Dear families,

Thank you to those families who came to school last weekend to help out at the Working Bee! Our school looked so lovely and we are so thankful to the P&F for coordinating another successful event to beautify our school. A special mention to Kane Conway and Paul Bozic for their support on the day.

Grattan Institute - Educational Research

WE'RE AHEAD OF THE GAME

Many of our families would have seen or heard the recent media reports on the latest Grattan Institute report on reading instruction, and the discussion around phonics vs balanced literacy. The message from this report is loud and clear - establishing a “structured literacy” approach that includes a systematic focus on phonics for decoding, is essential in early primary school.

We are thrilled to acknowledge that St Joseph's remains ahead of the game in it's approach to Structured Literacy - with the explicit, systematic, and sequential teaching of literacy occurring from Prep to Year 6. I have linked some recent articles and media releases below, specifically highlighting the recommendations and practices we proudly have in place at St Joseph's, and have had since 2017.

ABC News - "One-third of Australian children can't read properly as teaching methods cause 'preventable tragedy', Grattan Institute says"

Our daily, two-hour literacy block addresses the curriculum content areas of Reading, Writing, and Speaking and Listening. Throughout the program, students are exposed to explicit teaching and a wide variety of quality literature from diverse voices. In Prep, Year 1 and Year 2, the literacy block starts with explicit teaching of phonics, using the Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) approach and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum. MSL incorporates five essential steps for effective reading instruction - identifying letter sounds, sounding out words, fluency, accuracy and comprehension. Students in Years 3 to 6 receive direct instruction around sound-letter patterns and spelling generalisations, using the evidence-based Spelling Mastery program.

In the Prep to Year 6 Writing program, using The Writing Revolution (TWR), students progress from sentence construction to complete compositions. They are explicitly taught concepts of grammar and punctuation, before practising these in the construction of a range of text types. Students learn to use text features and structure to entertain, persuade or inform the reader, all while developing their author’s voice.

We again thank our dedicated staff for their investment in these best practices, especially Alannah Harrison for her considerable drive and leadership on how we do things at St Joseph's Elsternwick. We also acknowledge the many staff for their work over the years in establishing St Joseph's as a leading school in explicit instruction, including Wendy Dugosija, Sarah Nugent and Tom Hartney.

Please make sure you read Mrs Harrison's Deputy News for further details on our exceptional English program at St Joseph's.

Year 6 Canberra Camp

Last Friday, 45 very, very tired Year 6 students, plus staff and parent volunteers, returned from their week-long trip to Canberra - their longest camp to date. We are so pleased to report that the students had the most wonderful time away, and their engagement and enthusiasm was recognised by the staff, parent helpers and facilitators at the venues.

Day One - The (10 hour) bus ride, lunch at Holbrook and lots of time spent outside when they arrived at the accommodation.

On our Year 6 Canberra Camp, our students are exposed to so many enriching, real life experiences that are just not possible in a classroom environment - from a tour of Parliament House, to a wreath laying ceremony at the National War Memorial, to visiting the AIS. Participating in these rich experiences ensures our students gain a comprehensive understanding of our nation's history, government and sports culture.

Day Two - National Arboretum, National Capital Exhibition, National Gallery of Australia, Electoral Education Centre, 10 pin bowling.

We thank our families for trusting us to take your precious children away for a whole week. We should not underestimate the responsibility and commitment in taking children away from the creature comforts of home and the safe boundaries of school. Our staff genuinely love these opportunities to interact more freely with the students, despite the fact that it can be incredibly physically and emotionally fatiguing (you are 'on' 24/7).

Day Three - Museum of Australian Democracy, Parliament House, Parliamentary Education Program, Embassies/High Commissions in Canberra, National Archives of Australia, Australian Institute of Sports.

Our deepest thanks go to Miss Coldebella, Miss Shanahan, Mrs Quitt and Mrs Harrison, for making this camp such a great success, and to Bridget Garrard, Lauren Underwood, Cory Layton and Lucas Ramsay for accompanying our students. Our parents go above and beyond the call of duty, and attending school camp as a volunteer is just one of these ways. We are so grateful for the support of our parent community.

Day Four - Australian War Memorial, Mt Ainslie Lookout, ANZAC Parade walking tour, Cycle Canberra (bike tour), Questacon.

For our Year 5s (2025 Year 6s) our Canberra Camp dates are Monday February 10th - Friday February 14th (Term 1, Week 3).

School Open Days for Enrolments 2025 & 2026

Enrolments for Prep 2025 are open and we encourage families to submit their applications as soon as possible. It is vital that we have all sibling applications so we can allocate places for new families. The application form can be found on our School Website: https://www.sjelst.catholic.edu.au/applynow

At our Open Day on Wednesday, the Year 6 Leaders showed many visitors around our beautiful school. We had the most wonderful feedback from our prospective families, commenting on how well the Year 6s spoke and shared information about our school, in addition to sharing many special memories they had of their time here. Thank you, Year 6!

I received the loveliest email from a prospective parent about our Year 6 leaders:

We both adored St Joseph's. The school leaders that ran our tour did an exceptional job. I was impressed, not only with their knowledge of the school, but how they spoke fondly about their memories of different classrooms and experiences they have enjoyed over the years. They did a brilliant job.

The next Open Days are scheduled for:

Tuesday 5th March, 9-12pm
Thursday 14th March, 9-12pm

If you would like to book a tour for one of these days, please click here to register. Our families are our greatest advocates, so keep spreading the good word about our amazing school to your family and friends. Tours are always welcome outside of these hours, so please contact the office on 9528 1614 should you be unable to make one of the above times.

School Advisory Council and P&F Meetings

It has been a delight to join these two important parent bodies for their first meetings for 2024. Parent engagement is such a vital factor in the overall successes of a school and there is strong evidence linking parent engagement with improvements in academic achievement for children of all ages.

The School Advisory Council, chaired by John Ferraro and vice-chaired by Catherine Anderson, provides an important forum for parent consultation and participation at St Joseph's. The Parents and Friends committee, led by Ben Gibbs (President) and Jen Conway (Vice-President), assists the school in providing the best possible environment for the children. This is done through fundraising activities eg. stalls and functions and scheduled community-building events across the year.

The P&F will be hosting an information evening on Tuesday 12th March at 6.45pm regarding our School Fete (Saturday 23rd November). Please RSVP via the Operoo note for catering purposes.

St Joseph's Athletics Day

Please make sure you read Mr Gately's Athletics Day page for all the important details. We are excited to gather as a community for this special day and are calling for many parent helpers. Please speak to Tom Hartney or your child's class teacher if you can help out.

School Closure

On Thursday 7th March and Friday 8th March, the school will be closed so all staff can participate in a two day professional learning seminar. We have leaders from the Crowther Centre presenting to our staff on explicit instruction, in addition to completing some Child Safety and Wellbeing training, and reviewing school wellbeing policies and practices. The Crowther Centre is an education and school improvement consultancy firm that works with high performing schools to sharpen their teaching and learning approaches. These two days reinforces our priority on high quality teaching, learning and wellbeing. We thank you for your understanding as we undertake this valuable professional learning.

Smoking Ceremony - 15th March

On Friday 15th March at 9am a member of the Boonwurrung Land Council will come to St Joseph's to perform a Welcome to Country and a Smoking Ceremony. We invite all parents and family members to attend. During Week 7, the Year 6 leaders will go around to every classroom to teach all students about these Aboriginal customs. We are incredibly grateful to the Boonwurrung Land Council for working with St Joseph's in our ongoing commitment to reconciliation. Please make sure you read the Year 6 Leadership Report on this special event.

NAPLAN

In the week following the Labour Day Long Weekend, our Year 3 and 5 students will sit NAPLAN Online. All tests are completed using the school’s Chromebooks, with the exception of Year 3 Writing, which is handwritten. The Year 3 and 5 students will complete the following tests:

Writing - Wednesday 13th March
Reading - Thursday 14th March
Conventions of Language - Monday 18th March
Numeracy - Tuesday 19th March

Results will be received mid-year and an individual report will be provided to families displaying your child’s achievement. Please click on the attachment below for parent information regarding NAPLAN in 2024.

Prep Parent Information Evening

It was an absolute pleasure to listen to Lisa Mclean, Alison Shea, Adriana Aloi, Karen Quitt, Alannah Harrison (Deputy/Literacy Leader) and Sarah Nugent (P-2 Math Leader/Intervention) present at the Prep Parent Information Session earlier this week. We are blessed to have such skilled leaders working with the staff, students and parents at St Joseph's.

First Break, Second Break

We are thrilled to share the news that our students have seamlessly adapted to the new timetable and daily structure. The smooth transition is a testament to their resilience and flexibility in embracing change. Teachers are encouraging the students to eat their main meal at first break, in addition to having breaks across the day (if required). As such, we have changed the names from "recess" and "lunch" to "first break" and "second break". This modification aims to provide clarity and consistent language across the school.

Soccer at St Joseph's

Following the Matilda's crushing win on Wednesday night, our St Joseph's team is just as ready to take on the competition at the upcoming Interschool Soccer event. We are sending an incredible 4 teams to compete on Friday 26th April, and training for our girls teams has commenced at school. Led by Miss Dusting, Miss Coldebella and Mr Cody, they are in excellent hands. We also thank Andreas Leal for, once again, coaching our boys team. Last year, Andreas coached them to victory and, most importantly, it sparked an incredible amount of interest and excitement for the 2024 team.

Gardening Club

Our Gardening Club is thriving! Facilitated by our Sustainability Leader, Mrs Doran, the students are working hard to get the beds ready for new planting this term. We are so fortunate that our students can have experiences such as these, and we thank Mrs Doran for fostering such a wonderful love for nature and gardening with our students.

Little Gems

Thank you to Jodie and Kylie for bringing their 'Thanks A Latte' Coffee Van to St Joseph's this morning! They will be back on Friday 15th March before our Smoking Ceremony, so make sure you pack your pocket money on this day.

It was lovely to welcome Kathy into Year 4 to speak with the students as part of the Term 1 SEL unit of work.

Year 4s are still working hard on their sunsmart posters!

'Joeys Run Club' has been a wonderful success, with many students from Years 3-6 turning up every week to train at Harleston Park. Thank you to Miss Dusting and Mr Hartney for continuing this initiative for our community. Parents, friends and pets are all welcome.

The Preps are displaying their artistic talents, under the careful guidance of our Art teacher Mrs Doran. We have been so impressed by the quality of work the students are producing!

The Year 5 SRC students stepped in for our School Captains at assembly last week. They blew us away with their poise and confidence when presenting the awards - congratulations Jessie, Maddie, Phoebe and Leo!

We recently took delivery of some absolutely fabulous new soccer and AFL jerseys, which was only possible thanks to a generous contribution by our P&F. We cannot wait to put them to good use during the upcoming seasons.

At the start of the year we changed our 'end of break time' procedures to have all students lining up under the large shade cloth. Not only is this a sunsmart thing to do, it also gives us an opportunity to have a mini-assembly before quietly and calmly going inside. We love it.

Astrid (Year 5) was lucky enough to meet Lydia Williams from the Matilda’s, share an elevator ride with her and talk about soccer.

We hope everyone enjoys the longer weekend next week after Athletics Day, we think the extra few days off for the students has come at the perfect time.

Claire Tobin

Principal

St Mary's College