Mission & Learning at Joey's
CELEBRATED SACRAMENTS
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Last week, students from across the school took part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, after it was rescheduled due to recent flooding in our region.
This sacrament is an important moment in the Catholic faith, offering students the opportunity to reflect on their actions, seek forgiveness, and strengthen their relationship with God. As part of the Reconciliation, students received penance—a prayer or act of kindness—to help them make amends and grow spiritually.
We are grateful to our parish team and staff for supporting the students in preparing for and participating in this meaningful experience.
Holy Communion
On Sunday, students from across our primary school community came together to celebrate their Holy Communion—a special and sacred milestone in their faith journey. Surrounded by family, friends, and parish members, the children participated with reverence and joy, marking an important step in their spiritual development.
We are so proud of each of them and grateful to the teachers, families, and parish team who supported them in preparing for this meaningful occasion. A special thank you to our choir and those who assisted with morning tea afterwards. Congratulations to all our communicants!
DALAIGUR COMMUNITY DAY
GLOW RETREAT
Last Friday, our Year 6 students travelled to St Joseph’s Regional High School to take part in the GLOW Retreat, joining with fellow Year 6 students from across the Hastings region.
The retreat offered a meaningful opportunity for students to reflect on how they can be a source of light in the world and act as a lighthouse for others. Through engaging activities, prayer, and storytelling, they explored the importance of sharing light, and discussed times when light can be diminished—and when it can shine even brighter.
It was a powerful and inspiring day that encouraged our students to think deeply about the positive impact they can have in their communities.
CUPCAKES FOR CANCER
On Wednesday, our staff and students came together for a heartfelt fundraiser to support the Cancer Council. Students from our school community prepared, brought in, and sold delicious cupcakes to each other throughout the day.
This sweet initiative not only raised valuable funds but also showed the wonderful spirit of generosity and community within our school.
A huge thank you to all those who baked for the day and helped to run the day, your generosity and time was overwhelming. We received over 950 cupcakes!!
A total of $1000 was raised of which we will be donating half to The Biggest Morning Tea and half locally to MNCCI Kempsey Cancer Clinic.
Congratulations to Harry Holtmann who won the Surprise Cook draw - Harry picked up a cupcake cooking kit! Happy baking Harry!
NAIDOC WEEK 2025 -
Celebrating Culture & Community
We are proud to be celebrating NAIDOC Week 2025 with a dedicated day of cultural activities, reflection, and learning on Tuesday, 1st July. This special day brings our school community together to honour the histories, cultures, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The day will begin with a whole school gathering, featuring a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony led by Uncle John, followed by a prayer led by our Year 6 students, incorporating cultural language elements.
After morning learning in classrooms, students will enjoy a sausage sizzle lunch, with sausages available for $1 each. There is no need for pre-orders. A big thank you to our parent and staff volunteers for helping cook and serve, and to our Year 6 students who will assist on the day.
During the middle part of the day, students will rotate through a series of NAIDOC-themed activities. All students K-6 will participate in rotation activities which will engage students in learning about our Indigenous culture, traditions and language. Some of our activities include;
- Indigenous Songs with Aunty Vicki Taylor
- Felt Art with Watercolours
- Reconciliation Vine Craft with plaits and leaves
- Aboriginal Flag Cookie Decorating
- Rock Art
These hands-on, creative sessions provide students with meaningful opportunities to engage with culture, art, and storytelling.
This day reflects our school’s deep commitment to cultural learning, respect, and reconciliation. Thank you to all staff, community members, and cultural educators who are helping make this a rich and memorable experience for our students.
Always Was, Always Will Be.
MINI VINNIES WINTER APPEAL
All funds raised will go directly to St Vincent de Paul to help support individuals and families doing it tough during the colder months. This initiative is a great way for our students to show compassion and make a difference in the lives of others.
SEMESTER 1 SCHOOL REPORTS -
Live on Compass, Thursday 3rd July
We would like to inform families that Semester 1 student reports will be released and available to access via the Compass Parent Portal on Thursday 3rd July.
The report is designed to give you a clear picture of your child’s strengths, areas for growth, and overall development as a learner.
If you are having difficulty accessing Compass or viewing the report, please contact the school office for support.
We encourage all parents and carers to take time to read through the report with their child, celebrating achievements and discussing future goals. Teachers are also available for follow-up conversations as needed.
For further informaiton on understanding student reports please refer to the below:
LAST DAY TERM 2 - Thursday 3 July
FIRST DAY TERM 3 - Tuesday 22 July
A reminder to all families that next Friday, 4th July and Monday 21st July are Staff Development Days. Students are not required to attend school on these day, as all teachers will be involved in full days of professional learning and development.We thank you for your support as we continue to grow and strengthen our teaching practices.
LAVA-LY ERUPTIONS IN 6H
FLOODING THE PAGE WITH CREATIVE THOUGHTS
Students in the writing enrichment groups wrote down their recollections of the 2025 Kempsey flood. Here’s just a few of their efforts:
The Flood
by Frankie Edwards (Year 1)
On Tuesday, the second day of school, it was showering when we got to school. We had to go in the hall. Afterwards I had to go home because Dad knew the flood was coming. Then we got home and got in our PJs. Then we watched TV and got snacks.
The next day the flood was rising higher and higher. When we stopped looking it started to rain. At the end there was mud everywhere. Then lots of cleaners had to fix our school. They had to RIP out the carpets. Lots of classes had to move. When we came back to school we got Miss Barrow back.
THE FLOOD THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
by Cohen Davies (Year 4)
The past weeks just have not been the same. We had days off school, things have been cancelled, life has just not been normal. So I will tell you the order that it all went down in.
On the twentieth of May it all started. There was so much rain it was just belting down. On the twenty first is where the flood really started. People were getting picked up and places were shutting down. It was very chaotic. I was one of the first people to get picked up and then we went and got my brothers from high school and went home.
On the twenty second I was living life not at school. I was sitting down at home watching tv. Those were the best days of my life! Then the next couple days it was just like that but then my brother convinced me to go out with him and a mate in the rain. We did that for the next couple of days. It was crazy good.
But when I thought about everything I just noticed nothing was the same, peoples homes had been destroyed, people were chucking everything out, nothing was even a little bit the same it was neither good nor bad. It was not the best I was just hoping that everything would go back to normal and people would be happy again except going back to school I kinda liked that bit because school gets boring most of the time so that is why I like that bit but other than that it would be amazing if people would be happy once again.
Fast forward to today, people are still cleaning up the horrible mess that this dreadful flood has created. I was not affected by the flood because I live in SOUTH WEST ROCKS but I still had to go home early that day because we got flooded in.
NSW Floods 2025
by Kodhi Webber (Year 4)
Have you ever lived through a living nightmare? Well I survived the crazy 2025 floods. It was so crazy people had to evacuate!
First, On Tuesday my Mum got a notification saying that the school would be closed for the re st of the week because of the severe weather. My entire school got flooded, people were being sent home and people were getting flooded in.
Next at my house since I live on a hill the water won't really get to me, but my Dad was in Grafton at this time for work and I thought that he wouldn't be able to come back because the water would be to high but luckily the water went down so he could drive through it.
Meanwhile back at my school water was getting into classrooms and all of the teachers were working super hard trying to get all of their stuff out of the classrooms and into a safe area so it doesn't get washed away but luckily for me my classroom is on the top floor so none of my stuff was washed away.
Some things got washed away,lost and wrecked but the school is ordering more things for us and making sure we have a great time at the school and that we all have the things we need to learn!
Anyway, now that we're back at school A LOT has changed. There are fences all around our playground. We can no longer walk through the canteen because it got flooded and now the coffee shop is now the coffee shop and the canteen. So much has changed but the teachers and the principal are making sure we are still having fun while coming to school!
So that is how my life changed with what happened during the floods!
My Flood Experience
by Chelsea Mainey (Year 6)
I woke up on Tuesday morning and was told there was going to be a heap of rain. I thought it was going to be another false thing again like Alfred, but this flood was not false. I went to school and realised that everyone was in the hall. I was very confused when my friends told me there was going to be a flood. (I was so scared.)
Soon, after watching the hall projector, they made us line up for class. My teacher wasn’t there so, all the year sixes go into Miss V’s, I didn’t mind though. Phone after phone rings, Kiara even cried because she couldn’t go home and play Grow a Garden. To be honest though, growing a garden is the bomb. We started with 24 year sixes and we ended up with 9 in the end. I was pleased Tuesday went by quickly. I hopped on the bus to go to my Mum’s work and I got told St Pauls were closed tomorrow and that means St Joeys was closed tomorrow which was true.
On Wednesday it was a chill day. I played grow a garden with my friends on call and other games. My Pop came up to say because he was visiting his dairy which was near my house. He lives in Euroka but the dairy is near our house at Turners Flat road. There was a big problem though he was stuck with us, because the bridge was under so he stayed for 3 nights and 4 days. On Saturday he could finally go, and we could finally get out. On Sunday we got lucky and got milk which really was a miracle. I could finally have hot chocolate or English breakfast tea.
On the second week of the flood, when we were just recovering from it, I was at St Pauls, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It was fun but it could be boring as well. On Saturday and Sunday it was all so chill day.
On Monday I was back at school, in a new classroom, new play spaces. New lunch tables. It was very weird but also kinda exciting. Thank you for listening to my flood story. This is a real flash flood in the Macleay Valley.