13 May 2025 (Week 3 Term 2 2025)
Dear St Joseph’s Community
We’re only a few weeks into Term 2, but already there’s been a great deal happening across our school. From the celebration of Mother’s Day to the success of Stage 3 Camp, it’s been a strong and positive start. We were also honoured to receive national recognition as an Excellence Awardee in the Australian Education Awards—a reflection of our shared commitment to students and their growth - see more on this below.
Our teachers are working incredibly hard to implement our School Annual Improvement Plan, with a strong focus on good first teaching using evidence-based practices. We are seeing such a strong response from our students and we are so proud of our teachers and students.
This week, we begin enrolment interviews for our 2026 Kindergarten intake. It’s always a privilege to meet new families and hear what has drawn them to St Joseph’s.
There are some celebrations, thanks, and important information for families below.
Happy Mother’s Day!
As we celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday, we give thanks for all the mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures in our community. Your love, patience, care, and quiet sacrifices are deeply valued.
In our Catholic tradition, we look to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a model of motherhood. Her deep faith, unwavering love, and strength in the face of life’s challenges inspire us to honour and support the mothers in our own lives. This is why we call Mary Our Good Mother.
It was lovely to have our community gather on Friday last week for our Mother’s Day breakfast and prayer service. A special thank you to the Parent Assembly for sponsoring this event and to Mrs Jones, Mr Crosby and all of our staff and students for their work preparing thoughtful gifts and prayers.
We wish all mothers and mother figures a very happy and blessed Mother’s Day. May you feel appreciated, cherished, and supported—not just this weekend, but always.
Stage 3 Camp – Thank You!
Last week, our Stage 3 students enjoyed an incredible time away at CYC Burleigh for school camp. From team-building games to water activities, they embraced the opportunity to grow in confidence, cooperation, and independence.
We are so grateful to the staff who accompanied the students and made this experience possible—giving up their time and energy to ensure students were safe, engaged, and supported throughout the week.
Thank you also to families for preparing your children so well and for your support during the lead-up to camp. It was a joy to see the students thrive and represent our school so proudly. Read on further for more S3 Camp feedback and photos.
National Recognition for St Joseph’s!
We are proud to share some exciting news with our school community: St Joseph’s has been named an Excellence Awardee in the 2025 Australian Education Awards in the category of Best School Strategic Plan.
This national recognition highlights the clarity, focus, and shared commitment that underpin our school’s vision and direction. It reflects the collaborative efforts of staff, families, and students to ensure that every decision we make supports meaningful learning, student wellbeing, and our mission of “Growth through Love.”
Being named an Excellence Awardee places us among a select group of schools across Australia – including independent, government, and Catholic schools – who have demonstrated outstanding strategic leadership and planning. We are honoured to be shortlisted, with the overall winner to be announced in August at a national awards ceremony.
This recognition is a celebration of our entire community, and we thank you for the vital role you play in helping bring our shared vision to life each day.
Over the next two weeks, we will be inviting students, teachers and parents to provide feedback on their experience of our school using an online survey. The surveys are an important part of our whole-school evaluation and planning process.
We would like to invite you to complete the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Partners in Learning survey. As we value the role of parents and carers within our school community, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. The information you provide will be used to continue our commitment to working together in partnership to further improve student learning and wellbeing at St Joseph's Primary School.
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Note that most responses are multiple-choice using a scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. It can be quite easy to mix this scale up when completing the survey. Please take your time to read the questions carefully, so we have the most accurate data we can attain. You are able to access the parent survey on your computer or mobile device by using this URL: tellthemfromme.com/alstp2025ttfmparents
Thank you for the opportunity to partner with you and your child in their leaning; your voice is important to us.
Welcome Pope Leo XIV!
Our school community warmly welcomes the election of Pope Leo XIV as the 267th successor of St Peter. At St Joseph’s, we look to the leadership of the Holy Father with hope and prayer, inspired by his call to peace, unity, and faithful witness.
His first words — “Peace be with all of you!” — speak powerfully to the heart of our mission: to be a community where peace, respect, and kindness shape the way we live and learn together.
We pray for Pope Leo as he begins this sacred ministry and look forward to the journey ahead under his guidance.
Keeping your child safe online
Online safety is an ongoing concern, and risks are increasing, especially for younger children. It’s no longer just teenagers who are affected. Primary-aged students are spending more time online and facing growing exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and unsafe interactions. Our primary-aged students are now using platforms like Snapchat, where content disappears quickly and can be difficult to monitor.
It’s vital for parents to understand how to help their children navigate the online world safely. Look out for changes in mood, secretive device use, or reluctance to talk about what they’re doing online.
Helpful resources are available at esafety.gov.au and raisingc
If you have concerns, please speak with your child’s class teacher or reach out to Mrs Jones or Mr Challinor. By working together, we can keep our children safe, kind, and confident online.
Free Parent Webinar
Boys and Young Men Online 27 May 12.30-1.15pm
For boys and young men, the internet can be a place where they seek connection, validation and guidance as they explore what it means to be a man today. However, it also exposes them to risks like concerning content, online exploitation and the growing influence of harmful ideologies.
This free webinar will help parents understand:
- Social and cultural influences shaping boys and young men.
- How boys engage online, build relationships and how they may be vulnerable to manipulation or exploitation.
- The impact of social media, gaming, and influencers on their attitudes, behaviours and sense of identity.
- Practical strategies to build critical thinking, challenge harmful narratives, and create open conversations that empower boys and young men to navigate the online world safely and respectfully.
Register for this webinar here.
Good Shepherd Sunday Reflection
This Sunday, we celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday—a reminder of Jesus’ words in John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In our Diocese, this mission of Jesus as the Good Shepherd calls us to nurture life in all its fullness—for our children, our families, and our communities.
Psalm 23 gives us a comforting image of God as the Good Shepherd: one who leads, protects, provides, and restores. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Just as God watches over us with tenderness and strength, so too are parents called to be shepherds in their own right—guiding, nurturing, and walking beside their children through the joys and challenges of life.
At St Joseph’s, we give thanks for the many ways our parents lead with love, set boundaries with care, and offer the reassurance of presence and support. You help create the conditions in which your children can flourish—and in doing so, you reflect something of the Good Shepherd’s heart.
May we continue to walk together in faith, drawing strength from the Shepherd who knows and calls each of us by name.
You are invited to listen to Bishop Greg’s Homily from Sunday’s Mass.
You’re Invited to our Family Mass - Sunday 18th May
All members of our school community are warmly invited to our first Parish School Family Mass at 8.30am on Sunday, 18th May. We are delighted to have Stages 2 and 3 leading the parts of this Mass and would appreciate your RSVP via this quick link so we can ensure all our students attending receive a role if they would like one.
The Parish morning tea is on after Mass in McCarthy Hall and St Joey's staff and families are invited to bring a plate to share. These can be taken to the hall before Mass begins.
Families are invited to stay and play after Mass in the school playground and get to know our parishioners.
2025 Stage 3 Camp - CYC Burleigh Heads
"We were so lucky to attend the CYC Burleigh Heads camp this year. Each day we did activities of all sorts like: Jumbo Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Dragon Boating and Raft Building. Everyone enjoyed, participated and engaged in all the activities - with high energy and a will to work as a team. Each activity gave us an opportunity to show leadership, teamwork and team building.
The food was delicious and met all dietary requirements and the accommodation was fitting for the number of students in each room.
The Activity Instructors were very supporting, respectful and motivating.
Thank you teachers and all the CYC Burleigh Heads camp staff for an amazing camp that we will remember forever."
Sybella Peters, Y6 - on behalf of all S3 students
Boomgate Closing Times
8.30-9.15am & 3.00-3.45pm
This is a safety precaution - keeping our students safe during peek traffic movement times - and forms part of our Traffic Management Plan.
We ask that you refrain from parking in our school carpark around these times (particularly if your plan is to leave soon thereafter). Please keep this in mind especially when you are attending our fortnightly School Assembly on Friday afternoons (even weeks, commencing 2.20pm).
Our Lost Property basket (located in Administration) is overflowing at the moment! There are many items including some brought back from S3 Camp, as well as hats, bomber jackets, drink bottles and food containers. Please send your children to the Office (orparents are welcome to drop in also) to have a look for their missing belongings.
It is also a timely reminder to please have your children's belongings clearly marked with their name - as many items in our Lost Property are un-named.
Choir Invitation and Updates
Did you know St Joey’s have an award winning choir?
Last year, we entered both our Junior and Senior Choirs in the Lismore Eisteddfod and won three out of the four categories we were in (with a second place in the remaining category)!
This year, we have a fantastic performance schedule coming up, as well as some great new songs. We intend to enter Lismore Eisteddfod again (end of August), and hope to perform at the Alstonville Carols by Candlelight again, as well as the CASPA Christmas Carnival. There may also be some small performances at local childcare centres and/or nursing homes if these can be coordinated, as well as our regular performances at school assemblies.
Our current Songbook is linked, containing our songlist and some warm-up activities kids can try at home.
Junior Choir (K-Y2) rehearses on Monday at Lunch, and Senior (Y3-Y6) meet on Friday at Lunch. As we come closer to Eisteddfod time this year, we will also be including some after-school practices which will be communicated closer to the time.
Choir is a fun way to learn new skills and build confidence. Please encourage your kids to consider joining us for Choir, and encourage their regular attendance. Children who are not able to regularly attend rehearsals may not be able to perform with us, which would be a shame!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Kate or Kate!
Kind regards,
Kate Webber and Kate Jones
(kathrynwebber77@gmail.com)
Unfortunately, Mrs Thrum is unavailable to run the canteen this Wednesday.
For this week only, the canteen will be open for orders via Compass on Thursday (instead of Wednesday) and Friday, as usual.
Thank you for your understanding.
Gardiner Chess Comp Term 2 - Registration Open
The Term 2 Gardiner Chess Tournament will be held on:
When: Monday 23rd June
Where: Alstonville Public School
Time: Registration from 8.30am to 9.15am. Start at 9.30am and finish around 2.15pm.
Cost: $24.00 per player
This tournament is open to students in Stages 1-3. We will walk to and from the event.
Registrations are due by Friday, 12th June.
Please complete this form to indicate your child's interest in this event.
