For Parents

Education for your child is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options. Education in NSW is compulsory for all children between the ages of six years and below the minimum school leaving age. The Education Act 1990 requires that parents ensure their children of compulsory school age are enrolled at, and regularly attend school, or, are registered with NESA, Teaching and Educational Standards for homeschooling.

The NSW Government has some helpful information to help inform parents of what is expected of them. Some of the key areas are outlined below.

The importance of arriving on time

Arriving at school and class on time:

• Ensures that students do not miss out on important learning activities scheduled early in the day
• Helps students learn the importance of punctuality and routine
• Gives students time to greet their friends before class
• Reduces classroom disruption

Student learning is more successful when students are present consistently for the whole school day. Students who arrive “just a few minutes late” miss out on vital information on the day ahead including opportunities they could get involved in at St Joseph’s to enrich their learning and school experience.

What if my child has to be away from school?

On occasion, your child may need to be absent from school. Justified reasons for student absences may include:

• Being sick, or having an infectious disease
• Having an unavoidable medical appointment
• Being required to attend a recognised religious holiday
• Exceptional or urgent family circumstance (e.g. attending a funeral)

Following an absence from school, you must ensure that within seven days you provide St Joseph’s with a verbal or written explanation for the absence. However, if the school has not received an explanation from you within two days, the school may contact you to discuss the absence.

Travel

Families are encouraged to travel during school holidays. If travel during school term is necessary, please discuss with the Principal or Leader of Wellbeing first. An Application for Extended Leave may need to be completed. Absences relating to travel will be marked as leave on the roll and therefore contribute to your child’s total absences for the year. In some circumstances, students may be eligible to enrol in distance education for travel periods over 50 school days.

St Joseph’s implemented a BYOD program in 2015 which has continued each year since. We are committed to providing the highest standards of education to our students, with an increasing awareness of the need to equip our students with a skill set that benefits the emerging technological future.

In 2026 our school will be utilising the broader support of Catholic Schools in its Managed BYOD program. This aims to simplify device setup and provide you with ongoing support for BYOD in our school.

This support includes:

• Simplifying device setup for Windows Education and Windows Pro devices​
• Providing students with the tools and applications required for learning​
• Enhancing security of devices to keep students and their data safe​
• Installing updates for the device and supported applications​
• Providing support with troubleshooting

Purchasing a Specified Device

After very careful consideration, we have chosen Learning with Technologies (LWT) as our device vendor. A St Joseph’s School Portal has been set up by LWT for you to explore and make purchases.

On the portal you will find:

• Two device bundle options
• A range of accessories, equipment and spare parts
• Warranty and Accidental Damage Protection (ADP) information
• Delivery information
• Lay-by and interest-free finance options available.

Some benefits of purchasing one of our specified devices:

• Each device comes with three years warranty and three years Accidental Damage Protection
• All purchases come with a power adapter and stylus pen
• A loan device will be on offer to students while their device is away under repair
• A HP site technician will visit the school to repair devices in a timely manner.

Alternative Device 

Please visit the Bring Your Own Device | Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle website for minimum specification information.

It is important to note that the school will only be able to offer limited IT support to devices purchased outside of our program and you will need to negotiate your own Warranty and Accidental Damage Protection deal with your vendor before making a purchase. It is also recommended that you confirm with the vendor a clear outline of how these types of issues will be dealt with and the turn-around time for repair.

If you have any questions about our BYOD program, please email BYOD@aberdeen.catholic.edu.au or call our IT staff 02 6543 7444.

St Joseph’s provides a friendly and efficient canteen to meet the needs of the school community. Open each day at recess and lunch, the canteen offers a selection of hot and cold fresh and healthy foods, as well as a few treats, at affordable prices. All profits from the canteen are used to fund significant improvements to school facilities for the benefit of all students.

Purchases can be made over the counter by cash or EFTPOS or lunch orders can be placed online using the Qkr! App, with online orders closing at 9am. We have paper bags available for free in the canteen if any students wish to place a manual lunch order before the end of recess. There is a designated lunch order collection window at the canteen.

Our canteen staff are qualified Food Safety Supervisors. Food safety is of utmost importance and under new legislation, from 08 December 2023, anyone assisting in the canteen is required to have completed a Food Handler Basics course and provide the school with a copy of their Completion Certificate for viewing by the Health Inspector at their annual inspection. This legislation includes volunteers. This FREE course can be accessed at the NSW Food Authority website and takes an hour to complete. The canteen can be contacted via email at abd-canteen@mn.catholic.edu.au or by phoning the school.

We look forward to serving our St Joseph’s community.

Access our Complaints Resolution page below.

Complaints Resolution 

St Joseph’s student information system, Compass, is a comprehensive system that enables the school to effectively manage all information relating to your child/children and their school journey. The system forms part of a broader implementation for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. This solution offers a secure, yet easy connection to essential information you need for your child and is our primary source of information distribution.

A parent Smartphone App is available to be downloaded to allow easy and secure access to Compass.

Through Compass you will be able to:

• Monitor your child’s attendance and enter in explanations for whole-day absences
• View ‘My News’; a newsfeed of school announcements, newsletters, alerts and updates
• View your child’s timetable and the school calendar
• Download and view your child’s progress and semester reports
• Book student/parent/teacher conferences.

To login to Compass you will require a unique username and password, which is available from the school upon enrolment.

Semester Reports 

A formal report is available to parents twice per year, generated through the Compass education software system. The reports include student academic achievement through the Academic Profiles, personal and social development through the Approaches to Learning, and additional information about student achievement and recommendations for improvement.

Prior to the reports, parents have the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress at Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences. At this time, parents can discuss study strategies, examination and assessment preparation, social and behavioural issues, as well as homework and other curriculum issues. 

Progress Statements 

The Progress Statements assess a student’s effort displayed in the areas of engagement, diligence, and behaviour in all classes. 

• Engagement – Participation, curiosity, interest, passion, and motivation that students show when they are learning or being taught.
• Diligence – Application, perseverance, and independent motivation; the degree to which a student demonstrates a conscientious commitment towards classwork and/or homework.
• Behaviour – Conduct and attitude that demonstrates safe, positive, and respectful practices within the learning environment. 

The Progress Statements will be reported to parents/guardians in addition to the two formal semester reports. The three possible criteria descriptors awarded for a student’s effort in engagement, diligence, and behaviour are: 

• Exceeds Expectations – the student surpasses the standards/requirements set by the classroom teacher.
• Meets Expectations - the student satisfies the standards/requirements set by the classroom teacher.
• Greater application required – the student is not currently applying themselves sufficiently to satisfy the standards/requirements set by the classroom teacher. 

The Progress Statements should encourage and motivate student’s to perform to the best of their abilities. They also provide an opportunity for parents to keep up-to-date with the progress of their child, as communication between the school and home is an important element of the program. The program is not based on the academic achievements of students, but rather on the effort they are prepared to put in to meet the expectations placed upon them. Students who apply themselves can achieve excellent results, regardless of their academic abilities.  

Parents are notified of all results via Compass. Where it is believed that the student requires more specific feedback to assist in the development of strategies to improve their efforts, direct contact will be made with the parents. 

Parents should follow-up with the classroom teacher any concerns they might have about their child’s progress. Any concerns about overall performance or wellbeing should be addressed to the appropriate Leader of Wellbeing and Engagement.

Bus Routes

Osborn’s Bus Company provides most routes of transport to and from school. They have over 30 buses that pick-up students from, but not limited to the following areas: Merriwa, Sandy Hollow, Denman, Martindale, Muswellbrook, Manobalai, Aberdeen, Dartbrook, Scone, Ellerston, Isis River, Gundy, Bunnan, Kars Springs, Middlebrook and the surrounds of these areas.

To find out which bus would be suitable please contact Osborn’s Bus Company on 6543 1271 or click here.

Osborn’s Bus Routes Morning & Afternoon:

Aberdeen Local Area

Denman – Aberdeen

Muswellbrook – Aberdeen

Scone – Aberdeen

Parent Drop off

Students may be dropped off at school and collected at the front of the school in Segenhoe or Bedford Streets. There are two visitor car parking spaces in the staff car park for quick drop off and pick up.

Student Drivers

Senior students who drive to school must do so with both school and parent permission. If a passenger other than a sibling is being transported by another student, both parents’ permission is required. A Student Driver’s Policy document needs to be obtained from the school. Once completed, a Driver’s Card will be issued by the school and should be presented when requested by staff.