YEAR OF ST JOSEPH
As we prepare to celebrate St Joseph's Day on Friday 19 March during this special "Year of St Joseph", we have been  invited to reflect on how St Joseph may have responded to his astonishing call to be the foster-father of Jesus and spouse of Mary and what it means for fathers and husbands in today’s world.

The Spirituality Team from the Catholic Education Office has shared with us, this reflection about St Joseph and what it may have been like for him, living in those times and experiencing all the events associated with the birth of Jesus.

It is interesting reading and it is here in this link:

ST JOSEPH’S FEAST DAY MASS
This Friday, we are holding a whole school Mass for the Feast of St Joseph. As the church still has covid restrictions on the number of people who can attend, we will be having our Mass in the hall. Unfortunately this will only be for staff and students this time. Hopefully if restrictions  ease, we will be able to have Masses again in the Church with parents as well. 

At our Feast Day, we are launching the updated School Vision and Mission statements, which were devised last year, in consultation with parents, staff and students. We have chosen to launch it on this day as it is a special feast day for our school, due to our school association with the Sisters of St Joseph, who founded our school in 1891. We will remember all those who have gone before us to create such a great school.

Below are copies of our updated School Vision and Mission Banners.

PARENT/TEACHER INTERVIEWS
A reminder that our parent/teacher interviews are on next week. Please take note of the day and time you have booked in to meet with your child’s class teacher. Please sign on at the school gate near the hall using the QR code and hand sanitise before entering the classroom. Social distancing will need to occur throughout the meeting and whilst you are on the school site. I thank you for your support of this. 

DIOCESAN REPRESENTATIVES
Congratulations to Sam and Brohdi from Year 6, who have been selected to represent our Diocese of Wollongong at the MacKillop trials, which will be held in Canberra on April 30th. This will be a very special event for the boys, their families and our school.

PARENTS AND FRIENDS MEETING- SURVEY
Yesterday we sent out a survey to gain interest in who could attend a Parents and Friends meeting and /or indicate if they could help with a P&F fundraiser. If you have not already done so, can you please fill in this survey by tomorrow (Thursday 18th March). On Friday, I will let the parents know what meeting time was the most convenient for our first meeting. The survey is located in the newsfeed note on COMPASS.

ST PATRICK’S DAY- GREEN MUFTI
Thank you to all the students for participating in the Year 2 St Patrick’s Day Green Mufti day that was held today. The money raised by the gold coin donations, will go to Maubara Orphanage. 

CROSS COUNTRY CARNIVAL
Next Monday we will be holding our St Michael’s Cross Country Carnival (weather permitting on Alexandra Square which is located outside our school office. The carnival will begin at 9.30am with 12/13 year olds commencing their race.

With the recent easing of covid restrictions, parents are able to attend the carnival provided you ensure compliance with the COVID guidelines including hand sanitising, maintaining social distancing and compliance with our sign in procedures. It is vitally important that every person checks in to the carnival event, as we need a record of attendance for the carnival. When parents first come to the carnival, we ask that you check in using our QR code located at the school office gate or on the sanitizer stations around the park. Parents are reminded not to attend if you are unwell or suffering flu-like symptoms.

Parents are welcome to watch from the perimeter of the park, keeping in mind social distancing please. Students will not be able to sit with or go near their parents at the carnival. 

Students are asked to bring a water bottle, hat and sunscreen. They will be eating their lunch as per usual,  back at school.  If the carnival is washed out due to rain or wet grounds, we will be running the  events during their sport time that week. 

SOCIAL MEDIA WEBINAR FOR PARENTS AND CARERS
The Council of Catholic School Parents (NSW/ACT) has joined with the eSafety Commissioner to present two free webinars for parents and carers in late March 2021.

The webinars are:

• Helping kids thrive online (for parents/carers of 5-12 year olds)
• Tech, teens and time online (for parents/carers of 12-18 year olds).

Both are free but registration is required.

FAMILY PHOTO WALL
I invite all families to send in a photo of their family for our Family Photo Wall, if you haven’t already done so. This can be sent in digitally via email or a copy of a photo can be taken here at school. Many of our visitors remark about the wonderful photos we have in our office.

OUTDOOR MUD KITCHEN
We have purchased an outdoor mud kitchen for the students. If there is a parent willing to put it together, I would be very appreciative. A photo of the kitchen is below.

Thank you for your continued support of our school community. It will be great to see our parents next week during the parent/teacher interviews, at the parents and friends meeting and watching the cross country. 

CONGRATULATIONS
Well done to Aspen who was recently awarded ribbons for her riding as well as a champion ribbon in the LED class  at the Moss Vale Show with her pony Rigby.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

God Bless,
Mrs Katrina West
Principal