Principal's Piece

Dear Friends and Families

This week we welcomed visitors from St Norbert’s College. They are very happy to visit us yet again and we are very happy to have them back. This is a relationship that has been established for a number of years now so it is great to continue this tradition.

At St Joseph’s our highest priority is ensuring children and young people are able to thrive academically in a secure and safe environment. Each day we endeavour to make our school a place where our children feel safe and secure. A big part of this is the work the school does around trauma informed practice and wellbeing. The teachers and staff have embedded a number of strategies within the classroom and the school that support students. Next week we are going to spotlight some other ways we can look after our own wellbeing. The staff will be provided with different opportunities to look after themselves each day and our students will participate in different wellbeing activities each lunch time. The week will finish with a shared lunch on Thursday and an afternoon of activities from community organisations. We hope you can join us on Thursday afternoon so you can continue the conversation of wellbeing with your own child. Mental health is a part of life that is increasingly better understood, with a growing awareness that talking about our mental health and wellbeing is important, and promoting good mental health should happen from the earliest years of life.

This week Nicole and Matt have had to make the difficult decision to return to Victoria sooner than they had planned. Nicole will finish with us on Friday and Matt’s last day will be the following week, the last day of term. All the staff are sad to see Nicole and Matt leave as they are well-loved members of our St Joseph’s family. Matt has made an enormous contribution to our school community over the last two years and his class is going to miss him dearly. This year Nicole has worked at both our school and OSHC helping out wherever she has been needed. We wish them all the best as they return home and will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

Over the last few weeks we have had our Kindy 2022 open days and have begun our Kindy enrolment interviews. It has been great getting to meet our future Kindy students and their families. We are at capacity with our Kindy enrolments for next year so any enrolments will now be placed on a waitlist.

This weekend we welcome Monsignor Paul to our parish to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. There are three candidates for Confirmation which will take place at our 8:30am Sunday Mass at St Vincent Pallotti Church. All our students are invited to come along to this special celebration.

A reminder that we have the Year 1 Assembly item this Friday at 1.20pm, which is our last assembly for the term.

 Have a great week. 

Miss Gabby

Principal

Principal Appointment

I am pleased to announce that Gabby Franco has been appointed as substantive Principal at St Joseph’s School, Kununurra. Gabby has been in the position of Short-term Principal at St Joseph’s School, Kununurra during 2021. Prior to this she was the substantive Principal at St Joseph’s School, Wyndham, from 2017 to 2019. From 2011 until 2016, Gabby has been in a number of teaching roles at Ngalangangpum School Warmun and at St Joseph’s School, Wyndham.

Gabby will be taking up this position on 1 January 2022. Congratulations, Gabby.

Dr Debra Sayce

Executive Director

Catholic Education Western Australia

St Joseph’s Student Code of Conduct

The St Joseph’s Student Code of Conduct was developed by the students of St Joseph’s. Students participated in Steps 1 to 4 during Term 1 2021. Step 5 was worked through during term 2 and Step 6 completed during Term 3. The Student Code of Conduct was reviewed by students in Year 3 to 6 on two separate occasions. The Student Code of Conduct was shared with the wider school community during Term 3. 

At St Joseph’s School, Kununurra we want to feel Safe.

1. In order to feel Safe we will follow school rules.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will ask an adult for help.

2. In order to feel Safe we will listen and follow instructions.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will ask an adult for help.

3. In order to feel Safe we will help and care for others.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will ask them why they are feeling that way.

4. In order to feel Safe we will keep our hands and feet to ourselves.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will ignore them or walk away.

5. In order to feel Safe we will treat others the way we would like to be treated.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will remind them of the golden  rule.

At St Joseph’s School, Kununurra we want to feel Happy.

1. In order to feel Happy we will smile, laugh, sing and dance.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will ask them if they are alright.

2. In order to feel Happy we will be kind to others.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will ask an adult for help.

3. In order to feel Happy we will make friends and play with them.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will play with and include them.

4. In order to feel Happy we will come to school everyday.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will look after them.

5. In order to feel Happy we will listen to the teacher and other adults.

When someone isn’t feeling this way, or there is conflict, we will try to make them feel happy.

Our Code of Conduct prohibits bullying, harassment and other forms of peer-to-peer abuse and we require respect for the privacy and human dignity of other students.

COVID Update - Unwell Children

Students who are unwell should stay home. Parents are asked to seek medical advice if their child exhibits symptoms of COVID-19. Normal processes for advising the school of a child’s absence will apply.

See the CEWA Website for further information: https://covid19.cewa.edu.au/covid-19-response-210207/