Principal's News   

Dear Parents, Carers and Families,

What a week! And what a term it has been!

It’s hard to believe that just ten weeks ago we began the term filled with excitement and anticipation. From the joyful welcome of our new Prep students, to our senior students stepping confidently into leadership roles, it has been a term full of growth, connection, and new beginnings.

Across the term, we have seen students form new friendships, settle confidently into their classrooms, and embrace our structured approach to learning with enthusiasm. It has been especially pleasing to see students quickly become familiar with established with our school routines, while demonstrating high expectations around participation, engagement, and positive learning behaviours.

It has been wonderful to watch each child grow in confidence, develop independence, and build a strong sense of belonging within our school community.

We finish Term 1 on a positive and celebratory note, with our Family Fun Day on Sunday bringing everyone together in a spirit of community and joy, and our Easter liturgies across the week providing meaningful moments of reflection and connection.

Thank you to our staff, students, and families for making this such a joyful, meaningful and successful term. 

Holy Week and Easter Liturgical Celebrations

This week all classes have shared the Holy Week and Easter stories in the Catholic tradition. It has been so lovely to see the children share their understandings of this sacred story, which is very important in our liturgical calendar.

You can see more information about our Holy Week liturgies on Ms Donnella DeVisser's Catholic Identity Page in this week's newsletter.

Prayer for Holy Week

As we come to the end of Holy Week and we bring our Lenten journey to a close, let us be grateful for God’s grace throughout this school term. 

Loving God, 

As we enter into the sacred mysteries of Holy Week may we be drawn closer into your eternal loving embrace. 

Open our hearts and give us strength to live with integrity and mercy. 

Lord, we lay our prayers at the foot of your cross and ask that in your mercy you will hear and answer them. 

Amen. 

Holy Week Mass Times in our Parish:

Easter Message from Archbishop Peter A Comensoli

In his Easter message, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli recalls the story of the first Easter morning, reminding us that ‘as dawn breaks, a quiet truth emerges: death has not had the final word; life has arisen.’ Christ, the light of the world, he says, ‘comes to meet us as the light we need’, not erasing our wounds, but transfiguring them.

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Fleischer Cakes - Hot Cross Buns

We are incredibly grateful to Stef and Pino from Fleischer Cakes for generously offering their hot cross buns to our school community at cost price. This kind gesture is greatly appreciated and reflects the strong sense of support within our school community.

These hot cross buns are truly exceptional- they have the most mouth watering smell and delicious taste! They are sure to be a highlight for many of our school families this Easter. Thank you again to Stef and Pino for their generosity and support.

St Joseph's Family Fun Day

What a truly sensational day we shared at our St Joseph’s Primary School Family Fun Day last Saturday! 

Despite the rain, the event was a great success, with joy, community spirit, and friendship shining through at every turn. It was heartwarming to see so many members of our St Joseph’s community, along with the wider Malvern community, come together to create such a fun, inclusive, and welcoming atmosphere for all.

This special event simply wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible efforts of so many people who went above and beyond. We are deeply grateful for the time, care, and dedication that made the day so memorable for everyone involved.

First and foremost, I would like to extend a very special and heartfelt thank you to our incredible major events coordinator, Fleur, whose tireless work and dedication brought this event to life. Supported by Jess Groenheide and Adrian Wills, this outstanding team turned a vision into reality in just a few short months.

A sincere thank you to our amazing Parents and Friends Executive Team - Stef Brunetti, Jess Groenheide, Angela Nicolai, Angela Lam, and Hayley Bowman - for their leadership and commitment. We are also incredibly grateful to our wonderful office team, Lynnette Stone and Isabelle Freeman, for their ongoing support behind the scenes.

We sincerely thank our generous event sponsors, including Lauchlan Waterfield from Belle Property Armadale, Simon and Dee from NAB, and TREK Bikes, along with our valued donors such as Masterfoods and Caprice Paper Products. 

We also acknowledge the many members of our community who continue to support us through their businesses and workplaces, including Nicola O'Connor (Kinderplay), Narelle Thompson (Cubbyhouse Canteen), Jane and Sascha Pausewang (Provincial Home Living) and Mary Stafford (Bega Group) and Aline Rolim for your marketing creativity in helping to design our fun day event and create the St Joseph's buntings for our stalls. Your generosity is deeply appreciated.

Our gratitude extends to the many creative and logistical contributors who helped bring the event together, including Dean Butler (Creative Design), Matt O'Connor (Print Set Up), Ben Garvey (Banner), Dean Tartaglia (Element Design – Sign Writer), and Fleur D'Altera (Promotions and Marketing), as well as the many families who supported promotional efforts through letterbox drops and community connections, including our staff - Niki Liolios and Marta Cummings.

A huge thank you to our dedicated parent/carer stall leads - Antigone, Tetyana, Fatima, Claire, Kate, Kylie, Sami, Annabelle, Jess D, Caz, Hayley, Angela N, Laura, Liv, Bianca, Aline, Natasha, Stef, and Angela L - along with the many volunteers, extended family members, and friends who supported both the lead-up and the day itself. From baking, crafting, collecting, and creating, your efforts did not go unnoticed and were so greatly appreciated.

We would especially like to recognise and thank our past students, current families, and the many students who generously gave their time and energy on the day. A special mention goes to our Year 5 students - Navy, Pip, and Matilda for their fantastic help running the Crazy Hair stall - your enthusiasm truly made a difference.

We are incredibly grateful to the many families and businesses who donated raffle prizes, adding excitement and anticipation to the day. In particular, we extend our most heartfelt and sincere thanks to Kylie Stanney, Sami Clark and Annabelle Mannix for their extraordinary efforts in coordinating donations, preparing hampers, and spending many hours on weekends coordinating teams as well as their own at shopping centres raising significant funds for our school. Whilst we do not have the total amount raised from the raffle we have estimated that this sits around a huge $15000!!! Our very lucky 'Raffle Prize Winners' who took away some amazing prizes:

1st Prize: Jared Lapthorne

2nd Prize: Jacqueline Chan

3rd Prize: Jono Claydon

4th Prize: Sarah Gerrand

5th Prize: Virginia 

6th Prize: Will Slater

Congratulations to these lucky winners! We hope that you enjoy your very special prizes!

We were also delighted to welcome De La Salle College and thank Principal Michael Illot, Deputy Principal Chris Pye, and the De La Salle students for their enthusiastic involvement and support throughout the day.

I also extend my heartfelt thanks to our staff, who generously gave their time to support the event. Their presence and genuine care for our students and families made the day even more special and reflected the strong sense of community we value so deeply.

Finally, thank you to everyone who attended and supported the day. Despite the poor weather in the morning, the turn out was amazing! Your presence and spirit brought this event to life. At the heart of it all, this day was for our children, and seeing their joy, laughter, and sense of belonging was truly the greatest reward.

On behalf of our St Joseph's community I thank everyone who played a part in bringing this wonderful event to life!

Sponsors and Donations

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our sponsors and the families who generously contributed donations for our Family Fun Day. Your support played a vital role in making the event such a wonderful success.

Every contribution, no matter the size, was deeply appreciated and helped create a fun, welcoming, and memorable experience for everyone involved. From prizes and supplies to time and effort, your kindness and generosity truly made a difference.

We are incredibly grateful to be part of such a supportive community, and we thank you for helping us bring this special day to life.

Open Book in Classrooms

Following the Holy Week Liturgies this week, it has been so wonderful to see so many of our families visiting classrooms to view the children' work and celebrate their learning. The children were so proud to share their learning with you. 

Firefighters Visit Prep

This week our Preps had a very exciting visit from the firefighters! The children learnt so much about fire safety. They learnt how to crawl down low and “go, go, go” if there is smoke, the importance of smoke alarms, the difference between good fires and bad fires and how to identify a safe meeting place outside. We are already looking forward to their next visit, when we will get the chance to have a look at their fire truck!

Principal Awards for Term 1

It is always a pleasure to recognise students who display our school values of Strength and Kindliness. Today at our final assembly for Term 1, I had the pleasure of announcing the Principal Awards for students who displayed our school values of Strength and Kindliness as well as awards for Excellence in Learning. Congratulations to the following students:

For Kindliness:

Maddie R

River P M

Chessie H

Matthew H

Frederica C

Coco O'C

Elsie P

For Strength:

Harrison C

Nico H

Frankie D M

Harry C

Nicholas A

Penelope W

For Excellence in Learning:

Bella M D

Jono E

Charlie F

Bella W

Felix K

Jimmy P

Harry S

Nicholas P

Open Days at St Joseph's

It is always so lovely to welcome prospective families through our gates. It is always such a joy to share our school and showcase what makes our community so special. 

The remaining official Open Days are being held across the following dates:

Junior Joey's Playgroup

Our Junior Joey’s Playgroup will commence again after the Easter break and school holidays led by our wonderful Prep and Junior Transition Leader, Ms Liolios.

Our playgroup mornings are always filled with joyful play, laughter, connection and a beautiful sense of community. They provide a special opportunity for families and young children to come together in a warm and welcoming environment, and we are very grateful to share this time with our community. 

Farewell Ms Siobhan O'Dwyer

Today we said a warm (and temporary!) farewell to Ms Siobhan O’Dwyer as she begins an exciting new chapter, preparing to welcome her second baby. Ms O'Dwyer has been a valued and much-loved member of our school community, teaching Year 3 and leading STEM across our school. She has brought tremendous care, enthusiasm, and value to both of these roles, making a meaningful impact on her students and in particular, her passion and work in the sustainability space have been truly inspiring, helping to foster greater awareness and responsibility among our students. Her dedication, creativity, and genuine care for every child will be greatly missed during her time away, and we are so grateful for all she has contributed. We wish Ms Dwyer all the very best as she enjoys this special and busy time with her growing family. We hope the months ahead are filled with joy, good health, and many precious moments. We look forward to welcoming her back in the future. Congratulations and best wishes Ms O'Dwyer!

Welcome New Staff

We are delighted to welcome two new staff members to our school community. Caoimhe will be joining us as our STEM teacher, bringing fresh ideas and enthusiasm to our science and technology learning area. Sinead will be stepping into the Year 3 classroom, taking over from Ms Siobhan O’Dwyer during her parental leave. We are excited to have both Caoimhe and Sinead on board and look forward to the knowledge, care, and energy they will bring to our students and wider school community. I know you will join me in welcoming them to our school community.

New St Joseph's Puffer Vests

As we head into the cooler months, now is a great time to consider getting one of these new puffer vests to complement the school uniform. They are an extra layer that helps keep students warm while still allowing for easy movement during play and learning. Olimpia in Year 1 absolutely loves hers!

Dogs on School Grounds

A friendly reminder to all families regarding dogs on school grounds. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students, staff, and families, dogs are only permitted in outdoor areas of the school and must be kept on a lead at all times, under the control of an adult.

Dogs are not permitted inside any school buildings at any time, including the hall, corridors, classrooms, foyer, or near main entry doors. If you walk your dog to or from school, please ensure it is securely tied up outside 

Please also note that children are not permitted to hold the leash or walk dogs on school grounds or around the playground before or after school - this must always be managed by an adult.

These guidelines are in place to support child safety and to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for all members of our school community. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

All Stars Defence Martial Arts Grading 

Last week All Stars Defence Martial Arts held their before school karate in-class gradings, at All Stars HQ in Bentleigh East, where our higher-ranked and older students had the opportunity to grade and were very successful.

First Day of Term 2- Monday 20th April

We look forward to seeing all of our children and families back again in Term 2 on Monday 20th April after a wonderful holiday and Easter break!

Dates for your calendar -Early Term 2 

• School Holidays Monday 6th April to Monday 17th April
• Term 2 Commences Monday 20th April
• Year 5 & 6 Camp Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th April
• ANZA Day Liturgy Friday 24th April
• Open Day Tuesday 28th April

Staying Connected...

At any time, if you have any questions or concerns about the wellbeing, care or learning of your child, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's class teacher, one of the school leaders, or Dean Butler, Deputy Principal or myself, Annabelle Marinelli, Principal.

Easter Blessings and Holiday Wishes

I wish you all a safe and enjoyable holiday break with your families and blessed Easter.  I extend my warmest wishes to you and your loved ones for a joyful and peaceful Easter season. And if you are travelling I wish you safe travels. Happy Easter!

With the warmest regards,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal 

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au