Hello everyone,
I hope you are well as we approach the last few days of school for 2020. What a crazy year! Let’s hope this year is a bump on the road, and the future of schooling, and life, returns to normal ASAP. Even though there have been many disruptions I think that it’s been great that we have been able to provide many of the experiences that we intended throughout the year. It has been great to be a part of the St Joseph’s Kingswood Leadership Team, as we have worked together on many occasions with many disruptions, to give our students the best possible experiences. This is a wonderful team to work with and I am very lucky to work with such dedicated and professional staff. 

I am really looking forward to celebrating the end of the year with the Year 6 students as they take their next steps in their journeys and venture off to high school. They are a very lively bunch, full of enthusiasm and wonder, and I am sure they will do well next year and beyond. I have spent many occasions with the Year 6s this year, including a recent surfing trip to Goolwa. The instructor was amazed by how successful they all were with many of them standing up and surfing with minutes of being on the water. It was also great to see their recent STEM projects as they presented their Arduino projects to their parents and our students. They had such great ideas and amazing final products that they have worked really hard on. These collaboration, communication and presentation skills will stay with them for a life time.

To any family that is leaving St Joseph’s Kingswood at the conclusion of 2020, I wish you and your children all the best as you start a new adventure. I know that starting high school is a very exciting and daunting time as students need to adapt to a new environment, make new connections and start at a new school. I hope they all do well during this transition. 

On the complete other side of the scale, last week we welcomed our new Reception students and their families to our community. It was so lovely to meet everyone and see new faces filled with anticipation and awe as they eagerly await starting school. This is such a precious moment in their lives. Research has shown that the first 7 years of life are the most important as this is the time when children are coding their brains and everything is entering their sub-conscious. If we can get this time right, we will give them the best start to school life and prepare them for a bright future full of the enjoyment of learning.

Recently we held our annual St Joseph’s Got Talent competition. It was great to see the amazing level of talent our school has. Some students spent a lot of time getting ready and preparing their acts. We held auditions during the week and everyone who wanted to got an opportunity to perform their act in front of a live audience. On Thursday last week we held the competition in our multipurpose room. This was very entertaining and the school loved seeing the array of acts on show. I can’t wait to see what acts we get next year! Click the link below to watch the Finals performance (or type https://youtu.be/FTvc7LV3I5g into a computer to view on a bigger screen)

I wish all of the families who are continuing with us, a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope all our students have a great summer holiday period and come back to school ready to be successful in 2021. We will be heading up to Edithburgh after Christmas. I hope you might get some down time and enjoy a break with your families too.

Take care,

Jamie