Principal News
Important Dates - 2025
Week 1, Term 1 - Welcome back!
Dear families,
It was an absolute delight to welcome everyone back to St Joseph's last week, as the students returned for their first day of the school year. The classrooms were buzzing, with many happy parents introducing themselves to their child's new teacher, and the students becoming familiar with their classroom and excitedly greeting their friends. In particular, the turnout for our 'welcome back' assembly was fabulous and such a special way to begin the school year. After assembly we had our traditional Prep group photo, and everyone's photography skills were put to the test to snap a photo of their little one's first day of school. What special memories!
As with all the classes across the school, our Preps made such a wonderful start to school and this bodes so well for the year ahead. We were so very impressed with the way they lined up and walked around the school on their very first day! Miss Nardella and Miss Mclean have done the most wonderful job at settling their little ones into school.
At the top end, our Year 6s have hit the ground running, meeting with Josh Burns MP ahead of their camp to Canberra and getting organised to begin their Leadership Roles. Today we formally celebrated the Year 6s as they received their leadership badges at assembly, and we dearly look forward to working closely with this special group of students in their final year at St Joseph's.
Next week, they are off to Canberra for their school camp and we wish them all the best on this big adventure! For the first time, the students will be flying home on Thursday afternoon, after 4 big days of activities and sightseeing. We sincerly thank Miss Shanahan, Mr Jansson, Mr Sandler, Ms Bowman and Mrs Harrison for going away with the students on this camp.
New Families
We extend a warm welcome to all the new families joining us this year:
Andronis, Atfield, Beggs, Cervantes, Cho, Courtney-Tonner, Cox, Grech, Gungaram, Halpin, Harrington, Lauritz, Maaser, O'Malley, Paine, Pavlou, Puri, Reilly, Solomon, Theodore, Trajkovski, Tran, Wilson, Wodetski, Youl.
We are delighted to have you as part of our community, and look forward to forging strong and positive relationships over the years to come.
2026 Enrolments and School Tours
Enrolments for Prep 2026 are now open and we ask all families to submit their applications as soon as possible. In particular, we must have all sibling enrolments submitted as soon as possible so we can allocate places to our new families. The enrolment application is to be completed via our School Website here: https://www.sjelst.catholic.edu.au/applynow
Our Open Days are scheduled and prospective families can book a tour via the website for one of the dates below:
Friday 21st February, 9am - 12.30pm
Tuesday 25th February, 9am - 12.30pm
Monday 3rd March, 9am - 12.30pm
Our families are our greatest advocates, so keep spreading the good word about our amazing school to your friends and family. Tours are always welcome outside of these hours, so please contact the office at your earliest convenience should you be unable to make one of the above times.
New Astroturf
Over the holidays, the school was a hive of activity as we had new astroturf laid and nets on Orrong Road installed. The updated playspaces have been a huge success, with many games of cricket, hopscotch, soccer, tennis and basketball being played on the updated spaces. The installation of fence nets, which stop the balls from going over into the Presbytery and onto Orrong Road, and the addition of a second set of soccer goals, has also ensured the newly laid soccer pitch is being actively used by our Middle and Junior School. It has been a wonderful, and much needed, rejuvenation of this space and we sincerly thank our Parents and Friends Association for the incredible fundraising efforts which enabled us to complete this project. These achievements reflect a significant investment in both our school and, most importantly, the future of our children.
School Production Announcement
It was a delight to announce today that our 2025 School Production will be 'Mary Poppins JR'! Performing in a school production plays a vital role in children's development, by fostering creativity, communication skills, collaboration, self-discipline, and growth in confidence, and all students at St Joseph's will have the opportunity to appear and perform on stage.
This year, our School Production will be held across two evening performances, on Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th September at the Caulfield Grammar Cripps Centre. All children will perform on both nights. Our Year 5s and 6s will be given the opportunity to audition for main roles, and more information regarding this will be communicated later this month via the class bulletin.
Parents and Friends - Meeting
Our first P&F Meeting of 2025 will be held on Tuesday March 4th at 6.30pm in the staff room. We strongly encourage all Parent Reps and any parents who would be interesting in lending a hand this year to come along. Our outgoing presidents, Ben Gibbs and Jen Conway, will be discussing the updated roles and responsibilities of the P&F and outlining the ways in which parents can be involved in various events across the year. Please make sure you read the P&F Newsletter Page this week for further details.
Prep and Year 5 Buddy Program
Our Prep and Year 5 buddy program started on the first day of school, with our Year 5s taking to their roles as mentors with ease. For many of our students, they consider this relationship as one of their most treasured over their primary school journey and the Year 5s have been reminiscing on who was their buddy, when they were in Prep, and how well they were looked after when they started school. This week, they have engaged in shared lunches outside and lots of buddy playtime, and this program can often be one of the key ingredients in settling our Preppies into school life. Thanks to Miss Dusting and Mr Hayes for coordinating with the Prep teachers.
SRC & Environment Leaders
Congratulations to the students who were voted in as their class SRC or Environment Leader today! Working with Mrs Harrison (SRC) or Mrs Doran (Environment), these students will take on some extra responsibility this semester in these two crucial areas. A full list of names will be published in the next edition of the school newsletter.
School Photos
School Photos are booked for Thursday February 27th. Please send your child to school in their full summer uniform. Year 6s will need to also wear their rugby jumpers. If your child has their Sport lesson on this day, please pack their runners in their school bag.
School Uniform
Our new school uniform items are proving very popular and the students look absolutely beautiful in their new blue shirts and navy shorts or culottes. The new sports jacket is also available for purchase and is able to be worn with both the regular and PE uniform. Nicholls Uniform in Brighton have all available items and the Second Hand Uniform Shop will be open at various times through the year, run by our wonderful Parents and Friends Association.
Across the week the students will wear school uniform four days per week and sports uniform once per week. When wearing school uniform, it is expected that students will be wearing black leather school shoes, not black runners. Hair must be tied back if it is longer than shoulder length. The hair ties/ribbons/scrunchies/headbands must be school colours (navy, white and/or gold) please. Students are expected to wear the school hat (and no other hat) until the end of April and apply sunscreen every day when the UV is 3 or above.
Entry and Exit on School Grounds
There are two entry and exit points at our school for drop off and pick up: the gates on Sandham Street and Staniland Grove. These gates are supervised from 8.30am to 8.55am and from 3.25pm to 3.40pm. After 8.55am, the only access to the school is via the main reception on Sandham Street. All other gates will be locked.
After school, students are not to go into the sports tubs or sports shed to collect equipment to play with. Students are permitted to play on the adventure playgrounds when they are in the care of a supervising adult. All students have been reminded of these expectations.
Parents and guardians are asked not to park in the staff car park at drop off and pick up, as this causes issues for staff who are looking for a park before work.
If riding a bike or scooter to school, the children are to dismount at the gate to ensure the safety of others. This also applies at the end of the day - no bikes or scooters are to be ridden on the school playground.
Please note, the speed limit on Orrong Road, Sandham Street and Staniland Grove is 40km/h as you approach the school.
Dogs at School
For the safety of all students, staff, and families, dogs are not permitted inside school buildings at any time. If you walk your dog to or from school, please ensure it is securely tied up outside, away from the foyer and/or main doors. Dogs must remain under the control of an adult at all times - children are not permitted to hold the leash or walk dogs around the playground before or after school.
Student Mobile Phones / Smart Watches
We ask families to remind their children that all mobile phones and Smart Watches (i.e. any device with cellular capacity) are to be handed in to the classroom teacher at the beginning of each school day. This aligns with the Victorian State Government Legislation. Parents who need to contact their child can do so by contacting the school office and a message will be passed on. Thank you for your cooperation.
School Closure Days
The school will be closed on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th March for the staff to undertake professional development. I thank you in advance for your understanding and trust our families will make the most of the extra long weekend. The school will also be closed for the Labour Day Public Holiday, on Monday March 13th.
School Fees
The school fees, levies and camps are billed for the whole year at the beginning of Term 1 and were emailed out last Thursday. If you didn't receive your statement via email please contact Moira McKinnis, School Finance, (mmckinnis@sjelst.catholic.edu.au). Families are welcome to pay their school fees off in a manner that best suits their needs i.e. in one annual payment, by the term, month or fortnight. BPAY is the preferred payment method, however payment can be made at the school office by EFTPOS or cash.
Statements will be resent out at the beginning of each term as well as reminder statements where required throughout the term. A fee statement will only show any payment made by the debtor since the last statement was sent out, but feel free to email Moira if you wish a full transaction history report.
The expectation is that school camps be paid for in full before the child attends the camp and that the equivalent of one quarter of the total fees be paid by the end of each term.
If you change your email address, residential address or any contact phone numbers, please let the office know as well as updating it yourself in Operoo.
Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund (CSEF)
If you have a Health Care Card that was current on 30/01/2025, please email Moira for CSEF and Concessional Fee Rebate Application Forms (policy can be found on the school website). CSEF Applications close on 14th February.
Year 6 Canberra Camp
Our Year 6 students will soon be undertaking an educational tour of the National Capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. The Australian Government recognizes the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the National Capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship Education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $45 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
Little Gems
Our staff gathered on Tuesday evening to update critical first aid and CPR skills. The trainer was very impressed with everyone's skill level - your children are in excellent hands!
Mrs Gleeson and baby Lucy popped in for a visit this week, much to everyone's delight. She was greeted by a welcoming party at the front door before taking a tour of the classes to say hello. We look forward to welcoming Mrs Gleeson back to St Joseph's in Term 2.
The P&F Second Hand Uniform stall was very busy today! Thank you to our stall coordinators, Jen and Anita, for setting this up for our families.
It was standing room only for our first blockbuster assembly of the year. We love having parents and special friends stay for our school assemblies, it is such a special community celebration for us all.
As is tradition, we have had a steady stream of Year 7 students stopping past to visit their Year 6 teachers. I snapped this photo of some students from De La Salle who came past this afternoon. It is very special when our ex-students visit and we love hearing how they are settling in to their new school environment.
And finally...
I’m delighted by how smoothly our year has begun—this doesn’t happen by chance! Our strong start is a testament to the dedication of our families and staff, ensuring our students are set up for success from day one. Our Preps—and all our students—have settled in beautifully, embracing school life with enthusiasm and a love of learning. Well done, everyone!
A very proud principal,
Claire Tobin