Dear Parents, Caregivers and Families,

From our last newsletter, the School has remained very busy with our learning and teaching. We celebrated Mother’s Day with a beautiful, yet energetic Mass. It was great to see so many mothers and motherly figures who could make it on the day to experience Mass with your children. Our student readers did a great job sharing the Liturgy of the Word, and all mothers were given a special flower to symbolise love, creation and life.

While celebrating Mass is a pivotal part of Catholic life, it is faith and family that binds us all together. I ask that we all remember the importance of having something worthy to believe in, something which teaches all of us how to be a responsible, loving and caring member of our community. Church is a way to acknowledge the importance of family and faith in our community. I remind all of our beautiful St Joseph’s families that faith is what stabilises a community, shapes who we are and instils us with values that define what we consider to be normal and abnormal. We should never be ashamed of our Catholicity. I hope to see you at Mass in the future.  

“Let the little children come to me, do not stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mk 10:13-14

The School remains very busy with students participating in academic and sporting opportunities. Last week we competed in the da Vinci Decathlon at Port Macquarie, where our Year 5 team came 9th overall (out of 20 teams), and 2nd of the Year 5 teams. They also achieved a first overall for the English component. Our Science & Engineering Challenge students placed third in the combined school results.  Well done to our Joey’s teams.

Ongoing literacy support programs continue to run throughout our learning weeks here at St Joseph’s. While many of these programs occur outside of the classroom, they are strongly linked to classroom learning outcomes, and help, support, encourage and improve student learning and growth. At St Joseph’s we understand the importance of both intervention and extension in enhancing the learning growth of all our students, allowing them to achieve their full potential across all subject areas.

I have started the interview process for our future 2025 Kinder students. It is exciting to see classes filling up so early in the year, which is great news for our schools continuing positive growth. The 2025 Enrolment application window will close on the 5th of July, so please put out the word.

Bringing mobile phones and electronic devices (including; laptops, iPads, digital/video cameras, electronic games, smart watches etc.), to school, is strongly discouraged. The School takes no responsibility for the safety and security of these devices. For security purposes, mobile phones must be handed into the office before the 8:55am bell each day, and are to be collected after the 3:10pm bell. Students may leave their phones switched on and on silent in order for messages to be received by that device only. Smart watches and other devices worn or carried on a person, are not to receive messages or be data active during the school day. Any photographic or video material taken at School or at a School event must be used in an appropriate manner or else consequences may apply. This includes the use of a school device under staff instruction. Consequences will apply when students contravene this policy. Depending on the severity of the offence, consequences may include, detention, suspension or termination of enrolment. If a student’s Mobile phone or electronic device is seen and or heard whilst the student is under the Schools duty of care, an Assistant Principal will contact parents, informing them of the action and consequence. This policy aims to reduce class distraction and cyber bullying, control inappropriate access to social networking sites and help to manage potential legal and sensitive issues that may arise.

Parents and Caregivers, I am sure that you all agree how important is for the School to have complete control and knowledge of the information coming into the School and going out from the school. Therefore, I ask that all communications to and from your children, while they are at school, goes through the front office or through a member of staff.

As always, I thank you for your support in regards to your child’s ongoing learning and growth.

Guy Campbell
Driving Excellence in the Macleay

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Real Talk Flyer (1).pdf

The Smith Family - Saver Plus

Evoke_Tennis_A5_FlyerK.pdf

North Coast Health Connect is a free new service providing health support and advice from registered nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including public holidays. If you are a resident or visitor to the North Coast, you can speak or live chat with a nurse. The nurse will ask some questions to understand what’s troubling you and then provide advice on what your next step should be.

This may include self-care advice to help you to manage your health (or that of a loved one) from home, or the nurse may recommend a GP appointment or a consultation with a pharmacist. The nurses are able to book an appointment for you directly with a local general practice or pharmacy or if appropriate, can transfer you to a 24/7 GP telehealth service. If the nurse believes you need to attend an emergency department or see a different health service, they will let you know.

Visit https://northcoasthealthconnect.org.au/ for more info and save as a contact for when you need it by visiting https://qrco.de/bdkiJm or by scanning the QR code below.