Principal News
Week 8, Term 2
Dear families,
We trust that that everyone welcomed the extra time over the weekend, and the children managed to find some valuable and much needed rest, in readiness for the run home to the half-year break. We certainly believe that the timing of the slightly longer weekend was perfect, especially for our Junior students, as the signs of fatigue and illness have started to set in. We encourage everyone to be gentle with themselves and others in these final few weeks of Term Two and, where appropriate, we kindly ask families to err on the side of caution by keeping students at home if they are showing any signs or symptoms of illness. While this is typical for this stage of the term, it’s important that we all respond with care and consideration to all members of our community - thank you for your understanding.
School Closure Day Success
Over the past few weeks our staff have been working incredibly hard to teach, assess, evaluate and report on all of the learning that has taken place across Term One and Two. Last Friday's school closure day was critical in allowing our teachers to spend time evaluating and moderating work samples and assessment data. As a school, we triangulate our assessment data, student work samples, and teacher observations to plot our students against the Victorian Curriculum standards.
We are proud to say that our staff go beyond simply the test and assessment scores, to evaluate all learning our students complete across a reporting period. We look forward to celebrating the growth and success of our students in the Semester One school reports that are published on Friday 27th June. We ask all families to read the Semester One Report newsletter page, which contains information regarding the changes that you will see in your child's student report.
Open Learning Session and Parent Teacher Interviews
Our annual Open Learning Session is scheduled for Friday 27th June, 8.30am - 10.30am. All families are invited to attend to view and celebrate student work across the school. Your child has been preparing particular work samples and projects to present to you, along with an analysis of their learning goals from Semester One.
The parent-teacher interviews will take place on the 1st and 2nd of July, (Term 2, Week 11). The timing of the interviews aligns with the release of the school report, providing an ideal opportunity to unpack your child's achievement across the year and to discuss their goals for Semester Two. Please refer to the Operoo message that contains the booking link for the interviews.
Year 3 Reconciliation Retreat Day
Our wonderful Year 3s spent today engaged in prayer and reflection (and pizza!), in readiness for their Sacrament next Friday afternoon.
Thank you to Miss Stanley, Mrs Pepper and Miss Dillon for the work they have done with the students, preparing them for this special step in their Sacramental journey.
The students will celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation at St Joseph's Church on Friday June 20th at 1.45pm.
Year 5 and 6 Curriculum News
Our Year 5 and 6 students have been very busy of late, competing in two different educational competitions. Last week, 17 students headed off to Korowa Girls School to compete in the Da Vinci Decathalon. The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy. We congratulate Sebastian, Zach, Kira, Phin, Ryan H, Aaran, Liam, Spencer, Maya, Jasmine, Clemmie, Joshua, Kalliopi, Max, Allegra, Emma S and Harriet S!
The Year 5 team placed 1st in 'Cartography' and 1st in 'Creative Produers', while our Year 6 team placed 1st in 'Legacy'. This is an absolutely incredible effort, considering we were competing against Melbourne Grammar, Korowa Girls Grammar, Camberwell Grammar, Wesley, Caulfield Grammar Malvern, Caulfield Grammar Wheelers Hill and Mentone Grammar. Go, St Joseph's!
In addition, this week, ten Year 6 students participated in the Ethical Olympiad debating competition. Students are given several real-world literature prompts in which they must argue both sides of. The prompts they're to argue focus on leadership, the greater good, friendship, honesty and artificial intelligence. During this competion, the debates took place online via Zoom, competing against schools from Melbourne, interstate, and internationally.
Congratulations to our incredible ethical debaters - Matt, Pen, Willow, Ava, Tom, Aaran, Spencer, Kira, Frankie and Zach. After a very mentally stimulating day of ethical debating, both teams were also awarded an 'honourable mention' for their efforts. Well done!
We give a sincere thanks to Mr Hartney for enabling our students to train for and attend both of these sessions. Our senior students are so incredibly fortunate to be able to participate in experiences such as these.
Netball and Football Lightning Premierships
We could not be more proud of our Year 6 students for representing our school so well at the Netball and Football Lightning Premiership competitions that were held yesterday and today.
The netball team, proudly coached by Mr Sandler and supported by Ms Amanda Bowman, worked so well and the students had a wonderful day. Playing in glorious winter sunshine, both teams played against each other in the semi-finals, with one team progressing to the finals against St Agnes. The Grand Final was an absolute nail-biter, with St Agnes clinching the win by just one point. We couldn’t be prouder of our netball teams. Not only did they show outstanding spirit, determination and teamwork on the day, but this year also marked a historic moment for St Joseph’s - having two teams advance into the finals for the first time ever! A heartfelt thank you to Mr Sandler for his calm, expert coaching and unwavering support throughout the season.
Our footballers had a fantastic day, winning all their games and bringing home the silverware for the 3rd year in a row! A three-peat, if you will! Mr Jansson and Mr Sandler proudly reported that the students were "amazing", displaying incredible skills, teamwork and inclusivity. We thank Glenn Morrisey for coaching the football team during the season, supported by Mr Jansson and Mr Sandler. After many years of coaching various St Joseph's sporting teams, Glenn is hanging up his whistle at the end of this year. We thank Glenn for the energy and enthusiasm he has brought our students across the years - we will miss you.
Junior School Community Walk – A Step Back in Time
Earlier this week, our Prep, Year One and Year Two students enjoyed a wonderful local history walk through Elsternwick. This real-life learning experience brought to life the rich discussions and classroom learning about how our community has changed over time.
As the children walked past familiar places, they viewed them through a historical lens, imagining how the buildings and landscapes once looked and how their purposes have shifted over the years.
A highlight of the morning was a delicious takeaway hot chocolate from Carter Lovett, enjoyed as they walked back to school. Back in the classroom, students chose one location from the walk to draw and write about, adding their reflections to the timeline project they’ve been working on. A big thank you to our wonderful parent helpers for supporting this special experience.
Year 3 Shrine Excursion
On Thursday, our Year 3 students visited the Shrine of Remembrance as part of their Topic unit exploring history through national days of remembrance and celebration. Welcomed by a guide, the students gained a deeper understanding of the Shrine as a significant public monument, dedicated to honouring wartime service and sacrifice. They explored the Sanctuary, the Crypt and the Gallipoli boat, and listened to stories of people and places connected to Australia’s military history.
The visit also helped students understand the many ways Australians commemorate those who served, through symbols like trees, statues, medals, rosemary, poppies, music and flags. Thank you to our parent helpers, Jane, Ashlee, Madeleine and Chloe, plus our wonderful teachers Miss Dillon, Miss Stanley and Miss Jen.
School Production Update
We certainly have some talented parents within our community and we are so grateful for their ongoing contributions across our school. Last Friday, during our Closure Day, we had several parent volunteers come and assist with costumes. We sincerly thank them for their support, as creating approximately 300 costumes is certainly a 'many hands make light work' approach! We acknowledge the wonderful volunteers - Julia F, Tara, Poppy, Lydia, Matilda, Christine, Nicole, Steph, Clo, Julia D and Sarah E, plus the handful of students who popped along to help out.
In addition, it has been such a joy to see our enthusiastic students rehearsing during their break times with Miss Dunk and Miss Mclean. The dedication from our students and staff has been quite exceptional and we still have several months to go before opening night. We will be running some sessions over the holidays with our main characters, to maintain the momentum with this rehearsal schedule.
Miss Mclean has taken on all the directing plus the choreography for the production, working with all classes and cast members from Prep - 6, and Miss Dunk is working hard with her incredible vocal coaching. You will be blown away when you hear these students sing!
Staff News
Next Wednesday (18/6) will be Miss Crawley's last day for Term 2, as she heads off to Ireland with her fiance, Mark, to get married! We send them off with all the love in the world for this special time, and can't wait to see photos of the big day.
Little Gems
Must do - read the P&F page to secure your tickets to the annual parent fundraising event!
There was a small Mary Poppins working bee to create the Year 2 pinafores. Thank you to Deb, Nic, Emma, Amanda, Susan and Carmen for working hard to get these completed for us - we are so thankful.
There were some Year 3 superstars showing off their work this week - Tom S finished Maths Fact Lab and Tommy R coded a game during his lunchtime Coding Club! Well done!
Piper (Prep) saw her Grandparents at Carter Lovett when she was out on her community walk this week.
Archie, the newest member of the Warren family, made his playground debut last week. He is already proving to be a very popular visitor!
There has been a steady stream of Year 1 students in the office, proudly showing off their amazing work. Well done, Year 1s!
We continue to hold Michelle Moore, her family, and all who loved her in our prayers following her recent passing, as shared in our community letter earlier this week.
Prayer of Remembrance
Loving God,
We thank you for the life of Michelle Moore - for her wisdom, her laughter, her leadership, and her heart. May she now rest in your eternal peace. Comfort those who mourn her, and help us carry forward the light she shared with so many.
Amen.
Thank you to our wonderful parent community for their continued support.
Wishing everyone a restful weekend.
Claire Tobin
Principal