Dear parents and carers, 

This week, I had the joy of attending my son’s Year 12 Graduation. It was a remarkable experience for many reasons, but one in particular that struck me throughout the service. As parents, we take every care to support and provide for our children to ensure they are happy and healthy. Admittedly, sometimes this support and care may not take the form they want when we say no or have boundaries that challenge their individual voice, but that is what being the parent is about. However, parents provide the foundation upon which our children go on to form their own lives. Being surrounded by the other parents at the Graduation, I believe all we want is for our children to be ready to take the next step, to use that foundation they are provided to take on the world that lies ahead. Thank you for the great foundation that you as parents give to your children; before you know it, they will be using it to leap into their own life.

The Graduation also highlighted the trust that is placed in teachers and schools to support this foundation provided by parents. Thank you for the trust that is placed in us at St Joseph’s. As our year draws to a close in the coming weeks, we too will have the opportunity to farewell our Year 6 students, and to ‘graduate’ all of our students onto their next year of schooling. Each of these moments, further strengthen the foundation we seek to provide our young people.

School Board and P&F

This week brought to a culmination our School Board and Parents and Friends Association (P&F), two vital parent bodies that have wonderfully served the St Joseph’s community for many years. Over the past 18 months, the Archdiocese has undertaken a review of School Boards, Community Councils and P&Fs, from which came the recommendation for all schools to transition to a School Community Council. Our School Board and P&F have been collectively involved in this review and have begun planning for the introduction of the new parent body.

From the start of 2024, the St Joseph’s Community Council will encompass the work previously undertaken by the School Board and P&F. As part of this change, I am excited about the opportunity to welcome all parents as members of the community council, to be actively involved in building our school community and setting new directions. Further information about the St Joseph’s Community Councill will be provided in the coming week.

I wish to thank all who have given of their time to the School Board and P&F in recent years. We are blessed to have parents able to engage directly in decision making and taking the lead to ensure we have a great school community. I greatly value the energy and support they each have given.

Christmas Carols

On Wednesday 6 December from 6.00pm all the school will come together to celebrate the Christmas season, with our classes each performing a couple of songs and then a whole school sing along. Please come along with a rug and a picnic to celebrate as a community. (A flyer will be sent home with students today).

P&F Contributions

One aspect of the P&F is community fundraising, and it is important to know that these efforts directly support the students and the school. In recent weeks, the P&F have made further contributions to assist with the purchase of class sets of novels in Years 3 – 6. These will be used to undertake novel studies that align with the new Catholic Education English scope and sequence. At the same time, the P&F ensured our canteen, the Snack Shack, is equipped with a Thermomix which Julie-Anne tells me is like having another pair of hands to get the cooking done! Thank you to the P&F, and to all parents, for the ongoing support of our school.

Mass Times

The inner-north parishes of O’Connor, Watson, Campbell, and Dickson are continuing to review their current structure and the pastoral needs. We are blessed to have Fr Thonn here in our parish and are looking forward to planning ahead for 2024 with him as our parish priest. As part of the changes across the inner-north parishes, from Sunday 3 December, the Sunday Mas time will be 8.30am.

Christmas Mass Times

Christmas Eve - Sunday 24 December

            Vigil Mass – 6.00pm

            Carols – 8.30pm

            Christmas Mass – 9.00pm

Christmas Day – Monday 25 December

             Mass – 9.00am

School Photos

The 2023 school photos were sent home earlier in the term. A reminder that sibling photos were also taken and are now available for purchase from the school Front Office for $15.

Kid-Free Night

Christmas edition - Friday 1 December. Bookings now open via Qkr! FINAL REMINDER

This is an opportunity to drop the kids off at school for a couple of hours on Friday evening 1 December, with Camp Australia and P&F volunteers doing the supervision while parents can get some shopping done (or perhaps finding a chance to catch up with each other).

Have a great end to the week.