PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Matthew O'Brien, Principal
Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and the wider St. Joseph’s Primary School Community,
Happy Mothers Day
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mums in our school community. On Sunday I’ll be thinking of my mum, Janet, who turned 87 last month. I hope that you all get spoiled and smothered in hugs and kisses by your families.
A big thank you to the PSA for their coordination of our Mother’s Day stall and morning tea this week. We have nearly 80 mums and grandmums attending our inaugural Mother’s Day Morning Tea on Friday. These mums will be serenaded by our choir and enjoy a visit to their child’s classroom before settling down to our version of a high tea. Thanks again to the PSA for their creativity and support of this event.
Cross Country
I am really looking forward to the cross country on Wednesday (weather permitting). Regardless of age and fitness levels every child has the opportunity to do something that is hard and to persist when it does get hard. I will be encouraging everyone to keep on going when they become a little puffed.
Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall
The PSA will be running an Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall. I urge you to support this event as a fundraiser for the school. (The Mother’s Day stall and Morning Tea were designed purely as community building activities.) The Federal and State Elections are an opportunity for us to fundraise. As reported in a previous newsletter the PSA is contributing $39,000 to continue to grow our school in 2022. This support is crucial to maintaining and improving our facilities and programs. Further in this newsletter is information on how you can get involved in the Election Day BBQ and Cake Stall.
NAPLAN Testing
Looking ahead to next week students in Year 3 and 5 will be undertaking NAPLAN testing. The majority of this testing will be completed online and all Year 3 and 5 students have participated in a NAPLAN trial during Term 1 to ensure that student devices and the school network are well prepared. St Joseph’s regards NAPLAN testing as one of many sources of valuable data that provides teachers and parents with a picture of student progress, highlighting their strengths and areas for growth. As NAPLAN did not occur in 2020 students all of our students will be participating in NAPLAN for the first time.
May Race Day
I don’t think that anybody needs a reminder that the school is closed on Thursday. Good luck to everyone who is involved in this wonderful event and to those attending.
PSA Meeting
PSA Meeting next Tuesday 10th May 7:30 in the school meeting room. All are welcome.
COVID Reminder
Household Contacts
Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. They may return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times during their 7-day period. They are required to notify the school that they are a household contact.
Students aged 8 years and above who are household contacts are required to wear face masks when indoors at school unless they have a valid exemption.
If a student household contact returns a positive RAT result, they must isolate for 7 days.
Also, children with COVID like symptoms should stay at home.