Principal's News

Dear Families,

It is so wonderful to see that we are now in full swing with our Prep children settled into new routines, new friendships and new learning, and the rest of our classes engaging in building new relationships with their teachers and their peers and lots of new learning in classrooms. It is also great to see our senior students having a voice and taking the lead with new ideas and initiatives and taking on new responsibilities across the school.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! At our assembly this morning, the Year 1C students shared with us why St Valentine is such an important person and why this special day is remembered each year. They shared messages of how we can how show love to each other.

And a special thank you to one of our very thoughtful parents for making Valentine's Day special for our staff too!

Principal Induction Program & Commissioning Mass

On Thursday I was very honoured to be part of the Principal Induction program of which other new principals also attended. We participated in a day of learning, but the highlight of the day was the Commissioning Mass celebrated by the Very Reverend Episcopal Vicar Mark Reynold's, and attended by the MACS Exec Team and many other MACS consultants and principals. I look forward to this learning journey with the other new principals and I promise to bring this excitement, energy and new learning back to our beautiful community at St Joseph's.

Prayer

For this week's prayer, I would like to share the First Reading from the Principal Induction Mass that I attended yesterday. It had a beautiful message about leading with love, being thankful, with gratitude in our hearts. It is a reading that I will hold close to my heart as I lead the community of St Joseph's.

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Colossians. 3: 12-17

Over all these, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.

You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience.

Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.

Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.

And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body.

Always be thankful. Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom.

With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The word of the Lord.

Rescheduled Welcome Picnic- Now Thurs 20th Feb

Next Thursday 20th February, our amazing P&F will be organising a Family Picnic for all of our families.

The afternoon will begin with Kaboom Sports for all of the children. This will run from 3:30pm to 4:30pm. The children will participate in their class groups. Class teachers will be supporting Kaboom with the events and parents are required to be at school supervising their child from 3:30pm onwards.

After Kaboom Sports all families will gather for a picnic from 4:30pm to 6pm in the school grounds. There will be a sausage sizzle and icy-poles available for purchase and you are invited to BYO drinks.

We are very excited about this first event for 2025 and extend this invitation to our whole school community. It is a great way for you and your children to get to know each other!

Reconciliation Preparation

On Tuesday night Ms. Donnella DeVisser and Fr Gallacher led our Year 3 children and their families in a special ‘Family Night’ in preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It was lovely to see the parents sharing their experiences of Reconciliation with their children. Fr Gallacher shared some beautiful pictures of significant moments in Jesus' life and shared stories with the children about the meaning and purpose of Reconciliation. There will be a Commitment Mass for our Year 3 children this coming Sunday at 10:30am at St Joseph’s Church. We hope that we will see many of you there to support these children and to pray for them.

Child Safety

"The care, safety, and wellbeing of all children and young people is a central and fundamental responsibility of Catholic education."

Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools

All Catholic schools are places of welcome and safety for all students and their families. Children have the right to be safe and protected at school. As parents, carers, and guardians of students in Catholic schools, it is important you feel confident that your child is safe and well in the care of the school.

At St Joseph's we know that students thrive at school when they feel happy, confident, and secure. Your child’s wellbeing is our first priority. All children have the right to feel physically and psychologically safe and at St Joseph's we work hard to ensure this safety for all members of our community.

Our school works with parents, carers, and guardians to strengthen the wellbeing and learning outcomes of all students within a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment. We engage in strategic planning which focuses on the development of school-wide practices and cultures that enable children to reach their potential in all areas – spiritually, cognitively, physically, emotionally, and socially.

Our school leadership team regularly reviews and strengthens our child safe practices, and works with staff, parents, carers, and guardians to build and maintain a culture in which children’s safety is embedded in everyday thinking and practice. This requires respect, understanding, and compassion for all, as an integral part of all that we do.

Child Safe Standards

At St Joseph's, we hold the safety, wellbeing, and protection of all children and young people in our care as a central and fundamental responsibility of our school. This commitment is drawn from and inherent to the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice, and the dignity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel.

All schools need to meet legal requirements for the care, safety, and welfare of students. At St Joseph's we are committed to enacting the Victorian Child Safe Standards:

Learning at St Joseph's

This week we hosted a number of staff from another school within the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools who spent the whole day at St Joseph's learning and observing our evidence-informed literacy practices here at St Joseph's.

We thank our amazing Literacy Leader Amanda Jackson for her knowledge and expertise in leading our dedicated staff in these research-informed best practices. A special shout out to the classroom teachers who modeled MSL sessions in their classrooms. To say the visiting teachers were blown away would be an understatement! We are proud to share this knowledge with other Catholic schools so that they too can deliver high-quality teaching and learning for the students in their schools as we do here at St Joseph's.

MACS' Vision for Instruction

Earlier this year, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) introduced a new plan to help every student succeed: Vision for Instruction.

Based on evidence of how students learn best, Vision for Instruction promotes a unified and consistent approach, and continuous improvement to meet the changing needs of our students. It provides all MACS teachers, including the teachers at St Joseph's, with the training and resources they need to ensure excellence and equity in all our schools.

Research on how students learn shows that explicit instruction methods are the most effective way to help children gain the knowledge and skills they need to flourish and become lifelong learners.

Vision for Instruction promotes explicit instruction, a way of teaching in which complex skills are introduced to students in small steps, supported by clear explanations and demonstrations of what students are expected to learn. Students then practice what they have learned and receive feedback from their teacher until the skill is mastered.

More information can be found in the Parent Guide to Vision of Instruction. Please take the time to read MACS' Vision for Instruction so that you are aware of the exciting approaches that we are implementing here at St Joseph's.

At St Joseph's many of the components of the Vision of Instruction are already a strong part of our current practice.

Structured Literacy at St Joseph's

Many of you may have already seen and read media reports related to the latest research around literacy instruction, that we must establish a 'structured literacy' approach that includes a systematic focus on phonics for decoding, which is essential in early primary years. At St Joseph's we are proud to say that our approach to Reading and Writing Instruction is aligned with the latest research. We implement a Structured Literacy approach with the explicit, systematic, and sequential teaching of literacy occurring from Prep to Year 6.

Our daily, two-hour literacy block focuses explicitly on the learning areas of Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening. During this time students are exposed to explicit teaching and a wide variety of quality literature. In Prep, Year 1, and Year 2, literacy learning begins with the explicit teaching of phonics, using the Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) approach. MSL incorporates five essential steps for effective reading instruction - identifying letter sounds, sounding out words, fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Students in Years 3 to 6 receive direct instruction around sound-letter patterns and spelling generalisations, focusing on morphology and etymology, using evidence-based programs.

School Assembly

It was so fantastic to see so many parents at our assembly this morning. It was a lovely opportunity for you to meet our school leaders, SRC captains, and the recipients of the STAR Awards. Thanks to Ms. Meg Correy and her wonderful Year 1 children for sharing their learning about sentences and questions and their messages about love on Valentine's Day. Let us remember to continue to show love to our friends and our families and especially to those who might be having a hard time, not just today, but every day. Our wonderful Year 3 students from Ms. Donnella DeVisser's class also reminded us about our STAR values and our school values of 'Strength and Kindliness' and how we can show these values every day. At the assembly, the senior students who will participate in Monday's Dendy Swimming Carnival were also presented with their swimming caps. We wish you all the best for this exciting day! We thank our wonderful teachers Tanya Huebner, Christie Birch, and Dean Butler for all your work in preparing the students for this day of swimming.

Shout out to our Canteen Mums!

A huge thank you to Talia and Tennille for preparing the delicious lunches for our children at our school canteen. Not only does the food smell and look amazing but they do this with a smile on their face! We appreciate you both so much!

And I scored a little treat from the canteen today too! Thank you!

St Joseph's 2025 Concession Fee Policy

In line with our Concessional Fee Policy (which is available on the school website), discounted fees are available for families experiencing financial difficulty (including those on an eligible HCC). Any family who is experiencing difficulties in meeting their financial commitments or wishing to discuss alternate fee payment arrangements for 2025, is asked to arrange an appointment with the principal. Please do not hesitate to make a time to see me if this applies to you.

Reminders

Being SunSmart

As the very warm weather continues and the UV levels are very high, our school is committed to implementing SunSmart awareness. It is timely to remind everyone that hats must be worn during the warmer months. It is helpful for the children to apply their sunscreen before school and again before going out to play. It is important that we all remember to be SunSmart. For useful ideas and more information about sun protection, see the SunSmart website www.sunsmart.com.au.

Parking

A friendly reminder that the carpark between the Parish House and School is for Parish and School Staff only. You may have noticed the new Parish signage. Please do not use this for drop off and pick up on school days as there is not enough parking for school staff or Parish staff. Additionally, children, parents, and families should not be entering or exiting through the side gate. This is also for staff only. Use of the carpark and gate is a safety concern as this area is not supervised by staff and is not safe for children to be moving in and out of this space. Thanks everyone for your understanding. The safety of our children is our highest priority.

Sustainable Uniform Shop Notice

The Sustainable Uniform Shop Pop-up sale will be postponed by one week, to next Friday 21st February. Many thanks to all who have donated so far. For anyone else who still has uniforms to donate, you've just scored another 7 days to bring in your items to the office! Many thanks,

The Sustainable Uniform Shop Team

Staying connected...

We are partners in the education of your children and we invite you to be involved by sharing your thoughts and any concerns you may have with us. In this way, we are able to provide the best possible learning environment for your child and we can work together to inspire in each student a sense of confidence, resilience, and responsibility to be the best they can be.

If, at any time, you have any concerns or worries about your child's wellbeing, learning, or friendships, please do not hesitate to have a chat with your child's teacher as your first point of contact. If you have other concerns, please feel free to touch base with our wonderful admin team, a member of school leadership, or myself. For more serious concerns, please contact the office to make an appointment to see me, alternatively, you can contact me directly via email.

With warmest regards and blessings to you all,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au