Dear Families,

A very warm welcome to the 2024 school year and I hope you and your family are enjoying the last few days ofthe summer holidays. Michelle’s unfortunate news came as a shock to all the school community and I know she has been very appreciative of all the words of support and encouragement that have been given by the community. I am extremely lucky to work in such a supportive community, I would like to thank all the parents and staff who have rallied together during this difficult time. I would like to especially thank all those staff members who have risen to the occasion and who have offered their expertise in leading key areas of the school. Amanda Jackson has taken on the role of Deputy, Donnella Devisser who will be acting REL, Tanya Huebner and Kirsten Daws who will be Junior and Senior Maths Leaders respectively. Faye Forbes is still onleave and during that time I have advertised for someone to fill the role of Learning Diversity Leader.

We’re certain 2024 will be a particularly exciting year as we welcome new staff and families to our community. We are also very much looking forward to the many sporting events, extracurricular activities, community events, and of course, the biennial Art Show. We also ‘grow’ a grade this year, with ten classes from Prep to Year 6. We are excited to welcome new staff who, we are sure, will add enormously to the nurturing and high-performing culture of our school. The full staff list is at the end of this letter.

At the beginning of each term, it is St Joseph’s practice to write to parents to outline important dates and events in the school calendar, and below are some key pieces of information and dates for your diary. This maybe familiar to our older families, but I feel it’s always good to offer a ‘refresher’ and also keep our new families in the loop from day 1. Also at the end of this letter is a summary of key dates for 2024, and these have been separated into categories, such as P+F/ SAC meeting dates, Sport dates etc. As the year progresses, we will keep you updated as to any new dates or changes.

Daily routines and timetable:

The gates open at 8.30am and classrooms will also be open at this time, as teachers prepare for their day, andwe request that upon arrival students drop off their bags and complete morning routines before heading backout to play. Students can, of course, choose to stay in the classroom and have some quiet time before the daybegins. The first bell is at 8.50am, and at this time Amanda and I will direct the children into the classrooms tobegin their day.Recess: Eating time will begin at 10.50am and children will go out to play at 11.05am. Children will be back inclass by 11.45am, giving them 40 minutes recess. Lunch: Eating time will begin at 1.10pm and at 1.20pm children will go out for lunch play. Children will be backin class by 2 pm, giving them 40 minutes lunch play.

As both break times (recess) are of equal length you may want to give your child two equally sized meals forthe day and staff will ensure the children are given enough time to eat- especially important for our younger ones.

The school day ends at 3.30pm and all classroom teachers will escort their children out to the playground in readiness to be picked up, and students will be allowed to leave once a parent/guardian is sighted. All aftercare students will be collected at the end of the school day.

We encourage all students to have ‘brain food’ each day, and this could be a small container of fruit and veg.The teachers ensure children have the opportunity to snack on this in the middle of the first 2-hour block oflearning (9-11am). Aside from Specialist lessons, all students have a two-hour English block in the morning, and a one-hour Maths block following recess. All other subjects will be covered following these sessions.

Communication with Teachers

Our teachers are available at 8.30am for a quick chat if needed. However, please understand that staff are usually using this time to set up for the day. Teachers are available after school if you need to check in withthem, but please note that staff meetings are scheduled each Tuesday and Thursday, from 3.45pm-4.45pm.

Class Dojo cannot be used for direct messages to teachers as it is not a formal method of communication endorsed by MACS.

If you need to communicate with a staff member then please email them directly and a list of email addresses will be sent to you at the beginning of the school year. You are also welcome to contact a teacher or the office if you wish to set up a more formal time to meet. If you have a situation that urgently needs to be addressed, and you feel it is necessary to escalate a matter, we encourage you to contact our office to make an appointment to see either myself or Amanda. Staff will respond to emails within 24 hours, but will not respond to emails between 5pm and 7am. (We do understand that you may have to email between those times.)

EXTEND Out of Hours School Care

To book your child into before or after school care, please follow this link: https://extend.lookedafter.com/dashboard/schools/SJPS3144

The vast majority of families are entitled to childcare subsidies to assist with these costs. Visit myGov to register to ensure you receive this entitlement, and we strongly encourage you to do this prior to your child accessing EXTEND.

‘Hot Lunches’

You would’ve received some communication from Isabelle regarding the change to our hot lunch service. We will now be using a service called ‘Your School Canteen’, ‘Your School Canteen’ will commence in the second week of Term 1 on Friday, 9th February. If you would like to find out more about the variety of food options available, please visit their website at www.yourschoolcanteen.com.au where you can sign up. For the start of the term hot lunches will only be available on Friday, if the service proves to be popular we will look into extending it to other days.

School Assembly is at 9am on Friday morning each week and is a wonderful way for us to gather as acommunity to celebrate birthdays and distribute the STAR awards. There is a coffee van on the school grounds where coffee and small treats are available to be purchased. Individual classes are timetabled once per semester to present a snapshot of their learning during this time, and your classroom teacher will inform you well ahead of time as to when this is scheduled for their class.

Sunsmart

As a Sunsmart School, we would like to remind you that children need to have school hats from day 1 and although we have sunblock in school, please ensure your child has their own supply if they are sensitive to various creams. We are also happy for the children to bring sunglasses. On extreme weather days, the following will apply:

● On days over 30 degrees, recess and lunch play will be shortened accordingly

● On days over 35 degrees, children will be kept indoors to play

Student Resources

All stationery and other resources are provided by the school. The only items children need to bring are a pencil case, their library bag (available from Bob Stewart) and home reader bag (available for purchase from school).

Operoo

Please update any medical information or family contact details directly into Operoo. For those children who suffer from an illness requiring medication and an action plan, please note that we require a new GP action plan each year; we also remind you to bring in your child’s medication on day 1 and hand it to Faye Forbes for storage in the first aid room. Your child’s Operoo profile must be shared with parent #2 if applicable. This is especially important for separated families as both parents are entitled to receive information, unless a court order stating otherwise, is in place.

NDIS/ Private Therapists

For those families who have therapists visiting our school for sessions with students, we will be sending out guidelines for these visits early in Term 1. Whilst we are happy to accommodate therapy sessions at school, as with all schools we have an increased number of therapists onsite. Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (MACS) have produced guidelines for us to follow should a family wish for therapy to happen on the school premises and during school time. Further information will be sent to the relevant families in the coming days.

Sport Uniform and Class Timetables

The classroom teachers will let you know next week which days your child needs to wear sport’s uniform.

Parent Information Nights/ Meetings in Term 1 2024

The first information session of the year is usually a year level meeting in the classroom, but in recent years our teachers filmed their talk and shared via Dojo. This worked very well and we will do the same again this year in lieu of an additional evening meeting.

The second important session of the term is a Parent/Teacher Meeting, which will take place on Thursday 8th February. During this meeting, you will have the opportunity to share pertinent information about your child with the classroom teacher. The link for bookings will be emailed to you in the first week of school. An email will come out on Tuesday 30th where you will be able to book in a time to meet with your child’s class teacher.

Welcome Mass and Family Picnic

Our annual welcome Mass will be held on Tuesday, February 6th at 9:15am in the Church, and will be celebrated by Fr Michael Gallacher, all families are welcome to attend. Due to the time change of the mass, the Welcome Picnic will be held on a different day, on Thursday 15th February at 3:30pm we will begin our family picnic, with Kaboom! providing fun activities for the children; this will give you the opportunity to mingle withother parents! The picnic will go until approximately 6.30pm and we encourage all families to attend.

Swimming Program Changes

In consultation with our School Advisory Council (SAC) we have carefully reviewed the swimming program on offer at St Joseph’s. The Victorian Curriculum has swimming as a part of the ‘Health and Physical Education’subject every two years and as a SAC we unanimously voted in favour of having swimming lessons every two years. In the alternate year, and also with guidance from curriculum documentation, the children will participate in a gymnastics program in school during their sports lessons. We are hopeful that this series of gym sessions will take place in Term Two and more information will be provided closer to the time.

Daily Timetable

ST. JOSEPH’S SCHOOL STAFF 2024

Leadership Team

Principal Michelle Moore

Deputy Principal Martin Earl

Religious Education Leader Donnella Devisser

Learning Diversity Leader To be appointed

Literacy Leader Amanda Jackson (Mon-Thur)

Maths Leaders Tanya Huebner (Junior)

Kirsten Daws (Senior)

Student Wellbeing Leader Georgina Carman

Teaching & Learning Leader Dean Butler

E-Learning Leader Martin Earl

Junior Coordinator Marta Cummings (Tue-Wed)

Senior Coordinator Clare Smith (Mon-Wed)

Parish Priest: Fr Michael Gallacher

Administration School Officers

Isabelle Freeman (Tue-Fri)

Lynnette Stone (Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri)

Classroom Teachers

Specialist Teachers

As we begin the new school year, we encourage you to participate in the life of our school in any way you canas the partnership between home and school is so important in the educational journey of your child. I truly believe that these strong partnerships are the hallmark of St. Joseph’s School, and with many planned community events in 2024, I am certain our relationships will be enriched and strengthened throughout this school year. Please be sure to check in on the Class Dojo each week to keep up to date with class events. Similarly, I strongly encourage you to subscribe (and read) our school newsletter which is emailed fortnightly on a Friday afternoon. We look forward to a wonderful year ahead full of fun, friendship and learning for our children; as a staff, we are grateful to be sharing this journey with you, in what will be another exciting year at St. Joseph’s.

See you on the gate!

Warmest regards,

Martin Earl (Acting Principal)

Dendy Swimming Champions

Dendy District Swimming Champions