Message from the Principal
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Families,
We have started Term 3 at pace, already moving into week 4. Our children are happy and learning is occurring every day. Our flood recovery is well under way, as we have seen our Year Six classes and canteen all move back into their renovated and restored spaces. I thank the DLCS for their support during this still ongoing process. As we move through the term I expect the new Year Five classroom to be opened up and other smaller spaces to be back online.
As we enter the second half of the year, please be mindful of informing us of any diagnosis or change in family or medical conditions for your child. This helps us better understand individual needs and allows our records to remain current and accurate.
Uniform
A reminder that it is my expectation that all students wear full school uniform every day. I know that the cold weather is continuing at the moment, however, there is sufficient winter uniform options to ensure our children stay warm. Sports Uniform is only permitted to be worn on sports and PE days. Can we please ensure that students are wearing either full sports uniform or full academic uniform, not a mixture of both.
A reminder as well about our hair policy;
Hair accessories should be a plain design, small in size and in black, blue or white.
Hairstyle is a matter that invites good taste and judgement as to appropriateness. The school has particular expectations in regards to hairstyles, which are to be adhered to, and parents are asked to ensure that their child’s hairstyle conforms to the following;
- Hair should be neatly groomed and maintained at all times;
- Extremes in hairstyles are unacceptable
- Dramatic layered effect of levels are not permitted
- Hair should not be overly styled by the use of hair products
- Hair is not to be tinted or coloured in any colour. Natural hair colour only.
- Long hair must be kept neat and off the face. Long strands such as ‘rat’s tails’ are unacceptable as are dreadlocks, spikes, mohawks, mullets and shaved patterning.
The Principal has the final say as to the appropriateness of a hairstyle.
Teaching our students to be resilient
At this week’s assembly, I spoke to all students about resilience. I told them that resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficulties or hard times, and that resilience is a way of coping when things don’t always go the way we want them to, and is one of the key ingredients to success. Building resilience is all about maintaining a positive mindset, a willingness to grow, and an ability to learn from setbacks.
I talked to the students about how they experience a tremendous amount of physical and mental growth every day, and how being resilient gives them the ability to tackle new experiences and challenges, bounce back from setbacks, and have the best chance at succeeding.
I invite you to continue this conversation with your children.
I thank you for your support in regards to your child’s ongoing learning.
Guy Campbell
Driving Excellence in the Macleay
THOUGHTS FROM THE PRINCIPAL
To all of our dear St Joseph’s families, whether you are Christian or still questioning the presence of Christ, both in our world and in your life, please remember that it is family that binds you the closest to all things that you truly care about, and family which is forever the most valuable and irreplaceable. Choosing to share important moments with your family, is a direct acknowledgment of how important family is to you in your life. It is both family and faith that stabilises a community, shapes who we are, and instils us with the values that define what we consider to be normal and abnormal.
A shared Christian faith and its related values bind us all together and allows us to feel love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness. It gives us something worthy to believe in, and something which teaches us how to be a responsible, loving and caring member of our community. One with purpose and lifelong hope. Christian faith is a way to acknowledge the importance of family and God in our community. Going to church does not necessarily, in my opinion, reflect how strong a person’s faith is, however, the physical action of attending church does reflect one’s faith through acknowledging the presence of God on Earth and the Holy Spirit within us.
There are certain times in our lives when reaching out to God for strength and safety feels really necessary, and these may be the times when you put in that little extra, and attend mass or pray. It does not have to be all the time. However, please know that if you are at a point in your life where you are not ready to pray, then God will wait for you.
Even if you don’t believe in Jesus, you can still live like Jesus, as Christian values are the fundamental characteristics of who God is, and the moral compass for everyday life. Do you not agree, that being kind, compassionate, forgiving, caring, and being a good person, is what we all should strive for? Is this not what we attempt to instil in our children in order for them to develop into fully rounded people with strong values and ethics?
Today it is more evident than ever that Christian faith is missing from our communities, nation and world. While we are constantly being told; that we don’t need faith to better our lives; that faith is old fashioned, and; that God isn’t real, just look around us. Are we handing over to our children a world that is better than the one we grew up in? Having God in your life should not be something we are ashamed or embarrassed of, nor something we apologise for.
Having God present in our lives, households, families, community and country, provides the moral framework and social cohesion that is very much missing right now.