5th June, Week 6, Term 4

From Our Principal - Mrs Kristie Coster

Dear St Joseph’s Community,

Monday 26th May was National Sorry Day. As a school community, we paused to pray for the Stolen Generations and the First Peoples of this land.

We pray for healing, truth, and a future built on justice and respectful listening.

Semester Two Reports and Parent Teacher Conferences

As we approach the end of the semester, our teachers are diligently preparing student reports. These reports offer a comprehensive snapshot of your child’s academic progress and personal development across all subject areas. 

This semester’s reports will include comments in English, Mathematics, other Key Learning Areas, and a general comment that reflects your child’s holistic development - their strengths, characteristics and participation in school life. Semester reports are a snapshot of student achievement at this point in their learning.

Students in Years 1-6 receive a grade on the A-E 5-point scale, unless the student has a modified report. Students in Kindergarten receive Working Towards, Working At or Working Beyond in each key learning area.

Reports will be published for parents in Compass on Friday Week 9. 

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Week 10, these conferences provide an invaluable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, share insights, and collaborate on strategies to support their continued growth.

We encourage you to engage with these reports and conferences to gain a deeper understanding of your child’s learning journey. Should you have any questions or require further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s classroom teacher.

Tell Them From Me Survey

A huge thank you to our families who took the time to complete the 2025 Tell Them From Me survey. Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. We will announce the winner of the $50 Spar voucher on Friday.

Once we receive the data, we will take time to reflect on the results and use them to identify areas for growth and improvement within our school. Our goal is always to enhance the experience for our students and families, and your input helps guide that journey.

Many, many thanks for your continued support and partnership in making St Joseph’s the best it can be. 

School Uniform

At St. Joseph’s, our school uniform is more than just clothing—it is a visible symbol of our shared identity, values, and pride in our school.  Wearing the uniform fosters a sense of belonging, encourages equality among students, and helps maintain a focused and respectful learning environment. Thank you to our students and families who consistently support our uniform expectations at St Joseph’s.

A gentle reminder, during the colder months students wear a navy blue jumper and/or navy track pants.

Blessings for a safe and happy weekend.

Kristie Coster

Student Awards - Week 5

Mission News

Gospel Reflection- Pentecost
On this Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, the fulfillment of Christ's promise to send an Advocate who would empower and guide His followers. The Gospel reading from John recounts Jesus' appearance to His disciples after the Resurrection, an event that holds profound significance for our understanding of forgiveness, peace, and the mission of the Church.
The Gospel tells us that the disciples were gathered in a locked room, fearful of the Jews. Jesus appears to them and says, "Peace be with you". He shows them his hands and his side, bearing the marks of his crucifixion. This act emphasizes the reality of his resurrected body and assures them that it is truly He who stands before them. Jesus then repeats, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you". This is followed by the pivotal moment when Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained"

Whole school Masses Term 2

We invite all members of the school and parish community to join us for our masses and liturgies. 

Friday July 4th End of Term Celebration

Glow Retreat

Last week, Year 6 students took part in the Glow Retreat, a special day of faith, reflection, and connection. The retreat brought students together from across our region of schools, including our friends at St Joseph’s Woodburn. It was a great opportunity to grow spiritually, enjoy music and worship with Wildfire, play games, and share meaningful moments of prayer. The student’s favourite aspect of the day was making connections to students from the other Catholic schools in the region. Our students truly let their light shine!

Year 6 GLOW Retreat

The bus left at 8.00am on Thursday the 29th of May, transporting  7 students from St Joey’s  to attend the Glow Retreat at Xavier College, Skennar’s Head. Those attending were Pip, Noah, Janaya, Kyden, Maxx, Macen and Taylor. Our first stop was  St Joey’s Woodburn to pick up  their Year 6 students and from there we travelled  to Xavier College - Skennars Head. At the retreat  there was a stage but which they used for  concert and music. For fun  we played bull rush at lunch time and another game called Washing Machine.

We also did a lot of  singing and dancing. The day was better a normal day.

Maxx

Stage 1 News

Stage 1 students have been learning about sacraments and special religious celebrations. As part of our learning, we were very lucky to welcome Ravi Sharma (Alia’s dad) who came to speak to us about his Hindu wedding in India.

Ravi shared stories, photos, and details about the traditional Hindu wedding ceremony, explaining its rich meaning and beautiful customs. The students loved hearing about the colourful clothing, the rituals, the music, and the joyful celebration that lasted for several days!

We are so thankful to Ravi for taking the time to share his experience and helping us learn more about how different cultures and religions celebrate important moments in life.

Sports News

Athletics Carnival 

Friday 27th June we will be joining St Joey's Alstonville for our 2025 Athletics Carnival at Geoff Watt Oval, Alstonville.

Throughout the day our students will compete with St Joseph's Alstonville, however they won't be competing against the students from Alstonville. Places, ribbons and age championship points will be awarded to our students and we will select squad for zone based on our own results. We will require students to nominate to compete in competitive events (aiming for selection to participate at Zone level) or non-competitive (competing for house points only) for the 800m, long jump and shot put events. All students will participate in the 100m and 200m sprints. Teachers will give students the chance to nominate in the next few weeks.

Parents are very welcome and encouraged to attend the event to support their children and our school.

A bus will transport students to and from the event. The bus will leave at 9:05am and will return to school before 3pm.  Please see Compass event for payment and consent. 

Lunch orders will be available, order forms will be sent home soon.

Library News

This week books on display are ‘Animals from around the world’, and books on Environment will be on display shortly. Author of the week is Margaret Wild.  

We are off to the Village this week to share some activities and play Bingo.

                                                         Enjoy your long weekend!

                                                         Mrs Verrall

Happy Birthday to the following who have celebrated their birthday since our last newsletter:

Noah Hague, Luke Chappell

School Photos - Monday 16th June, 9:00am

School Photo envelopes have been sent home, cash can be enclosed in the envelope and returned to school prior to the 16th June or online card payments can be made www.theschoolphotographer.com.au

Please ensure that full school uniform is worn on the day.

Canteen News