Principal News

Dear Parents and Carers,

St Joseph’s Behaviour Curriculum 2027

As our planning for 2027 continues, I am delighted to share an important new chapter in the way we support positive behaviour at St Joseph’s. Next year, we will introduce a revised whole-school behaviour framework and a new Behaviour Curriculum, reflecting our continued focus on explicitly teaching positive behaviour, establishing clear and consistent expectations, celebrating good choices and ensuring every child feels safe, supported and ready to learn.

This work is a natural next step in the journey we began this year through the development and implementation of our St Joseph’s Instructional Playbook. Families will have noticed our increased focus on clear routines, consistent expectations and shared language across the school. The Playbook has helped us establish greater clarity and consistency in our staff practices, and the new Behaviour Curriculum will build on this strong foundation by extending that same whole-school approach to the way positive behaviour is explicitly taught, modelled and supported.

This approach will also be reflected in a redesigned student award system for 2027. Our current Principal and Class Awards will be replaced by a single Student of the Week Award.

The award’s primary focus will be the positive behaviours, values and expectations explicitly taught through our Behaviour Curriculum. It will also recognise the broader qualities that reflect what it means to be a kind, respectful and positive member of our St Joseph's community. This more focused approach will strengthen the connection between what we teach, what we value, and what we acknowledge and celebrate.

I sincerly thank Luke Daffy for the work he has undertaken throughout the year to bring this initiative to life and Alannah Harrison for her work with our SRC to ensure 'student voice' is evident in this process. I also acknowledge our staff for their thoughtful input and commitment to strengthening a consistent whole-school approach that supports every student to flourish. I encourage all families to visit the Deputy Newsletter Page, where we explain the new Behaviour Curriculum in greater detail and invite families to contribute by completing a brief survey.

Year 4 Sacrament of Eucharist

Last Thursday evening, our Year 4 students celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist surrounded by their families, teachers and members of our parish and school community.

It was a beautiful celebration, marking an important milestone in the children’s faith journey.

We extend our sincere thanks to Mr Hayes and Miss Freeman for preparing and supporting the students, Father Leenus for celebrating Mass with us and to everyone who helped make the evening such a meaningful celebration.

Year 3JC Zoo Snooze

Last week, our Year 3JC students enjoyed an unforgettable overnight adventure at Melbourne Zoo as part of their Zoo Snooze experience. The children explored the zoo after dark, learned more about its incredible animals and habitats, and shared a very special night with their classmates. They embraced every part of the experience with enthusiasm, and outstanding behaviour.

We received wonderful feedback from the Melbourne Zoo camp leaders, who were extremely impressed by our students. Year 3JC were their very best selves and represented St Joseph’s beautifully - we could not be prouder of them! Thank you to Mr Capp, Miss Stanley and Miss Jen for taking the students away for their first St Joseph's camp experience.

Prep 2027 Orientation

Two Prep 2027 orientation sessions are now complete, with just one more to go!

Our newest students have settled in beautifully, approaching each session with enthusiasm and plenty of smiles. It has been wonderful to see them becoming familiar with the Prep classrooms, school routines, their teachers and one another.

We have also loved welcoming our new families into the St Joseph’s fold and look forward to sharing many happy years with them as part of our community. We are grateful to our P&F for organising coffee at Carter Lovett for our families while the Preppies worked at school.

A sincere thank you to Miss Dillon and Miss Showell for the warmth, care and thoughtful preparation they have brought to each session. Their efforts have helped ensure our incoming Preps and their families feel happy, confident and ready for the exciting journey ahead.

2027 Swimming and Water Safety Program

We are pleased to share an update to our Swimming and Water Safety Program for 2027. These changes reflect the feedback received through the parent survey circulated in Term 3, and we thank families for taking the time to share their views.

Our Year 5 and Year 6 students will transition from the traditional pool-based program to a single day Surf Life Saving water safety program on Friday, February 26. This experience will provide students with practical skills and knowledge to help them stay safe in beach and coastal environments.

Students in Years 1–4 will participate in a four-day pool and water safety program at the Danny Frawley Centre in Term 4, 2027. The program will continue to develop students’ swimming confidence, water awareness and essential safety skills. This revised approach will provide students with age-appropriate water safety learning that develops as they move through the school. Further information about both programs will be shared with families closer to the dates.

2027 School Closure Days & Time in Lieu Arrangements

As outlined in previous newsletters and discussed with our School Advisory Council, the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement requires all MACS and Victorian government schools to schedule four additional student-free days in 2027, bringing the total number of mandated school closure days to eight. St Joseph’s has planned these dates carefully and, wherever possible, aligned them with long weekends, public holidays and existing school breaks in an effort to minimise disruption for our students and their families.

Our scheduled school closure days for 2027 are:

Wednesday, January 27 and Thursday, January 28 – Professional learning and preparation for 2027
Friday, March 5 – MACS School Review preparation, scheduled before the long weekend
Friday, May 21 – Report writing
Friday, June 25 – Compliance and mandatory online learning modules
Friday, August 13 – Compliance and mandatory online learning modules
Monday, October 4 – Term 4 planning
Friday, November 26 – Report writing

Separate from these eight mandated closure days, our existing Time in Lieu arrangements will continue in 2027. These arrangements recognise the significant additional hours worked by staff at school events held outside normal working hours.

Time in Lieu arrangements will include:

a pupil-free day on Monday, November 1, before Melbourne Cup Day
a pupil-free day on the Friday September 17, following the school production
our usual early finishes at the end of term
the 2027 school year concluding for students on Tuesday, December 14, 2027.

We recognise the impact that student-free days and altered finishing times can have on families. By sharing the full schedule well in advance, we hope families have sufficient time to plan their work and care arrangements for 2027.

A full list of 2027 Term Dates is now available on our Key Dates 2026 & 2027 Newsletter Page.

Class Placements for 2027

Over the coming weeks, our teachers will carefully consider class placements for 2027, taking into account each child's social, emotional and academic needs. Our priority is to create balanced classes that support positive relationships and effective learning environments. As part of this process, students have nominated five peers they learn and work well with, including students from across their year level. We will endeavour to place every child with at least one of their nominated peers. Parents wishing to share specific educational considerations regarding their child's placement are to email me directly at principal@sjelst.catholic.edu.au by Friday, 13 November. Please note that requests for particular teachers or friendship groups cannot be accommodated.We appreciate your trust in our teachers' professional judgement as we work to achieve the best outcomes for all students.

Year 6 Hoop Time Regional Finals

Congratulations to our Year 6 Hoop Time team on an outstanding performance at the Regional Competition! The boys played brilliantly throughout the day, demonstrating terrific teamwork, determination and sportsmanship as they progressed all the way to the final. They faced a very strong opponent and finished runners-up after a hard-fought 19–11 game. Reaching the regional final is a fantastic achievement, and we could not be prouder of the way the boys represented St Joseph’s. Well done!

Junior School Werribee Excursion

Our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students recently enjoyed a wonderful excursion to Werribee Open Range Zoo, supporting their Term 4 Biological Sciences learning. As part of the visit, students participated in the Habitats and Features program, where they built upon their classroom learning about animal features, adaptations and life cycles. They investigated how animals are suited to their environments and developed a deeper understanding of the ways animals grow, change and survive. A highlight of the day was travelling through the open-range zoo aboard a safari bus.

Parents and Friends Update: New Playground

Excitement is building as we prepare for the installation of our new Blue Playground, beginning Monday November 23!

Design only, chosen colours are blues and greens

This wonderful project has been fully funded by our P&F, and we remain incredibly grateful to the committee, parent volunteers and every family who has supported P&F fundraising activities. Their generosity has made this significant improvement to our school grounds possible.

The playground will be officially blessed and opened during our school assembly on Friday, December 4 at 9am. We look forward to celebrating this exciting addition with our students, families and wider school community. Further information about the installation and opening celebration will be shared closer to the date.

St Joseph’s Footy Classic - We Need You!

After 5 years of dedicated service, Ben Gibbs is stepping down from his role coordinating the much-loved St Joseph’s Footy Classic. We extend our sincere thanks to Ben for the extraordinary amount of time and energy he has given to this special community event. His tireless work behind the scenes has ensured the Footy Classic has continued to be such an enjoyable and successful occasion for our families.

We are now seeking an individual or small group of parents and carers to take over the coordination of the event. Ben has generously offered to provide a comprehensive handover and share his resources and experience with the incoming coordinator or team. If you are interested in becoming involved or would like further information, please speak with Ben Gibbs or Claire Tobin. This is a wonderful opportunity to help continue a much-loved St Joseph’s tradition.

Sexuality Education and Protective Behaviours

We extend our sincere thanks to Cath McCallig from Sex Ed 4 Schools for leading our Year 5 and Year 6 Sexuality Education and Body Image Program over the past three weeks. Our Year 3 and Year 4 students participated in their age-appropriate sessions this week and the next two weeks. This important program supports students to develop a healthy understanding of their bodies, puberty, relationships and body image. It provides accurate, age-appropriate information in a safe and respectful environment, while giving students the language and confidence to ask questions and better understand the changes they may experience as they grow. Cath’s sessions complement the important conversations families have at home. This partnership between school, families and specialist educators helps students develop confidence, self-respect and positive attitudes towards themselves and others. We are very grateful to Cath for her expertise, sensitivity and engaging approach, and for supporting our students with such important learning.

Whole-School Christmas Carols

Our Whole-School Christmas Carols will be held on Thursday, November 19, from 5.00–7.00 pm at St Joseph’s Primary School. Families from Prep to Year 6 are warmly invited to join us for a joyful evening of Christmas music and community celebration as our students share their carols. We sincerly thank Mr Hayes and Mr Isaac for bringing this wonderful event to life for our community.

Our wonderful P&F will have a BBQ and refreshments available to purchase throughout the evening. We thank them for their work in helping make this special event possible. Familes are also welcome to bring a picnic basket to share.

Italian Day at St Joseph’s – Friday, November 20

Join us as we celebrate Italian language, culture, food and art! Parents and carers are warmly invited to attend our morning assembly and costume parade from 9.00–9.50 am. Children are encouraged to wear the Italian colours of green, white and red, or an Italian-inspired costume. Simple, homemade outfits are encouraged, and students should wear comfortable shoes for the day’s activities.

The celebrations will begin with a panettone breakfast from 8.00–8.45 am, available for $4. Throughout the day, students will enjoy a wonderful range of Italian-themed activities, including soccer, bocce, art, craft and games. They will also enjoy pizza and gelato, with one slice of pizza provided for each student. Thank you to Signora Butera for planning this special celebration and to our Year 6 students for helping to organise and lead the activities.

And finally...

As we come to the end of a short but very full week, I thank our students, staff and families for the energy and enthusiasm they bring to St Joseph’s each day.

There is so much to look forward to as we move through the final weeks of the school year, including Year 5 Camp, our Christmas Carols Concert, Prep 2027 Orientation, Italian Day, Year 4 Camp, Year 5 School Captain Speeches and our new playground.

I am incredibly proud of all that continues to be achieved across our wonderful school.

Wishing all families a safe, happy and restful weekend.

Warm regards,

Claire Tobin

Principal