Dear families and community members,

All together again at St Joseph’s!!

After two weeks we can welcome back all students! We have missed the ‘buzz’ of excitement at the beginning of the year when children return from the summer break. I am sure those of you who have been teaching at home will enjoy drop off this week and finally get to your list! Online learning has been relatively smooth, nothing can replace the benefits of face-to-face teaching, especially at the beginning of the year as teachers and students get to know each other.

As children return, we will continue to be very alert to putting in place strategies to reduce the spread of COVID. This will include sanitising, air-conditioners, windows and doors open, and limit mixing of groups – particularly indoors. Thank you to those who are wearing masks and social distancing at drop off and pick up times. Please move from the gate and free up the paths as soon as you can.

I have been most impressed with the commitment by our teaching teams. The 4 Teams have had lots of opportunity to plan and program together for term 1, planning for new opportunities to students to have increased ownership in their learning and in decision making. We hope this will bring some new opportunities for students and build their connection to our school and improved outcomes.

In the coming weeks, I look forward to welcoming parents, so we ALL be together. I hope this week and incoming weeks have an opportunity to ‘meet’ with your child’s teacher to work together to support your child.

I take this opportunity to welcome the new members of our community with LOVE this Valentine’s Day. 

Kindest regards,

Jodie Higgins
Principal

My name is Emma Fowler, I am a mother to two beautiful children (most of the time) Indiana who is 10 and Nathaniel who is 6 and my husband Aaron is a Bus Driver. We have a pet cat called Katie and he, yes it is a he, spends most of his time sleeping.

I am a proud Boandik woman and our Country is located down in the South East of SA around the Penola and Mt Gambier region. My great great Grandmother was Annie Brice, a strong Aboriginal woman who as a child was taught to read and write by Mary MacKillop. Annie who became Catholic because of Mary was “ a fiercely religious young woman with a strong work ethic.” 

Annie is definitely one of my role models alongside my own mother. Both women overcame adversary to become successful women in their own right. They both put the needs of their children first, loving them unconditionally.

My hobbies are now based a lot on my children. I love watching both my children play sport especially basketball. We are a West Adelaide Bearcats family but please don’t hold that against me. I enjoy a good word puzzle and love playing board games or card games with family and friends.

I enjoy listening to all types of music but particularly enjoy listening to Creedence especially their clearwater revival, Fleetwood Mac, Powderfinger, the Red hot Chilli Peppers, Katy Perry and Dua Lipa. A real mix there but for me music brings back memories and I love listening to music with my children in the pursuit of creating new memories.

A fun fact about me I don’t like warm/hot drinks. I only like my drinks cold!

The best part of teaching is seeing the sheer joy on children’s faces. Their smiles are infectious and being able to see the world through their eyes is a precious gift, one that I treasure.

I strongly believe that every child deserves a quality education, and I am passionate about making this happen for each and every child. I am future focussed and believe every child should be equipped with the skills they need to thrive in an unknown future hence my interest in emerging technologies.

Wishing you all a great start to the term,

Emma Fowler 
Deputy Principal

Playgroup is back for 2022! 

Join our Playgroup teacher, Ms Brooklynne McKenna for a morning of Playgroup fun this Friday! This week's theme is "S for Summer", exploring all the best parts of the summer season. 

Ms McKenna is also our JOEYS teacher! So it's a fantastic opportunity for our JOEYS students to meet Ms McKenna and see the Playgroup/JOEYS room before JOEYS begins in Week 5. 

See you there!

SUMMER 2022 SPORT

Nominations are now open for the following summer sports/teams:

Please complete the registrations ASAP if your child would like to take part.

More nominations will be announced soon - keep an eye out on SZapp and Seesaw.

Looking forward to a fantastic summer sport season!

- Mr D, Sports Coordinator 

SCHOOL FEES

Welcome back! 

All 2022 Fee statements have now been posted out. Old school I know, but our system does not easily allow the emailing of a batch of invoices!
Thank you to those families who completed their fee agreement form on SZAPP, nominating their preferred payment option. Once you receive your statement if you have any questions regarding your payment option or balance please email finance@stjk.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible.  

Remember that if you pay your fees in full by Feb 28^th you will receive a 5% discount on the tuition component.   

BPAY and Account details are included on the bottom of your statement.

If you have opted for an automatic credit card deduction or Direct Debit from your bank account, your first deduction will come out on the 14^th Feb unless another date was nominated.

If you have supplied Card details for fee or OSHC payments it is important to keep your card details and expiry date up to date so there are no interruptions to your payments.

If you feel you are eligible for the Low Income Fee please complete the School Card application via this link:

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme

If you are experiencing genuine financial hardship, due to COVID or other circumstances, please make a time to see me (Mon, Tues, Thurs) to discuss your options further.

Alternatively, you can call me on 8271 3300 or email finance@stjk.catholic.edu.au

Anne-Marie Stanton
Finance Officer

The Tuckshop is open again! Wednesdays and Fridays from this week onwards. All orders can be placed through Qkr! by 8.45am the morning of. 

Here's a reminder of the 2022 Tuckshop Menu and Prices. 

Hello families, 

Welcome to Term 1! 

Just a quick reminder that the OSHC phone number has changed. Vicky and the OSHC team can now be contacted on 0499 519 972.

Please feel free to save the number in your phone for future use. 

Have a great start to the 2022 school year!

- Vicky Wilson & OSHC Team