Principal's Report
Dear Parents/Carers,
Pope Francis has named this as the "Year of St Joseph." When speaking about the reasoning behind this focus on Joseph, Pope Francis makes a link between the "ordinary man who goes unnoticed, a daily discreet, hidden presence" and those in our world today who are doing extraordinary, discreet things to help us get through the COVID pandemic. St Joseph, when faced with a difficult decision, listened to the call of God and humbly faced the challenge of bringing Jesus into the world. How easy it would have been for him to just leave Mary on her own. Although he is not mentioned in the Gospels often, we can learn much from his loyalty, humility and preparedness to do what was right.
Parent-School Partnership Framework
This week I would like to highlight the second of the Principles of the Parent-School Partnership Framework - "Respectful Relationships." In light of Jesus encouraging all of us to "Do to others as you would have them do to you' we are all asked to treat each other with respect, courtesy and positive regard. As staff, we must respect parents as the first educators of the children, and parents are asked to respect the staff for their knowledge, skills and expertise. Together, we are all encouraged to proactively resolve any issues or concerns with a positive and hope-filled attitude. At St John's, this is a key feature of our community.
If ever you need to discuss any concerns or issues with a member of staff, please be mindful of the most appropriate person. If your concern is directly related to your child's learning and well-being, their classroom teacher should be contacted in the first instance. If support is needed in resolving the issue, we have Leadership Team members available. If your concern is more about whole-school procedures, please contact either Miss Tobin or myself.
Contact with a member of staff can be made via the office (email or phone). Please allow a reasonable period of time for a response as teachers can often not reply until the students have left for the day. If you would like to arrange a meeting with a member of staff, please do so via the office. Please be aware that teachers have duties before and after school, so they may not be able to meet straight away.
"Meet and Greet" sessions
Between Monday 15 February and Friday 19 February you have the opportunity to attend a "Meet and Greet" meeting with your child's teacher. This will give you and the teacher the chance to share any necessary information that will support your child's growth and development this year. A notification was pushed out on Compass this week with more information about this. Please note, in order to comply with COVID directives:
- parents must book a meeting on Compass
- parents should only arrive at the time of their meeting and then leave the school site as soon as the meeting has concluded
- the meeting time must be limited to 10 minutes
- cleaning of the furniture will take place between meetings
- while masks are not mandatory, parents can choose to wear one.
Ash Wednesday
Lent begins next week with Ash Wednesday. Fr John will be leading a liturgy with our students on that day, at which ashes will be distributed to the children. This year, due to COVID restrictions, the children will use the ashes themselves to mark a cross on the back of their hand.
Wishing you a safe week,
Principal