Dear Families,

What an amazing week we have had at St Joseph's this week! Across the week I have seen the true SJM community spirit, where staff and parents have come together to provide our children with wonderful school events such as the Athletics Day and Harmony Day. Thank you to everyone who contributed across the week, showcasing our sense of community, the love for our school and the love for our students. These events make the days at SJM extra special for our children, our staff and our families.

Weekly Prayer

This week for our prayer we will reflect on the Feast of Saint Patrick and Catholic Education Week. Saint Patrick taught people about Christianity and in the same spirit the leaders of our Church and schools carry on this work by encouraging their communities to live ‘in the light of Christ’. We pray today for all members of our Catholic education communities: clergy and religious, leaders, teachers, staff, parents and students.

Reading

A reading from the Prophet Isaiah

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

The word of the Lord.

Prayers

Following the example of Saint Patrick, who called upon God in faith in his most difficult times, so we now turn to God with our prayers.

For Pope Francis, Archbishop Peter and all church leaders; may they be graced with wisdom, strength and courage as they guide us to share the joy of the Gospel.

Lord, hear us.

For world leaders and those who hold political office; may they work for the benefit of all people, and like St Patrick, seek peace and promote justice.

Lord, hear us.

For all students in our Catholic schools; may they be inspired by St Patrick and strive to grow in faith, hope and love in the light of Jesus Christ.

Lord, hear us.

For all teachers, catechists and families; may they be like St Patrick and share the gift of faith, bringing the light of Christ to the young people entrusted to their care.

Lord, hear us.

For peace and reconciliation in areas torn apart by division and strife, that the light of Christ may shine forth to heal wounds and unite hearts in love and forgiveness.

Lord hear us.

Let us pray that the example and intercessions of St Patrick help us to cultivate a lively faith, a firm hope, and a strong will to build God’s Kingdom.

Amen.

Catholic Education Week

This week we have celebrated Catholic Education Week. This is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their Catholic identity.

The theme for Catholic Education Week in 2025 is ‘Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (Is 60: 1)' which draws from the motto of the Holy Year, the Year of Jubilee, and the Australian Catholic Youth Festival’s theme – ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.

The Mass of St Patrick for Schools took place this morning place followed by a concert in the park for the hundreds of students, teachers and school leaders who attended the Mass. Ms Donnella DeVisser and myself accompanied some of our Year 6 School Leaders. Our Year 6 leaders joined the procession amongst many other schools. They entered the church reverently, and with pride, carrying our school banner. We were fortunate to spend some quality time with Fr Gallacher who co-celebrated the Mass with the Archbishop, Most Reverend Peter Comensoli, and other clergy. After the Mass, Fr Gallacher kindly took us on a tour of the Cathedral where the children learnt so much about the history of this magnificent church. We were lucky that the rain had cleared after our time in the cathedral and we made our way to the gardens where many schools gathered to enjoy the concert performed by very talented Catholic secondary school students. Our Year 6 leaders were wonderful ambassadors for our school with many members of the public commenting on their good manners and kindness. It was a very special day for us! We thank Donnella DeVisser for organising this significant event in our school calendar- the first time I believe the children have attended this annual Mass at the Cathedral with nearly 300 other schools from the Archdiocese of Melbourne. We also thank Fr Gallacher for the time he spent with us today. We are very lucky to have him as our Parish Priest.

Our Religious Education Leader Donnella DeVisser has more information about this on her 'Catholic Education Week' page in this week's newsletter.

Feast of St Joseph

On Wednesday, our whole school joined the Parish community to celebrate St Joseph’s Feast Day. It was lovely to see so many parents joining us and to see how beautifully our children prayed and and responded in prayer. This special feast day honoured St Joseph's faith, dedication, and example of humility.

Our students also celebrated St Joseph's Feast Day in their classrooms. Here is some of the senior students reflective work on St Joseph:

Harmony Day

Today we celebrated our whole school Harmony Day! Students were encouraged to wear free dress with a touch of orange or something that represented their cultural identity The importance of today is about celebrating our cultural diversity. This year's theme is Everyone Belongs! The students at St Joseph's shared some thoughtful responses about Harmony Day and how we should treat each other every day...

A HUGE thank you to Ms Georgie Carman for all her work in putting together such an amazing day to raise awareness and promote diversity and inclusivity. And a special thank you to our wonderful teachers and amazing parents who helped make today so special. A bigh shout out o Hanna Rose (Oscar in Year 6's Mum) and Dulan (Niki in Year 2's Dad) for sharing their special talents and giving up their time for our community. We appreciate you so much!

More photos about Harmony Day on Ms Georgie Carman's Harmony Day page.

Athletics Carnival

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Red House for taking out the 2025 Athletics Carnival! A big shoutout to all our students for their effort and sportsmanship today! It was so nice to see children helping others and cheering each other on.

A MASSIVE thank you once again to Ms Birch for all of her work behind the scenes, and on the day, to make this year's Athletics Carnival so amazing for all our children and for the families who attended! We think you are WONDERFUL Ms Birch!

And to our House Captains Oscar, Alfred, Pip, Lucy, Max, Victor, Charlotte, and Bekim, you showed great leadership and enthusiasm throughout the event.

We also thank all of our parent helpers and visitors who helped with the set up and each of the athletics events. We couldn't have done it without you. You helped to make the day extra special with your cheering and great sense of community spirit.

More photos on the SJM Athletics Carnival Page.

Year 4 Parent Infomation Night

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. We request that if you have a younger child who will commence Prep in 2026, that you please make contact with the office to ensure we have your child enrolled for next year. It is very important that we have this information as soon as possible.

World's Greatest Shave- Max and Callum

Thank you to our community for the very generous donations that you have made in support of and CallumMax .

We are so proud of Max and Callum, who are taking part in The World’s Greatest Shave to raise vital funds for the Leukaemia Foundation! By shaving their head, they are standing in solidarity with those facing blood cancer. This is a fantastic opportunity for our St. Joseph’s community to rally behind them and show our support! If you’d like to donate, every contribution—big or small—makes a difference. Let’s get behind Max and Callum and help them make a real impact!

Child Safety

In the interest of child safety, beginning on Monday next week, the front gate will be locked from 9:15am till 3:15pm in the afternoon. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. If you are wanting to enter the school between these hours please call the office and we will walk out and let you in. This is a temporary measure until we can finalise the installation of a new security entrance. This will happen very soon. Once again, we thank the P&F for their support with this. If you have any questions or concerns about this please do not hesitate to make contact with me or with the office.

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

End of Term 1 and Beginning of Term 2 Reminders

Year 5's and 6's Camp Infomation Night
School Photos Tuesday 25th March
Year 5's and 6's Camp next week - Wednesday to Friday at Camp Rumbug
Sacrament of Reconciliation Thursday 27th March
Easter Liturgies and Open Book in Week 10
SAC Meeting April 1st
Last Day of School Friday 4th April at 1:20pm
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.

It's hard to believe we only have 2 weeks to go for Term 1!

With warmest regards and blessings to you all,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au