Thank you to the Staff and 50 students that supported the College and Parish for the Christmas Pageant this year.

See Above for Uniform Shop Holiday Opening Hours

From all the Staff and Students, thank you for everything and we wish you all the best at your new school!

For a Joy-Filled Holiday

Happy birthday, Jesus! I celebrate your birth and your life. Thank you for coming to earth as a baby, bringing life and hope to us all. May each day be a celebration of Who you are in my life. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Dear Parents, Staff, Students and Parishioners,

So concludes the 2022 school year at St Joseph’s College! Our whole College Mass this morning, complete with Christmas carols, was a beautiful time for us to gather and be thankful for the strength to face the challenges and for the many blessings received upon our community throughout this year. We were unable to gather at the beginning of the year as one school due to COVID which seems a lifetime ago. Thankfully the conclusion of the year enabled us to be one complete College as we are meant to be!

Currently I am reading the reports for the students in Pre-Primary to Year Eleven and these should be distributed on-line to parents, all going well, later next week. Please do check that your SEQTA password is working. I am impressed by the growth and development being reflected in so many students’ grades and comments. Congratulations to the students for their hard work and engagement across the year to allow this improvement. My thanks to the staff for the hours of effort given to providing the best experiences for the students. An important task next week is staff discussing ways to ensure future growth occurs in each year group as part of the ‘handover’ process in preparation for 2023.

On Tuesday night the Junior School celebrated with their Christmas and Presentation Night; what a joyous occasion this event was for all in attendance! With an item from each year group and two from the choir, the students presented the meaning of Christmas through the decades in many ways. The performance items clearly displayed how hard students and staff had worked to make the evening a special one. Thank you to Mr Morcom and the Junior School staff who prepared the students so well for the evening. The students and staff greatly appreciated that approximately six hundred parents, relatives and friends were in attendance to make this night a true finale to the 2022 school year.

The Village OSHC will be providing After School Care for children attending Kindergarten to Year Six, starting Term One 2023. For enrolment enquiries please contact Preity Dhaliwal @ 0466 080 593 or email preitydhaliwal@gmail.com

With the conclusion of the school year, several staff will be leaving St Joseph’s College. Some are retiring or moving to new schools, others are taking leave or their short-term contract has concluded. Some of these staff have been at Joseph’s College for many years and others have been here only a couple of terms. Regardless of the length of service, each has contributed to the wholistic development of our students and the overall richness of our College – for this we are truly grateful. May the future direction of their lives be one of good health and well-deserved happiness.

Farewell:

Junior School: Mrs Mielens (Assistant Principal St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School Greenmount), Mrs Bain (Retirement), Mrs Cavanagh (Twelve Months Leave), Ms Campbell (Maternity Leave) and Mrs Collins (Short Term Contract).

Secondary School: Mr Cole (Retirement), Mr Rutherford (Retirement), Mr Murray (Parklands Primary School), Mrs Tompkin (Two Year Secondment St Mary’s College Broome) and Mrs Goodlad (Six Months LSL).

As mentioned at the Christmas and Presentation Night, there will be no increase in school fees in 2023. Keeping the fees unchanged has not been an easy task in terms of the College budget, however, it is a concerted effort to make St Joseph’s College affordable for all families.

By now all families should have received the stationery list and book list (if applicable) for next year. If this is not the case, please look on our website under the heading of ‘Curriculum’.

At this time of the year, many students have outgrown their shoes and uniform with parents wisely waiting to buy new ones until the end of January. When replacing uniform items please ensure black leather lace up school shoes are purchased for Year One to Year Twelve students. Fad haircuts or the presence of hair dye are for the Christmas school holidays and need to be removed prior to the new school year commencing on Wednesday 1 February 2023. Students with long hair that hangs over their face need to have the fringe cut. Parents of secondary students are also reminded that piercings are not acceptable and must be removed other than one stud or sleeper in each ear. Upon acceptance of enrolment to St Joseph’s College, all parents acknowledged that they would adhere to School Policies. The School Uniform Policy is an important one and I thank you for following this policy. All families ensuring the above requests are followed will mean the first day of the new school year will not be unnecessarily stressful for students and staff.

Below are several important dates for the 2023 school year:

·       Monday 16 January                        The College Office opens

·       Monday 30 January                        Teaching staff return

·       Wednesday 1 February                  Pre-Primary to Year Twelve students commence

Three-Year-Old Gold and Kindergarten Gold commence

·       Thursday 2 February Three-Year-Old Blue and Kindergarten Blue commence

In this season of Advent, and as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, my wish is that all families experience the blessings of peace, joy, hope and love. For those spending time with loved ones from out of state or overseas this will be a particularly special Christmas after nearly three years of being apart – safe travels and many beautiful moments!

Finally, this is my last year at St Joseph’s College. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this community for the past seven years. This is truly a community filled with richness. I am appreciative of the many emails, cards, gifts and general good wishes received from students and parents. I wish all students, staff and our families the absolute best for the future. Hold on to what you have; parents and staff please continue to work in partnership with the child at the centre of all you do and take this College to even greater heights under the watchful presence of St Joseph!

Wishing all staff, students and families a joyous Christmas and a safe holiday break!

Mr Mark Browning

Principal

Each year, the staff, students and families of St Joseph's College generously support St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) in their annual Christmas Appeal. With the cost-of-living increasing, Vinnies focus on assisting the vulnerable in our community whom may be struggling financially or facing other challenges in their lives this Advent season. As we prepare for the birth of Jesus, we are called to reflect upon how we can bring a little hope, peace, joy, and love to those around us which has been demonstrated through our large donation of food items this year.

On behalf of St Joseph's College, I would like to thank all staff, students and families for your overwhelming generosity in 2022. For many people, Christmas is about creating precious memories with family and friends and your support will ensure that this festive season is far less stressful for some of the families in our local community.

Wishing you all a very happy and Holy Christmas!

Mr Luke Bogoni - Religious Education Coordinator K-12

St Joseph’s College e-BOOKs – “SORA”

Read or listen to audiobooks anywhere, anytime with SORA.

This is a safe and easy reading experience. 

Take some time out and enjoy a good  e-BOOK or audio BOOK.

“How do I do this???”

You can access the digital collection all through the holidays by downloading the APP  SORA  on your device……

*In the list of Schools find St Joseph’s College ALBANY and students log in using your  school login.

*Browse, borrow and read or listen to as many books as you like.

Loans are for two weeks and will automatically be returned after this time.

If you have any problems please email David.Polette@cewa.edu.au

There is a mountain of drink bottles and lunch containers at the Office.

If you have any lost containers please come and have a look.

They will be gone at the end of the year.

Also a FITBIT was found, if your child has lost theirs please come and see if it belongs to them.

This week we celebrate the achievements of Ella, who this week has attended the WA Worldskills 2022 Awards Ceremony at the Crown Tower Ballroom to receive the silver medal for Commercial Cookery in the South West Division. Earlier in the year Ella, along with her classmate, Jasmine competed in the Commercial Cookery division in Bunbury against other students in the South West. We thank Mrs Andrea Gallagher, the students VET in Schools lecturer in Certificate II in Hospitality at South Regional TAFE for all the work she has done with the students. This year, both students have successfully completed their qualifications, and Ella is now commencing a School Based Traineeship to gain a Certificate III in Hospitality whilst studying Year Twelve.

We are so proud of Ella's achievements. She has continued to work hard in Year Eleven, and this is the icing on the cake to finish a very successful year!

Mrs. Caroline Tompkin

Head of Vocational Education and Training

https://www.raffletix.com.au/?ref=4r3kd

This year the P & F are again running their "Big End of Year" raffle. For $5 per ticket, you'll be in the running to win $1000 cold hard cash just in time for Christmas (along with the chance to win some other awesome prizes). Only on sale until the 14 December so get in quick!

Click on the link above to purchase your tickets or visit our Facebook page.

We appreciate your support!

Our Uniform Shop is now available on Quick Cliq - www.quickcliq.com.au

You can now order uniforms online and collect from the School office, between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday during school term.

Please refer to order pickup notes when placing your order to determine when your order will be ready for collection.

School Uniform shop open hours are: Tuesday 8.15am - 9.30am and Wednesday 2.15pm - 4.00pm.

Last Wednesday, the Year Nine Outdoor Education elective class departed for Walpole for their canoeing expedition. On arrival on Wednesday afternoon the students set up their tents before choosing between fishing or swimming in the Nornalup inlet. The students prepared their own dinners and cooked them on Trangia compact cooking stoves. Marlee's popcorn chicken and vegies and Arch and Marcus's burgers were the meal highlights. The students went for an evening walk by torch light to the Narrows. On Thursday the group launched their canoes at the suspension bridge to the Nuyts wilderness area and paddled down the Deep river. Whilst canoeing we stopped several times to fish for the elusive black bream. Although the group were catching plenty unfortunately no fish were big enough to keep. The students paddled the entire way back to camp across the Nornalup inlet which was very quick with the wind behind us. On Friday the group launched the canoes at Nornalup to paddle the Frankland river. Conditions were delightful for both paddling and fishing and both were enjoyed. It was a tired group who returned to Albany Friday afternoon looking forward to sleeping in their own beds for a change. Thank you to Mrs Trichilo for joining us on the trip and to Year 12 student, Bree Davy, for assisting with the aquatic supervision.

Are you ready for an adventure?

Go to www.sailleeuwin.com for more details

Our Term Four "Stay and Play" was a hive of activity. It was lovely to see so many family members come along and participate in activities with the children, as well as socialising with each other. With Christmas around the corner, we had opportunities for tree decorating, painting and making paper chains. With the beautiful sunshine we were able to add water play to the array of outdoor activities. Thank you to all those who came along. It was a fantastic morning, enjoyed by all.

Parents and Community members

The Junior School Christmas Concert and Presentation evening will be held on Tuesday 6 December. The evening will celebrate the end of the 2022 school year and the work of staff and students. All Parents and Community members are welcome to attend.

There will be a large crowd in the gymnasium and with a growing number of Covid-19 cases in the community, people are asked to consider their own safety as well as others by wearing a mask. All doors and windows in the gymnasium will be open to provide ventilation and people may consider bring warm clothing if it is a cool evening.

Important times and notes.

4.30-4.45pm All students to be dropped at classrooms. Parents to be seated in gymnasium.

4.45pm Students to move to Gymnasium

5.00pm Concert commences.

1. Kindy students will return to their parents after their item.
2. PP- Yr6 students to be picked up from classes after the concert.

Please see attached from Kathryn Tweddle (School Nurse) regarding vaccination bookings.

Albany City Wind Ensemble (ACWE) is hosting a family concert on 11^th December at Oceans Church, it will be a fun-filled concert and the last one conducted by the incredibly talented Sue Findlay.

Please find attached the City of Albany’s summer school holiday program for 2023.

Please see flyers for Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s Show Day and the 360 All Stars Urban Circus.

Spencer Park Dental Therapy Centre will be closed from Friday 16^th December until Monday 30^th January 2023. If your child requires emergency dental treatment during our closure please contact Albany General Dental Clinic on 9842 2211 from 8:15am to 4:30pm. For emergencies outside of these hours, please contact your own private dentist or Albany Regional Hospital on 9892 2222.

Your child will be eligible to attend a Dental Therapy Centre from ages 5 to 17. If you no longer wish to use our service please let us know as soon as possible as your valuable appointment could be taken up by someone else.

All appointments are now sent to your home address. If you have moved house in the last few years we may not have your correct address and your child could miss out on their check-up, please contact us to update your details either by phone: 9841 3967 or e-mail: spencerparkdtc@dental.health.wa.gov.au

Dental Therapy Staff wish you a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year!