Dear Families,

It has been a very settled week all across the school and we could not be happier with how the students and our new staff have assimilated into the rhythms and routines of life at St Joseph’s. I’ve had such lovely feedback about our new team of teachers and staff members, who have fitted in so well with the ‘old’ staff that it feels like they have been here forever.

In the early weeks of the school year we usually have two opportunities for you to meet with teachers:

Parent/ Teacher information sharing sessions. These are taking place next Tuesday and Thursday from 3.30pm until 6pm. Given the current guidelines, these have to take place via google meet and our teachers will send you your individual link on Monday. To book your session please follow this link: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/49j7a
Parent information night. This takes place early in Term 1 when the classroom teacher presents pertinent information to all of the parents in an information session. Last year we held these online and although this worked fairly well, we understand that many people are zoom fatigued, so this year we are doing it a little differently. Our teachers have recorded an information session and will post it on the class dojo. They will be explaining the expectations, routines and curriculum foci for their grade and you are welcome to respond and ask questions in the comments section of the dojo post.

We are sure that you will glean some valuable information from these sessions and also have the opportunity to give the classroom teacher some insight into your child and what makes them tick.

You are also welcome to book a time with the classroom teacher if you have any further questions or email any queries or follow up. Our staff email addresses are available on our website: https://www.sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au/page/164/Contact-us

Covid updates

Thankfully, we have been relatively quiet on the covid front and I thank our parent community for testing regularly and promptly reporting any positive tests. Although we’ve only had 4 students test positive, we must remain vigilant and not fall into a false sense of security with this virus, so I ask that you do not enter the classrooms under any circumstances. You may come to the office, but please remember to wear a mask.

Once we receive notification of a positive case, this is our process:

We log the case on the covid portal through Catholic Education. Names are not shared, just the date and year level.
We then send an email to the year level of the child. As we are minimising the mixing of students, it is only necessary to notify the grade involved and not the whole school.
You will receive an SMS to alert you to the email.
We also alert all staff. Again no names, just the year level.

The St Joseph's Swimming Team

Thank you to Mr Cleary and Ms Huebner for organising the swim team trials on Tuesday afternoon down at Harold Holt. The children should be proud for putting themselves forward and giving it a go. The students who have made it through to the Dendy District swimming competition now have the opportunity to train with Mr Cleary and Ms Huebner in twice-weekly early morning sessions at Harold Holt, prior to the event. Congratulations to the following students:

Bridget, Pip, Lucy, Alexis, James, Max, Jackson, Callum, Grace, Gabriella, Aldrich, Tom, Luca, Christian, Mila, Sophie N, Gaby, Giles, Henry, Noah and Charlie.

Staff Professional Development

In the two weeks since our return the staff have been involved in professional development in the following areas:

Structured literacy, ie, the systematic and explicit teaching of the English curriculum
High impact mathematics teaching strategies
The principles of Catholic Social Teaching
Anaphylaxis training and support of students with medical and additional needs
Child Safe Standards, with the child safety module completed
The development of class mission statements and revision of the STAR values
SJM Behaviour Management Policy and Student Code of Conduct
Data analysis of standardised testing

...all in two weeks!

As part of our 4 year School Improvement Plan, we are taking a 'deeper dive' into some of the peer-reviewed research and studies; as a staff, we identify as being 'discerning consumers of research' and we know this has a significant impact on student learning outcomes and student wellbeing. These are just a few of the texts that we will be analysing as the year progresses:

SAC and P+F

Thank you to David S (Chair of the Parents and Friends) and Michael H (Secretary of the P+F) for meeting with me on Monday evening to discuss the plans for the year. Our first P+F meeting of the year is on Tuesday 22nd February at 7.30 pm at a venue tbc. Thanks also to Jane P for taking on the class rep organiser role; Adrian B for continuing with the working bee organiser role; Tennille who will be taking on the brick fundraiser role and all of you who have volunteered to be a class rep. Isabelle and Lynnette will be sending out the class lists asap. We look forward to re-engaging as a P+F after a very disrupted couple of years and I encourage you all to take part in some way. As with last year, we will send out a survey to ascertain who can help with the various activities planned for 2022.

Thank you to Peter P (Chair of the School Advisory Council) and Courtney J (Secretary of the SAC) for organising dates and the agenda for our work this year. Our first SAC meeting will take place on Monday 21st February at 7.30 pm in the staffroom.

It is not too late to express interest in joining the SAC, so please feel free to have a chat with any member of the SAC team if you'd like to find out more. Our terms of reference are here:

Anyone for Tennis?

Congratulations to Giulia, Gabriella, Tom H and Charlie for participating in today's Dendy District Tennis completion. Well done to these students for representing our school so well and we are very proud of you!

Finally...

School fees: as with all Catholic primary schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, our issue of invoices and statements are controlled centrally by MACS. There have been delays in all schools and we hope to have your fee invoice to you in the coming days. Many apologies for this delay, but it is really out of our hands.
If you have a 2023 prep child, please check out the enrolment page later in this newsletter. It contains some important information about our enrolments for next year.
Ensure you book your information sharing session using the link above; our teachers are very much looking forward to meeting you.
Some photographs of the new village in quieter moments and in full swing:

Have a lovely weekend and I hope you all enjoy some rest and relaxation,

Michelle

Gospel Reading