Dear Families

Welcome to Term 3!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with opportunities with your children, family, and friends. I am excited for the term ahead and the continued growth and success of our students.

I am fortunate to be supported by our exceptional leadership team, including Grace Vassallo-Wakefield as APRIM, Toni Benci, our Inclusive Education and EALD coordinator, and Aimee Caruso, our Leader of Learning. Each leadership member brings a wealth of skills in curriculum development and student wellbeing, and we look forward to collaboratively supporting our school community in the term ahead.

WELCOMING OUR NEW STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
This term we are delighted to welcome our new mid-year Reception students and their families to our St. Joseph’s Memorial family, along with other new students across the school in Years 1, 2, and 4. We are all looking forward to getting to know you and helping you to thrive and learn at St. Joseph’s Memorial. 

PARENT AND CAREGIVER SURVEY
All families have received invitations via Audiri to complete a survey we are currently conducting about our school climate through the Catholic Education Living Learning Leading Survey. 

This is an important opportunity for you to let us know how things are going for you and your child/ren. Please be assured that your feedback will be anonymous and confidential. CESA and school staff will use the data to identify strengths and areas to work on and build upon as part of our continuous improvement.

You can easily complete the online survey at www.NSIPartnerships.com.au and enter the code SJMSPCNLLLP in the start questionnaire field. It only takes 3–5 minutes. The closing date for the survey is Friday, 23 August.

LEARNING CONVERSATIONS WITH TEACHERS
A reminder to families to please schedule an appointment to meet with teachers next week to discuss your child’s learning development and goals.  

STEM LEARNING SHOWCASES

Last week our Year 3 & 5 students invited their parents to attend a showcase in the Performing Arts Studio of their STEM sustainable farm creation projects. The students were able to share their work pertaining to how they planned and constructed their prototypes using coding and 3D printing.

Today a group of our students presented their sustainability projects for the Catholic Schools 'STEM MAD' competition held at the University of South Australia.

COMMUNITY SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVITIES

After the generous donations of our whole community last term, our staff worked together during the staff retreat day to carefully construct full backpacks. The staff group heard from Rachael from Backpacks 4 SA Kids, who shared her amazing story of how she started and grew an amazing charity to support children in need within our State. Last week, our social justice leaders passed on the 20 backpacks. What an amazing collective community effort that will result in a positive impact for others in our State.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION SCHOOLS EAST REGION STAFF CONFERENCE

On Monday of week one, our staff attended a conference that gathered and connected all schools in the Eastern region together to learn about the future of education and how we provide our students with agency in their learning. I was involved in the organising committee for the conference, and we were delighted to have presentations from the chair of the South Australian Commission for Catholic School, Mr John Neate, the Executive Director of Catholic Education, Dr Neil McGoran, and a range of international speakers, consultants, and teachers in the region. The conference was an opportunity for our staff to collaborate with other teachers in the region to reflect on their practice and provide students with a voice in their learning. Thank you to our APRIM, Mrs Vassallo-Wakefield who led a shared prayer for the conference with the APRIMs from each school.

YEAR 5/6 CAMP

This week our Year 5 to 6 students attended camp at Mylor. This was an opportunity for the students to learn outside of the classroom to build stronger connections, develop collaborative group skills, try new things, build resilience, and learn in new ways. Thank you to the incredible teachers for leading the students through the activities and ensuring each student had valuable and enriching time away.

GRANDPARENTS: GRAND FRIENDS DAY

On Tuesday of this week, we held our annual Grandparents: Grand Friends Day Mass and Morning Tea. It was wonderful to see so many people in attendance, and as always, it was heartwarming to see the pride of each student showing their grandparents and grand friends their classrooms and their learning.

NEW SIMPLY SPORTS SOCCER SESSIONS

For the first time in SJMS history, the Bridge Street Reception to Year 1 students were able to participate in the kickstart Soccer program run by Simply Sports. The students were able to enjoy learning and acquiring new soccer skills.

BRIDGE STREET POTATO OLYMPICS

The junior primary students and teacher have been getting into the true spirit of the Olympics Games and as a group they held their own opening ceremony and events. They used potatoes to decorate athletes and design new flags.

AWARDED EXCELLENCE IN STUDENT VOICE

Once again our school has been recognised for enabling our students to undertake the 'student voice postcard' project run by Commissioner for Children and Young People. This is an important aspect to provide our students with agency and advocacy in our school.

APPLE EDUCATION COMMUNITY SUMMIT

Over the holiday break, I was invited by the Apple Education team to lead and facilitate sessions at the Apple Education Community Summit. During the summit, I was able to connect with fellow Apple Distinguished Educators to discuss how schools are preparing students for the future and how we can redefine learning opportunities for students using technology. A key highlight was the opportunity to have a tutorial and experience of the new Vision Pro Googles, which showed the exciting, yet also eye-opening, direction technology is moving as we head into the future.

Here is a wonderful photo that captured the joyous moment the Year 5/6 Basketball team sealed victory in their grand final.

Adam Slater

Principal

Welcome back to Term 3. It was pleasing to see so many smiling faces returning to school last week. I look forward to the term ahead and the wonderful learning that will happen in our classes.

On the final day of Term 2, the staff came together to spend the day putting Faith into Action. The staff spent the day putting together backpacks for Backpacks 4 Kids. Thank you to all the families for your generous donations. We cooked for the Parish Outreach Program at St Ignatius and heard about why these programs were implemented.

Thank you to both Sophie (from the Parish) and Rachel (Backpack 4 Kids) for their input. As well, we heard from Tony Johnston (Mission Australia) and the work they do overseas.

The afternoon was spent with teachers working together to plan for classroom Faith in Action programs. We look forward to what is developed by the students.

Grandparents Day

Thank you to all the Grandparents and Grand friends who joined us for our mass this week to celebrate the Feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ Grandparents. The students loved to share their learning with them as well as hosting the Morning Tea following Mass.

Mary MacKillop Feast Day

This week, a note regarding our St Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass was sent out to all families. Parents, Friends, and Caregivers are invited to join us as we celebrate St Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day on Thursday 8 August at 11am in St Ignatius Church. St Mary is Australia’s first Saint who was very connected to the Norwood Catholic Community. As part of our celebration (and keeping up with the Australian theme), we are asking families to donate a jar of vegemite to support the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Donations can be sent to your child’s class teacher prior to the day.

UniSA Social Work Students

Over the next semester, we will host 4 Social Work students from UniSA for their placement. Camille, Naomi, Kel and Shefali will work across both sites supporting the community. Social Workers in schools help parents, students, and school staff promote Social and Emothional Wellbeing which reflects in a positive school environment and engagement with student learning. They may work with students individually or in small groups to help build on their social skills, resilience, or wellbeing.

We would like to inform you of the dates for Pupil Free Days (PFD) for this year. Please note that OSHC will be available for families that require this service on these days.

Term 4

• Week 1 - Monday 14 October 2024 R-6
• Week 9 -

All Assemblies will be held in the Performing Arts Studio at William St on Friday afternoons at 2pm.

Students from Bridge Street will walk across to William Street to participate in Assemblies, face to face.

Please remember to check the school calendar regularly for any updates.

St Joseph's Memorial School provides a safe environment for all while valuing the partnership between school and home.

As a Catholic community, we welcome and value volunteers. To be able to volunteer, and/or attend at other times throughout the school year, we ask that you hold the following:

1. A current Catholic Police Check (parents/caregivers attending excursions, reading in class, helping in class, attending community events);
2. A current Responding to Abuse and Neglect in Education and Care for Volunteers certificate (please click here to view how to complete this requirement);
3. Completed the volunteers application.

A Catholic Police Check for volunteers at SJMS are free for our current parents and caregivers. Application Forms are available to download here or at either school office.

We ask that you present your completed form with verification ID to the front office, and we will submit the application on your behalf. You will then receive an email link to complete the process online. Once all cleared you will receive a Catholic Police Check ID card in the post, please bring this in to the front office and we will take a copy of your clearance.

This process ensures we maintain a child safe environment. To avoid disappointment, we encourage you to apply for a Catholic Police Check through either school office as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at either office.

Thanking you
The SJMS Admin Team
info@sjms.catholic.edu.au

For more information on how Catholic Education SA provides a safe environment for all, please click here.

Summary of what is needed to volunteer at SJMS:
Valid Catholic Police Check
Responding to Abuse and Neglect Education and Care Volunteer Certificate
Completed application form

Come see our Preschool in action, contact us for a tour or enrolment information.