posted on Facebook of the celebration.

Office Staff

Welcome to Term 1 2021:

Just a few reminders for you starting the new school year:

Messages: We understand that at times, messages need to be delivered to students and we aim to always deliver these messages to the classrooms before going home time. To help ensure that all messages are delivered before 3.00 pm we ask that you please allow enough time for the office staff to do this. Often classes are outside or at PE and if messsages are phoned through at 2.55pm it can become quite hard to deliver these messages on time.  We ask that you contact the school no later than 2:45pm to ensure your child/children receive the message. 

Absentees: Please remember to notify the school office by 9am if your child is absent from school.  You can do this a number of ways.  You can phone and leave a message on the voicemail,  ring and speak to one of the office ladies, email or log into the Parent Portal and report your absence.  For any absences that are unexplained you will receive an sms notification from the school about this absence. If emailing your child's teacher, please make sure you also let the office know.  Often teachers do not get to check emails once class starts for the day.  

Sickness: If your child presents to sick bay and is too unwell to stay at school, the office staff will phone a parent/guardian to come and collect.  It is important to remember that if your child is unwell, we do ask that you keep them home until they are feeling better to return to school.  

Medication at school: Medication at school can be administered by the office  staff, however it is very important to note that any medication must be prescribed from the doctor with a doctor's label printed on the medication.  Parents will be rung immediately if a child presents with high temps. A medication form must also be filled in before medication can be given.

Asthma Medication: Children who do have Asthma are required to have their puffer, spacer and asthma medication plan at school.  This includes children who do suffer from seasonal asthma.  All asthma medication is kept in the sick bay.  If you are yet to send in your child's asthma medication and current plan, we do strongly advise you to do this as soon as possible.  The office staff will be following up with parents next week to ensure this has been done.

Head Lice: At times we do have cases of Head Lice present at school. Please see attached flyer from Qld Health outlining the correct steps in treating head lice.