Dear Families,

What an amazing and absolutely jam-packed term we have had! A very heartfelt thank you to everyone in our St Joseph's school community for the kindness, warmth, welcome and support that you have given me as your new principal across all of Term 1.

The true blessing in our community is your love for our school which brings our community together to be able to achieve great things for the children. It is in working together as we have done this term... school leaders, teachers, parents, our SAC, our P&F, our Parish and Fr Gallacher, that we have been able to achieve so much in such a small amount of time.

The children are at the centre of everything we do and they are our most treasured blessings. That is why we work so hard to ensure that they have the best learning experiences where we value excellence and achievement, where they feel safe, valued and cared for and a school community where they can flourish.

I wish you all a good rest, a safe and happy holiday and a holy Easter with your loved ones and I look forward to another wonderful term with you all!

And I hope the Easter bunny finds his was to your home this Easter 🐰

Weekly Prayer

As Catholics, let us remember the real significance of Easter. Easter is the most significant celebration in the Catholic liturgical calendar. Jesus Christ, God’s only beloved Son, was crucified for our sins. It is a powerful reminder of the agony and suffering Jesus endured on our behalf, and understanding his suffering caused by our human shortcomings fills many hearts with a deep sense of shame and sorrow during this time.

We are eternally indebted to Him, and it is this awareness that drives us to strive to be a better person, to do better, and to make a positive difference in the world. For 40 days, millions of Catholics and members of other Christian denominations around the globe observe Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, and giving that leads up to Easter.

During Lent

As we come towards the end of Lent, there is still time to make some adjustments. Here are a few you might like to consider over the next couple of weeks:

Pope Francis encourages us to pray more
Acts of kindness, donate to charities
Almsgiving
Reflect on your faith
Spend time with someone in need
Look after the elderly
Take time to grow closer to God

This Lent, let us make a promise to turn our lives around and to live faithfully the gospel message.

I promise to turn my life around.

I promise to be a more generous person – in my thoughts of others, in my words and deeds and with my possessions.

I promise to be a more loving person – by looking to the needs of others first, by being more accepting of others’ differences, and by being generous and compassionate.

I promise to be a more peaceful person – by listening to others first, by being respectful of others’ opinions and ideas, and by finding just and fair solutions to problems.

I promise to be a more forgiving person – by understanding the other’s point of view, by being the first to admit I am wrong, and by forgiving others when they hurt me in word or deed.

I promise to turn my life around. Amen.

Loving God, help us to remember your promise to be with us always, to guide us in our lives and bring us closer to you. During this special time of Lent, strengthen us in times of trial, and help us to trust in you with all our hearts, so that we may continually rejoice in your blessings. We ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son, who is your promise of new life for us.

Catholic Education Week

A few weeks ago we celebrated Catholic Education week inspired by the motto of Jubilee 2025—Pilgrims of Hope. Our school leaders Bridget, Callum and Maximillian were captured by photographers at the annual Schools Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral where students from almost 300 school attended. You can see our students and read more here: Arise, shine: schools celebrate Catholic Education Week

Holy Week and Easter Liturgical Celebrations

This week all classes have shared the Holy Week and Easter stories in the Catholic tradition. It has been so lovely to see the children share their understandings of this sacred story, which is very important in our liturgical calendar.

You can see more information about our Holy Week liturgies on Ms Donnella DeVisser's RE Page in this week's newsletter.

Open Book in Classrooms

Following the Holy Week liturgies this week, it has been so wonderful to see so many of our families visiting classrooms to view the students' work and celebrate their learning. The children were so proud to share their learning with you.

School Photos

This week we received a sneak peek at our whole school photos! What a beautiful school community!

What an achievement! Congratulations Callum!

Last week, Callum represented St Joseph's when he travelled to Rockingham, WA, for the School Sport Australia Aquathon National Championships. Callum competed in 2 races over the week, one being individual and the second being a team relay format.

Both were very exciting races that came down to the finish chute /line. There was only 10 or so seconds between 1st and 8th in the individual race with Callum coming home in equal 5th. In the relay, the Vic team "A" team picked up bronze and was less than half a second behind 2nd place. Callum did the last leg and made up about 80m over the course to a sprint finish.

Following on from WA, Callum has just competed at the School Sport Victoria Region Championship for swimming in Rosebud. He was lucky enough to compete against a good friend of his and placed first in the 50m Freestyle. This means that he will now be competing at the School Sport Victoria State Championships next month in the 50m Freestyle, where he is hoping to back up his wins from the last 2 years.

Callum also had the Victorian Metro Championships (hosted by Swimming Victoria as the State Championships) 3 weeks ago where he won the 100m and 200m Freestyle for U12 Boys, so all of his hard work has been paying off!!

Callum has worked extremely hard since his first School Sports events in Grade 4 and has made amazing friendships along the way which has been the biggest win of all.

We are so proud of you Callum and your constant hard work and resilience!

World's Greatest Shave - Max and Callum & Good Friday Appeal - Louis

Thank you to our community for the very generous donations that you have made in support of Callum, Max and Louis.

We are incredibly proud of Max and Callum, as they very bravely had their heads shaved for The World's Greatest Shave, and Louis, who cut his locks for the Good Friday Appeal!

It was so great to be part of our wonderful community as we cheered and supported Max, Callum and Louis this afternoon!

Karate Grading at SJM

Karate is one of our before school programs offered at school every Thursday morning from 8am to 8:40am.

Congratulations to the students who successfully completed their Karate grading on Thursday morning. This is a significant achievement and a testament to your hard work, dedication, and progress in your training.

Andrew from All Stars Martial Arts Academy said that there were "awesome improvements in focus, discipline and confidence".

On Thursday morning there were gradings for the 6 yr olds. Congratulations to:

Joseph - Yellow belt

James - Orange belt

Sidney - Blue belt

Harry - Blue belt

There will also be a grading event this Saturday where students 7 Years and above will have their grading. We wish them all the best!

Prep Buddy Easter Egg Hunt

Our Preps enjoyed their Easter egg hunt with their Year 5 and 6 senior school buddies.

Friday Disco Fun

It puts a smile on our face every Friday as the children dance to their hearts content during Friday lunch time disco! The pictures do not quite capture their enjoyment as you can't hear the music or see their dance moves!

STAR Awards at Assembly

It is always so nice to see so many of our students being the recipients of our STAR Awards! Congratulations to you all for displaying the values of S- Stay Safe, T- Try Your Best, A- Act Responsibly and R- Respect Yourself and Others.

Principal Awards for Term 1

It is always a pleasure to recognise students who display our school values of Strength and Kindliness. Today at our final assembly for Term 1, I had the pleasure of announcing the Principal Awards for students who displayed our school values as well as awards for Excellence, Service and Faith Leadership.

Congratulations to the following students:

For Kindliness:

Maximillian

Scarlett

Abigail

For Strength:

Oscar

Pip

For Service:

Winnie, Albie, Will, Callum, Max and Louis

For Faith Leadership

Alice

For Excellence:

Callum (Sporting)

Stella (Performing Arts)

Easter Raffle

Congratulations to the three lucky winners of our Easter Raffle... Andre, Ari and Scarlett! It looks like you and your families are going to be enjoying lots of yummy Easter treats!

Thank you to our P and F for organising the Easter Raffle!

Parents and Friends Update

EASTER RAFFLE AT COLES

It is not too late to sign up to help sell Raffle tickets at Coles during the holidays.

We would love your help please!

If you have some time to spare on Saturday 12 April and Sunday 13 April for an hour, at any time between 9 am - 3pm we would love your help to sell raffle tickets. Join our St Joseph's stall out the front of Coles Glenferrie Rd on the corner of Winter St.

Please sign up via the link below: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094FABAC22A6FAC07-55817725-easter#/

This is a great school holiday activity so please bring your children along. We would appreciate any Year 6 School Leaders who would like to come along in their uniform to help and to talk about our beautiful school! This is a great way to raise some money for our school and to raise the profile of our school in our local community.We appreciate any time that you can give. Thank you!

MOTHER"S DAY LUNCH

Save the Date!

Thank you!

A special thank you to Talia and Tennille for going above and beyond to make delicious food for our children. Look at these Easter treats from the canteen today!

And another thank you...

The smell and taste of these hot cross buns are amazing! It smells like Easter! Thank you to Stef Brunetti and Fleischer Cakes for your generosity and for supporting our school. I think we have many happy families who will enjoy quite a few of these hot cross buns over Easter!

School Advisory Council (SAC) Meeting- This Week

I sincerely thank our School Advisory Council members for their time and valuable contributions to our SAC Meeting this week. Our SAC met on Tuesday evening to work together for the purpose of school improvement. It is always valuable to have discussions with parents from our community about matters of importance to our school. This week we discussed items including finance, our marketing plan, the EBA which outlines things such as 'Time In Lieu' for teachers and teachers' 'Face to Face' teaching time and as always, Child Safety. I thank our SAC Members for their time and their valuable contributions on behalf of our school community.

Our SAC members for 2025:

Parish Priest: Fr Gallacher
Principal: Annabelle Marinelli
Deputy Principal: Dean Butler
Chair: David Steghuis
Secretary: Courtney Jendra
P&F Reps: Laura Kay and Talia Hasset
Parent Reps: Michael Touhey, Kate Tehan, Sascha Pausewang

Upcoming Open Days at St Joseph's

Please encourage any families you know who are looking at a school for 2026 and beyond to book a tour with us at any time or to attend one of our upcoming Open Days....

Open Days for 2025

Thursday 24th April - 9am - 11am

Tuesday 6th May - 9am - 11am

Enrolments for 2026

It is always very exciting when we begin to look forward to our enrolments for the next year. With our Open Days running across the next few months, we are beginning to plan for 2026.

Thank you to the families who have been in touch with our office to let us know that your child will be commencing Prep in 2026. If you have not done so as yet, we request that you please make contact with the office as soon as possible to make sure we have your child enrolled for next year. It is very important that we have this information as soon as possible. Thank you!

Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook: Search 'St Joseph's Primary School, Malvern'

Instagram: Search 'stjosephsmalvern'

The more you like, comment and share, the more we raise the profile of our amazing school!

Child Safety- New Security Entrance

I am very pleased to announce that our new security gate at our main entrance at the front of the school will be installed over the school holidays. This means the front entrance will now be completely secure during school hours. Once again this is a great example of the way we prioritise the safety of the children in our school community. A HUGE thank you to our P and F for your support with this.

Safety and Wellbeing of All Children at St Joseph’s

As a Catholic school, we value the inherent dignity of every child who attends St Joseph's. We recognise that each child is different, and we work hard to ensure that our school is a place where all children, regardless of their circumstances or background, feel safe, supported and included.

Schools are a microcosm of society. Our community includes children who come to school with complex needs and who, like all our students, are entitled to access education, privacy, respect and compassion, as well as support to enable them to flourish in their education.

When a child in our community needs extra support, we work closely with their family and with expert practitioners to create documented plans to address their needs, and often concurrently implement separate plans to address the safety and wellbeing of other students and staff in our community.

If your child is experiencing challenges at school, I encourage you to reach out so that we can work together to support them. The best way to do this is to call the school office on 95976300 or email your child's teacher. You can also contact me directly me via email at annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au

Family School Calendar

Here is the link to our family school calendar so that you can keep up to date with school events across the year.

https://www.sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au/mevents

First Day of Term 2- Tuesday 22nd April

We look forward to seeing all of our children and families back again in Term 2 on Tuesday 22nd April after a wonderful holiday and Easter break!

Beginning of Term 2 Reminders

School Holidays Monday 7th to Monday 21st April
Term 2 Commences Tuesday 22nd April
Open Day Thursday 24th April
ANZAC Day PH Friday 25th April

Staying connected...

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, I encourage you to please reach out by either making an appointment through the office to see me, or contacting me directly via email.

Happy Easter

Happy Holidays!

With warmest regards and Easter blessings to you all,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au

Religious Education News

Caritas Project Compassion