Dear Families,

I hope the long weekend provided a well-earned rest for the students and you all. I can’t believe the end of the term is almost upon us, and this is the final newsletter for term 1. The 8 weeks have really flown by, and there are only 4 school days left of this Term. As usual, we will conclude term 1 with our cross country for the senior students with an invitation to the Year 2 students to join if they wish. We will conclude the term on Thursday at the usual time of 3:30. Please note that Monday, 15th April, is a whole school closure day as all staff members will be attending our Literacy Collective.

Harmony/Wellbeing Day:

A big thank you to Georgie Carmen and the SRC, who planned a very successful Harmony/Wellbeing Day. It was a great opportunity for the students to work with teachers and other children from outside their usual classroom. A lot of work and preparation goes on in the background for days like this, and by all accounts, it was a huge success.

Literacy Collective:

St Joseph's is part of a Literacy Collective with like-minded schools in our region. This collective aims to share and celebrate evidence-based practices in Literacy, based on the foundations of structured literacy with MSL, Spelling Mastery & The Writing Revolution in our classrooms.

The collective currently consists of St Joseph's Malvern, St Joseph's Elsternwick, St Agnes' Highett, St Joan of Arc Brighton and Sacred Heart in Sandringham. Amanda Jackson (Literacy Leader) recently attended the inaugural Literacy Collective meeting and was thrilled to be working with like-minded schools from across our region.

At St Joseph's, investing in professional development is an important step in ensuring that our staff have the skills and knowledge they need to deliver high-quality learning to our students. Literacy is a crucial area of focus, and it's fantastic to see that we are prioritising this core business.

Whilst teachers at our school have had extensive training in pedagogy and the delivery of Literacy, we are thrilled to be working with Dr Pam Snow and Dr Nathaniel Swain on Monday 15th April to consolidate the great work we are doing in this area. Both professionals are recognised as the leading experts in the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy, presenting and lecturing nationally and internationally.

St Jude’s, Tanzania Visit St Joseph’s:

Our Catholic Identity - Fighting Poverty Through Education

Today, we welcomed some very special guests, Gemma Sisia, Winnie, and Sollan from Arusha, Tanzania in Africa. Gemma started the school of St Jude’s in Tanzania, which runs solely on donations from sponsors abroad. Winnie and Sollan are alumni students.

For those families who are new to our community, we have been sponsoring a young lady called Eliphuraha Petro’ from the school of St Jude’s in Tanzania over the last 13 years.

Elli, on her first day of school Elli at her graduation

Each year at St Joseph’s the funds raised on Friendship Fair Day (last day of Term Two) go directly to cover the cost of Elli’s sponsorship. Elli graduated last year and after doing national service for 6 months is teaching in a government school for 6 months. She will begin her university degree next year.

Our students loved hearing Gemma’s incredible story of hope and determination and enjoyed listening to Gemma’s two alumni students.

Gemma presented our school with two copies of their book and a beautiful artwork titled ‘Mama’s Love’. We will arrange to have this incredible gift framed and we will find a special place to hang it.

Mama's Love 2023

Artist: Abdallah Rashid Mgalla - Form 4, 2022

The mother's love for her children and family is unconditional. Their love is expressed through the care and protection they provide. This love, care, and protection build a strong character within the child for a better future.

Staffing News:

Congratulations to Kirsten Daws and Laura Saladino, who are pregnant and expecting their new arrivals later this year. Kirsten won’t be on leave until the last few weeks of Term 2, and Laura will remain with us until part of the way through Term 3. While the staff and community are very excited for them both, they will be missed by the whole St Joseph’s community. They both have very big shoes to fill, and we will announce who will be taking the Year 3D class teacher role and Italian classes as soon as we have found suitable candidates and completed the interview process.

Goodbye, Miss Jo:

Our wonderful LSO, Miss Jo, who has worked in the Prep rooms since 2021 will be leaving us at the start of next Term, with her last official day being Thursday, 18th April. Miss Jo and her children have a passion for basketball and she was headhunted by the Eastern District Basketball Association who asked her to take a role that she just couldn’t pass up. Miss Jo, I know the students who have worked with you and all the staff will miss you terribly, and wish you all the best in your future career.

Safety First!

Thanks to the support from the Stonnington Council, we were able to provide a bike check by Troy from Pedal Power, who came in Thursday morning to provide bike checks. These bike checks encourage active transport to and from school.

We also held our Termly Emergency management drill this time the school practised an evacuation of a fire drill, and the students and staff all carried out the evacuation in a timely and orderly manner.

School Photos:

This coming Tuesday is School Photo Day; students are asked to wear their full summer school uniform (jumpers not included) and have any long hair tied back. Teachers will be reminded to ask the students to tuck in their shirts and to ensure their class is looking their best; the majority of the photos are done before playtime and taken before any deep dives into the sand pit or mud pie-making can take place.

Cake Stalls 2024:

Yes, they're back for another year!

With our Year 5 and 6 parents donating the cakes and treats, I'm sure there'll be lots of yummy bargains to be had in time for Easter.

Thanks to our host classes, and please note the following:

All cakes and treats can be dropped off on Thursday in the hall kitchen
Cakes can be delivered on paper plates (or something disposable) and wrapped in glad wrap or foil.
Please include a list of ingredients and a sticker directly on the Glad wrap or as a separate list.
The sale will begin at 3.30 pm on Thursday 6th April

Thank you all for your support this Term. I know Michelle has appreciated every message, food item, and prayer that has been given. The generosity of our school community is second to none.

We really do have an amazing community that I am proud to be a part of.

Martin Earl

(Acting Principal)

Wellbeing Day

Harmony Week Celebrations