WELCOME TO WEEK 9! Life in our community and around the world has changed dramatically in a short space of time, and we are all being called to be proactive and agile in responding to the times. As a Josephite School, we are inspired by St. Mary of the Cross Mackillop who responded to the needs of her time by seeing a need and doing something about it! I encourage you all to keep an eye out for our regular updates on SZapp regarding the unfolding situation around COVID-19.

We have been trying to keep life as normal as possible here at school, and while we have had to cancel or modify many events and activities, we have still managed to celebrate two significant events recently – Harmony Day and St. Joseph’s Day. Both of these occasions are significant to our school community and it was nice to see the children embrace the opportunities they did have to acknowledge these days. Where our regular St. Joseph’s stalls are concerned, we will endeavour to host them at a later date.

While many community sporting activities have been suspended at the moment, one event that did take place last week was SAPSASA Tennis. I want to congratulate Lucas Thomson, who was selected the South East Metro District team. Lucas was one of only 2 year 6 students selected, with most Government Primary Schools still having year 7s. He competed admirably amongst some very high calibre competitors, and represented our school with great pride.

Recently, I attended design review meetings for both of our proposed building projects and I am delighted to say that our submissions were received very positively. There is now only one more stage of approval needed before we can go out to tender! We are very excited about the commencement of these projects from term 2 onwards. 

It’s been a couple of weeks since the last of our parent information evenings. As a staff and leadership team, we very much appreciated the opportunity to meet with families and to discuss various aspects of our approach to teaching, learning and wellbeing. As a staff we are in year two of a Professional Learning Program centered around “Visible Learning.” Recently, we received the results of our second ‘School Capability Assessment’ and we were pleased to note significant growth in all aspects of teaching and learning.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge is a literacy engagement program that was introduced by the Premier in 2004 to encourage students to enjoy reading books and improve literacy levels. The Challenge requires students to read 12 books between the beginning of the school year and early September. This year, classes at St Joseph’s will participate in the challenge in different ways.

Reception and Year 1 students will read all 12 books at school as part of their curriculum, and their class teacher will record these books and submit their paperwork.

Year 2 students will read the first 8 books at school and these books will be listed on their record form. The forms will then be sent home for the children to read the remaining 4 books themselves, or with parent support. Once the remaining books have been recorded, the form will returned to the class teacher so that this information can be submitted.

Years 3-6 will be encouraged to undertake the Premier’s Reading Challenge independently in their own time. Books can be borrowed from the Library or local libraries, but all information will need to be recorded by the students and the forms then returned to the class teacher so that their information can be submitted.

All book titles from the “Challenge Booklist” can be found on the Premier’s Reading Challenge Website …

premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au 

NB: With the possibility of school closures, we may need to update this information regarding the administration.

Finally, in these challenging times a thought to ponder: when something bad happens you have three choices you can let it define you, let it destroy you or let it strengthen you. Remember to create joy and strength of purpose in all you do.

Phil