Dear Parents,

I take this opportunity to thank our wonderful Vice Principal Sue Jackson for leading our school in my absence and our leaders Trish Brennan and Kate Huon for supporting Sue along with all of our St Joseph’s team.

I have had a wonderful time celebrating the wedding of my daughter Tahlia and her partner Jeremy. It was such a joyous, positive and connected time for all of the family and I am so grateful to have had long service leave to be fully present for the special occasion.

Following on from the wedding I was fortunate to have attended the Victorian Catholic Principals Association Bi- annual conference. The theme of the Conference was focussed on leading with strength. It was a wonderful experience where we listened to speakers who have led with strength in their lives including Soroo Brieley from the story behind the film Lion, Jelena Dockic former number 4 tennis champion, Mitch Tambo Indigenous musician and advocate and Craig Foster former Soccoroo and social activist. All of these speakers were simply inspiring and it was a privilege to be able to participate.

Enrolments

Enrolments are now open for 2025. If you know of anyone who would like to enrol their child at our wonderful school please let them know to ring the office for a tour. Please let any prospective families know they can just ring the office to book a tour. Our biggest marketing tool is word of mouth so please spread the word in our community how special our school is.

Uniform

We are so proud of who we are as a community at St Joseph’s and wearing our uniform is one way we demonstrate our high standards and connection to our school. It is an expectation that all students wear the correct St Joseph’s uniform. This includes the correct shoes, bags, coats. The school advisory board are on a continuous inquiry into our uniform and will be looking at upgrading some options. Students who do not wear the correct uniform will receive a uniform slip and we ask parents to address this concern. If you are suffering financial hardship please do not hesitate to contact me as we have an extensive second hand uniform shop along with vouchers and donations from wonderful Parishioners to ensure our students all have access to the correct uniform.

This includes the leather shoes which must be worn with the formal uniform. Black runners of any type are not permitted unless it is sport uniform day. We have vouchers from Bata, money from Parishioners and some uniform vouchers so please email me on principal@sjcribpoint.catholic.edu.au and I can assist you with the purchase of the proper shoes.

A big thank you to our board members Beth, Narelle, Sally, Laura and Maureen for volunteering to wrap our Easter Raffle prizes. we have 20 prizes for our raffle! Thank you again to families who donated and to those who have brought back their tickets. Money raised from our raffle will go towards the new playground and indigenous meeting place. If you would like to purchase more tickets please get in touch with the office. All money and tickets need to be in by Tuesday, March 26th.

Upcoming events

End of term assembly

We invite all of our community to our end of term assembly including the Holy week service, Spirit of St Joseph’s awards and farewells and celebrations. This will be held at 1.40pm on Tuesday 26th March. This will be followed by end of term awards and assembly. Students will be dismissed at 3.15pm for the end of term.

Just a reminder we have pupil free days on Wednesday 27th March and Thursday 28th March. These are scheduled in line with the government curriculum days. Our staff will be attending our annual Staff Conference where we will be learning more about Indigenous perspectives and Laudato Si inquiring deeper into our theme for 2024 of Be Kind, Be You- caring for self, others and the world. I thank parents for supporting the conference.

Students return for the commencement of Term 2 on Monday 15th April.

Anzac Day Parade- Thursday 25th April. Meet at RSL at 10.40am to march to the Crib Point Cenotaph. All welcome. This is a significant day for our school with our history underpinned by our connection to our Defence Force families.

Friday 26th April is a pupil free day.

Mothers Day Celebrations- All invited to our Mothers Day celebrations on Friday including a wonderful Mothers Day lunch and reflection. Save the date and invite friends and family.

I wish everyone a holy and safe Easter holidays and I look forward to continuing on our journey of striving for excellence and the full flourishing of every student in all that we do at St. Joseph’s.

Yours in Partnership,

Gab