Dear Families and Friends
This week a number of staff are participating in Early Childhood Professional Development in Broome. We wish them all the best and look forward to benefiting from their collective experiences upon their return.
Teacher Appointment
I am delighted to announce that Mrs Matilda Kehl will be joining us as a full time Specialist Teacher from the beginning of Term Two. Matilda is currently living in Queensland with her husband and two daughters. We look forward to welcoming Matilda to St Joseph's and benefiting from her artistic and musical talents.
Year 5/6 Camp
A big thank you to the students and families who attended our camp meeting last Thursday. if you were unable to attend, please make contact with Mr Luke Roberts to catch up on important information such as the fundraising initiatives taking place over the coming weeks.
Coronavirus - A message from Executive Director Dr Debra Sayce
The updated advice from the Department of Education for parents and affected staff is:
• Any student or staff member who has been in, or transited through, mainland China or has been in Iran is excluded from work, school or child care services for 14 days from the date they left mainland China or Iran.
• Any confirmed case of COVID-19 will be excluded until they are medically cleared to return.
• Close contacts of a confirmed case of COVID-19 will be excluded for 14 days since last contact with the confirmed case.
• Students and staff who have returned to Australia from mainland China or Iran more than 14 days ago and have shown no symptoms are able to return to school.
The above also applies to all parents/carers, contractors, visitors and volunteers on school sites. Parents/carers and staff should notify their school if the student or staff member will be away for the isolation period and confirm the last date they were in mainland China or Iran.
Children and staff do not require a medical certificate or clearance to return to school but must remain at home until 14 days after leaving mainland China or Iran.
The WA Department of Health has updated information including frequently asked questions about the COVID-19. To view this information visit healthywa.wa.gov.au/coronavirus
Around the School
All students continue to enjoy visits from Sr Julianne who has delivered a variety of lessons focussing on the meaning of Lent as well weekly Gospel reflections.
Some of the girls in Year Two have been giving up their playtime to pick up rubbish around the school. They are definitely following in the footsteps of Mary Mackillop by seeing a need and doing something about it!
School Banking
We are still looking for a parent or carer to take on the role of our School Banking Coordinator for 2020. If you are free one morning a week and would be interested in providing this service for our students, please come and see me.
Car Wash
A car wash will be held at St Vincent Pallotti Church on Saturday 21st March from 7:00am - 11:00am. All proceeds will go to Project Compassion.
This Week
Caritas Appeal
We invite students to bring loose change to school to donate to Caritas. Easter Raffle tickets can be purchased from Year 5/6 students at the lunch shed before school: $1 each or 3 for $2. Jelly cups and zooper-doopers can be purchased from the canteen each Friday with all proceeds going to Caritas.
Easter Egg Raffle
Thank you to those families who have donated Easter eggs for Easter Raffle prizes. We are still looking for more donations so that a number of prizes can be drawn out at our final assembly for Term 1. When purchasing Easter eggs, we ask that you keep an eye open for the fair trade symbols shown here. Cocoa beans are the key ingredient in chocolate and in places such as West Africa many people (including children) are enslaved to pick cocoa beans. It is estimated that up to 40 million people are working under slavery around the world - one in four are children. By purchasing chocolate that has these symbols, you are sending a clear message to those companies who are unable to state that their chocolate is produced under fair trade conditions.
Next Week
Feast Day of St Joseph, Thursday 19th March
We will hold a whole school Mass at School on Thursday 19th March at 8.30am. Families and friends are welcome to attend.
National Day of Action against Violence and Bullying, Friday 20th March
Miss Tierney has organised activities for all students to participate in as we take a stand against violence and bullying.
Upcoming Events
Reconciliation
The date for the Sacrament of Reconciliation this term is Thursday 26th March at St Vincent Pallotti Church at 4:00pm. Students who have been baptised will be prepared for the Sacrament by our Religious Education Coordinator Mr David Ballingall and Year 4/5 Teacher Mr Matthew Absalom.
Three-way conferences
Our child-parent/caregiver-teacher interviews will take place on Tuesday 7th April and Wednesday 8th April. Information will be sent home shortly regarding interview times.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Tim Hogan
Principal
Term Dates 2020- Term 1: 4 Feb– 9 April
- Term 2: 29 April—3 July
- Term 3: 21 July—25 Sept
- Term 4: 13 Oct—11 Dec
School Closure Days 2020- Monday, 3 February (PD)
- Tuesday, 28 April (PD)
- Friday, 29 May (Catholic Day)
- Monday, 20 July (PD)
- Monday, 12 October (PD)
FAREWELL MISS ASHLEIGH
We would like to farewell Miss Ashleigh Mongoo, after three years at St Joseph’s. Ashleigh will finish on 1st April and relocate to Karratha with her family. Rueben will miss you a lot but we know he is so thankful for your dedication to him and to the other students in your class. We wish Ben, Kyrah and yourself all the best for your new journey. Thank you for being a part of our ATA team.
BUS RUN REMINDER
Please remember to have your child waiting outside your house for the St Josephs bus. If they miss the bus it is your responsibility to get your child to school.
LUNCHES
As of 2020 parents are required to pay for emergency lunches. If you wish to sign up for Centrepay school food program please see Miss Eileen in the front office.
ABSENTEES
If your child is absent please notify us as it saves an ATA doing a follow-up visit.
THANKS
St Josephs School would like to thank Gloria Mengil from Warringarri Aboriginal Arts for donating two paintings, both entitled “Bush Fruits”. One is a gift to our school and the other for auction at St Patrick’s Quiz Night.
Miss Eileen would like to thank all parents who helped reshelve our library books after the new carpet was laid.
Miss Tanya, Miss Melina, Miss BJ, Miss Sandra, Miss Judith, Miss Bernie, Miss Susan, Miss Ashleigh, Miss Eileen & Miss Tianna.
OSHC is off to a great start for 2020, with many new Pre-Primary children from St Joseph’s and East Kimberley College. All have settled in well.
We have introduced badminton and tennis into our program this year and both are proving very popular amongst the children and staff! Thank you to the school for loaning the equipment.
We are taking bookings for vacation care during the April holiday. The booking forms and activity programs are available from OSHC. One of the planned activities is a visit to Kangaroo Haven, which was very popular previously.
In a few weeks we will say good bye to Miss Ashleigh, Ben and Kyrah as they leave Kununurra and head off on a new adventure. Ashleigh has been an amazing asset to the OSHC team and we will be very sad to see her go. We wish them all the best for their new lives.
Miss Ros
