Dear Parents, Carers and Families,

It’s hard to believe that we only have a few weeks remaining until the end of Term 1. It has already been a wonderful and busy start to the year, filled with learning, friendship and many opportunities for our students to grow.

This past week has been another vibrant one at St Joseph’s, with rich learning taking place in classrooms and a number of special school events that bring our community together. These moments beyond the classroom are such an important part of school life, helping to build connections, celebrate student participation and strengthen the warm sense of community that makes St Joseph’s such a special place.

Each day we are reminded how fortunate we are to have a school community where learning, friendship and shared experiences are valued and celebrated.

Prayer for our Reconciliation Children

Heavenly Father,

We lift up to You the precious children who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time.

Fill their hearts with Your peace and love as they take this important step in their journey of faith.

Guide their minds and hearts as they examine their conscience.

Grant them the courage to be honest and the humility to seek forgiveness.

Strengthen them with the grace of this sacrament, that they may grow closer to You and strive to live a life of goodness and virtue.

Bless their families and catechists who have supported and prepared them for this sacred moment.

May they continue to nurture these young souls in faith, hope, and love.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Reconciliation Retreat Day

This week our Year 3 students participated in their Reconciliation Retreat Day as part of their preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Throughout the day, students took part in prayer, reflection and a range of learning activities designed to deepen their understanding of forgiveness, compassion and God’s unconditional love.

The retreat provided students with a special opportunity to pause from the usual busyness of the school day and reflect on the importance of kindness, making good choices and repairing relationships when mistakes are made. It was wonderful to see the students engage so thoughtfully and respectfully in the discussions and activities.

This meaningful day was led by our Religious Education Leader, Ms Donnella DeVisser, together with our Parish Priest, Fr Gallacher, and Seminarian Anthony. We sincerely thank them for their time, care and guidance in supporting our students on this important step in their faith journey. This special time helped to prepare them for their Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursday evening.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

We extend our sincere thanks to Fr Gallacher, our Religious Education Leader Ms Donnella DeVisser, and the Year 3 teachers – Ms Christie Birch, Ms Siobhan O’Dwyer and Mr Dean Butler – for their wonderful faith leadership in preparing the children for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Their care, guidance and dedication helped create a very reverent and meaningful celebration for the children and their families. It was a lovely occasion, marked by reflection, prayer and a strong sense of community as the students took this important step in their faith journey.

We continue to keep the children and their families in our prayers as they celebrate and reflect on this special sacrament and grow in their understanding of forgiveness, compassion and God’s love.

Enrolments for 2027

Enrolments for current (and new) families for 2027 are now open. We encourage all current and new families to submit an application to ensure a place in our Prep intake for 2027. The enrolment application form can be found on our website. Please contact our school office if you have any queries. Current families please get your applications in asap as we we like to prioritise our offers for families already in our school.

Open Days at St Joseph's

On Tuesday we hosted our second Open Day at St Joseph's. It was lovely to welcome prospective families through our gates, warmly greeted by the students, staff, and current parents of our St Joseph’s community. It is always such a joy to share our school and showcase what makes our community so special. We extend a special thank you to parents Angela and Jess and to our Year 5 students Pip and Navy for sharing their thoughts on our school as well. It is always lovely to have the genuine voice of our students and parents as part of our school tours.

The remaining official Open Days are being held across the following dates:

Open Day 3	Tuesday 24th March 9am-11am
Open Day 4	Tuesday 28th April 9am-11am
Open Day 5	Wednesday 27th May 9am-11am

If you know family or friends who are exploring school options for 2027, our Open Days are a great opportunity to see our beautiful school in action, meet our staff, and learn more about what makes our community at St Joseph's so special. Please spread the word to any prospective families who may be looking for a school for 2027. Our families are our greatest advocates, so please share your thoughts with your friends and family.

First Round Interviews for Prep for 2027

We have already received a number of applications for enrolments in 2027 and we have many registrations for our Open Days. Last week we commenced our first round enrolment interviews for Prep for 2027 for new families and first round letters of offer have been sent out.

'Meet and Greet' Interviews for Current Families

Our “Meet and Greets” for current families and siblings will be taking place from next week. Isabelle is in the process of finalising these meetings. I am truly looking forward to getting to know some very familiar faces - the younger siblings who will be joining our community next year. It’s always so special to welcome the next generation of families into our school, and I can’t wait to connect with you all.

Junior Joey's Playgroup

Unfortunately, our Junior Joey’s Playgroup did not take place this week due to the public holiday on Monday. We look forward to being back together again next week, led by our wonderful Prep and Junior Transition Leader, Ms Liolios.

Our playgroup mornings are always filled with joyful play, laughter, connection and a beautiful sense of community. They provide a special opportunity for families and young children to come together in a warm and welcoming environment, and we are very grateful to share this time with our community. We look forward to many more happy mornings together throughout the term. We look forward to seeing our Junior Joey's families again on Monday.

NAPLAN 2026

Over the past week, and continuing into next week, students in Years 3 and 5 are participating in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). This national assessment measures students’ skills in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, and Numeracy, and provides a snapshot of student achievement against national standards. NAPLAN is just one part of our broader assessment and reporting process and works alongside the ongoing assessments teachers complete throughout the year.

As communicated during the week, you may be aware that there was a nationwide NAPLAN outage which affected many schools, including ours, during the Year 5 online writing test. Like many schools across the country, we experienced temporary interruptions to the NAPLAN platform. Our staff supported students calmly throughout the disruption.

I would like to commend our students for the way they approached the testing period. They have demonstrated patience, resilience and confidence, and have done their very best to approach the assessments in a positive and focused manner.

I would also like to thank our Learning Leaders, Amanda Jackson and Dean Butler, who, together with the Year 3 and Year 5 teachers, administered the NAPLAN testing with great care and integrity while supporting students to do their very best.

For more information about NAPLAN please see the link below and feel free to chat with your child's teacher or myself if you have any questions or concerns.

The NAPLAN Test Schedule at St Joseph's:

Wednesday 11th March - Year 3 and Year 5 Writing Test
Thursday 12th March - Year 3 and Year 5 Reading Test
Tuesday 17th March - Year 3 and Year 5 Conventions of Language (Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation) Test
Wednesday 18th March - Year 3 and Year 5 Numeracy Test

NAPLAN Parent Information:

Dr Cranky's Bike Repairs at St Joseph's

It was wonderful to welcome Dr Cranky Bike Repairs to our school this morning as we begin preparing for our upcoming Ride to School Day in a couple of weeks. We thank our Sustainability Leader, Ms Siobhan O’Dwyer, for organising this fantastic initiative for our students and community.

In the lead-up to the event, Dr Cranky’s Bike Service will visit the school for two sessions to help students get their bikes ready. The first session took place this morning, with students able to drop their bikes off before school and collect them in the afternoon after they had been checked and serviced.

A big thank you also to the parents who generously volunteered their time this morning, helping to pump tyres and register bikes as students arrived at school. Your support helps make these wonderful community initiatives possible.

Ride2School Day at St Joseph’s

On Friday 27th March, St Joseph’s will be celebrating Ride2School Day! With the generous support of Stonnington Council, we’ll have some special activities planned to help make the day fun and memorable for students. We can't wait!

MACS Vision for Leadership Launch

t was a privilege to attend the MACS Vision for Leadership launch last week at the State Library of Victoria. It is an exciting time to be part of a MACS school, with a clear and shared direction guided by the three key MACS documents: Vision for Instruction, Vision for Engagement and now the Vision for Leadership.

The launch brought together school leaders from across the system and provided a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the importance of strong, faith-filled leadership in our schools. It was an honour to hear from several highly respected speakers and to be part of a system that values leadership grounded in service, collaboration and a shared sense of purpose.

I look forward to sharing more about this important work with our school community over the coming weeks and how it continues to shape and strengthen the learning and leadership at St Joseph’s.

St Joseph's School Assembly

What a wonderful assembly we enjoyed this morning, led so confidently by our School Captains, Cooper and Xavier, together with our fantastic Year 4 students who proudly shared some of the learning taking place in their classrooms.

As always, our assembly provided a lovely opportunity for us to come together as a community. We celebrated a number of students who received STAR Awards in recognition of their efforts and positive contributions to school life. We also joyfully sang Tanti Auguri to celebrate one special birthday this week - Isabella!

By popular request, I also recommenced the Principal’s “Who Am I?”. Two very clever Year 4 students, Lucy and Clem, correctly guessed that this week’s mystery student was Elise.

Ms O’Dwyer also spoke to the students about the Dr Cranky bike initiative in preparation for our upcoming Ride to School Day, and our Year 4 students shared an important message about the Caritas Project Compassion initiative taking place during the season of Lent.

It was a joyful and uplifting way to finish the week together as a school community. Thank you to the parents who joined us this morning. It is always so lovely to see you share the morning with us.

Congratulations to Wolf!

Last weekend was a special and historic moment for Wolf and his team winning the Summer Little League Championship. This marks a significant achievement for the Malvern Braves Baseball Club, whose last championship win was in the 2015–2016 season - the very year Wolf was born.

In a wonderful full-circle moment, Hudson Priamo, who was part of that championship team a decade ago, joined in the celebrations. Pictured is Hudson alongside the Braves President holding the framed memento from the club’s last championship, now proudly celebrating the club’s newest title with Wolf and his team.

Our St Joseph's Superstars - Auskick at the MCG

Last night Will, Albie and Winnie were very fortunate to have the opportunity to play Auskick at the MCG during the opening match of the season between Carlton and Richmond. It was a wonderful opportunity to play on the big stage in front of 85,000 people and a memory the boys will treasure forever!

HOLT Tennis Champion!

At the HOLT Tennis Competition last week, our very own Nicholas from Year 6 achieved an outstanding result, taking out first place after competing across many challenging rounds.

Nicholas shared a little about this experience with us at assembly today, speaking very humbly about his achievement and the effort it took to compete throughout the day. We are incredibly proud of the way Nicholas represented himself and our school with such skill and sportsmanship.

Congratulations, Nicholas, on this fantastic accomplishment!

MACS School Advisory Council Dinner

Next week our SAC Secretary Michael Tuohey will be attending the School Advisory dinner with other Chairs and Secretaries across MACS schools. We look forward to hearing from Mike about this event. It promises to be a wonderful evening for Mike. We thank MACS for hosting and warmly welcoming our SAC members and thank Mike for attending on behalf of our school.

P&F Meeting Update

Please take the time to read the P&F update from this week’s meeting. We had a very enthusiastic and hardworking group gather in our staffroom on Wednesday evening, with many great ideas and thoughtful discussions about upcoming events and ways to continue strengthening our school community.

It is always wonderful to see the commitment and generosity of our parent community. The time and energy our P&F members give to support the school and create opportunities for families to come together is truly appreciated.

We are very grateful for their ongoing dedication and support of St Joseph’s.

P&F Mother's Day - Save the Date

P&F Fun Day Raffle

Our wonderful Parents and Friends Committee have made a fantastic start to selling tickets for the Family Fun Day raffle, with great enthusiasm and support already shown by our community.

Earlier this week, the team sold over 100 tickets at the school gate, and their efforts continued over the weekend at Coles Tooronga, where an incredible 127 tickets were sold on Saturday and a further 103 tickets on Sunday. It is wonderful to see our community getting behind this event and supporting such a special day for our school.

A huge thank you to Sami and Annabelle, who were there both days, along with the support of Yang, Adriana and Amy. On Sunday, we were also grateful for the help of Jane, Liv and Tom B. It was wonderful to see so many members of our parent community volunteering their time.

The raffle ticket sales will continue this weekend at Hawthorn East Woolworths, with the help of several Grade 2 parents and volunteers from other year levels who have kindly offered to assist.

We are incredibly grateful for the time, energy and generosity of our P&F volunteers. Their commitment helps make events like our Family Fun Day possible and strengthens the wonderful sense of community we share at St Joseph’s.

St Joseph's Family Fun Day - Save the Date: Saturday 28th March, 10am -3pm

There is a great deal of planning happening behind the scenes as we prepare for what promises to be a truly exciting and fun day for our school community - our St Joseph’s Family Fun Day.

Please save the date in your calendar! We are so grateful for the wonderful support and involvement of our community. Your enthusiasm and generosity make such a difference.

If you would like to help in any way, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Fleur D’Altera (mum of Andre in Year 3), who is leading this major event on behalf of the P&F for our school.

This is a significant undertaking, and as the saying goes, many hands make light work. Thank you in advance for being part of what will be a fantastic day for our St Joseph’s family.

Family Fun Day from the P&F...

Excitement is building for the St Joseph’s Family Fun Day on Saturday 28th March, 10am - 3pm.

It’s shaping up to be a fantastic day packed with rides, games and plenty of fun for the kids. Wander through the market stalls showcasing small businesses within our wonderful school community and enjoy some delicious food. The entertainment line-up is shaping up to be a highlight, with a magician, high-energy games on stage with the 'Bop Till You Drop' crew, and a very special visit from everyone’s favourite blue heeler that the kids won’t want to miss!

We would love as many helpers on the day as possible. If you can spare an hour or two please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094FABAC22A6FAC07-62913546-2026#/

Road Safety Reminder

This is a reminder to all families about the importance of road safety around the school, particularly during busy drop-off and pick-up times. Recently, we have noticed a number of students and parents crossing the road in unsafe places near the school gates.

For the safety of everyone in our community, especially our younger students, we ask that families please use the designated pedestrian crossings when crossing the road. With increased traffic and larger vehicles on the roads, it is important that we model safe habits for our children and help ensure that everyone arrives at and leaves school safely.

Thank you for your support in helping keep our school community safe.

What's On Next Week..

It's a big week next week. Please check out what's happening on each day in Week 8:

Staying Connected...

At any time, if you have any questions or concerns about the wellbeing, care or learning of your child, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's class teacher, one of the school leaders, or Dean Butler, Deputy Principal or myself, Annabelle Marinelli, Principal.

I wish you all a lovely weekend with your beautiful families.

With the warmest regards,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au

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