Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the beginning of the 2025 academic year! I hope you all had a restful and joyous Christmas season with your loved ones. As we step into the new year, I am filled with excitement and gratitude for the opportunities that lie ahead.

We are looking forward to another year of faith, learning, and growth at St Joseph's. As a Catholic School within the Archdiocese of Melbourne, we aim to provide our students with the best kind of education possible, one that fosters a formation of the whole person that is deeply and enduringly humanising. We strive to foster not only academic excellence but also spiritual, emotional, and social growth in our students. I am confident that, with the help of our dedicated teachers, staff, and parents, we will continue to make this a place where every child can grow and flourish in the love of Christ.

Important Dates for Term 1:

Kaboom Sports Morning - Wednesday 12 February (time TBC)
Whole School Welcome Barbecue Wednesday 12 February 5:00pm - 7:00pm
5/6 excursion to Parliament House - Friday 14 February
Parent Teacher Introductory Meetings - Monday 17 February 12pm - 8pm
Year 3/4 City Camp - Thursday 20 and Friday 21 February
Upper Yarra District Swimming Carnival - Monday 24 February
Pupil Free Day - Staff Professional Learning - Tuesday 25 February
Shrove Tuesday - Tuesday 4 March
Ash Wednesday - Wednesday 5 March
Labour Day - Monday 10 March
Pupil Free Day - Time in Lieu Acquittal - Tuesday 11 March
NAPLAN (Yr 3 and 5) - 12 - 24 March
Catholic Education Week - 16 - 23 March
District Athletics UYSC - Friday 28 March
St Joseph's Annual Staff Conference - Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April
Please mark these dates on your calendar. These are important for staff professional development, curriculum planning and the acquittal of Time on Lieu.

New Staff & Changes:

We are thrilled to welcome a new teacher to our school community this year.

I know you will join us in welcoming Matilda Fraser, who will be job-sharing in Year Three with Megan Urquhart. Meg will be in class from Monday to Wednesday and Tilly will be in on Thursday and Friday.

Faith, Prayer and Liturgy:

As we begin the year, we are mindful that the Catholic faith is the heart of everything we do. In this Jubilee Year, our theme is "Pilgrims of Hope." Through prayer, liturgy and religious education we aim to provide students with an opportunity to experience hope in God's love which enriches our lives. We will explore ways to deepen our relationship with God and with each other, both inside and outside the classroom. We will continue to pray together as a school. We will celebrate Class and Whole School Masses at different times throughout the year and we warmly welcome parents to join us for these special events.

Parent Involvement:

Our school community thrives when parents are actively involved. We were thrilled with the attendance at our learning showcases, year-level barbecues our Wellbeing Showcase, Sports events and our Mothers and Fathers Day Celebrations. Many of our parents have completed our Parent Helpers Course in 2024 and have helped out in classrooms, on excursions and at sports events. We warmly invite parents to join our Parents & Friends Group and let us know if you are interested in membership of our School Advisory Council. Parents who don't have time to commit to ongoing involvement throughout the year are welcome to volunteer for individual, one off events. All parents need to do is attend one of our upcoming Parent Helpers Courses and present their Working with Children Card. Your support and presence make a big difference. Stay tuned for dates for our Online Parent Helpers Course.

Building Master Plan

In Term Four last year, I shared with you some concept drawings from Sibling Architects, developed following consultation with the students and staff. The next stage of the consultation was to bring parents and carers in to hear their thoughts on the plans. This has been put on hold because the Bushfire Consultant has informed us that some of these plans do not comply with the Bushfire Standards developed since the Black Summer fires. Consequently, we have had to rethink what we will build and where it might be located.

The Master Plan will still include the renovation of the main building, demolition of the remote portable buildings and the construction of new classrooms and Specialist Learning Areas. However, these will need to be constructed in a space further away from our more heavily wooded areas of the school. We will also need to reduce the fuel load currently growing next to our buildings, particularly around doorways and windows. We have a meeting on 11 February with our architects, bushfire consultant, Country Fire Authority and Environment Authority. We hope this will provide us with clarity around our pathway forward. See below one of the construction ideas under consideration:

I invite you to keep our school, our students, and our community in your prayers as we embark on this new journey.

Kind regards,

Nick.

Nicholas Boyhan

Principal

F/1/2 Weekly Schedule

Monday:

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday