WEEK 1 Term 1 2025

Dear Families, 

Welcome to the 2025 school year! We hope you’ve enjoyed a relaxing holiday, filled with renewal, joy and meaningful moments with family.

We are excited for the year ahead, one full of opportunities for learning, growth, and connection. During our Staff Development day, last Friday we acknowledged that we are celebrating the Jubilee Year within the Church this year. Every 25 years, we have a Jubilee Year, a moment of significance in the Church when we refocus and open ourselves to special graces. The theme for the 2025 Jubilee Year is 'Pilgrims of Hope'.  As a staff we thought about our hopes for the communities we serve in 2025, particularly our students, families, staff and visitors to our school this year. 

Our hopes for the 2025 Jubilee Year

WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR THE 2025 JUBILEE YEAR?

MATHS ASSESSMENT INTERVIEWS- THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

I would like to extend a special thank you to our parents for their cooperation with the Maths Assessment Interviews. These assessments provide valuable insights into each student's abilities, enabling our teachers to tailor their Maths instruction to meet individual needs.

It has been a terrific beginning to the School Year. Although it is only Week 1, the children's excitement at being back in a new class and with their friends is always a pleasure to witness.

A highlight of the school year’s start was welcoming our 2025 Kindergarten students and their families into the St. Joseph's School community. It was heartwarming to see their excitement—perhaps with a touch of nervousness as well! The children have adjusted wonderfully and are already embracing their 'big school' experience. A special thanks goes to their Year 6 buddies, who have displayed remarkable leadership in supporting and guiding the Kinders in many ways. It’s clear they know they have a friendly face to turn to throughout their day.

This year there have been some changes in the structure of our classrooms. For 2025, Years 3 and 4 will work together as Stage 2, and Years 5 and 6 will work as Stage 3.

Over the past few years, we’ve been very fortunate to maintain staffing levels based on the student numbers we had before the flood. However, with the current enrolments, our staffing has now been adjusted to reflect the number of students in our school.

Please be rest assured that, as always, we are committed to providing the best possible learning and teaching experiences tailored to meet the needs of our students. We are also fortunate to have Teacher Aides in every classroom, further enhancing the support available to our students.

Thank you for your ongoing understanding and support as we continue to adapt and ensure the best outcomes for all our students.

In the first few weeks of the school year, we host a Parent Information Night to give parents an overview of what their children will be learning, as well as the expectations regarding behaviour, attitude, goal setting, and more in each classroom.

Following this, we hold individual parent-teacher interviews towards the end of Term 1, where we can collaborate on setting goals for the rest of the school year.

This year, I strongly encourage you to attend these sessions, as it's important for us all to stay informed and aligned.

The meetings also provide an opportunity for parents to meet with teachers and establish a strong partnership, ensuring that students, parents, and teachers are all working together towards the best possible educational journey for each child.

As a Catholic learning community, St Joseph's Primary School strives to be welcoming and connected, supporting the engagement of parents as partners in their children’s learning and wellbeing, and their involvement in the life and community of the school and parish. Parent engagement is more than volunteering and helping out at the school. While we value any contribution you can make to school life, we understand that work and family commitments can make it difficult to be involved in an ongoing way. However, you can still engage in your child’s learning and wellbeing by supporting and/or attending:

Mass and prayer celebrations with the parish and school community Volunteering in the Canteen Our Parish Based sacramental programsr Parent information nights and parent/teacher meetings Parent Forum Meetings and Community Events  School Assemblies Helping at Cross Country, the Athletics Carnival and the Swimming Carnival School open days and special occasions ...and offering any other practical assistance either on-site or from home. A note will be sent home next week seeking workers for the Canteen.

The following days have been set down as Staff Development Days for St Joseph's for 2025. We thank you for supporting us in our Professional Development/Learning
opportunities.

Students do not attend school on these days

TERM 1 

• Being back together again
• Our new students- Yrs 1-6  Isabelle, Eva, Kobi, Flynn, Maxx, Koa, Maverick, Odin 
• All of our students for having returned so full of joy and enthusiasm
• Our brave Kinders for such a positive and confident start to 'Big School'
• Our Year 6 Buddies- we are so proud of you
• Our Year 5 & 6 students for stepping up so well with your leadership jobs
• Our beautiful school and grounds- Thank you, Paul
• All that 2025 has in store for us
• Our wonderful, hardworking staff
• Gayl for your help to all our parents 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Regards

Jeanette Wilkins

 Principal

Next Friday we have 18 students representing our school at the Richmond Zone Swimming Carnival which will be held at Alstonville Aquatic Centre. We wish these students all the best.
Our squad is
The students are: Phoebe Jett, Indi Martin, Harper Marsden, Abaigeal Ashton, Amahli Harford, Eva Flanagan, Amelia Hume, Hazel Johnston, Archie Martin, Chase Martin, Thomas Bailey, Thomas, Walsh, Oscar Quirk, Travis Bennett, Eli Walsh, Sonny Feil, Odyn Wimbus and Indi Stahl

The Richmond Zone Winter Sports trials will take place in Week 3 after school.. This opportunity is offered to students in years 5 and 6. These trials take place in Lismore and Goonellabah. I have spoken with students regarding their nominations. Students attending these trials should have received a Compass notification. The return date for their Compass permission is 13th February 2025.

Our school cross country will be held on Thursday 6th March starting at 10am in the school ground. We will commence with the oldest to youngest students. More information will be issued in the next newsletter.