Filter Content
- Message from the Principal
- Mission & Learning at Joey's
- SJ News Episode 8
- Student Awards
- Sports News
- News from the Enviro Team
- Health & Wellbeing
- NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2024
- Canteen News
- St Joseph's OOSH & Vacation Care
- Term 3 eSAFETY PARENT WEBINARS
- School Fees
- Learn more about COMPASS- School Communication Platform APP
- How to Purchase your child's School Uniform
- How to Apply for a Bus Pass
- Child Safety Handbook
- Catholic School Parent Australia's Free Family Engagement Resources
- BILLBOARD
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Families,
We have started Term 3 at pace, already moving into Week 3. Our children are happy and learning is occurring every day.
As we enter a new term, please be mindful of informing us of any diagnosis or change in family or medical conditions for your child. This helps us better understand individual needs and allows our records to remain current and accurate.
Uniform
A reminder that it is my expectation that all students wear full school uniform every day. I know that the cold weather is continuing at the moment, however, there is sufficient winter uniform options to ensure our children stay warm. Sports Uniform is only permitted to be worn on sports and PE days. Can we please ensure that students are wearing either full sports uniform or full academic uniform, not a mixture of both.
A reminder as well about our hair policy;
Hair accessories should be a plain design, small in size and in black, blue or white.
Hairstyle is a matter that invites good taste and judgement as to appropriateness. The School has particular expectations in regards to hairstyles, which are to be adhered to, and parents are asked to ensure that their child’s hairstyle conforms to the following;
- Hair should be neatly groomed and maintained at all times
- Extremes in hairstyles are unacceptable
- Dramatic layered effect of levels are not permitted
- Hair should not be overly styled by the use of hair products
- Hair is not to be tinted or coloured in any colour. Natural hair colour only
- Long hair must be kept neat and off the face. Long strands such as ‘rat’s tails’ are unacceptable as are dreadlocks, spikes, mohawks, mullets and shaved patterning
The Principal has the final say as to the appropriateness of a hairstyle.
I thank you for your support in regards to your child’s ongoing learning.
Guy Campbell
Driving Excellence in the Macleay
THOUGHTS FROM THE PRINCIPAL
To all of our dear St Joseph’s families, whether you are Christian or still
questioning the presence of Christ both in our world and in your life, please
remember that it is family that binds you the closest to all things that you truly
care about and which are forever the most valuable and irreplaceable.
Choosing to share important moments with your family, is a direct
acknowledgment of how important family is to you in your life. It is both family
and faith that stabilises a community, shapes who we are, and instils us with
the values that define what we consider to be normal and abnormal.
A shared Christian faith and its related values bind us all together and allows us
to feel love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness. It gives us something
worthy to believe in, something which teaches us how to be a responsible,
loving and caring member of our community with purpose and lifelong hope.
Christian faith is a way to acknowledge the importance of family and God in
our community. Going to church does not necessarily, in my opinion, reflect
how strong a person’s faith is, however, the physical action of attending church
does reflect one’s faith through acknowledging the presence of God on Earth
and the Holy Spirit within us.
There are certain times in our lives when reaching out to God for strength and
safety feels really necessary, and these may be the times when you put in that
little extra, and attend mass or pray. It does not have to be all the time.
However, please know that if you are at a point in your life where you are not
ready to pray, then God will wait for you.
Even if you don’t believe in Jesus, you can still live like Jesus, as Christian values
are the fundamental characteristics of who God is, and the moral compass for
everyday life. Do you not agree, that being kind, compassionate, forgiving,
caring, and being a good person, is what we all should strive for? Is this not
what we attempt to instil in our children in order for them to develop into fully
rounded people with strong values and ethics?
Today it is more evident than ever that Christian faith is missing from our
communities, nation and world. While we are constantly being told that we do
not need it to better our lives, that it is old fashioned, and that it’s not real, just
look around us. Are we handing over to our children a world that is better than
the one we grew up in? Having God in your life should not be something we
are ashamed or embarrassed of, nor something we apologise for.
With Mrs Krystal Brady, Assistant Principal, Learning & Teaching and Mrs Erin McGovern, Assistant Principal, MissionMINI OLYMPICS
To celebrate, experience and gain a deeper understanding of the 2024 Olympics, St Joseph's held and competed in a Mini Olympics on Wednesday. Students were placed into countries and participated in both events and ceremonies from Lunch 1.
From Paris to Kempsey athletes were fulfilling their sporting dreams of competing at the Olympic Games. Although some of our games at St Joseph’s were not universally recognised they still had the ingredients needed to push us "Faster, Higher, Stronger" - for example, the equestrian events with broom stick horses, skipping for gold, a Ninja Warrior course, table tennis, plastic hockey, volleyball, basketball, indoor soccer, hurdles, bean bag and vortex throw, touch and the list goes on!
Thanks to Mrs Tolman for heading the AOC and creating an enjoyable event for all, to the canteen ladies and all the staff for their extra care and enthusiasm on the day.
A big thank you to Alison and Darren from Affordable Trophies, who kindly printed and donated a special participation ribbon for each student to take home as a special piece of "Mini Olympics" memorabilia.
DYNAMIC DUOS IN KH
PILLOWCASE WORKSHOP
- that it is important to be prepared,
- how to prepare their mind for thoughts and feelings that may arise,
- what should be packed in an emergency kit?
BOOK WEEK
HEY WARRIOR PARENT WORKSHOP
Please see the attached flyer for more details and rsvp.
FEAST OF ASSUMPTION MASS
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
Term 3 - Weeks 1 & 2
Awards will be presented on
Friday, 2nd August at 1.05pm
Parents/Carers Welcome
|
CLASS |
MARY MACKILLOP AWARD Recognises Catholic attitude, behaviours & helping those in need |
ST JOSEPH Recognises positive actions witnessed within our school community |
CATHERINE McAULEY Recognises a growth mindset & effort in learning |
THE VALUES AWARD
APPRECIATION |
|
KHonour |
Jimmie Nolan | Lily Cooper | Alice Forrest | Amelia Simpson |
|
KSpirit |
Christiano Abin | Billee Delforce | Winter Buck | Ruby-Rose Barrow |
|
KTruth |
Breanna Fairhall | Sage Davies | Kinsley Thurlow | Sylvie Meehan |
|
1Honour |
Toby Jackson | Archer Kerr | Wyatt Warwick | Isabella Manuel |
|
1Truth |
Ahren Browne | Juana Jinu | Harley Welch | Anya Lunn |
|
2Honour |
Peyton Watts | Macey Malcolm | Archie Wade | Dustin Buck |
|
2Truth |
Blake Micallef | Ivy Fraser | Jack Jones | Lennox Nolan |
|
3Honour |
Chase Cudlin | Flint Barnett | Wyatt Donney | Tahlia Seam |
|
3Truth |
Karstan Mahoney | Kara Miller | Sartaj Taggar | Jay Toomey |
|
3/4 Spirit |
Daisy Abigall | Cohen Davies | Brax McManus | Tyler Quinn |
|
4Truth |
Layla Fraser | Maddison Huxley | Jackson Cameron | Amailia Brandt |
|
5Honour |
Hallie Edwards | Asher Higley | Chelsea Mainey | Mason Gagnuss-Vale |
|
5Truth |
Amber Simpson | Grace Harman | Isaiah Button | Charlette Matta |
|
6Honour |
Joshua Delaney | Terrence Liang | Indy Hawtin | Lachlan Betts |
|
6Truth |
Sienna Delforce | Lleyton Kemp | Tilley Cook | Olivia Rutledge |
With Mr Watts
ZONE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
Forty five children from Year 3 to Year 6 travelled to Port Macquarie to compete in the Hastings Zone Athletic Carnival. All did well against athletes from seven other schools and several ended up with 1st, 2nd or 3rd place ribbons.
Lleyton Kemp came 2nd in the point score for the 12yrs boys with a great effort in High Jump, Long Jump and 800m.
The following 21 children will now represent Hastings Zone at the Diocesan Athletics to be held at Coffs Harbour on Friday 16th of August.
Cohen Davies, Ryder Sproule, Hallie Edwards, Noah Davies, Tilley Cook, Idabelle Tamblyn, Ari Abigall, Lleyton Kemp, Amailia Brandt, Mia Greenslade, Lennox Edwards, Benji Browne, Lachlan Betts, Bailey Smidt, Emily Scott, Claire Meehan, Astin Mackay, Zak Kane, Mason Gagnuss-Vale, Jazmin Crilley, Francesca Tamblyn.
Thanks to parents for your support and staff for officiating and supervision.
LOWER PRIMARY SPORTS CARNIVAL
Unfortunately rain interrupted the Stage 1 Sports Day but there was just enough time to get in a march, war cry, sprint, long jump, sack race and throw event. All children did well in the trying conditions. Thank you to all staff and Year 6 for officiating and parents for your support.
We thank Mr Watts and Mr Owens for going above and beyond in creating such a great event for our students.
Despite the cold weather, the SRC put on an icecream stall and raised a whopping $208! Well done.
SPORTING SCHOOLS RUGBY LEAGUE
Over the next 4 Thursdays each grade, K-6, will spend some time with NRL staff doing modified games and learning the fundamental skills of Rugby League and League Tag.
SCHOOLS TREE DAY
The last Friday in July is dedicated to Schools Tree Day. Each year thousands of schools participate nationwide in environmental activities that educate individuals about the World around them. Activities range from planting bush tucker gardens, building habitats for native wildlife, nature play and more.
This year, a special thanks goes to Kempsey Shire Council for their kind donation of both citrus trees and an array of smaller seedlings for our garden here at Joeys.
10c RETURN AND EARN RECYCLING
To make Return and Earn Recylcling more convenient 
for families, you can now take your 10c drink containers straight to the High Speed Depot Drop Off at
47 South Street, South Kempsey whenever it suits you. The School Office has small cards with our Crunch Account details on it to keep in your car.
School drop off is still available for those who prefer.
All proceeds are used to beautify our school grounds and assist with lunchtime gardening activities.
Collection bags are available in the Canteen Foyer. Children who recycle through either way will still receive a prize from the Enviro Prize Box (see Mrs Hagger in the Canteen).
SUSTAINABILITY HUB
old phones, batteries, used stamps, prescription glasses, toothpaste tubes/brushes and plastic writing implements.
Please feel free to drop these into the bins located in the canteen foyer.
If you have other items that you think the school may be able to use for art/craft etc please contact us.
The Healthy Lunch Box website is your one-stop shop for recipe inspiration and information to help you add more fruit, veg and wholegrains into your child's diet to improve their health.
Lots of quick and easy recipes and snack ideas.
Informative blogs about healthy eating.
Healthy swaps.
Interactive lunch box builder that helps parents and kids plan and pack a healthy lunch box with foods they like.
The NSW Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) is an initiative of the NSW State government. It aims to encourage in students a love of reading for leisure and pleasure and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student - to read, to read more and to read more widely.
This is an optional challenge that can be done at home. Students are welcome to borrow challenge books from the library during their class lessons, which our teacher librarians will identify for them. Throughout the year your child’s teacher may also log books for your child that have been read in class. Students can include any books read from the end of the 2023 challenge on their 2024 reading record. Key dates for the 2024 challenge are:
- Friday 23 August 2024 - challenge closes for student entries
- Friday 6 September 2024 - final date for coordinator validations of completed reading records.
The Term 3 PRC booklist is now live - 186 new books have been added to the booklists. Students will now be able to add these books as PRC titles to their reading records on the student experience site and main site.
Please note: If students have previously added any of these new titles as choice books, they will need to manually remove them from their reading record and re-add them as PRC titles.
You can access the booklist update via the excel document available for download - this document also contains the books added in the previous update.
In order to complete the Challenge, students must read the following number of books based on their Challenge Level:
|
Challenge Level |
Number of books you must read |
Minimum number of PRC books |
Maximum number of Personal Choice books |
PRC book lists you can read from |
|
K-2 |
30 |
20 |
10 |
K-2, 3-4, 5-6 |
|
3-4 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
3-4, 5-6, 7-9 |
|
5-6 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
5-6, 7-9 |
|
7-9 |
20 |
10 |
10 |
5-6, 7-9, 9plus |
|
3-9 (see rules on PRC site) |
20 |
10 |
10 |
All booklists |
Book lists can be found when your child logs into their account via this link; using their unique username and password. Each child has a unique username and password, if you would like this please contact your classroom teacher. Please take the time to explore the site.
If you are having trouble logging your own books online, please download the online PRC Reading Log, once complete return to school ensuring your child’s name is on the top, and we will upload the information for you. If you have any questions feel free to contact us for more information.
Happy Reading!
With Mrs Hagger and Mrs Crowe2024 CANTEEN MENU
OFFSITE BAGGED LUNCH
This special lunch bag will be an option for any offsite events that are held locally (no hot lunches will be delivered offsite).
The Offsite Lunch Bag consists of chicken & salad wrap or sandwich, bottle of water, muesli bar, pkt plain chips and a piece of seasonal fruit for $15. Select "Offsite Bagged Lunch" from the Compass Canteen Menus.
STUDENT BIRTHDAY BUNDLES
Should you have any queries please contact our Canteen ladies, Mrs Hagger & Mrs Crowe.
VOLUNTEERS APPRECIATED
WHY JOEY'S OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS CARE?
We have two dedicated classrooms on the St Joseph's Catholic Primary School campus in Kemp Street, West Kempsey. The classrooms are filled with resources and games to suit children from Kinder to Year 6.
Students from all schools in the Macleay Valley and surrounds are welcome at Joey's OOSHC.
Joey's OOSHC has a proud history of providing high quality out of school hours care for than ten years. Joey's dedicated and experienced staff plan and manage programs that offer both fun and educational opportunities.
To find out more and to explore the enrolment process visit our website at https://www.joeyskempsey.org.au/
To learn more about the COMPASS Platform please click here
About the Compass Platform
The Compass platform is a web-based system that is accessible on any modern web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome & Safari) or by using the Compass School Manager iOS or Android App.
Parents have the ability to;
- Receive notifications about school events, news and information
- Enter an explanation for absences
- Communicate with your child’s teachers,
- Update your family contact details (mobile phone & email)
- View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
- Download and view your child’s academic reports
- Book parent-teacher conferences (parent/teacher interviews)
- Pay and provide digital consent for events (No more permission slips)
- Order lunches from the Canteen
- Pay school fees
Catholic School Parents Australia has 
developed free resources to strengthen the home-school partnership! The new video workshops help guide primary and secondary parents, principals, and school staff to take a holistic approach to their children’s well-being and educational
experience.
The resources also include guides for local facilitators to run through the video workshops in collaborative sessions with principals, staff and families. Insights from experts like Andrew Fuller, John Hattie and Donna Cross inform the workshop’s research-backed strategies.
The resources can be found on the Gearing Up for Parent Engagement website.
WHEN YOU HAVE A MEDICAL CONCERN - CONTACT NORTH COAST HEALTH CONNECT
North Coast Health Connect is a free (bulk billing) 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
https://northcoasthealthconnect.org.au/communication-resources/ (1)
This incredible service will help families access ‘on the day’ healthcare which is bulkbilled and is a vital and important service in this area.
Currently we have 220 GP appointments each week, supported by 23 GP clinics, across the entire North Coast region to access.
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.
