September 19, 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians

Welcome to the 2014-15 academic year.  A special welcome all the new parents to the St. Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando family. 

Term Calendar

The term runs from September 02 – December 12, 2014.

·        September 24 – Republic Day Holiday

·        September 25 – Parents of SJCSF meeting

·        September 25 – Forms 5B & 5G SBA Field Trip to Gasparee Cave

·        September 26 – Forms 5M & 5S  SBA Field Trip to Caura River

·        October 01 – Career Fair at Presentation College (Forms Fives only)

·        October 14 – Recognition Day at Naparima Bowl (Forms 2 – 6 only)

·        October 23 – Divali Holiday

·        October 24 – Principal’s Holiday (Tentative)

·        November 01 – Garden Party (School Compound)

o   Funds raised will go towards refurbishment of the Auditorium and support of Clubs

o   Tickets for Lunch and Tea will go on sale soon.  Please support.

·        November 10 – Foundress Day Mass (8:30 am at OLPH)

·        November 17 – December 05 – End of Term Examinations Forms 1 – 5

·        December  10 – “Song and Dance “ Fundraiser

·        December 11 - Class Parties/Classroom Clean-up

·        December 12  - Last Day of School

o   Carol Service; Distribution of Reports

Curriculum

·        Unfortunately, we were unable to get a full time teacher for Technical Drawing.  However, we were able to secure the services of Mrs. Maureen Charles who comes in on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 – 5:00 pm.  At present there are 15 Form Four students who started the programme on Wednesday, September 17.  Mrs. Charles has indicated that the students are all very enthusiastic and she looks forward to working with them during the year.

Extra-Curricular

·        Scuba Diving – a number of students have expressed an interest in this activity. The programme will be conducted by the Tobago Reef Masters Dive Team and the entire cost of the certification is TT$5,200 (TT$3,400 for the dive course, plus TT$1,800 for the certification trip to Tobago which includes accommodation, 6 meals, roundtrip airfare, ground transfers in Tobago).  All necessary equipment will be provided.

There is a proposed payment plan is as follows:

o   1^st payment of $1,700 at Registration

o   2^nd  payment of $1,700 at start of Theory

o   Final payment of $1,800 on Tobago trip

The entire certification process will take place over 3 month-ends.

Parents, as mentioned in the previous letter, you are also invited and encouraged to be part of this experience with your daughters.  The team will meet with you for an information session.

·        Dragon Boat Racing – It is hoped St Joseph’s Convent San Fernando will be the first south school to have a Dragon Boat Team! Those students who expressed interest and their parents will be invited to a sensitization session as soon as it is arranged.

Communication

·        The SMS messaging system is up and running but there are a number of students who have not yet brought in the data capture forms that were distributed with the reports in July. Kindly fill these out and return to us as soon as possible so that your information may be uploaded onto the system.  Please note that you will be charged for each text you receive. 

Infrastructure

·        Our next big project is to upgrade the school Auditorium. The existing air-conditioning system is grossly inadequate and there are also a number of structural issues to be addressed.  A rough estimate to address these issues is $150 000!

Parents, we are depending on you for your time, talent and/or treasure so that we can continue to maintain the high standards that you have come to expect at this institution.  We look forward to your active participation in school life.  I wish to see parents more actively involved in your daughters’ co- and extra-curricular activities.

Included for your information is a breakdown of the 2014 CAPE and CSEC results.

CXC 2014 Results

 God Bless,

Jennifer Manwaring

 Ag Principal