Principal

Many people may have ventured away for the long weekend or stayed home- both great options. At times, staying at home and keeping it simple is a real 'break'. The Keenan family did a bit of both. I drove over to Yarrawonga for a night to see a friend from Macau. While in Yarrawonga I ran into two sisters I taught all the way back in my first couple of years of teaching in NSW.  We shared few laughs from memories back 25-30 years ago! A teacher's greatest reward is often a past student simply saying hello many years later.

Talking of past students from the same town in NSW, Nathan Lyon (current Australian Test cricketer) will be visiting Wangaratta, Shepparton and Echuca in April. I have been very fortunate to be part of Nathan's journey and have watched him play many Test matches in Australia and overseas. He will be conducting four events in each town, and one of these may interest you and/or your children. I will share the public advertising and notices when they become available.

The International Women's Day Breakfast hosted by FCJ was a huge success from my experience. Apart from meeting new people in our community, the four local women who spoke, along with the FCJ captains were excellent. 

I am always intrigued and motivated by pathways to success. "How do we measure success?" Well, the four ladies shared their successes and challenges. Thank you to Liz Hayes (Physiotherapist), Rachel Tharratt (Senior Media Manager), Sarah Osborne (Psychologist) and Tymicka Pierce (Department of Energy, environment and Climate Action).

Staffing Update

We have been without a Language Teacher during Term 1. Tanya Cardamone will join us at the end of this term and start class on Day 1, Term 2. Tanya joins us from Sacred Heart Yarrawonga. She will lead 'Italian' as our language. She brings a love of language and culture to St Joseph's. 

Eating and Playing

After seven weeks the routine of playing and eating is going well. It doesn't suit everyone as we train our stomachs, but please be assured if a child is hungry at 11am, they can sit down and have something small to keep them going. We do not play and eat at the same time. All children will still sit down at 11:33am and 2:10pm and have a meal together.

What have we noticed?

-The children are talking to each other while in a calmer environment

-happier children at eating time

-after a hectic 30 minutes of play, they have time to slow down before entering class

-children are eating

-routine movement before entering the classroom

P & F

The next meeting is next Tuesday 17th March at 9am in the staff room. All welcome. We will discuss some items as a focus for raising funds. Remining events for Terms 2/3/4 in 2026.

How can I support?

We have a number of events coming up and at times, your presence is all that is required and at times your help would be appreciated.

19th March- St Joseph's Feast Day (presence)

22nd March- School Parish Mass (bring your family)

Easter Raffle wrapping- we will communicate a time/date

2nd April- Hot Food Day (helpers required)

Thank you to the parents and staff (and FCJ students) for preparing and making the following possible for your children:

-previous Hot Food Day on Friday 27th February

-Thursdays Breakfast Club

-preparing for the upcoming Easter Raffle

Swimming O & M

We had a number of students represent our school with pride. Thank you to the families for travelling to Wangaratta. We had a very nice email from the P-12 school for welcoming two of their students into our tent for some shade for the day. See the sport page for more details.

OPEN DAYS and Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Sandhurst video

We have very good reason to celebrate Catholic Education.

Our OPEN Days are:

Wednesday 29th April 9:30am

Thursday 30th April 9:30am

We hold these during school hours so families can see 'school in action'. I can talk about how great our school is, but if you hear and see it, that's what matters most.

Advisory Council 

We met last Tuesday. Throughout the year we may have an opportunity to add people to the Advisory Council. I will communicate what the role of the AC is and some school agenda items for the next few years.  Succession planning is a positive process for any school or organisation. Our current members include David Keenan (Principal), Hayden Reeves (DP), Fr Vijay (Parish Priest) and parents- Georgie Wilson (Chair), Karlie Economou, Sarah Hill, Cara Hammond, Erina McKean, Sarah Wallis

At the Term 1 meeting we viewed a video presentation from Kate Fogarty (Executive Director), Child Safeguarding Standards, Wellbeing update and Community links, Terms of Reference, Annual Action Plan aligned with Magnify priorities, learning growth, and we started the conversation regarding the next 5-20 years for St Joseph's School. What does this look like (e.g. new administration building, classrooms)?

Open Classrooms

Thank you to those who visited over the two Thursdays. Generally, most students enjoy showcasing their classroom. A reminder to contact your child's teacher if you need to discuss anything. An email to arrange a face-to-face meeting is often the best process. At times a return phone call from the teacher is all that is required.

Meet the Principal Morning FCJ

150 Year anniversary

St Joseph's Parish celebrates 150 Years in 2026. We have a School Parish Mass on Sunday 22nd March at 9:30am. We would love to see as many families attend as possible.

Sport

Any sport related questions to be emailed to Brae at:

byoung@sjbenalla.catholic.edu.au

A reminder that we finish earlier on Thursday 2nd April at 2:30pm. 

School resumes for Term 2 on Tuesday 21st April for the students.

David Keenan (Principal)