Thank you to the St Joseph's College community for the smooth start to a new term. The beautiful weather has indeed helped keep up our spirits!

Our whole school Parent-Teacher Interviews on Wednesday in its new format was very well attended. The teachers felt there was great collegiality and community spirit, and we hope parents found the discussions helpful and worthwhile. I will be seeking feedback through the School Advisory Council and Parents & Friends groups; however, please also feel free to message me if you prefer.

The College has been chosen to participate at the official Anzac Day ceremony on Thursday. Head Prefect, Lachlan Gorman, will read a soldier's reflection. I would like to request that as many St Joseph's students from Year One to Twelve march with the College if able. We will be gathering in front of the York St Post Office at 9.30am. A message has been sent home via Seqta with the details.

We already have strong enrolments and a wait list for next year. If current students have siblings wanting to come to St Joseph's, please send in an application form at your earliest convenience.

We have been observing the traffic flow in the carpark this week. The College Executive (myself and the Heads of School) will be out sending information in Week Two in order to mitigate congestion and increase safety.

College Photographs will be taken in Week Three by MSP. Details and order envelopes will be distributed shortly.

St Joseph - Pray for Us.

Kind regards

Rachael

I am hoping you all had a wonderful break and are ready and rejuvenated to achieve great heights at school.

Some important notices for the school community:

1. A reminder for families to access the State government payment for all primary and secondary students starting today (15 April).
2. Parent-Teacher interviews on Wednesday 17 April in the College gym. The school day will finish at 12.45pm. Students who need to stay at school, are to go to the JS library.
3. Classes as normal at the College on 23 April. Catholic Education WA Teachers already have a new Enterprise Agreement and not involved in the public school strike.
4. 25 April Anzac Day Parade - it would be wonderful to have as many Students and Staff march down York St (Mrs Trichilo organiser).
5. Term Two and Three winter uniform is in place. However, in Term Four the College will transition to the following - shorts for females, navy socks for females Year 1-12 (currently Secondary School wear white socks) and new soft-shell jackets to replace the rain jackets.

Our P&F will be meeting on Tuesday 16 April. All parents are most welcome to attend. Your voice is important - plus it's a great way to meet other parents.

St Joseph - Pray for us.

Rachael Keenan

As the end of term fast approaches, I would like to wish all our families a safe and blessed term break and thank you for a smooth start to the 2024 academic year. Our Year Twelves are no doubt disappointed that their Retreat had to be postponed, but let me reassure you that the joy and excitement of the retreat will keep. If anything, it will provide a much needed break to the 11-week term!

Please note that school resumes on Monday 15 April. For the Secondary School, students are required to wear the winter uniform. I look forward to our new Year Tens sporting their blazers for the first time.

St Joseph’s College will be trialing a new format for the Term Two Parent-Teacher Interviews. In keeping with our proud tradition of being a K-12 school, we will be holding all meetings in the College gym. Particularly new for Junior School parents, specialist teachers will be available for bookings. In the past teachers have stayed back for two afternoons/evenings. It has been decided to have one day of interviews. The teaching day will be reduced for the interviews to take place during school operating and after hours. For students unable to be picked up at lunchtime (12.50pm) or use the bus service, supervision will be provided until the end of the school day.

Date: Wednesday 17 April 2024

Time: 1.15pm – 7pm (teacher breaktime 3.30pm-4pm)

Parent-Teacher Interview bookings will be available during the school holidays. A link will be sent via email.

Parents are encouraged to prepare for the interviews. I would recommend the following:

·      Prepare specific questions for the teacher based on your child’s demonstrated ability and engagement with the subject.

·      Secondary School parents to read through the Interim reports.

Please contact the relevant Head of school if you have any questions.

Finally, I wish you all happy and holy Easter.

St Joseph - Pray for us.

Amen

Starting on the 10th May, Mass will be held at Holy Family Parish Church every Friday at 8.00am. The 12.00 noon Mass at St Joseph's Church (Aberdeen St) will remain unchanged. All are welcome to join.

Holy Family Parish

Early Years - Edward Y2

Junior School - Aleeyah Y5

Middle School - Anthony Y9

Senior School - Daniel Y10

A total of 2260 house points were awarded this term. Thank you to the P&F for sponsoring the $20 gift voucher prizes.

Deadline has been extended to Monday Week 2!

We are excited to announce that URSTRONG will be launching in the Junior School this Friday.

URSTRONG is a CEWA endorsed, whole-school strategy that empowers kids with friendship skills to create communities of kindness in schools. Relationships are at the heart of social-emotional wellbeing! URSTRONG gives kids skills, language and self-confidence to be better friends and develop healthier relationships. Using a kid-friendly approach, educators & parents learn a simple framework to support and coach kids towards positive relationships.

Our Junior School staff were trained in the URSTRONG program in Term 1, and they are excited to begin teaching the "Friendology" curriculum to our students this term.

Find out more about URSTONG by watching this video - Empowering Children with Relationship Skills - YouTube.

Watch this space for more parent information soon, including how to create a parent account to access the fabulous URSTRONG resources for use at home!

Great Southern Grammar emerged victorious at the highly anticipated ADPSSA Inter-School Swimming Carnival, showcasing great skill and dominance in the pool. The event, graced by fierce competition from Parklands, Bethel, and St Jo's, witnessed Great Southern Grammar clinching the top spot with an exceptional performance. St Jo's secured second place, followed by Bethel in third, and Parklands in fourth.

All participating schools demonstrated remarkable swimming prowess, with individual champions celebrated for their outstanding achievements. The carnival served as a testament to the swimming talent within the Albany community.

Well done to all the St Jo's junior school students who competed and represented the College with pride.

Zak Mola

This is a fantastic course for free and online.

Albany Senior High School and headspace Albany are working together to present to Parents/Carers/Guardians of teenagers on Body Image and Healthy Eating.

We are privileged to have Andrew Wenzel from headspace Albany leading this presentation. Andrew will deliver valuable insights and be available to address any questions.

Here are the details:

Date: Tuesday, 30th April

Time: 5:30 pm

Location: Albany SHS Performing Arts Centre (APAC), cnr Campbell and Middleton Road, Albany

This presentation is free and open to all Parents/Carers/Guardians within the Albany SHS community, as well as Parents/Carers/Guardians from other schools and our general public community.

Registration is required to secure a spot. Please click here.

WISE MINDS GROUP

Wise Minds is an emotional regulation skills-based group for 12-15 year olds. Young people practise different mindfulness activities each week, and learn different techniques to manage emotions in a healthy way. The group runs at Headspace Albany from weeks 3-8 of each school term, on Tuesday afternoons 3.45-4.30pm. In Term 2, the 6-week program will start on April 30th (Week 3).

For enquiries, please call headspace Albany on 9842 9871 or email info@headspacealbany.com.au.

This is a free workshop, on offer in Albany, for all parent’s/carer’s of teenagers.

Bookings essential: https://bit.ly/TINTAlbany

Albany City Wind Ensemble is very excited to be holding two Cushion Concerts for Kids on 4th May at Albany Primary School. These concerts are aimed at young people with the aim of encouraging them to get involved with music.

MyTime is a facilitated peer support program for parents and carers of children with disability, developmental delay or chronic medical conditions.

Parents/Carers are welcome to attend even if they are yet to receive a diagnosis and would like to meet parents/Carers who may be in a similar situation to theirs.

MyTime groups are for all parents and family carers of children under the age of 18 who need a higher level of care than other children.

We meet weekly on a Tuesday afternoon from 12:30-2:30 during the school term.

MyTime now meets at the Child and Parent Centre near Mt Lockyer Primary School. Click link here.

Currently, headspace Albany is recruiting new members for our youth reference group.

We are looking for young people aged between 15 and 25 to be a part of a group of young people that help us decide on how best to support the young people of Albany.

This includes co-designing programs, connecting with others and contributing to the Albany community.

Please see link below for more information.

https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/albany/hac2024/

DENTAL THERAPY CENTRE NEWS

Spencer Park Dental Therapy Centre offers free dental examinations, oral care advice, preventative, restorative and emergency treatment for children from pre-primary to Year 11.

Enrolment forms will soon be issued to your child if they have recently changed schools or enrolled in Pre-Primary, please return the forms to your school by Friday 19th April if you wish to use our service.

Parents of enrolled students are reminded to contact the centre to update your details if you have moved in the last few years. All appointments are posted home, many are returned due to incorrect addresses, this means that your child misses out on their dental visit. If you no longer intend to use our service and attend a private dental clinic, please let us know as soon as possible as your valuable appointment could be taken up by someone else. You can call us on 9841 3967 or send us an email to spencerparkdtc@health.wa.gov.au.

Unfortunately, our clinics do not have reception staff, your child will be enrolled as soon as possible. They may not receive an exam appointment for up to 12months. Please call us if your child is in pain.

Our awesome skate programs are back!

Junior Learn to Skate ages 8-17

Junior Roller Derby ages 10-17

We start the first week of term 2.

Head to the website albanyrollerderby.com.au to register now! Places are limited

WE WILL ROCK YOU

Musical by

QUEEN and Ben Elton

‘Guaranteed to blow you mind!’

Tickets on sale NOW! Row Seating only!

12 performances over 4 weekends May/June

Book: https://paperbark.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/129832

Since 2002 over 16 million theatregoers in 28 countries have been thrilled by this awe-inspiring production which is based on the songs of Queen with a book by Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder, Popcorn).

Elton fashioned this hilarious futurist comedy around more than 24 of Queen’s biggest hit songs including 'We Are the Champions', 'Radio Ga Ga', 'I Want To Break Free', 'Somebody To Love', 'Killer Queen', 'Don’t Stop Me Now', 'Under Pressure', 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Another One Bites The Dust' and of course, 'We Will Rock You'.

The musical takes place in a future age on a planet once called Earth that is now controlled by a mighty corporation...rock music is unheard, and all musical instruments are banned. The hope of breaking free rests with an unlikely resistance-an alliance of rebel Bohemians.

Directed - Donna Markovic

Musical Director - Jen Graham-Taylor

Choreography - Andrea Le Page and Carmen Fasolo

U17’s winter indoor cricket competition commencing the beginning of term 2.

The competition will run through to the end of term 3, with a break for school holidays.

All enquiries can be directed to adca.indoor@outlook.com or contact 0468 420 184.

We are excited to announce that our 2024 MSWA Albany Swim will be making a splash this April at the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre on Saturday, 20 April.

This unique 8-hour swimming relay challenge aims to raise awareness and funds for people in the Great Southern region living with neurological conditions.

Teams of up to 10 challenge themselves in the swim - they must always have one swimmer in the water for the duration of the event. There are no rules on how the competitors swim the event (freestyle, backstroke, doggy paddle!) and we allow the use of swimming aids or devices (including flippers!).

Take your marks, get set… GO! Are you looking for your next challenge? Gather your classmates, teachers, friends, and family and register a team for the 2024 MSWA Albany Swim, Saturday, 20 April at the Albany Leisure & Aquatic Centre.

For more details, and how to register visit www.mswaswim.org.au

Please find attached some flyers for services affected by the closure of North Rd from 29 Jan to 22 April for the Sandford Rd Roundabout construction.

We expect the buses to arrive 5 minutes later in the AM than usual due to the deviation, but we cannot be sure until school resumes.

Justin Goldsmith

Operations Supervisor Great Southern