Dear families and community members,

Unfortunately, we have COVID cases in the school. I have outlined below how we have been working towards keeping COVID at bay. Our aim is to keep students at school, to keep our staff well so they can teach and to enable parents to attend work.

 The information provided to us is as follows:

Please monitor your child for any COVID -19 symptoms. If any symptoms develop (even mild symptoms) students and children must not attend school, preschool or childcare and must access a PCR test for COVID-19 and follow SA Health instructions.

Questions & Answers

1. Why do my children need to stay home with mild symptoms?
   1. It is a requirement we need to follow as detailed above from SA Health
   2. To enable individuals to go for a PCR test (not RAT) to test for COVID. As per SA Health Guidelines HERE.
   3. As you may be aware, in some incidents, COVID has been detected after a second PCR test, or a PCR test following a negative RAT. 
   4. Stop the spread of colds and flu. This will help keep children and staff well and hopefully reducing the number of parents needing to stay home looking after unwell children.
2. What are we doing to help?
   1. Keeping children’s separate groups while indoors (i.e., not mixing classes)
   2. Staff are wearing masks
   3. Hand washing/sanitising in the morning and after breaks
   4. If children develop symptoms, they are sent home straight away
   5. Keeping staff at school to teach children through ‘test to stay’ process if cases are in classrooms as per SA Health in school settings (more info here). Staff also stay home if they have mild symptoms.
3. What about my child’s continued learning while at home?

If your child is absent from school due to COVID-19 or for any other reason, the school will make best endeavours to support their learning continuity.

1. Staff are not required to provide a full day of learning as they cannot simultaneously teach with both models of learning i.e.: in school and home learning.
2. Staff will provide learning that is occurring at school and can be sent home and accessed by students. This differs from year level to year level as for older children it is easier to send home learning, for younger children much of the work is with equipment and not on ‘sheets’.
3. To support home learning you can also access CESA online learning and Our Learning SA. These sites are available to supplement the classes/subject’s learning program.
4. Obviously, this is only if you and your child are well enough to continue learning.

Thank you for your understanding and support in implementing these measures which are in accordance with the current SA Health advice. 

AGM and School Board

Please save the date: AGM 7pm Wednesday the 6^th April (format to be confirmed, it may be a video call via Microsoft Teams).

Calling for new members: In the coming days, we will provide information for you to put forward a nomination for School Board membership. This is a significant role and great way to be involved in planning the future of our school. Joining this year will enable members to be involved as we finalise and bring to reality the new Strategic Plan.

Tuesday is International Women’s Day. We are proud that at St Joseph’s School we encourage diversity and inclusivity for the girls and women in our community. I would like to acknowledge the work done to help build a more equitable world for the girls and women in our community. The students at St Joseph’s are fortunate to have such great role models at school and in our parent community. 

As we work through week 6, I am mindful of the events happening in our community, Australia, and the wider world. The conflict with Ukraine and Russia, floods in our eastern states, passing of Shane Warne and Rod March and locally the recent COVID cases in our school and in SA. The staff and I are working to support children and families as needed, particularly reminding everyone to be kind to others and yourself. 

As we begin the season of Lent, consider what can you avoid doing/saying or do/say more, to be more Christ like in these challenging times.

And in the words of Mary MacKillop:

Kindest regards,

Jodie Higgins
Principal

Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival – Year 4 Swimmers Needed!!

Congratulations to the 21 Swimmers that came out to the first training session at Mitcham Girls Pool on Thursday morning.

The school really needs some extra Year 4 Swimmers to help form a Year 4 team for the Carnival. If you are a year 4 girl or boy and would like to participate, please fill in a permission form on SZapp by accessing the below link or SZapp sports page on your phone.

SAPSASA Athletics Carnival – 2022 (Years 4-6)

A reminder that the SAPSASA Athletics Carnival trials for track events begin next week at lunchtime for the following events: 

• 100m and 200m – Thursday lunchtime – Kingswood Oval
• 800m – Friday lunchtime- Kingswood Oval

All field event trials are being held during PE lessons (High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, Discuss).

If you would like to participate in these trials, please fill in a permission form on SZapp by accessing the below link or SZapp sports page on your phone.

PLEASE NOTE - There is no Hurdles, 400m or baton relay events in the SAPSASA Athletics Carnival. The Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival DOES have all those events and is held in Term 4.

All SAPSASA Carnivals are organised in age groups eg: born in 2010, born in 2011

All Catholic Schools Carnivals are organised in year level groups, eg: Year 3, Year 4.

Foundation Tennis – (R-2 students) – Friday afternoons on school court

The Foundation Tennis program is back beginning on Friday 4^th March on our school court. It is not too late to register. Please contact either Nick or Josh for more information.

Email: foundationtennis@hotmail.com

Nicholas Bradley 0438 801 967 or Joshua Boots 0499 920 368

Extra Curricular Sport Begins!

Best of luck to the two Cricket teams Year 2/3 Kanga and Year 5/6 A Grade that will begin their first matches of this season this Saturday. Also congratulations to the Year 2 Netball team and the two Year 3/4 Basketball teams and the Year 5/6 Basketball team that all began their matches this week.

Aus Kick Coordinator needed – Term 2 (R/1 students)

St Joseph's is in need of a new Auskick Coordinator for 2022. Auskick is run in Term 2 on Saturday morning at Urrbrae High School between 9-10am.

St Joseph’s have run their own Auskick centre since 2008 and it would be fantastic to keep the tradition going.

If you can assist please contact Mr De Giovanniello: sdegiovanniello@stjk.catholic.edu.au

- Mr D, Sports Coordinator 

Extra-curricular Activities

As our extra-curricular activities are now able to take place, it is important to remember that students are required to only wear their PE uniform on their allocated class days. If students are attending either before or after school sport, it is expected that students bring their sneakers and/or PE uniform to change into as they are required to wear full summer uniform whilst at school.

The Premiers Reading Challenge has begun! 

The Challenge requires students to read 12 books between the beginning of the school year to early September.

Students have been sent home with their 2022 Reading Record Form. It's important that all details in the form are completed correctly (so the correct medal is awarded at the end of the year) and the form isn't lost (so keep it somewhere safe!).

If you require a new form, it can be downloaded HERE or found on the Premiers Reading Challenge website HERE. 

Happy reading! 

Following the Adelaide Cup Public Holiday next week on Monday the 14th of March, the school will be having a Student Free Day on Tuesday the 15th of March (Week 7, Term 1). 

OSHC will be available from 7.30am-6pm and can be BOOKED HERE.

The P&F are hosting their first meeting of 2022, and you're all invited! Tuesday the 22nd of March at 7.30pm, upstairs at The Unley. 

Looking to get involved? Want to continue your contribution to the P&F in 2022? All are welcome! Feel free to come along to the meeting, hear more about the P&F, meet some members of the St Joseph's community and get involved with fundraising and social events for the school!

It's been so great to welcome new and old faces back to Playgroup this term! 

Join our Playgroup teacher, Ms Brooklynne McKenna for our Hungry Caterpillar Playgroup this Friday morning. We'd love to see you all there!