Dear Families,

Welcome back everyone!! Together with the staff I wish you all the very best for the New Year and trust that everyone has had an enjoyable holiday and found time for some quality rest and relaxation with your family. Once again, I look forward to working with our team of dedicated teachers and support staff to provide a learning community that values a culture of excellence, where children laugh, play and learn together. We have certainly seen a very smooth start to the school year, there is a really positive vibe around the classrooms and lots of smiling faces – which is always great to see!! It’s wonderful to welcome back our students and to hear stories of their holiday adventures.

I'd like to send a special welcome to all the families who are new to our community this year. It's wonderful to see new faces in our school-yard, and equally wonderful to catch up with our existing families. We will shortly be announcing dates for our 'Coffee Mornings' - a time to meet the other parents in your child's year level, and I look forward to seeing you all there and having a cuppa and a chat.

I would also like to send a great big congratulations to all our students who have settled so well into the new school year. I’d especially like to note the smooth transition of our new students in grades 1-6, and all our new preppies…. they have all had a calm start to the year and seem very comfortable in their new surroundings.

Last week I sent home a 'Welcome Back' flyer with information about 2024 staffing, specialist days, daily routines and timetables. If you missed this flyer please see the attached PDF.

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY

Our first school closure day this year will be on Monday Feb 26. Our focus for this day will be to develop a new Vision Statement for St Joseph’s. We hope to create a vision for our future that is contemporary and a true reflection of who we are, what we do, and where we hope to be in the future.

In order to gain the perspective of our community as a whole we are asking for both Parent/Carer and student involvement in the day. Staff and Parents/Carers will collaboratively participate in 'Three Conversations' in which we will share our perspectives on St. Joseph's - ‘Stories of the Present’, ‘Brutal Facts’ and ‘Stories of the Future'. Students will be asked to share 'Three Wishes' for our school. The day will be facilitated by Meredith Bowdon and Jessamy Gee who will be creating a visual representation of our thoughts and ideas. Please see the following PDF for more details - expressions of interest to attend will be posted on Audiri.

The attached PDF provides further details about the day.

SCHOOL THERAPY DOG

Jess Thwaites, (Middle T) has a trained therapy dog - Archie, who will be joining our team this year. Archie is a labradoodle who trained to become a therapy dog in 2021, and his CV includes working previously at St John's in Clifton Hill.

To begin with, Archie will join us on a Friday. He will predominantly be in Middle T, Jess Thwaites classroom, and will be on a lead to begin with. Jess will take Archie out into the yard during recess and lunch breaks so all the children can get to know him. When in the yard, Archie will be on a lead, and Jess will be with him the whole time.

If you have concerns about the introduction of a therapy dog please feel free to call the school and speak with Jess, Kate or myself.

Here's a bit more information about Archie...

NORTHCOTE RISE FESTIVAL

On February 18 our school has been asked to perform at the Northcote Rise Festival at 12pm. A note explaining this event will be sent home tomorrow - please save the date!!

MEET AND GREET MEETINGS

Parent / Teacher 'Meet and Greet' meetings will be held on Thursday Feb 15. Regular classes will conclude at 1:30pm

These meetings provide opportunities for:

parents and teachers to meet and establish communication
parents to provide any relevant information to the teacher regarding their child
parents to express any concerns they may have about their child
teachers to inform parents of classroom routines.

Each meeting is 15 minutes in duration and is an opportunity for you to meet with your child's teacher and provide any background information that will help your child further settle into the new school year. Strong relationships and student wellbeing are pivotal in your child’s education, and it is important that positive home/school links are established as early as possible.

If you are unable to make a booking for Thursday Feb 15 please let your child's classroom teacher know and she will schedule an alternative time with you.

CURRICULUM EVENING

On Tuesday Feb 20 we will be hosting a Curriculum Evening. On this night your child’s teacher will present the learning journey at Saint Joseph’s and be available to you to ask any questions or clarify any issues that you may have. The meeting schedule is staggered so that families who have children across different year levels can attend each meeting.

As this is our first newsletter for this year there are a few ‘housekeeping’ issues I would like to share…

Some safety reminders...

After school on Tuesdays (3:30pm-5:00) and Wednesday mornings (8:00am-8:30am) the staff have meeting commitments and will be unavailable for appointments at these times. Most of the time staff will be available each day before school and after school from Wednesday to Friday.

'SOFT STARTS'

This term we have introduced a new morning routine. Children may move to their classrooms at 8:30am, or they may play in the school-yard until the bell rings at 8:45am. We will no longer be lining up before school. If you wish to see your child's classroom teacher before school please enter via the office and Kathryn will let the teacher know you would like a chat.

ASH WEDNESDAY MASS

Children in grades 1-6 will attend Mass on Ash Wednesday at 9:15am. All are welcome to join us!

STUDENT ABSENCES

If your child is absent please inform us via the Audiri app or email Kathryn in the office (kcoventry@sjnorthcote.catholic.edu.au).

NEWSLETTER AND COMMUNICATION

This year the newsletter day will remain on a Tuesday and newsletters will be available fortnightly. The newsletter can be accessed via email, the school website and is sent out as a push notification on the Audiri app. Please ensure that you have the app downloaded as many ‘day to day’ messages are communicated as a push notification, including all permission slips for excursions and school events.

Please click HERE for instructions to download the Audiri app.

HOURS OF SUPERVISION

The school-yard is supervised before school from 8:30am and after school until 3:30pm. If your child is dropped-off outside these times they will be unsupervised until the teacher commences yard duty. Please avoid dropping children off before 8:30am. LEAP KIDS out-

of-school-hours (OSCH) programme is offered to all families outside these hours. Before-school care is available from 7am-8:30am and after-school care is available from 3:15pm-6:00pm.

CLASSROOM CUISINE

Lunches can be ordered online from ‘Classroom Cuisine’ and are available on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Orders can be placed via https://classroomcuisine.com.au.

Lunch orders are delivered to the school in cooler boxes and orders can be placed until 8am each day.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PARISH

EXTRA-CURRICULA ACTIVITIES, 2024

Vinnie's Reading Club

Vinnie's Reading Club has changed days and will now operate on a Thursday afternoon from 3:15pm-4:30pm

Register for Northcote Reading Club in 2024

NEW ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM

EDUCATION PROGRAM CHILD ENROLMENT FORM 2024 (office.com)

Tennis Lessons

Happy New Year from Todd's Tennis Coaching at St Josephs parish tennis courts to all families at St Josephs School. What an amazing Australian Open we just enjoyed ! Now it’s our turn. Tennis lessons are recommencing and spots are available for our existing and new students in Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced lessons on Monday, Tuesday or Friday afternoons. We have students from 4 to 18 years of age so there is an appropriate group for everyone. Please contact Matthew Todd on 0414 628 633 or mc.todd@hotmail.com if you have any enquiries about any of the groups. There are also full length tennis notes at the school office.Thanks, Matt Todd and staff.

Mad on Music

Chess Club

Kelly Sports

Thursday afternoon, 3:15pm-4:30pm - In the school yard.

https://kellysports.com.au

LEAPKIDS- OHSC