UNIFORMS

There have been some questions as the year begins around uniforms, with families purchasing new items and wanting to have these correct. Thank you for checking the list and ensuring your children are ready for school.

The list of uniform requirements is available on our website and in our parent handbook. We have included the link here for families to have a look and ensure they are ready for the year ahead. While the uniforms are fairly straightforward and items purchased almost entirely through St Agnes’ Uniform Store in Boronia Street, there are some questions in particular around jewellery, hair and shoes. 

Students are required to wear black shoes for regular school uniform and white joggers for sports uniform. Black shoes do not have to be formal “school shoes” but are to be polishable for a tidy appearance. It may be difficult to find completely white joggers, but they should be predominantly white with only small areas of colour. 

Hair accessories are to be only school colours (refer to the list) and hair styles being appropriate to school as the list describes.

During Term 1 we will  remind children to wear the appropriate items for school. In Term 2 we will be asking for incorrect items to be replaced if they are continuing. Correct uniform items demonstrate pride and respect for our school and should be worn appropriately. If you require second hand items, there are a variety of available items that can be bought through the school - please see our office aunties. This can assist in the cost for parents.   

There is currently a uniform review in place accross our Parish. We will inform you of any changes as they come. 

GATE CHANGES

Due to our ongoing commitment to keeping your children safe, we have decided to close the gate next to the canteen in the mornings before school. We always have a staff member on duty at the gate in front of the school where buses drop off, so we can be sure children enter and stay once they are dropped off. If you are doing kiss and drop, there are no changes (please remember to move off as soon as you are able for others to drop off). If you are parking and bringing your child in, please enter through the supervised gate. The afternoon routine remains unchanged; Kindergarten - Year 2 are to be collected from the Hall and Year 3-6 are to be collected from the courtyard outside their classroom. Buses are loaded from the supervised gate and walkers / bike riders also leave from this gate.

WELCOME KINDERGARTEN!!

We were excited on Wednesday this week to welcome our new Kindergarten children and their families to St Joseph’s. It was an exciting and slightly daunting morning with a few tears from children and parents, but very brave goodbyes to settle into the day. There were lots of smiles at the end of the day and stories of very sleepy children that night! Please enjoy the photos of our brand new Joey’s getting accustomed quickly to “Big School”. Thank you to our Kinder team: Mrs Stapleton, Mrs McKinnon, Briony and Josie who cared for our little ones and will continue to work with parents through the year. Thank you also to our P&F members who provided “Cheers and Tears” morning tea afterwards. Finally, thank you to all Kinder parents for entrusting the care of your beautiful children to us. We will take good care of them.

NEW INITIATIVE - ST AGNES PARISH PLAY GROUP

A new initiative of St Agnes Parish is a Play Group, being hosted in our Parish Primary Schools. Each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 9:30-11:30am, parents are invited to bring their children from all ages before Kindergarten to the groups for a play and networking opportunity with other parents. St Joseph’s will host this on Wednesdays, starting on 12th February but parents are welcome to attend at any of the schools. Please see the below flyer for details.

JAPANESE EXCHANGE TOUR - HOST FAMILIES OPPORTUNITY

We are excited to be part of an educational tour through hosting students at our school from Japan during the day of Monday 9th March. What a great opportunity for our students to engage with another culture and share what is great about our part of the world. 

There is also the opportunity to be a host family to students during their stay through the week, opening your home to them and sharing what’s great about our beautiful area. We understand this is quite a commitment, but if you would like to have this amazing experience, we ask that you let us know by the start of next week so that we can put you in contact with Vanessa Gray who is coordinating St Joseph’s school involvement in the program. The draft schedule is below so that you are able to see what this will involve and there is further information available should you be interested. Please email to the school. 

Higashi Educational Tour

OZHARVEST VISIT

Last year we were contacted by OzHarvest to see if we would like a free presentation on food waste. They will be visiting school on Monday 17th February at 11:40am in the MPA. They will cover the following:

•   The problem of food waste and food insecurity – globally and in Australia
•   The environmental consequences of food waste
•   The impact of food insecurity on people
•   The OzHarvest Story
•   Our tips to fight food waste at home and school
•   Q&A session

SLEEP IS YOUR SUPERPOWER

We have all heard about how important sleep is to our health (combined with nutrition and exercise). As parents, we know what it feels like when we are not getting enough and how our children can be affected in various ways when they don’t sleep well. 

As we start the school year, we are conscious of giving our children the best chance to learn and grow. The video link below is from a TED Talk that gives the science behind why sleep is such an important part of learning and memory as well as a range of future health issues if we don’t develop a good pattern. It is worth a look to remind us of this vital piece of the puzzle for health, wellbeing and learning. Don’t be put off by the opening remarks of the presenter….it is worth continuing to listen.  

Tess Koning
Principal