Principal’s News

Principal’s News

Dear Families,

Term 4 has begun with a great flourish. The children have returned to school with high energy, excitement, and readiness to embrace all the wonderful opportunities ahead. So many events have already taken place with sporting events, grandparents morning, and of course our major school event our fabulous art show. The art show showcased the wonderful talents of our students. It was beautiful to witness the pride on the children’s faces as they shared their creative artworks with their families. The art show was coordinated by our amazing Visual Arts teacher Marta Cummings. Marta sees the best in every child. She helps them to believe in themselves and give everything a go. The masterpieces that were created were thanks to her vision and passion for visual arts. Marta even made sure that children who only started at the school this week had a piece of art to display. Thank you Marta for your tireless efforts in bringing this event together. Your inclusiveness of all children and kind and encouraging manner supported every child at St Joseph’s to feel like real artists who were free to express their creative talents.

Marta was supported by a wonderful art show committee consisting of Michael Hazell, Fleur D’Altera, Jess Purcell, and Nick Alston. They made an incredible team who generously invested their time to ensure we had such an incredible art show. We are looking forward to continuing to share the talents of our students with the wider community with our Makers Market tomorrow morning from 9am-1pm. Spread the word to friends and neighbours. All are welcome!

A special thanks to our major sponsors:

RBK Legal, Jellis Craig, Malvern Memorial Kindergarten, Stuart Cantor, Robin Stewart Artist, Hanna Rose Abstract Artist, Forman Art and Framing, Lukaitis, and Grill’d and to our Art Captains Tom and Peter, sewing club with Miss Karen, all the teachers and staff. It was a great team effort!

Welcome to our Rock Star Mrs Moore

Last Tuesday caused great excitement when Mrs Moore greeted our children and families at the gate. Hugs were definitely on the agenda. Michelle was deservedly welcomed like a rock star and the smiles on the children’s faces said it all. Even our new students who have started this year went and introduced themselves telling Michelle how they were excited to meet her as they had heard that she was the best Principal ever! Michelle then took the time to visit each classroom. She took great joy in seeing how much the children had grown, the wonderful learning that had taken place, and the beautiful friendships that had been formed. Michelle told the children how proud she was of them and how much she had missed them all. Each child was greeted by name and made to feel very special. In typical Michelle fashion, every parent, child, and staff member was made to feel known and loved by our beautiful and much loved Principal Mrs. Moore. We will have another opportunity to spend time with Michelle and pay tribute to her for her exemplary service to St Joseph’s at her special Mass and morning tea on Friday, November 8th commencing at 9.15am in St Joseph’s church.

Champions of Our School

Congratulations to the following children for their efforts in the Beachside Athletics competition. Alice - long jump

Amite - 200m (came 1st in her race and 4th overall)

Maximillian - 200m

Callum - 800m and 1500m (came second in both and will proceed to the next round on Monday 21st October.

Thank you for representing St Joseph’s. We are very proud of your efforts.

Principal Appointment Process

I wish to provide an update on the Appointment process for a Principal to our beautiful school. There were applications for the position however they were deemed to be not suitable. It is good to know that MACS is being very particular about securing the very best Principal for St Josephs. The position will be re-advertised over the next two weekends with the intention of securing a broader field of suitable candidates.

School Advisory Council Expressions of Interest

At the request of the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) board – our governing body, St Josephs has established a School Advisory Council to support the principal, parish priest, and leadership team of the school.

While no particular expertise is required, we are seeking people with a range of diverse skill sets to best advise the principal, united by a desire to provide the best possible education for our students.

A balanced membership with a parent voice on the School Advisory Council is well-placed to advise the principal about important matters, particularly those related to the school’s mission and students’ success.

The needs of the council will be given priority in terms of ensuring a balance of gender, cultural diversity, and skill sets.

Therefore, we are inviting you to express your interest in being part of the School Advisory Council in 2025. The SAC meets approximately 6 times a year on a Tuesday evening. The usual tenure for a SAC member is 3 years. If you are a member of the parish or have children in the school and wish to be part of the School Advisory Council we would welcome your expression of interest in writing to Cathy Mason cathy.mason@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au by Monday 21st October.

Library Volunteers

We are looking for any parents, grandparents, or carers in our community who may have time to help us with shelving books in our school library. If you have a love of books and have great organisational skills we would love to hear from you. Training will be provided.

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact either Karen Redenbach

karen.redenbach@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au or myself cathy.mason@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au

School Closure Days Term 4

Monday 4th November: No school for teachers or students

Tuesday 5th November: Melbourne Cup Day Public Holiday

Monday 2nd December: Staff Planning Day: No school for students

Year 6 Graduation Dates

Thursday 12th December: End of Year Whole School Mass & Year 6 Graduation Mass: 2pm

Thursday 12th December: Year 6 Graduation Celebration Evening

Friday 13th December: Year 6 Big Day Out (Last day of school Year 6 - 3.30pm finish)

End of School Year

Tuesday 17th December: Last day of school Prep-Year 5 (1pm finish)

Wednesday 18th December: Last day of school (Staff)

Have a lovely weekend.

Cathy Mason

Acting principal

Instrumental Music Program