Hi everyone, 

Welcome back for Term 4 to all of our families. I hope that the holiday break was a restful time, giving our students a chance to refresh ready for the last busy term. There are always many things that take place in Term 4 and even with the year we have had, this is still the case. 

You will have received updated COVID-19 guidelines this week regarding what we are working around for the term. There is not a lot that has changed, but please take some time to read through to ensure you know what is happening.  

As a school we are planning for some of the regular events that occur in Term 4, with the phrase around it “being if possible with the guidelines at the time”. We will continue to keep you informed and appreciate your understanding of the circumstances. 

Transition to school - Kindergarten 2021

We are planning for some limited onsite Kindergarten 2021 transitions, in line with the COVID-19 guidelines. We will combine this with some other resources for families to give the opportunity for our new Kindergarten students to be welcomed into our community and instill a sense of belonging. We will communicate how this will work as soon as we are able. 

Year 6 Graduation events

Thank you to the parents and carers who joined us for a chat about the end of year events on Wednesday night via Zoom. We are putting the details of the meeting and other information together to send out to families next week. There are still restrictions on what we can do presently, similar to what was experienced by Year 12 students recently. However, we are working with these and remain hopeful that we can move to a more full experience later in the term. There can be no promises of what is ahead, but we will outline the thinking and possibilities in the information specifically for Year 6 parents and carers.

SRC Term 4

Congratulations to Jack Banks (6H) and Sophie Pynaert (6H) who were inducted into their SRC Leadership role for Term 4. We look forward to working with Jack and Sophie during the term.

 Year 5 Leadership

Our Year 5 students have started their leadership program and preparation for becoming our leaders in 2021. Today we were proud of the way they engaged in a day of introduction to the process of learning about leadership. They will now prepare to present themselves for the opportunities to lead the school, over the coming weeks, including a retreat experience of learning to work together and be guided through this ministry they will undertake. We wish them the best as they progress through this process. 

Challenge results…let’s see who reads the newsletter…

Thank you to the students and their families who joined in the fun with the challenge during the holidays. Congratulations to Tori McGrath, Amelie and Marielle Obeid, Mrs Goldie and their families who were able to answer the riddles. 

I will give you all a break this week, but look out in the coming weeks for more chances to stretch your brains and have a go at some challenges. 

Welcome to our new students

This week we welcomed Keira (6MH), Kyle (6H) and Leah Donovan (1R) to St Joseph’s with their mum and dad. Keira and Kyle started in Kindergarten here with us before moving away. We are so happy that they chose to return to our community and we wish all of the family our best in settling back into Port Macquarie and St Joseph’s.