Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to a new and exciting school year! I hope you all had a joyful and restful holiday season, filled with the peace and love that Christmas brings.

As we celebrate the start of 2025, let us remember the blessings of the past year and work towards the wonderful opportunities ahead. I look forward to working together with the school community to continue to build our supportive, faith-filled environment where our students can grow, learn and achieve their full potential. Our dedicated staff have been so committed in their preparation for the children to come back this week and the students have already settled so well in their new class environments and with their new teachers. The children are all so settled in their first week back which has been very promising to witness.

We have 153 students enrolled, 25 new kindergarten students, 14 new families, 6 new staff members and 24 staff members in total that we have welcomed back to St Joseph's for 2025. We especially welcome our new families to St Joseph’s. Those families are the Burgess, Cohen, Eggins, Harris, Holt, Landow, Lawson, Logan, Metcalfe, Naiduki, Sainsbury, Shaw, Walker and Wood families.

A special welcome also to the six new staff members:

Mrs Cate Munn (Interim Assistant Principal), Mrs Fiona Hillier Inclusion and Diverse Learning Teacher/Year 1 Reading Intervention, Mrs Karen Gardiner Year 6 class teacher and Digital Citizenship Leader, Mrs Emily Rhodes Year 1 teacher, Mr Joel Stankiewicz Yr 4 class teacher and Miss Kate Bradley Teacher Assistant.

Renewed Mission and Vision Statement

Last Friday, our staff Professional Development Day was centered around the Jubilee Year of Hope and beginning to renew our school Vision and Mission statement. Mrs Sandra Harvey, Head of Evangelisation and Religious Education at CEDWW facilitated part of the day with us and she explored the Mercy Charism of the school as the Mercy Sisters were the founding order here. We look forward to re establishing a relationship with the Mercy Sisters and continuing our journey this year as a school community to connect with past and move forward to the future with a new Vision and Mission statement.

Farewell Ella McCorry/Welcome Aunty Mary

Today our staff farewelled Miss Ella McCorry , our Aboriginal Support and Community Worker who started with us last year. We are so very grateful for her sharing of Aboriginal Culture so beautifully with the staff and students. She had a wonderful rapport with the ‘Dreamtime Dingoes’ Aboriginal student group and we will miss her dearly. Ella has painted three ‘Welcome Poles’ with our K-6 Students which will be placed near the front gate of the school when completed.

We wish Ella all the very best as she begins her Tertiary studies in Melbourne and we hope she comes back and visits us soon. Recruitment for another Aboriginal Support and Community Worker to replace Ella has begun.

We had a special visit from Aunty Mary Aitkinson, our Aboriginal Community Engagement Coordinator today to farewell Ella and catch up with our staff and students. Aunty Mary had time with our Year 6 students and Mrs Gardiner which included plenty of discussion about special places everyone had been to in the holidays including Barooga in Victoria where you can do the Bullanginya Dreaming walk .

Infants Nature Playground Construction

Over the holidays construction of the Infants Nature Playground took place. Although it isn’t fully completed, we are very excited to have a new stage under the cedar tree, a huge sandpit, a yearning circle around the peppercorn tree and a wooden Teepee. There is more to come but we have some pictures below of what has been completed to date.

SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee Meeting

Our first SJJU Social and Fundraising Committee Meeting will be held on Monday 17th February at the Junee Hotel starting at 6pm. We extend a warm welcome for all parents to come along, mingle, be part of this parent group and share ideas. Children are welcome to come and you can order meals to have during the meeting.

We will send a short newsletter home again next week so we are back on track with newsletters coming out on Thursdays (odd weeks).

God Bless

Angela Scott

Welcome Kindergarten!

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