A Message from the Principal 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

What a wonderful day we had today at St Joseph the Worker.  It was wonderful to see all our students dressed up for Italian day and fabulous that so many families joined in our celebrations at our parade this morning and assembly this afternoon. A huge thank you to Signora Lina, staff, students and to our parent helpers today.

It has been a busy couple of weeks as teachers are finishing reports ensuring they can provide you with information about your child’s progress this semester.  Students have demonstrated growth in their learning and should be congratulated on their efforts this semester.   Reports will be sent home on Thursday, 27th June. 

Congratulations to Matthew P and Olivia V on their fabulous efforts competing yesterday in the Northern Metropolitan Region, Cross Country at Kilmore. Both Olivia and Matthew did very well and should be very proud of their efforts yesterday.   

Staffing Updates 

Next term we are welcoming Leah Marino to our team. Leah will be working in SLA 1 Wednesday – Friday. Leah will be working in SLA 1 during the next two weeks to meet staff and students.  

I would like to acknowledge and thank Josie Trinchi for her wonderful work in SLA. I am very grateful to Josie for the wonderful professionalism and support she has provided to staff and students in SLA.  

We are also saying goodbye to Paige. Our very best wishes to Paige who is beginning maternity leave at the end of this term. We wish you much joy as you embrace parenthood for the first time. 

Long Service Leave 

l would like to let everyone know that l am taking long service leave travelling to the UK and America, beginning on Monday, 8th July and returning on Monday 5th August.  Whilst l am away, l leave you in the very capable hands of Geraldine Crowe (Acting Principal) and members of the Leadership team. 

Cybersafety  

St Joseph’s the Worker is committed to promoting and maintaining a safe and welcoming community for all families and students. Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all students is the school’s paramount duty and support families in managing the challenges of keeping their children safe online. 

As part of our commitment to promoting and maintaining a safe and welcoming community for all families and students, the school was recently visited by a Senior Constable Andrew Moreton from the Preston Police station. 

Andrew led a very informative session with our students from Year 1 – 6. Families were also welcome to attend an evening session with Andrew and whilst numbers attending were not large, the messages were very important. In light of this, we are now organising a parent only meeting to be held later in the year.  All sessions were highly valuable and a great way for the students to gain real insights into the need to be safe when online.  I have included some of the information Andrew shared with our students, in this newsletter for your information.  

School Reports 

Our mid-year school reports will be sent home next week. We hope all families were able to celebrate the children's effort and achievements over the last six months. Please remember that all students have experienced two years of interrupted learning. Teachers are focusing on specific areas of need for every child and are putting in place the necessary programs and resourcing to support every child’s learning needs. We will continue to work closely with you to support your children. 

Child Safety  

At St Joseph the Worker Primary School, we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our school. We expect that school employees, volunteers and community members to proactively ensure the safety and wellbeing of students at all times.  

Last week we conducted a practise drill to ensure staff and students are confident in knowing the emergency management procedures.  The school practised a lock down and post exercise, we reviewed our procedures to ensure we are compliant. Most Importantly, staff and students followed our procedures, and everyone was safe.  

Casual Clothes Day 

On the last Friday of this term, students can wear casual clothes to school. We ask students to donate a gold coin on this day to support Vivian in her education in Tanzania. St Joseph the Worker has a proud history of supporting students at the school of St Jude so that they can attend school and gain an education. Further information about the wonderful work of the School of St Jude can be found at https://www.schoolofstjude.org 

School Fees 

A gentle reminder to all families that two terms of fees should have already been paid, unless you are paying by direct debit. It is essential that school fees and levies are paid on time to enable the school to meet its financial obligations. We are committed to providing quality Catholic Education to all Catholic families in our Parish and if at any stage you are finding it difficult to pay school fees, I ask that you contact our Bursar or myself immediately. 

We will be contacting all families who have not made any payment this year as there are many outstanding fees owing at this time. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact the office and make an appointment to see Marisa. 

Contact Details and Medical Information 

Please ensure that the school has up to date contact and medical information.  Contact the office immediately if there are any changes that would affect the medical management of your child.  

A reminder that all medication needs to be sent to the office with an authority completed for us to administer the required dosage (A medication authority form is available at the office.  Please note these forms are not required for students with asthma or anaphylaxis).

As this is the last newsletter of the term, I would like to thank everyone for their support and understanding in working together to test your child regularly and isolating them when they show symptoms. Your efforts have helped keep our school safe and ensure that learning continued.  

A big thank you to our students who have been amazing this term. Even with the cold weather, we have continued to ensure that classrooms were warm yet well ventilated. By working together, we have been able to look after the safety and wellbeing of everyone and continue to engage in our learning.  

I would like to acknowledge the wonderful efforts of our staff who have worked together to ensure that students remain in classrooms working with their peers all this term. Excursions, incursions, a visit from dancers, together with sporting events have supported the students in enjoying all school life again. I thank all staff for their continued professionalism this term and their dedication to ensuring students and their learning remain our priority.   

Fr Manny is currently unwell, and l ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers. We look forward to seeing him again next term. 

We ask St Joseph the Worker to continue to bless and keep safe, our wonderful Parish and School Community.  

Kind regards,

Maria Barnes

Principal