Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term Three. The students have returned refreshed and are engaging meaningfully with their learning each day. We will encourage them to build upon the successes of the past and strive for even greater accomplishments. As we embark on Semester Two of the academic year, I wanted to take a moment to look at some of the exciting opportunities the children have already been engaging in and some that lie ahead.

Tree Planting Day

Early in Semester One, Rebecca Beveridge and I met with Ben from the Yarra Ranges Council to see what we could do to enhance our local environment. We were provided with the opportunity to engage in a Tree Planting Day on the first Wednesday of term. The students planted 1000 trees and shrubs on the council land opposite our school under the guidance of Ben and the supervision of their Classroom Teachers and Learning Support Officers.

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

Congratulations to all of our students for the way they embraced the celebration of NAIDOC Week this year. It was fantastic to see them engaging in artworks, sports activities and other things inspired by our First Nations culture.

Visit from Kevin Sheedy

On Monday, we welcomed Kevin Sheedy, one of the greats of Australian Rules Football, to St Joseph. Kevin played and coached in a combined total of 929 games over 47 years from 1967 until 2013. He was a three-time grand final winning player for Richmond in 1969, 1973 and 1974. Played 251 games for the club between 1967 and 1979. He won the club’s Best and Fairest Player Award in 1976 and Captained the Tigers in 1978.

In the second stage of his footy career, Kevin coached Essendon in 634 games between 1981 and 2007, winning 4 grand finals including back to back in 1984-5. He went on to coach GWS in 2012-3 and is now a member of the Essendon Board.

Kevin was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia honour for his services to Australia in 2019. He is a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame and has been upgraded to Legend status.

Mind and Body Incursion

This week the students from Years Foundation to Six all participated in a Mind and Body Incursion where they learned self-regulation techniques that assist them to be present, centred and grounded. Special thanks to Rebecca Beveridge for organising this day for us.

St John’s Ambulance First Aid Training

Today the students participated in a St John’s Ambulance First Aid Training course where they learned the basics of First Aid. Thanks to Simone Traynor for organising and timetabling this event. You never know when these skills may be needed. They could even save a life one day.

Museums in Motion

On Wednesday afternoon the senior students put on a learning expo called Museums in Motion where they showcased their learning from their recent history Inquiry Learning Unit.

In the Coming Weeks....

Looking ahead to the next few weeks, the students will be participating in many rich and engaging learning tasks, including the following:

MLMC Musical - The Adams Family (Yr 5/6)

Opening the Doors Walk-a-Thon (F-6)

100 Days of School Celebrations (F-2)

Welcome Back Ms Meredith Smith

Everyone was thrilled to welcome Meredith back and it is great to see her now fit and well. Meredith will be sending her reports out to the 1/2 Families on Monday afternoon and her Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held on Wednesday between 9:00am and 6:00pm. Any parents/carers who have not yet registered for an interview are asked to do so by clicking the link below:

www.schoolinterviews.com.au

Code: kkj9u

Parents who have arranged a PSG directly with Meredith won't need to attend a Parent-Teacher Interview.

Teacher of the Week

This week I would like to acknowledge Mrs Simone Traynor for the contribution she is making towards the Professional Learning of the St Joseph's Staff in 2024. While on Long Service Leave in 2023, Simone kept her mind very active, researching contemporary approaches to learning and teaching, particularly in the area of explicit instruction. Simone's research coincided with the release of the Melbourne Archdiocese Schools Vision for Instruction. A centre piece of this document is Explicit Instruction.

Simone has taken a leading role in planning and delivering professional for the staff in this area, in line with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Vision for Instruction. As a result, we are very well placed with the implementation of this contemporary approach and our staff are gaining confidence working in this way.

Please refer to the Literacy Page this week to read Simone's article about the progression of phonics learning across the school.

I hope you can stay warm and dry this weekend.

Kind regards,

Nick.

Transition to Primary and Secondary School