Dear Parents and Friends,

It is hard to believe that we are already more than halfway through Term Two!

Students continue to be engaged in great learning in classrooms and teachers are currently preparing student Semester One reports and their assessments will show how students have demonstrated growth in their learning. Please read through all the pages in today's newsletter to see our students' fantastic learning!

Congratulations

Year 4 students made their First Eucharist last Sunday. It was a very special occasion for our students and their families and l thank Jackie, Chloe and Mary for supporting our students in their preparation for this important faith milestone. Thank you also to Kate for organising a beautiful Mass to celebrate this important event. Special thanks to Fr Thien who led our wonderful Mass and to Fr Manny for his ongoing support of our students in their preparation.

Also, congratulations also to Vanessa and Daniel on their recent wedding. We wish you much joy and happiness in sharing your lives together.

Mother’s Day Stall and Morning Tea

Thank you to all those involved in our recent Mother’s Day Stall. It was well organised and ran very smoothly. It is always so special seeing the excitement and joy on the children's faces as they purchase something special for their Mum. Thank you to those who volunteered to help. We really appreciate your support.

We had a wonderful attendance at our Mother’s Day assembly and a huge turnout for our Mother’s Day Mass and morning tea. It was wonderful to see our hall full of our wonderful Mums, Nonnas, Zias and valued family members. We have a wonderful school community, and it is great to celebrate these important occasions. All our Mums and Grandmothers had a wonderful time catching up for morning tea.

Prep 2025

Prep enrolments close at the end of this week. If you have a child to be enrolled for Prep 2025, l ask families to complete the enrolment form and hand it into the office as soon as possible. Families who have enrolled their child will receive a call inviting them to attend an interview with Geraldine or myself in coming weeks.

Meeting with families individually provides us with the opportunity to get to know your child better. We want all our new preps to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially when their school journey begins. We know from experience that if children are not ready for school, they can really struggle and sometimes fall behind. When students are very young, they can often benefit from spending another year in kindergarten to strengthen their foundational knowledge, improve their social interactions, and enhance their readiness for the challenges of not only prep, but also the higher grade levels. This is not a reflection of children’s abilities or potential. On the contrary, it is a proactive measure intended to ensure that they have a solid foundation upon which to build their academic and social skills. If you have any questions about your child's enrolment for school next year, please contact Michele.

Student Illness

Recently, the school has experienced an increase in the number of students who are unwell. It is common during the change of seasons that incidents of conditions such as cold and flu are more prevalent. Please do not send your child to school if they are unwell. If a child is unwell at school, they will be sent home. Thank you for your support in ensuring that we minimise the spread of illness in our school community.

School Absentee

Just a reminder that if your child is going to be absent from school, you must submit the Absentee eForm via Audiri. If your child is absent from school and you have not submitted an eForm, your child will be marked as unexplained, and you will receive an SMS notification about this.

We also ask that you avoid picking up your child early from school as this disrupts their learning. Early pickups should only be for an emergency or for an appointment that cannot be scheduled out of school hours. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Morning Drop Off

A friendly reminder to all families that there is no parking outside our school hall between 8.30 am and 9.00 am each morning. It can be dangerous to reverse back into oncoming traffic and this also slows down the flow of morning drop off. If you need to park, please use the parking bays on either side of the church in the morning.

When using the morning drop off, can families please drive to the end of the hall and then stop so their children can exit the car. Lately some families have been stopping just outside the gate and this slows the flow of traffic and causes a back log in Wilson Blvd. If families drive as far forward as possible, more students will have the opportunity to exit their cars and parents can quickly drive on.

Emergency Management Plan (EMP)

St Joseph the Worker has a comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (EMP) that addresses site specific hazards and threats which have the potential to result in emergencies and critical incidents which may occur. An important part of our plan is to test emergency response procedures by conducting regular drills. On Thursday, 13th June we will be conducting an evacuation drill. So that our students are not anxious about this drill, we will be reassuring them that this is just a practice!

Special thank you to Sera De Pace

At Thursday’s Assembly last week, Sera De Pace, who earlier this year stepped down as President of our Parents and Friends Committee, was acknowledged and praised for her many years of hard work organising many wonderful school community events and raising funds for our school.

During her time, Sera welcomed many parents to join the P & F Committee. Together under Sera’s leadership, they brought families and the school closer together while providing the children with many fun experiences. Sera undertook her role with warmth, kindness and a positive energy which was always felt in all her interactions with the school community. We look forward to her continued involvement and support in future school activities. Thank you, Sera.

Cross Country

Today a number of students represented St Joseph the Worker Primary School at the Division Cross Country Championships at Bundoora Park. Congratulations to our participants: Joseph B, Alexia A, Paul G, Olivia V, Levi B, Alexander A, Alessio C, Cedric O, Isaac O, Liana C, Matthew P and Sierra C.

Thank you to Vanessa and the parents who attended and supported our students today. A special thanks to Vanessa for preparing our students so well.

Important Dates for Term Two

Thursday 6th June - Cybersafety session with Andrew Moreton - 6.00 pm with our SLA students and parents. All other parents are welcome to attend, please RSVP to the office
Monday 10th June - King's birthday public holiday
Tuesday 11th June - Pupil free day - Staff professional development day

I hope you have a great week. We ask St Joseph the Worker to continue to bless and keep safe, our wonderful Parish and School Community.

Kind regards,

Maria Barnes

Principal

Community News

Preston Bullants