Dear Parents and Caregivers,

In what seems like a blink of an eye, we have come to the end of Term 1 for 2019. I hope you found Parent and Teacher meetings last week to be rich, informative opportunities to discuss your child’s learning progress throughout the first term. Teachers will use information gained from these discussions, as well as their own data and observations, to work purposefully towards growth and achievement during term 2 and the rest of 2019.

With Easter falling in the middle of the school holidays, we will finish up this Friday 12^th April. During week 11, we will focus on many of the events of Holy Week, which will then be celebrated the following week – the first of the holidays. Given the Liturgical timeframe, classes will celebrate the Joy of the Easter event during the first week back at school. For this reason, I ask that all families refrain from sending Easter eggs to school. As you would be aware, Easter eggs are a symbol of the New Life of the resurrection of Jesus, which Catholics celebrate on Easter Sunday.

I am constantly amazed and impressed with the young people who attend our school. One such person is Evie Pannell. During term one, Evie initiated a fundraising activity to support the efforts of the Australian Refugee Association (ARA). This involved contacting ARA and arranging for a guest speaker to attend our assembly, followed by hosting a cake stall selling products made by herself and her family. The cake stall raised a huge $441. Congratulations to Evie for being such a wonderful young citizen!

During week 8, I had the privilege of attending our year 6 Knockout Cricket match. After a good win in the first round, we came up against a very strong opponent, and while we didn’t get the win, the team were outstanding in their persistence, endeavour and spirit. I was very proud of both the achievements and the way they acted as positive ambassadors for our school community.

My sincere thanks to the wonderful volunteers of our P&F. We have had two significant fundraisers this term – our Kyton’s lamington and hot cross bun drive, and the Woolies Sausage sizzle. The figures aren’t yet in for the Hot Cross Buns, however the Sausage sizzle raised over $900 which is a fantastic outcome! Our next P&F meeting will be held on May 17 at 9am here at school – everyone is warmly welcome to attend.

On behalf of all the staff at St. Joseph’s Kingswood, I wish all families a safe and happy holiday and a happy and Holy Easter!