Principal News

Dear families,

Today marks the close of our first term for 2025, and it's a perfect moment to reflect on and celebrate the many achievements of our staff, students and parent community. This term has been filled with rich learning experiences, joyful moments and meaningful growth. From classroom milestones to whole-school events, every success has been made possible through the dedication of our incredible staff, the enthusiasm of our students, and the ongoing support of our wonderful families. St Joseph’s continues to be a place of learning, connection, and heart - and this term has been a shining example of that. Thank you to each and every member of our community for the role you play in making our school such a special place.

The positive and calm tone across all classes remains the highlight of this successful term. In particular, our Preps have settled into school life so well, and our new students and families have made a wonderful transition into our warm and inclusive school community. Our Year 6s have been focused and determined, embracing the many leadership opportunities presented at this stage of the year. They have truly excelled this term and have set the bar for the rest of the year levels.

We thank our many parent helpers and the active P&F who continue to generously offer up their time for our community. We’ve simply had an amazing start to the school year and can look forward with much excitement and anticipation to the coming terms, including planning for the Parent Cocktail Party, August 2nd. We particularly acknowledge the Parent Reps in Years 1, 2, 4 and 6 for their work on the Prep Morning Tea, Welcome BBQ, Cake Stall and Easter Raffle this term.

We thank our amazing staff, who have invested so much in their students' wellbeing and academic progress this term. Their inspiring work continues to drive the many successes in our community, placing St Joseph's at the 'top of the tree' when it comes to a competitive educational landscape. Below is a snapshot of our Term One Achievements. We hope it will serve as a gentle reminder of the significant investment by so many, and why we are so well regarded within the wider community (and, perhaps, why the staff and students are ready for a well-earned break!)

✨ We began with a warm welcome at our Welcome Mass and P&F BBQ, followed by our Parent Information Sessions and Parent-Teacher Interviews, strengthening our home-school partnerships.

👩‍⚕️ Our students learned valuable life skills during the P-2 and 5/6 First Aid incursions, while staff participated in First Aid training of their own.

💬 Parents have had their voices heard through P&F meetings and School Advisory Council sessions, contributing to the strategic direction of our school.

🏊‍♀️ From the HOLT Swimming Carnival to the Years 3-6 Swimming Program, our students have shown teamwork and determination in the water.

🕊 We came together for important faith moments - Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday Mass, and our joyful celebration of St Joseph’s Feast Day.

📸 From school photos to a Channel 7 news feature, we've captured memories and made headlines.

🏛 Our Year 6 students experienced democracy in action during their Canberra Camp and welcomed MP Josh Burns to the classroom for real-world learning.

🧠 Our commitment to professional excellence was evident in external professional learning for Literacy, Maths and Leadership Coaching.

👣 Future steps were taken, with Open Days led by our incredible Year 6 Leaders, and Prep 2026 enrolment interviews, welcoming new families to our community.

📝 NAPLAN assessments provided a snapshot of progress in Years 3 and 5, while Parent Support Group (PSG) meetings ensured tailored support for individual learners.

🎭 The arts took centre stage as Mary Poppins JR auditions sparked excitement and roles were announced.

🐣 We finished the term with colour and community through our Easter Raffle and Harmony Day celebrations.

Year 6 Parliamentary Sitting

Well done to our Year 6s, for your superb effort with the Parliamentary sitting on Monday morning. Your preparation in actioning your learning was such a highlight and reflected your investment in this unit of work. From introducing the Bill, to convicting your argument; we were captivated by your presentations. We look forward to celebrating this unit with the final presentation to myself and Mrs Harrison early in Term 2. We thank our hard working and inspiring teachers Miss Shanahan, Mr Jansson and Mr Sandler for setting these high expectations for their students.

'Run Club' at Harleston Park

Thank you to Miss Dusting for getting this fabulous initiative up and running once again. Students in Years 3-6 who wish to run in the Cross Country competition are invited to train every Wednesday morning at Harleston Park. We are so thankful to our Years 3-6 teachers and Leadership members who faciliated this initiative, and it has been so lovely to see many parents in attendance, too. Good luck to all the students who plan to train over the Term 1 school holidays! The HOLT Interschool Cross Competition is scheduled for Week 2, Thursday 1st May.

Staff Professional Learning

Several staff members from St Joseph’s recently participated in professional learning opportunities to further enhance our exemplary teaching practices. As lifelong learners, our staff model the importance of continuous growth, showing our students that learning never stops. Through the StepLab Instructional Coaching Program, Miss Dusting and Mr Hayes are refining their coaching skills to support continuous teacher growth and improve student outcomes. Miss Shanahan, Miss Dusting and Ms Bowman attended the Yoshimoto Advanced Morphology Training todeepen their expertise in structured literacy, ensuring our approach to teaching reading and spelling is grounded in best practices. Additionally, Miss Melissa, Miss Anita and Mrs Foulkes participated in MacqLit training, developing targeted intervention skills to provide students with additional literacy support. These initiatives align with our commitment to educational excellence, equipping our team with the latest research-based strategies to support every learner.

Learning Diversity

Over the past few weeks, Mrs Gabe Sheahan has been running the termly PSGs for our families and teachers. We are indebted to Gabe for the incredible amount of work she does in this important role - supporting families, students and staff. We also sincerely thank our dedicated classroom teachers, support staff and LSOs for the significant work they do in writing and actioning various learning plans and goals for their students. As identified by many families, our staff go above and beyond for the students. Well done, team!

Term 2 School Uniform

As in previous years, there is a two-week grace period for the students to transition into their full winter school uniform. The second hand uniform shop will be open on Thursday May 1st, 8am, and Nicholls Schoolwear has all your needs covered for winter. A reminder that we have navy socks and black school shoes on school uniform days, and white socks and runners on sport days. See below for an outline of winter uniform items.

Winter Option 1 (Terms 2 and 3)

Tops: Blue long-sleeve school shirt (NEW for 2025) or gold long-sleeve polo shirt (phased out in 2026).
Bottoms: Navy gabardine long pants or navy shorts.
Outerwear: Navy school jumper, water proof jacket or polar fleece with logo.
Socks: Navy short socks (for shorts or pants).
Shoes: Black school shoes.

Winter Option 2 (Terms 2 and 3)

Tops: Blue long-sleeve school shirt (NEW for 2025) or gold long-sleeve polo shirt.
Bottoms: Navy culottes (NEW for 2025), or navy gabardine long pants, or navy tartan tunic.
Socks/Tights:
- Navy short socks (for trousers).
- Navy knee-high socks or tights (for tunic).
- Navy knee-high socks (for culottes).
- **Choose the correct socks for your uniform style; you do not need to purchase all three.
Outerwear: Navy jumper, water proof jacket or polar fleece with logo.
Shoes: Black school shoes.

Mary Poppins JR Cast

Last week we announced the main cast for our 2025 School Production of Mary Poppins JR. With 83 auditions for 23 main parts, the responsibility of cast selection was certainly not lost on us and we are proud of all of the students who bravely put themselves forward to audition for various roles. Congratulations to the following Year 5 and 6 students who have been assigned main parts for the production:

Bert - Rex S

George Banks - Arlo S

Winifred Banks - Isla T

Jane Banks - Zoe G

Michael Banks - Max O

Mrs Brill - Maya J

Robertson Ay - Charlie F

Mary Poppins - Phoebe F

Katie Nanna - Ava S

Neleus - Luca S

Bird woman - Laine W

Miss Smythe - Zoe McD

Chairman - Luke M

Von Hussler - Sebastian B

John Northbrook - Frankie B

Mrs Corry - Imogen F

Miss Andrew - Pen G

The Policeman - Liam J

The messenger - Phin H

Lead Chimney sweep/statue #1 - Morgan D

Lead Chimney sweep/statue #2 - Lara-Rose V-D

Lead Chimney sweep/statue #3 - Jasmine K

Lead Chimney sweep/statue #4 - Ava C

All students will have the opportunity to appear on stage across the two evening performances. We remind families that the dates are set for Wednesday September 17th and Thursday September 18th at the Caulfield Grammar Cripps Centre. The show will begin at 7pm on both evenings. The school will be closed on Friday September 19th, to aquit the significant amount of time in lieu staff will accrue over the two evening performances.

Harmony Day

We are calling it - BEST ONE YET! Photos just simply do not do the day justice. We are just so very proud of our students, as this annual community celebration is 'all' student voice and action.

Our students raised an impressive $2,765. All proceeds will go towards our social justice project in Timor-Leste via the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation. This is our 11th annual Harmony Day, and we estimate that we have donated approximately $25,000 over the years, with funds being directed towards school repairs, playgrounds, dentistry and tuberculosis treatments.

We thank the staff for working with the students on the day with their initiatives, and in particular Mrs Harrison and the Year 6 Social Justice Leaders, for working with the SRC and class teachers to ensure the day ran smoothly. We also thank Peter and Helen Newton from the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation and Father Ted Burns for attending the festivities.

Staff News

Mrs Doran went on maternity leave today, as she prepares to welcome her first child with her husband, Ger. Mr Hartney will also welcome his first child in the coming weeks, and take several weeks off at the start of Term 2 to settle into 'Dad mode'. Lauren and Tom - we wish you well and enjoy this next chapter of your lives. Tom is scheduled to return in Week 5, Term 2 and Lauren will return in 2026.

Next term we welcome Mrs Cassie Gleeson back from maternity leave. Cassie will join Mrs Sarah Nugent in the Numeracy Intervention team and we dearly look forward to having her back on staff. Cassie will be onsite Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Little Gems

Our teachers bring the magic - every single day! It’s days like today that remind us just how lucky we are at St Joseph’s. Our staff go above and beyond to build a sense of belonging and connection. Thank you for making Harmony Day so special for our students.

Maths Olympics is off and running! Mr Hartney ran the first session last week and Mr Hayes will be taking over while Mr Hartney is on leave.

Our Year 6s hard at work designing their 'ideal' playground and outdoor play spaces as part of their Parliamentary Committee.

Thank you to the parents and carers who were able to attend Mrs Harrison's Parent Helper course. If you missed the session or would like to know more about being a parent helper please contact Alannah aharrison@sjelst.catholic.edu.au.

We had a little visitor to Run Club last week, so Luke (Year 5) took it upon himself to run the whole way with him and then safely walked him back to school. Thank you, Luke!

And finally...

Congratulations students, staff and parents for your commitment and dedication this term. We have so much to look forward to in Term 2, so please check the key dates for the following: Mother’s Day Breakfast, Cross Country, Reconciliation,

Parent/Teacher Interviews, Year 6 Netball and Year 6 Football Lightning Premiership.

We look forward to seeing everyone again on Tuesday 22nd April for the first day of Term Two. Please note this is a ‘short week’ of school due to the public holidays for Easter Monday and Anzac Day falling in the same week.

Claire Tobin

Principal