St Joseph the Worker Primary School

A Message from the Principal 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

St Joseph the Worker is a great school, and our fantastic students continue to achieve their best through so many outstanding learning opportunities. In the past few weeks students have participated in an Anzac Day assembly, mass and cross age activities to celebrate St Joseph the Worker Day, interschool sport, incursions, cross country, open classrooms and assemblies to celebrate our learning and acknowledge special events.

 

We hope you enjoy reading our latest newsletter and finding out what our students have been up to and other important school information.

 

Acknowledging Our Wonderful Mums

A very big thank you to our Parents and Friends for organising another very successful Mother’s Day stall today. It ran very smoothly, and the students were so excited to shop for presents and the variety on offer was amazing. Well, done P & F group. I am looking forward to assembly this afternoon and at our Mother’s Day Mass and morning tea tomorrow. I hope many Mums and significant women in our community can join us at this special event.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and admiration for all the incredible mothers, grandmothers, aunties and significant women in our community. Your love, strength and unwavering support are the cornerstone of our community. Whether you are raising your young children, supporting grown children or nurturing friendships and relationships, your dedication and selflessness does not go unnoticed.

On Mother’s Day, l hope you take some time to pamper yourself, relax and enjoy the love and appreciation that surrounds you. Thank you for everything you do today and every day.

 

Building Grant Applications

As you are aware, in 2023 the School Advisory Council supported me in applying for a building grant for St Joseph the Worker from the Commonwealth Government.

We will know if we are successful in our application for this grant in June this year.

In the meantime, l also recently applied for a Government Capital grant and l remain hopeful that we may be successful with one of our applications. I thank our School Advisory Council members for their ongoing support and assistance with these applications.

 

Cross Country - update

Congratulations to all the students who recently represented St Joseph the Worker at the Zone Cross-Country. Participants were: Liana C, Sierra C, Olivia V, Joseph B, Ella C, Levi B, Matthew P, Isaac O, Isabella A, Alessio C, Alexia A, Cedric O'B, Lara Z, Sienna P, Alexander A, Phoebe R, Adele McG, Boston P, Grace B, Salvador R andPaulG. Congratulations to Alexia, Liana, Sierra, Olivia, Joseph, Levi, Matthew, Isaac, Alessio, Cedric, Paul and Alexander who have qualified to compete in the Division Cross Country Championships at Bundoora Park on Thursday 30th May. Thank you to Vanessa, Josie and the parents who attended and supported our students on the day, with a special thanks to Cara for preparing our students so well.

 

Influenza and other illnesses

We have had many students away from school in the past few weeks. We have had some COVID-19 cases and families have reported that their children are suffering from high fevers, poor appetite and feeling very lethargic. I ask all parents to remain vigilant. Please maintain good hygiene habits, closely monitor your children for any symptoms and take any appropriate action and seek medical attention if required.

 

What to do if your child gets sick

To help keep your child and our school community safe, please take the following steps if your child has any cold or flu-like symptoms:

  • Keep your child at home until their symptoms pass.
  • Common flu-like symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, loss of appetite, body aches and feeling extremely weak and tired.
  • Diagnosis of the flu can only be confirmed by a doctor after a nose or throat swab.
  • Encourage your child to wash their hands regularly and ask them to cover their nose and mouth when sneezing and coughing.

It is important that children and young people have the best possible protection against the flu and COVID-19 by getting vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines are available free of charge to everyone aged 5 years and over in Australia.

Flu vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 6 months and over. Flu vaccinations can be booked through GPs and pharmacies, many of which can also provide COVID-19 vaccinations.

 

School Absentee

Just a reminder that if your child is going to be absent from school, you must submit the Absentee eForm via Audiri. If your child is absent from school and you have not submitted an eForm, your child will be marked as unexplained, and you will receive an SMS notification about this.

 

We also ask that you avoid picking up your child early from school as this disrupts their learning. Early pickups should only be for an emergency or for an appointment that cannot be scheduled out of school hours. Thank you for your support in this matter.

 

School Winter Uniform

Students are now wearing their full school winter uniform and the school hat becomes optional. Thank you for your ongoing assistance in ensuring your children are meeting the dress code of our school.

 

Just a reminder that students' hair (both girls and boys) must be tied back if it is shoulder length or longer. We would remind families to please ensure all clothing is clearly labelled. Boys are required to wear the school white shirt during Winter, not the Summer short sleeve shirt.

 

Black leather school shoes are a compulsory part of our school uniform. Black runners are not school shoes. If your child’s school shoes cannot be cleaned with black nugget, then they are not school shoes! Sports shoes, or runners can be worn on Sport/PE day only.

Please note - the wearing of the correct school uniform is compulsory. Ensure that the sports fleece jacket is only to be worn with the sports uniform only on sports days.

 

Working together in partnership - Parent Resilience Workshop

Earlier this year, Geraldine and l participated in a workshop presented by Psychologist Maria Ruberto. Maria has over 30 years of clinical experience, consultant to hellodriven.com, research partner to Southern Cross University and Swinburne University, consulted to Beyond Blue & reachout.com, and co-designer of Resilience First Aid – a nationally accredited resilience program. This was a very informative workshop and Maria is now offering parent workshops. Please see the attached flier with information regarding these sessions if you are interested in finding out more about how to support your child being resilient.

 

Important Dates for Term Two

We have another pupil free day this term on the following date:

Tuesday June 13th - (Day after King's birthday holiday)

 

Please keep our Year 4 students in your prayers as they continue their important preparation for receiving the Sacrament of Eucharist on Sunday, 26th May 10.30am.

We ask St Joseph the Worker to continue to bless our wonderful school community.

 

May St Joseph the Worker protect us.

Kind regards,

 

Maria Barnes

Principal