Dear Parents and Carers,
The term of Term 4 has been very busy with the building project now well underway. We are currently preparing for the concrete slab and the works are on schedule for completion at the end of April 2024.
Congratulations to our athletics team this week. Year 5 boys won Section 5 pennant and Eddy was age champion for Year 4. School sport is an important of our school life, this was in evidence at Sports Day at the end of last term.
It was lovely to show a large group of prospective parents through the school this morning on a tour, I am proud of our students for showcasing their learning so beautifully, especially Mia and Scarlet for sharing their experiences at St Joseph’s Tranmere in such a positive and eloquent manner.
The weather is certainly warming up as we approach summer. I have been reminding all students to bring their hats to school and wear them when outside. Can I ask that you check in with your child to see they have their hat and it is labelled clearly. We do have a limited number of hats in the front office for you to purchase, or you can go online and purchase one from the uniform shop. Thank you for your support in this important matter.
This term we will have an opportunity to celebrate the year with our Annual Community Gathering on Thursday 30 November. This evening event will again take place in the courtyard due to the building works occurring in the bottom area of the school. The theme for this year is ‘Reaching for the Stars’ to highlight our approach towards Advent. Each class will perform a song and dance for your entertainment. The night will start at 6pm, with gates opening at 5:30pm Families are asked to bring along a chair (no blankets) so you can find a spot in the courtyard area to watch the event comfortably. You are welcome to bring some nibbles and drinks, however please no alcohol. The night should conclude around 7:30pm. I look forward to seeing you there for this exciting event.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Building Project
I am excited to announce that last week we selected a builder for our Learning Street Project starting on 29 September 2023. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Steele Building Group to take on this exciting project for our school and we look forward to working with the Geoff and the team to produce an outstanding contemporary project.
The Learning Street project will see the construction of five high quality-learning spaces for our Early Years students and staff. The inclusion of a large teaching and learning space will enhance the already excellent learning that is taking place in our school. The biophilic designed Learning Street will provide amazing learning facilities for many years to come. Visit the link below to see a short video on the project https://www.stjotran.catholic.edu.au/learning/building-programs
We are very appreciative to the State Government for a 1.6M grant to assist with this timely development and I would like to thank and acknowledge the State Government for this wonderful contribution.
During construction, we will need to move our Year 3/4 classes to different classrooms for Term 4. Classes will be moving over the next 2 weeks in preparation for the builders to come in and establish the building site. The current Music room, Italian room and Wellbeing room will be set up for the Year 3/4 classes to use for the rest of the year.
Year 3/4RM will move upstairs into room 12 (Music Room), Year 3/4MC will move into room 13 (Wellbeing Room), and Year 3/4JS will move into room 11 (Italian Room).
As a result, our specialist Music lessons for all classes will be held in the St Joseph’s Room (small Hall) on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Signora will visit the classes for Italian lessons. A quiet space for student wellbeing will be provided in the OSHC/Community room.
When the students return from the term break there will be a series of temporary fences around the building site to keep everyone safe for access through the school down to the multi-sports space.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to the eleven children who received the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist (Communion) on Sunday. The ceremony was preceded by Archbishop Patrick O’Regan and it was a wonderful celebration for our children and their families as they became fully initiated members in the Catholic Church. May the children follow closely in the footsteps of Jesus as they live their lives of love, justice, and peace.
Dear Parents and Carers,
I trust you have been enjoying the early pre-spring weather, nice to have the sunny days, giving us of taste of what is to come.
Last week all families received an email promoting our Living Learning Leading (LLL) survey. As mentioned in the letter, this short survey (3-5 mins) provides us with feedback from our families on our school’s performance. All responses are confidential and will be used for school improvement purposes.
It is important that we capture as many responses to the survey, so I strongly encourage you to spend a moment of your time to complete the survey. You can visit the website www.NSIPartnerships.com.au and enter the access code: SJTLLLP. Your time and consideration is appreciated.
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you are keeping warm and staying well during the start of this wet winter period. It was wonderful to see our Year 3/4 student and staff return safely from another successful camp yesterday. They managed to survive the wet weather and complete many exciting challenges at Woodhouse Activity Centre at Piccadilly. There were many tired people, however all very happy for the experience, with many great stories to share and memories to cherish.
A very big thank you to all staff and parent volunteers who attended the camp, providing great support and care for our Year 3/4 students especially as, for many, this was their first real camp adventure. It takes a lot of organisation and preparation for a camp to be successful. It also requires staff to be on call throughout the entire camp, assisting to all students and their needs. I am sure you will join me in thanking our wonderful staff and parent volunteers for their commitment, energy and caring support of our students.
We value our strong outdoor education program at St Joseph’s, the benefits from camps include; the disconnect with technology and reconnect with self and others, building positive relationships with staff and other students, learning new skills, improving independence, expanding experiences in nature and teaching personal organisation. All very important skills for students to develop and grow as thriving individuals. I look forward to the Year 5 and Year 6 camps in Term 4.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Last week was Catholic Education Week across South Australia where all schools celebrated the excellent teaching and learning that happens in our schools every day. You might like to visit our socials to see what the students had to say about our school. It is wonderful to reflect and recognise the teaching and learning that takes place. Thank you to everyone in our school community that makes our school a wonderful place to belong.
I would like to inform our school community of an important event this term and encourage you to save the date. On Wednesday 5 July we are inviting families to our Learning Showcase Afternoon. Parents and carers will be able to visit the classrooms and see the wonderful learning that has taken place over the term. The school will be opened from 3pm – 5pm so all can attend during this time period.
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am sure you are all looking forward to the Easter break with Family and Friends. It is a special time to be reminded that Jesus is alive and in our midst, and he welcomes us into a new life with him. This year we have been blessed with Easter falling before our term break. This has allowed our school community time to reflect and gather to listen to the Easter story and then provide us with the chance to return next week to celebrate the resurrection and new life. A truly special time in our church calendar.
School Board
The school board held the AGM for 2022 on Wednesday 22 March. The meeting reflected on our achievements in 2022 and highlighted the challenges of last year, especially with COVID. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school board for their support and commitment in 2022. I would especially like to acknowledge and thank our Chair, Mr Anthony Giordano who has been in this important role for a few years. Anthony has been a very active member, assisting with all our building projects, providing his expertise and advice.
I would like to congratulate and introduce our newest member, Rachel Castellano.
Our Board members are:
Fr Roy Elavumkal SMM, (President) Anthony Giordano (Chair), Adrian Grbin (Principal), Phil Testa, Ashley Grant, Steven Crescitelli (Finance), Tatum Tadiar (Secretary), Sarah Hill, Brett Clappis, Rachel Castellano and Tanya Barrett (Staff).
I would like to thank all our members for their commitment in taking on this important role of governance and look forward to working with them throughout 2023.
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been wonderful to see the return of school assemblies after a two-year absence. If you would like to attend, our assemblies occur every other Thursday on our even weeks. Assemblies start at 9am and are usually finished by 9:30am. Each assembly is run by an individual class, which provides a chance for our students to showcase their learning as well as build on their public speaking skills. We start every assembly with prayer, acknowledgement of country and then sing the national anthem. We acknowledge student birthdays and share important notices from student leaders or staff. We like to recognise individual or team achievements and celebrate the highlights of the past two weeks. You may even hear the occasional Dad joke! Assemblies are a wonderful whole school event, bringing us together as a community.
Assemblies for the remainder of the term include:
Another excellent way to connect with what has been happening each week is to visit our Facebook or Instagram pages. These platforms are updated regularly with current events and great learning. We love having your ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ whenever possible. Thanks to all our loyal followers, we appreciate your support.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you to all who attended the Parent Information Evening. It was pleasing to see a great turnout and lovely to see parents coming back on site. We hope you found these sessions informative and helpful in understanding your child’s learning for 2023 and also a chance to meet the teachers. If you were unable to attend, I encourage you to contact your child’s teacher so they can send through to you any information they provided parents.
We have had a wonderful start to the year. The whole school has spent the first two weeks focusing on wellbeing. The Wellbeing weeks are an initiative that has been adopted by all the five catholic schools in the eastern region. It provides many opportunities for students to get to know their classmates, their teachers and develop strong positive relationships. Students look at ways they can be ready for learning and how the class and their learning will be organised. The whole school has been introduced to all components of our wellbeing program including meeting Bonnie our wellbeing dog.
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are approaching the end of another school year. Teachers are currently writing student reports and preparing for end of year events. Our Year 6 students are experiencing many “this will be the last time I do this” moments as they prepare for their final days at St Joseph’s School.
Last Sunday was the start of Advent. This is a special time in the church calendar for us to prepare for the coming of Jesus and Christmas. It is also a time for us to prepare for next year. Our long transition program, “Little Stars”, is in full swing as the new Reception students gather each Friday in our Community Centre to prepare for starting school. Each week is a new adventure for the students as they begin to understand and experience the life of a school. This preparation is such an important part for a student being in our school the term before they start so they can feel happy and safe, build resilience and make friends. Being prepared can help us begin to feel okay about change and allows us to start organising for the next chapter in our school journey, especially if it is moving on to a new school or to a new class.
