Welcome to term 2! I want to sincerely thanks all families for their ongoing partnership during 2020- it has been a year like no other, and your patience and goodwill have been greatly appreciated by all of us here at St. Joseph’s Kingswood. We continue to do all we can here to keep the children safe and well by educating them about good hygiene, and maintaining all relevant protocols recommended by SA health. The children have responded magnificently!

Learning

As families would be aware, we went from planning for remote learning, at the end of last term, to having nearly a full complement of students back at school from the beginning of term 2 – what a difference 3 weeks makes! Our amazing teachers worked hard to be ready for term 2, and our ongoing focus was around high quality learning opportunities for our children. In that spirit, the mode of delivery matters less than the quality of the experience! As the term progresses, I am sure you will recognise a subtle shift in the mode of delivery of the learning experiences.

Parent and teacher meetings…with a difference!

Last week, we hosted our parent-teacher interviews via phone calls to families. This process seems to have worked very well! We would appreciate any feedback from families about how this process worked for you.

Catholic Education Week

The week 4^th-8^th May was set aside as Catholic Education Week – a celebration of catholic Education in SA. With the current situation around COVID-19, this has been somewhat different in our sector, than was previously envisaged. The major focus of the week was to launch our new brand – Catholic Education-Raising Hearts and Minds. This new branding builds upon our previous branding of Every Child Matters and very much captures the essence of a Catholic education where every child has the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential in a safe, nurturing environment. Education of the heart is truly at the heart of everything we do in Catholic education. From a personal perspective, having worked in Catholic education for 35 years, from the time I left University to now, I have always felt like Catholic Education was my touchstone in an ever changing world. The values underpinning my faith and my life are congruent with the values of Catholic Education, which is why my children have attended Catholic schools! On behalf of all in Catholic Education SA, I thank you for the choice you have made to educate your child in our Catholic community and I look forward to continuing the Raise Hearts and Minds…together!

Mother’s Day 2020

Yesterday, families celebrated Mother’s Day. During the first part of this term, all classes have been working on ways of celebrating and acknowledging their mums and other significant female role models in their lives – Aunties, Grandma’s Grannies, Nana’s Nonna’s, YiaYia’s, Babcia’s, etc! On behalf of all staff and children at St. Joseph’s Kingswood, we wish all Mum’s and special people a very Happy Mother’s Day, and we hope you were all spoiled and looked after properly!

Sadly we were unable to host our usual Mother's Day brekkie, but we trust that you all enjoyed the gifts the children worked so diligently on to surprise you on Sunday.