Dear Parents, Carers, Staff, Students and the wider St. Joseph’s Primary School Community, welcome once again to the new school week. 

Today heralds in the last week of what we all realise has been a very different term for all. Our school staff, families and students continue to be beacons of hope, display care, share compassion and above all are displaying a strong partnership to support each other and the learning of all.

Today we received the updated education plan for term 4 for all catholic schools in this region. Essentially it is as we shared last week; students continue in the ‘Flexible and Remote’ program this week, have the normal two week term break, continue in the first week of next term in the ‘Flexible and Remote’ program and then all students return to on-site face to face teaching, Week 2, from Monday the 12th of October. The details are again listed below.

COVID-19: Roadmap to Recovery, St. Joseph’s Primary School

1. Term 3, continue the current ‘Flexible and Remote’ program:
   As per the Premier's announcement on Sunday, there will be no changes to the current regional remote and flexible learning arrangements for the remainder of term 3. The ‘Flexible and Remote’ learning plan will continue until the last day of this term, Friday 18th September. On this day school will conclude at 2:30pm for all students.
   
   
2. Term 4: First Week of Term 4: 5th – 9th October:
   Flexible and Remote’ learning will continue for all students. The on-site supervision program will still continue for children of eligible workers and vulnerable students consistent with existing guidelines. 
   
   From Monday the 12 October, all students at St. Joseph’s (Foundation to Grade 6) will return to full-time on-site face to face schooling. There will be no staggered school return at St. Joseph’s over this week. Pick-up and drop off will return to the same allocated areas of the school.

Other School News

An example of the power of “Positive Thinking” and our students leaders commitment to being outstanding role models was shared by the group in this newsletter. They shared a short video that talked about their plan for a fun day next term and the quotes that inspire them. I commend the link to all to view.

A ‘shout out’ to to all the many creative responses by students to the “Sports Who” challenges created by Mrs Lloyd and Mr McMillian; whether it is making a guess on who the staff member is in their junior sports days or finding a great place to exercise, student interest and responses have been fun.

A big thanks all too for the “Wonderful Wednesday” support. Our office team and school leadership felt a bit of a change to the weekly timetable would break-up the week for all, add a sparkle to the day and encourage community engagement. This has been highly successful. I thank everyone for being involved to the capacity that you could. Everyone has enjoyed sharing photos and the many examples included with this newsletter has certainly encouraged happy talk for all.

Cyber Safety

The Australian eSafety Commissioner (Julie Grant) has written to all schools across Australia to alert all to a deeply distressing and harmful video circulating on social media last week.  Julie writes that formal reports have been made to authorities and reminds us that we can all report harmful and disturbing online content to the eSafety commission. The eSafety web page link is below. A copy of Julie’s letter is also linked from this newsletter. The letter is well worth reading as it highlights young people's feelings when they come across inappropriate material and includes tips for parents to help limit young people’s exposure to harmful content online.

I conclude by again thanking everyone for your support and work this term. Working from home, managing student learning, attending school as required, running remote and on-site lessons all takes energy, commitment and patience. Term Four will arrive and together we will again focus on all student needs.