Dear Parents, Carers and Supporters of St Joseph’s School,

FEAST OF ST JOSEPH

Today, we celebrated our Feast Day, originally held on Wednesday. Students enjoyed various activities, including sports with Kelly Sports, craft, a scavenger hunt, and a Harmony Day activity. Our Parents and Friends group kindly provided delicious wraps for lunch, ensuring everyone was well cared for. A big thank you to all who prepared the wonderful activities and lunch, making the day enjoyable and memorable for everyone involved!

STAFFING

Jerrod Davison will be leaving St Joseph's at the end of this term due to personal reasons. His contributions to the school have been greatly valued, and he will be dearly missed. We are currently advertising for a replacement specialist teacher. If you can help share the job link, we'd greatly appreciate it!

VRQA Review

Next week we are participating in a minimum standards school compliance review of St Joseph’s Primary School, Rochester. This is held by the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA). The first stage of this is a desktop review, followed by a visit to our school on Monday 31st March.

We look forward to welcoming the reviewer to St Joseph’s.

KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY PREPARATION

Last week Jess and I attended the Classroom Mastery Leaders Masterclass. The Classroom Mastery leader's session laid the foundation for our school’s story, preparing for the teachers’ masterclass and implementation starting in Term 2. It highlighted the importance of structured, positive, and productive learning environments through a research-backed approach to behaviour and classroom management. Leaders gained practical strategies to promote whole-school consistency, ensuring students thrive in predictable, engaging, and supportive classrooms. This session set the stage for impactful collaboration and sustained school-wide growth.

NAPLAN

I am immensely proud of our students for their excellent attitude and approach to NAPLAN. This nationwide assessment for Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 evaluates key literacy and numeracy skills, offering valuable insights into their learning progress. Our students approached each test with confidence and determination. We deeply appreciate our teachers for their unwavering support, guidance, and dedication in preparing and encouraging students throughout the NAPLAN process.

RIDE 2 SCHOOL DAY

Thank you Lorraine for your preparation and dedication to this event. We also extend our gratitude to the staff for meeting and walking with the children, ensuring a supportive and safe environment. A big thank you to the adult riders for guiding and assisting, making the experience seamless and enjoyable. Finally, we deeply appreciate the traffic control team for their vigilance and coordination, which ensured everyone's safety. Your combined efforts made this event a great success!

KELLY SPORTS HOLIDAY PROGRAM

Kelly Sports is offering exciting holiday programs this Autumn in Rochester and Echuca. These action-packed sessions provide children with a variety of sports, games, and challenges in a safe and supportive environment. Designed for fun and engagement, the programs help kids stay active, build skills, and enjoy memorable experiences during the holidays.

CROSS COUNTRY FUN DAY – Friday 28th March

We are thrilled to be a part of the Community Cross Country event alongside Rochester Primary School and Rochester Secondary College. We are grateful to the staff of all schools that are preparing for this event.

In some of the flyers you will see that there are food trucks available on the day. As a staff, we have decided that our students will not access the food trucks.

Students will need to bring:

Drinks
Snacks
Lunch
School Hat

Times for the Cross Country are:

5/6 - 10.10am
3/4 - 10.20am
1/2 - approximately 10.40am
Preps - approximately 10.50am

We will be organising buses to transport our children to and from Rochester Secondary College.

Foundation, Grade 1 and 2 children will be returning to school around 2.00pm.

SCHOOL PHOTOS: Reminder

Photo order forms should be returned to the office (via the classroom) as soon as possible.

Here are a few important reminders to ensure that our students look their best and feel comfortable during their photo sessions:

Hair: For the photos, students are welcome to wear their hair down. However, please ensure that their hair is put up immediately after the photo session to maintain our school's dress code. Mrs Trewick will have spare hair ties for children that forget one!
Socks: Please make sure your child wears the appropriate school socks (black, white or navy) on the day of the photos. Neat and tidy uniform presentation contributes to a great photo!

As always, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Liz

Child Safeguarding