St Joseph's Primary School Wauchope eNewsletter

Principal Messages

The First Sunday of Advent - Hope
O God of Hope, Emmanuel, we pray that you will send your light into our hearts during this season of Advent.
Help us to be ready for the day and the hour of Christ’s final appearing. Live in us and help us to live in you.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, transform us so that our worship, our celebration, and our time of preparation may be
pleasing unto you – both now and forevermore
Amen

Dear Parents

As the end of the year rapidly approaches it is a great time to reflect on what achievement looks like for each individual student. Every child is unique, and so are their highlights, challenges, and memories. What one student finds challenging, another may see as a strength. For some, success might mean an academic growth in a subject where they once struggled. For others, it might be reaching a personal social or emotional goal. Regardless of the form, all achievements are worth celebrating.

Beyond the day-to-day lessons in the classroom, it is often the additional experiences that make the school year truly memorable. These can include Incursions, Masses, guest performances, excursions, camps, sporting events, choir, clubs, and other extracurricular activities. These opportunities offer students a chance to learn in a more holistic way, allowing them to showcase and celebrate their growth in a variety of areas.

The combination of classroom learning and these enriching experiences creates a busy, yet unforgettable school year. We are grateful to our staff who work tirelessly, day in and day out, to plan and provide these valuable opportunities for our students. Congratulations to all our students for 2024 as they finish up a very successful learning and teaching year.

Parent Representative Body 2025

School Community Forum

The School Community Forum (SCF) has emerged as the preferred model for parental engagement, supported by a strong belief that it best preserves the active, structured involvement of parents within our school community. One significant advantage of the SCF model is that it upholds a formal structure that encourages a high level of parent participation. This approach enables parents to contribute meaningfully, particularly in decisions related to fundraising, while maintaining clarity and a collaborative direction. Families have expressed that the existing level of parent involvement is thriving and surpasses what is typical in many schools, and this success can be attributed to the formal framework that currently fosters this support.

The SCF also ensures that responsibilities, especially those tied to fundraising and decision-making, remain largely within the parent body. This distinction helps alleviate the additional workload for teachers and staff, who are already managing extensive educational responsibilities. By keeping fundraising decision-making with parents, the SCF allows school staff to focus on their primary roles, promoting a balanced approach where parents support the school in an organised, impactful way. Families value this structure because it provides clear avenues for collaboration and growth while safeguarding the active engagement which makes our community unique.

If the less formal School Governance Group (SGG) were adopted, parent interest could diminish, possibly undermining the sense of responsibility and structure that currently supports the parent body goals. The SCF provides a stable framework that aligns with our community’s expectations and ensures our school can continue benefiting from the vibrant parent involvement that has become a hallmark of our community.

The SCF model provides a structure that accommodates varying levels of participation, allowing families to offer support in ways that fit their availability and capacity. It enables parents to attend meetings as they are able, volunteer for specific activities, and give feedback. This flexibility not only respects the diverse schedules of families but also encourages ongoing engagement by lowering the barriers to participation.

In summary, the SCF model was chosen as it best reflects the community’s current preferences and the practical support that families can offer. It allows parents to stay involved and supportive without the formalities and responsibilities that the SCG would entail, thus creating a more inclusive and sustainable way for families to stay engaged in the life of the school.

We thank our parent community in the support of the process and the decision of the School Community Forum moving ahead in 2025.

School Captains 2025

Congratulations to the newly elected School Captains and Vice Captains for 2025. We wish them every success in their leadership roles and look forward to seeing their contributions next year.

Captains

Owen Webb and Ivy Pope

Vice Captains

Lennox Laurie and Lucy Seymour

Return Dates for School -2025

Year 1 - Year 6

Mathematics Assessment Interviews (MAI) will be held from Monday 3 February 2025 to Wednesday 5 February 2025.

First day for Year 1 to Year 6 - Thursday 6 February 2025

Kindergarten

Best Start Interviews - Monday 3 February 2025 to Friday 7 February 2025

First day for Kindergarten is Monday 10 February 2025.

Assistant Principal Mission

Christmas Hampers

End of Year Mass

Please join us for our End of Year Mass in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Friday 13 December 2024, 9.30 am. During this Mass, we remember and acknowledge our departing Year 6 leaders and induct our school leaders for 2025. In the Christian tradition, following the example of Jesus, leadership is not about status, it is about service. It is not about having power over others, it is about giving power to those you lead.

Assistant Principal Learning and Teaching

CONSTABLE WENDY SCHOOL VISIT

Senior Constable Wendy Hudson visited our school recently to support the Personal Health and Development (PDH) programs. Constable Wendy works to visit as many classrooms across the Mid-North Coast as possible, focusing primarily on Year 5 and Year 6 students. She is passionate about the importance of education delivered by local police officers and is committed to visiting our school every year.

Stage 3 students participated in a presentation that focused on online safety, laws, and social media guidelines. Stage 2 students learned about online safety alongside appropriate bike-riding practices and etiquette when using public spaces such as Bain Park. For our Kindergarten - Year 2 students, the session emphasised safety in public spaces and strategies for being aware of strangers.

The students asked numerous questions and were very engaged in the presentations. St Joseph's appreciate the time that Constable Wendy takes out of her job as a Police Officer to attend these sessions. We look forward to seeing her again next year.

Photo Gallery

Diocesan - Basketball Trials

Joey's Talent Quest 2024

Children's Liturgy

Lemonade Day

Prayer Garden Cross

Prayer Garden Cross Refurbished

During 2004 the Year 6 class, end of year gift to the school was the 'Prayer Garden', which is located outside the Library. In that garden was a cross which originally had a mosaic of tiles inlaid and a bench underneath. Standing in the weather for 20 years had taken its toll on the cross which was looking worse for wear.

Early this year, during a storm, the mosaic tiles that were inlaid in the cross, were blown and shaken out of the cross. Mr Poulton, with a group of students, set out to refurbish the cross for the prayer garden. They took the cross down, and removed the rotting bench. The cross was in fair condition and needed to be pressure cleaned and allowed to dry. Then it was sanded, pieces glued back into place and sealed with resin to ensure it would hold and last. The section which was once tiles, were inlaid with hardwood, sanded and finished. A new bench was also constructed to sit under the cross. The metal support structure was sanded back, repainted and the cross and bench placed back in place. Hopefully it will last another 20 years for many more students to enjoy.

Cheers,

David Poulton

St Joseph's Primary Wauchope

Teacher - Librarian - Chaplain

Time Capsule

Whole School Rewards Day

P & F Christmas Raffle

Swimming Carnival - P & F Meal Deal

P & F Volunteers Dinner

Seesaw - Opening up our Classrooms to families

Seesaw - opening up our classrooms to families

This week, your child has brought home a login code for Seesaw, a platform approved by the Diocese of Lismore to showcase students' work and promote connections between home and school. This QR code, unique to your child, is for primary carers only and provides access to learning posts shared by teachers to encourage conversations about learning with your child.

Analytics show that 34 family members have joined our school’s Seesaw. If you have not received your unique login code, please contact your child’s teacher.

During this trial period, classes will aim to post at least once per week until the end of the school year. Some classes may post more frequently. We encourage you to sit with your child and have a positive conversation about their work, noting what they are proud of, any challenges they may have faced and a goal on how to improve for the future. Commenting has been turned off to promote conversation, however families are encouraged to to “like” posts to acknowledge they have viewed posts with their child.

At the end of this trial period, a survey will be sent to families to gather feedback and plan for 2025.

Alfina Jackson

Digital Innovator

School Student Travel

Getting to school by bus in 2025

Will your child be catching the bus to school next year? Applications are now open for a Bus Travel Pass. As it’s a busy time of year, we highly recommend you make this application before the end of the year. It’s also good to check the bus timetable to make your child’s journey to school as easy as possible. Here is how it works:

Bus passes

All students catching the bus in 2025 will need a school travel pass.
Under the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS), eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school.
For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a school travel pass, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/#/ from a desktop computer.

Bus timetables

Busways is the school bus operator that runs your schools’ bus services. To find your child’s school bus timetable visit the Busways website by using the following steps:

Go to busways.com.au/nsw
Click on ‘school services’ in the navigation bar and then proceed to ‘school timetables’
Enter the school’s name in the field that says ‘enter a school name’
Select the school’s name and the timetable should open on your device. If you are unable to find or search for the school’s name, use the drop-down menus on the same web page to find the school.
Once the timetable is opened, you will be able to identify which school bus services are available in your area for your child to use.

2024 Week 7 Term 4