Principal News

Pope Francis

We give deepest thanks for the life and leadership of Pope Francis. His compassionate, wise, and deeply pastoral presence has been a gift to the world.

We pray for his eternal rest in the embrace of the God he so faithfully served. May we continue to hold close his profound understanding of what it means to be truly human, and be inspired by his daily example as God’s gentle and humble servant.

May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Week 2, Term 2

It was a delight to welcome you all back to St Joseph's last week, after some much needed rest and relaxation. We sincerely hope that our families had a refreshing break, or extended break with the Anzac Day long weekend, in readiness for the full and exciting term ahead. A highlight for Mrs Harrison and I was visiting the classrooms to hear all about the holiday activities - our students certainly enjoyed themselves.  

It should come as no surprise that we have started the term with gusto! At our most recent staff meeting, it was lovely to acknowledge the many wonderful opportunities our students are currently being provided with - production rehearsals, Cross Country, Year 6 Leadership Initiatives, Martial Arts workshop, Interschool Soccer, Years 5&6 Cybersafety Police Visit, Year 3-6 First Aid classes, guest speakers, and various excursion and incursions (just to name a few), it is such a blessing that we are able to offer our students such an enriching program. As always, we dearly thank our dedicated teachers for going above and beyond the call of duty to provide these experiences for our students. 

Staff News

We are thrilled to let our community know that Lauren Doran and her husband, Ger, have welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world, Fionn Laurence O Dea. Mum and baby are doing so well and everyone is very much in love with little Fionn. 

We are also thrilled to share some photos of Mr Hartney's baby girl, Summer, pictured below with her fur-brother, Harold. 

It has been a delight to have Cassie Gleeson back from maternity leave. She has been working in the P-2 Teaching and Learning team alongside Mrs Nugent and will be onsite Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We also warmly welcome Jo Foggo to the LSO team. Jo will be working on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We know everyone will make Cassie and Jo feel very much at home.  

St Joseph’s Master Planning Journey

As we look ahead, we are excited to begin the next stage of our capital development journey at St Joseph’s, supported by Smith + Tracey Architects and Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS). Next week, Smith + Tracey will visit the school to meet with staff and the School Advisory Council (our parent advisory group) as we create our Master Plan to plan for the future growth and improvement of our facilities. This includes not only our indoor learning spaces but also our outdoor environments, ensuring they continue to support high-quality teaching, learning, and community engagement. 

An updated and detailed master plan is essential to position us for future federal and state government funding opportunities, making this an important step forward for our community. At St Joseph’s, we believe that inspiring learning environments, both inside and outside the classroom, are essential for nurturing the potential of every child. Through strategic capital and landscape developments, we are committed to shaping spaces that reflect our vision for excellence, community and growth. It is exciting to see St Joseph’s not only building for the future but also retaining its strong reputation as the school of choice within the local area, which is a testament to the strength of our community and the quality of education we offer.

ANZAC Day Liturgy

Thanks to our wonderful Year 4 students for their reverent ANZAC Day liturgy last Thursday morning. Our students sat so still and were so respectful, you honestly could have heard a pin drop. As part of our liturgy, the Year 4 students shared prayers and the history of ANZAC Day. Well done to our Year 4s, and their teachers Miss Crawley and Miss Coldebella, on leading a wonderful tribute. 

Interschool Cross Country

Congratulations to our successful Interschool Cross Country Team for placing 1st in the HOLT Division! All students in Years 3 - 6 who wanted to participate were able to, and our 160+ strong team had a wonderful day, demonstrating exceptional team spirit and good manners. 

Once again, we thank our dedicated staff for supporting the students on the day and Mr Sandler for coordinating this big sporting program. We must also acknowledge the students' commitment to their 8am Wednesday training runs. Meeting every week at Harleston Park, our students faithfully ran laps in preparation for the big day. Thank you to Mr Sandler and Miss Dusting for organising this wonderful initiative for our lucky students. 

Production Update

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! It has been so joyful to hear the students singing their hearts out, as production rehearsals for Mary Poppins JR officially began this week. From before-school singing lessons, group rehearsals during Music lessons or choreography with Miss Mclean, it is hard to know who is enjoying themselves more - the students, Miss Dunk or Miss Mclean! We are so fortunate to have two incredibly dedicated and talented staff members working across our production and we thank Miss Dunk and Miss Mclean for the many hours of work they have put into the show already. 

We also sincerly thank the team of parents who have volunteered for various jobs - sourcing props and costumes or helping to design/build sets. There has been a steady stream of items dropped off at school and we remain so thankful for the active role our parent community are playing to support us in putting together this spectacular performance. 

If anyone wishes to help out, please contact Lisa Mclean via email lmclean@sjelst.catholic.edu.au or see her before school in the Prep LM classroom. 

Parents and Friends Update

Our Term 2 meeting for the P&F will be held on Wednesday 28th May at 6.30pm in the school staff room. All parents are welcome to attend this meeting and we ask our Class Reps make a special effort to be in attendance, please. The main agenda item we will be discussing is the Parent Social Event for Term 3.

The St Joseph’s P&F annual cocktail party is on Saturday August 2nd at the Elwood Bowls Club. Please put the date in your diary, as it will soon be time to book a babysitter or plan to send the kids off for a sleepover. 

This year, we will be auctioning off seven year-level art pieces, one from each year level, from Prep through to Year Six. The students will be creating these during their art classes in preparation for the auction, and if the beautiful artwork currently on display around the school is anything to go by, we are certainly in for something special.

Mother's Day Stall & Breakfast

The Mother's Day Stall was held today and we thank our P&F Parent Representative's from Year 5, Louise, Sophie, Lucy and Katie plus helpers, for sourcing items for sale and running the stall on the day. 

The Mother's Day Breakfast will be held on Friday 9th May from 7.45am, hosted by our Year 3 P&F Parent Representatives - Kayne, Amber, Sanchia and Sam and many other Year 3 parent volunteers. Our Year 3 students have prepared a special assembly, which will be presented at 9am in the atrium. We hope to see lots of our beautiful Mums and special friends at school, so we can celebrate you, and all that you do.

School Uniform

In our efforts to maintain a consistent and fair approach to our practices and policies, we remind all families that children need to adhere to the school uniform policy. In the first two weeks back, students can wear either the full summer uniform or the full winter uniform. A list of uniform expectations can be found on our school website (scroll down for Uniform). 

The navy straight shorts and navy culottes are part of our winter uniform, for those students who dislike wearing trousers (even in the colder months!). The fleece jacket is back in stock at Nicholls Uniform on Martin Street.  

Families are asked to not mix and match the Winter and Summer uniform styles (i.e. tights cannot be worn with summer dresses). 

Please note the following items do not sit within our dress code and we ask for parent support in upholding these expectations:

• Long sleeve t-shirts under school tops and shirts;

• Extreme hairstyles e.g. shaved hair designs;

• Sneakers outside of prescribed sporting programs (school shoes must be changed back into after training);

• Socks other than navy or white, or socks that are branded with logos; 

• Earrings other than studs or small sleepers; 

• Beanies, other than the school beanie (can be purchased from the school office);

• Hair below the collar must be tied up and off the shoulders to prevent the spread of headlice. 

Sacramental Dates

We have settled on dates for our Sacramental programs in Years 3, 4 and 6 - please see below. We look forward to coming together to support the students in the lead up to these special occasions.

Wednesday 23rd June, 6.30pm - Year 6 Confirmation Family Faith Night with Father Elio Capra

 Thursday 31st July - Year 6 Confirmation Retreat Day (students only, at school)

Thursday 7th August, 5pm - Year 6 Sacrament of Confirmation Mass, St Joseph's Church

Friday June 13th - Year 3 Sacrament of Reconciliation retreat day (students only, at school)

Friday June 20th, 1.45pm - Sacrament of Reconciliation, St Joseph's Church

Monday 20th October - Year 4 Sacrament of Eucharist retreat day (students only, at school)

Thursday 23rd October, 5.30pm - Year 4 Sacrament of Eucharist, St Joseph's Church

**Families are asked to note the change of day to Thursday this year. 

Year 5 and 6 Winter Sport - Football, Netball and Soccer. 

On Friday afternoons during Term Two, our Year 6 students will play football or netball against other schools from our local area. Students are welcome to play either sport, with Mr Jansson coaching the football team and Mr Sandler coaching the netball team. When playing 'home' games, netball will be played at school and football will be played at Princes Park Oval in Caulfield. Parents are always welcome to attend the games to watch. Our 6s played their first games today against Our Lady of Lourdes in Prahran. Next week is an away game against St Columbas Elwood. 

On Friday 23rd May our Year 5 and 6 students will play Interschool Soccer against other schools from our local area in a 'round-robin' style competition at Caulfield Park. We have an incredible 73 students attending this tournament - a testament to the strong sporting program we have at St Joseph's. Families are most welcome to attend the day to support the school. 

All Stars Martial Arts

Earlier this term, our students achieved some amazing milestones in the Before School Karate program (see attached photo). Below is a summary from their teacher: 

We saw outstanding improvements in their focus, discipline, and confidence. In early April, in-class gradings were held for our 5–6-year-old students, who demonstrated great progress and determination. Following this, several of our 7-year-old and older students took part in the Victorian State Grading Day, proudly representing our school as they attempted their next level of grading.

On Monday, all students participated in a 30 minute martial arts workshop with All Stars. Thank you to Rod for providing this for our students. 

School Assemblies

School assemblies are held on Fridays in the atrium at 9am. Families are always welcome and encouraged to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, announcements from students and teachers, awards and birthday acknowledgements. Please see the scheduled for class items below. 

Working With Children's Check (WWCC)

A reminder that all parents/volunteers require a current WWCC to take part in any school activities.  Familes are encouraged to check the expiry date on their card and begin the renewal process if necessary. Please contact Moira if you are not intending to renew your card and you will be deleted from our system.

Little Gems

Lochie proudly wore his Dad's medals for his presentation at the Year 4 Anzac Day liturgy.  

The strong theme of 'staff dressing the same' continues into Term 2... 

Our Year 10 St Kevin's community service students started this week and will be here every Wednesday afternoon for Term 2. We were delighted to host the boys, and especially thrilled to be welcoming back Maxi, Will, Charlie and Hugo who attended St Joseph's in their primary years. 

Michael (Prep) and Rex (Year 5) spotted playing together before school. Rex is Nicholas' Year 5 buddy. 

Pat and Zoe (Year 5) preparing to share the winner of Joey at assembly. Joey is awarded to the most 'sustainable' (i.e. environmentally friendly) class each week. 

Behind the scenes of Mr Sandler taking a photo of the winning Cross Country team. 

Thank you, everyone, for making our first 2 weeks back so successful! We are looking forward to another fulfilling week, 

with lots to celebrate.

Claire Tobin

Principal