Dear Parents

As we head into Week 4 of term, we can already look back and be very proud of all that has been achieved right across the school. I commend staff and parents for their effort and focus on settling the children into good routines and habits for learning in 2025.

A NEW SCHOOL YEAR

Please remember that for many students, ‘promotion’ into a new year level can be an anxious time, particularly when this is coupled with change of class or teacher.  It is important that as parents you are recognisably supportive in the first few weeks of ‘transition’ while children settle into new routines and accustom themselves with different expectations and teaching styles which vary from teacher to teacher, class to class.  A positive working partnership between home and school is vital in ensuring that a shared sense of responsibility is geared towards always maintaining what is best for each child.  

As parents, we ask that you get involved in your child’s school. This is harder than ever due to work and other commitments, but you can still be positively engaged in the life of your child’s school even when you work. Here’s a few tips on how this can be achieved: -

1. Ensure that you child attends every day. Research has proven that there is a high correlation between school attendance and academic performance and success.
2. Direct conversations through the correct channels such as your child’s teacher. Classroom teachers are in the best position to provide the facts.  
3. Read the school newsletter, and stay up-to-date with happenings in our school. Why not follow St Joseph’s School on Facebook as well?
4. Get the MyCE app, and follow our calendar of events; place important events in your own diary so you can plan.
5. Meet with your child’s teacher at the start of the year and ask for practical ways you can help at home. Every teacher has his/her own style and way of doing things.  If you missed our Meet the Teacher afternoon, please make a time to have a conversation with your child’s teacher soon. 
6. Encourage your child to take pride in their school, and don’t ‘bag’ it yourself. Your positive advocacy of your child’s school will send a powerful message about school and learning.
7. Model learning and reading. Your child needs to see you learning new things and reading so they become normalised. In particular, boys are more likely to latch on to reading when their dads read to them and also read at home themselves.

There are lots of ways you can support your child’s learning. However, you can’t go too far wrong if you start with these basics; take a real interest in your child’s schooling and be an active, risk-taking learner yourself.  Most importantly…. remember that getting your child to school every day is of utmost importance.

NAPLAN ONLINE 2025 – Year 3 and Year 5

NAPLAN will take place this term commencing in Week 7. 

Please familiarise yourself with this timetable if your child is in Year 3 or Year 5.

WINDOWS NEAR CLASSROOMS

Parents are asked to please be mindful if waiting near classrooms at the end of the school day as noise from conversations can easily distract children from their learning or their end of day prayer.  Please wait away from classrooms.  As always, thank you for your understanding.

HOME LEARNING REMINDER

Home Learning reflects the importance we place on reading which is why the only compulsory home learning required from every student is reading.

Each week it is an expectation that our students borrow from the library to facilitate this compulsory requirement. In the early years this will be in the forms of  'read to me', 'read with me,' and library books of interest. In middle and upper years students will be asked to choose books of interest from both fiction and non-fiction. It is important to note, particularly with 'read with me' books, whilst a student may be able to read some of their books independently, they still require you to assist them with language comprehension, vocabulary or the decoding of unfamiliar words. For a child to become a competent reader they need to practise the skills they learn at school to both decode and comprehend texts. 

Sadly, over time, we have noticed slippage in reading at home, with some students not bringing their reading bag to school on library days, not bringing their reading diary to school or just not reading.  We need your support to help turn this around. 

Reading is the key skill which underpins all learning, and this cannot be emphasised enough. 

PRIVACY REMINDER - Photographs and Videos

As a new school year commences, it is a timely reminder that when taking photos and/or videos at our school events, please be conscious that some students cannot be photographed. We kindly ask that you be mindful and avoid capturing or sharing images and videos that may include other students in the foreground. 

Your cooperation is essential in maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all our students and their families. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Enjoy your week!

Rita Petersen