Principal’s News

Dear Parents and Carers,

What a busy and exciting Term 1 we have had.  It is hard to believe it is about to come to a close. We look forward to our final three days of Term One next week and the Easter season ahead.  I am hopeful that, during this time, you will have an opportunity to rest, reflect and recharge.

Open Day: Monday 31 March

On Monday we will be throwing the doors open to our school.  We are extending an invitation to our parents and wider community to visit our school, view our facilities and see our students and teachers in action.  Parents and Carers are encouraged to bring any friends and family, especially those who are considering which school to send their children to in 2026 and beyond.  You will be taken on a tour by students and school leaders and will have an opportunity to meet the Principal, Deputy Principal and other school leaders and teachers.

SAVE THE DATE: Tuesday 20 May

Resilience, Mental Health and  Wellbeing

We are working with St Brigid's Healsville to offer parents four opportunities to attend parent workshops with Maria Roberto, both here at St Joseph's and at St Brigid's Healesville.  The first of these will be held at St Brigid's Healesville on Tuesday 20 May.

This is an extrordinary opportunity for parents to hear from a world class presenter on steps they can take to support their children's developing resilience, mental health and wellbeing.  

To see a preview of what Maria has to offer, click the link below to view an interview she did with "The Imperfects."

https://youtu.be/ar625GcrTUI?si=ieHzGhMNgQiKu1_v

Visiting St Joseph's School

As the first educators of children, parents play a key role in the education of their children. As a school, we warmly welcome parent involvement and invite parents to participate in the education of their children.  

Signing in a the Office

When arriving at St Joseph's, parents are asked to enter the building through the office door and sign in using the V-Pass App on the iPad or via a QR Code for larger events.

When to Sign In  

If just making a general enquiry at the office or walking their child to their class before school, parents don't need to sign in.  If attending a meeting or visiting classrooms for longer periods, a sign in is required.  

Working With Children's Check

If working with children in or outside the classroom, parents are required to enter their Working With Children's Check (WWCC) number when signing into V Pass.  If the visit is just to view a presentation or some work done by the children during school time, parents are requested to sign in but do not require a WWCC.

Parents are not required to sign in for Assemblies or Class Masses.  For all other events, parents are asked to call in to the office and sign in.

Mount Lilydale of Mercy College Year 7 - 2027 - Applications 

Applications for Year 7, 2027 are being accepted by MLMC.  These are due no later than Friday 30 May 2025 in order for an interview to be arranged for each applicant throughout Term 3.

School Advisory Council (SAC)

The School Advisory Council provides a forum for discussion and discernment, where parent voice and community perspective are available to inform and support the decisions made by the principal and parish priest as the custodian of mission for the good of school and parish where students’ wellbeing and outcomes are paramount.  Issues for discussion are communicated to the principal by SAC Members as well as by members of the St Joseph's School Community.  

An issue discussed in 2024 was the transporting of students to Lilydale Station by parents for excursions.  Input was sort from parents via a survey.  While the results of the survey strongly supported a continuation of parents transporting students to Lilydale, there were a number of parents who found this quite difficult to arrange due to work and other commitments.  It was determined by the SAC that this practice would continue but be limited to a maximum of one excursion per year.

Recently, the SAC has been looking into the issue of Lunch Orders.  The Tuckshop at Upper Yarra Secondary College has been providing an excellent service for our school and Lunch Orders have been extremely popular.  However, concerns have been raised by a number of parents around the nutritional value of the food available.  Following a recent newsletter article about this matter, I have received much feedback in person and via email.  I am very grateful for the interest people have shown.  The issues around sugar and fat content in the foods and drinks, the obesity epidemic Australia is facing, the rights of parents to choose what their children eat and the responsibility of the school to send health-promoting messages about what children should eat have all come through strongly.

The SAC is now investigating advice to schools from external bodies such as Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), Department of Education and the Healthy Eating Advisory Service.  We will share with you our findings.  Until then, we will be continuing with our current Tuckshop service.

We have also been discussing School Uniform. This issue will be discussed further at our next meeting.  If you have any thoughts on either of these topics, please email them through to principal@sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au  If you are interested in finding out more about the SAC, please reach out to me via email or by phone 59671183.  

Annual Staff Conference - School Closure Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April 

As communicated via email, the school Newsletter and our school calendar, StJoseph's School will be closed for our Staff Conference on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April.  On these days, the staff will be working on matters pertaining to:

1. Best Practice pedagogical approaches as articulated in MACS documents "Vision for Instruction", "Flourishing Learners" and the "Learning and Teaching School Improvement Framework Rubric"
2. Wellbeing and Mental Health In Primary Schools (MHIPS)
3. Developing children's resilience
4. Enhancing our Catholic School Identity
5. Explicit teaching in Religious Education 

We are confident that this professional learning opportunity will greatly assist us in enhancing children's learning outcomes, wellbeing, mental health, resilience and their understanding of, and relationship with God.

This Easter we ask God to help us to grow in his love, and work with him and eachother to build the kingdom of God at St Joseph's School.

Kind regards,

Nick.