Principal's Message

(Heads, Hearts & Hands)

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.

Dear families

Finally the sun is shining in Black Rock just in time for us to use the new  shade sail outside of the Juniors. It's been lovely seeing so many students join us in the morning for a run or for soccer, tennis or karate, or even just rocking up with a smile and dancing to the music in the mornings. We have a busy few weeks ahead as we begin Week 6 of Term 4. On Friday 11th of the 11th we will gather and pay our respects on Remembrance Day. 

Staff news 

Sam Sullivan will be leaving us at the end of the year to take up a full time job in Hampton. Sam has been a great member of staff this year and we thank her for all the care and energy that has gone into her teaching and time at St Joseph's.

The students in Year 4 have really enjoyed their year and I know they will miss Sam. We wish you all the best Ms Sullivan and we will see you out there on the netball courts!

We have also employed a new staff member who comes highly regarded and recommended. Jamee Montebruno is an experienced teacher who has worked across all ages in primary school with specific expertise in the junior years. We look forward to working with her soon.

We wish Gai Cook a speedy recovery from her hip replacement. She had a successful surgery and is now undergoing rehab for the next few weeks.

I will be updating you with the staffing structure for next year via Operoo as soon as I can. We are waiting on some final details before letting you know the definitive structure. 

P&F Fun see page

MSL 

(Multisensory Structured Language)

Our journey to Structured Literacy at St Joseph's, Black Rock. Structured Literacy involves evidence based instruction that is explicit, cumulative and systematic. We are beginning to implement MSL (Multisensory Structured Language) in the Junior School to link reading, writing and spelling.

MSL aims to use two or more of the senses, auditory (hearing), visual (seeing) and kinaesthetic (movement), when teaching literacy and phonics to form stronger pathways in the brain and deeper understanding. 

We have invested in new sets of decodable readers for our beginning readers. Children use decodable readers to practise the sound-spelling relationships and use the decoding skills taught in phonics lessons. These will be used in the classroom and as our take home readers to support learning. 

Our staff are beginning their training in MSL (Multisensory Structured Language) and we will continue to share more about the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy in weeks to come. 

Black Rock Pre School

From 2023 Black Rock Pre School will be hosting one of their 3 Year Old Groups here at St Joseph's. Initially it will be on Friday and the kinder will use the Wellbeing Room. 

We believe that this could be a great opportunity to build connections and partnerships with our closest kinder in the hope of gaining some of those families in the future. 

Mass Times

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers

Please see the note below and we will coordinate items for each class - collected Dec 9th.

'Once again, we rely on donations and donated funds. therefore it would be wonderful if you could please appeal to the 

Stella Maris and St Joseph's School Children, Families and Communities to donate the following items:

-towel, hand towel, face washer

-socks, t-shirts (for some/ as many as we can)

-toiletries including shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste

-non perishable food items, eg biscuits, chocolates, tea, coffee

-lovely Christmas gift'

Working Bee 

(9am - 12pm) Sunday 20th to give the school a spruce up!

Dad's Drinks 

Hey St Joe's Dads. Well, it's back for the third season, so come along to the St Joe's Dads Beers & Bets event at the Sandy Hotel. Join us any time from 1pm onwards on Saturday 19 November. It'll be the usual casual affair, with a few beers consumed and a few bets placed. This will be the fourth and final St Joe's Dads gathering for 2022. So if you haven't been this year, then now's a good time to start. And if you've been to the other three events, try to make it a quaddie. No need to RSVP, just turn up on the day. And contact Paul Davys + Ian Jones + Nick Harber + Sam Mannix if you have any questions. Cheers.

Testimonials & Video clips 

Parents please send any 10 - 20 clips of your child telling us what they love about St Joseph's. We will be hoping to stir up some interest with our best marketing strategy - which is your amazing children. Also if any parents wish to write a brief testimonial about St Joseph's and either send it to myself or Ben, we would love to add this to our marketing / website. Alternatively please post some positive   (bsandison@sjblackrock.catholic.edu.au ).

 🏫 Open Days 

We will continue to host Open Days in Term 4 - please encourage anyone you know to visit if they are looking for a great school next year.

Personalised tours are available through the office any day of the week.

ONLINE LUNCH ORDERS ~ EVERY FRIDAY

Please click on this link to place a lunch order https://www.classroomcuisine.com.