Term 4, Week 3

Dear families,

What an absolutely stunning celebration we had last week for Grandparent's Day! Thank you to the many, many hands that worked together to make this special day so successful. Despite the Biblical levels of rain, the day could not have been more perfect, with many of us commenting that the day was our best one yet. With close to 700 people in attendance, it was 'standing room only' - and we wouldn't have it any other way. It is days such as these that remind us why St Joseph's is just so special (best school in Melbourne).

While some grandparents were unable to attend, it was beautiful to see a number of special friends, family members, neighbours or even members of staff step in for this occasion, with some even taking time away from work to attend.

Congratulations and thank you to our amazing Year 5s, Miss Dusting and Mr Cody for the wonderful assembly item they presented. The children's shared memories of their Grandparents was very special (and quite amusing)!

The success of days such as these are the result of our incredible parents. In this instance, we thank our P&F and Year 1 parents for their efforts across the morning and days leading up to the event - Nic, Yas, Andrew, Kumudu, Suze, Jess, Matilda, Kath, Steph, Arlen, Carla, Deb, Seathrun and Lydia. We have the best parent community and we are so grateful for their efforts. In addition, we sincerely thank our Year 6 group. These students were exceptional - showing families around the school, serving food, chatting to families and helping Grandparents to the tables for morning tea. Simply fabulous.

We received some really lovely feedback after the day, with the email below being just a small snapshot:

Just a little note to say thank you for a wonderful morning. I know my trio were certainly all very excited for it - they have been chatting about it all week. A lot of work goes into organising a special morning that it was, and you guys sure did a fabulous job so thank you both and to all the wonderful team of teachers. My Mum thoroughly enjoyed her morning and praised the amazing school that St Joeys is.

Italian Day

Congratulations to Signora Butera and our fabulous Year 6 Leaders for their efforts in organizing Italian Day today. What a big day for all!

Thank you also to our staff and parent helpers for chipping in where possible. Once again, our students shone - getting into the spirit of the festivities and having a go at all the activities that were on offer. From panettone slices being sold before school, soccer, bocce, mosaics, Arcimboldo art activity, Modigliani self portraits and the waiter's race - we seemed to have it all this year.

We are grateful to Manuel Maggioni for the wonderful gelato he provided for the students and to the staff for the organisation of pizza for our shared lunch.

2025 Prep Orientation

We are excitedly preparing to welcome our 2025 Prep families and students for the Orientation program. For our new and returning Prep parents, we look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday 29th October at 6.30pm. This information evening is a wonderful opportunity to meet new families, teachers and key staff who will work with your children next year.

In readiness for 2025, we are thrilled to announce that Miss Lisa Mclean and Miss Plaxy Nardella will be teaching Prep. All other staffing allocations will be announced later this term.

Our orientation sessions for our Prep 2025 class are as follows:

Session #1: 9.30 - 10.30am, Thursday 7th November. Parents are asked to stay onsite for this session. Tea and coffee will be available. We will also hold a second hand uniform stall on this day.
Session #2: 9.30 - 11am, Thursday 14th November. Parents drop and go.
Session #3: 9.30 - 11.30am, Thursday 21st November. Parents drop and go, please include snacks and drink bottle for this session.

St Joseph's School Advisory Council and Parents and Friends AGM

We invite our parents to attend our AGM on Tuesday 12th November at 6.30pm. This will be a relaxed event, where we will share our school, P&F and School Advisory Council achievements for 2024. A formal Operoo will go out next week. Light refreshments will be provided on the night.

Art Show Thursday 28th November, 5.00–7.30pm

We warmly invite all members of our community to join us for our Art Show, showcasing over 1,000 pieces of student artwork. The students have been hard at work on these pieces throughout the year, and we’re excited to see them displayed across the school. A heartfelt thank you goes to Mrs Lauren Doran for her incredible dedication in the art room, preparing the students for this event. We also extend our gratitude to the classroom teachers for their additional art pieces and to Amanda Bowman for her creative contributions. We look forward to celebrating this special evening with our school community.

Hoop Time Regional Finals

Well done to the St Joseph's Emus basketball team, who played in the Regional Finals competition last week. They played extremely well, playing the top team in the Grand Final and winning! The team now goes through to the State Finals, to be held on Friday 6th December.

It was such an exciting day and the students should be so proud of the way they conducted themselves. We sincerely thank the fabulous Mr Cody (our very own Ted Lasso) for coaching the team and to Mel Sutton, Mr Hartney and Erin Juers for their help on the day.

Beachside Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to the students for their efforts at the Beachside Athletics Carnival last Tuesday. The competition at this level is incredibly tough and our students did so well - not only competing at an elite level, but also demonstrating excellent 'fair play' and grace under pressure. Miss Dusting and Miss Melissa returned to school full of praise for the students and we could not be more proud of them.

On Monday of this week, Luke (Year 4) and Maddie (Year 5) competed at the State Championships after progressing through the Beachside Competition. Luke came 3rd in his long jump - an incredible achievement! Maddie performed admirably, finishing in the top 10 for shotput - a fantastic achievement, considering the competition is so tough at this level. Congratulations, Luke and Maddie!

2025 School Camps - Update

Starting in 2025, we will be making a change to how we staff our school camps. Parent helpers will no longer be required to attend school camp alongside our teachers. Instead, our camps will be staffed entirely by our dedicated team. This change brings us in line with all schools in our region, allowing us to provide a consistent and cohesive experience for all students, while continuing to ensure the highest level of care and supervision. We greatly appreciate the support our parent community has offered in the past, and we look forward to continuing to work together in other areas of school life.

2025 Year 6 Canberra Camp

We are excited to confirm the details for the Year 6 Canberra Camp in 2025. Students will arrive at school at 6.30am on Monday 10th February, with the bus departing promptly at 7am. Over the next three days—Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday—students will visit various locations across Canberra, before flying home on Thursday afternoon; 13th February. After landing, they will be bussed back to St Joseph's, with an estimated arrival time of 6.00pm. Please note, there will be no school for Year 6 teachers and students on Friday 14th February, allowing them a well-deserved rest after the camp.

School Gates

Thank you to our parent community for your understanding as we implement our updated system for locking and unlocking the school gates. The gates are locked at 8.55am every morning. Students arriving after this time should enter through the front office, and any parents still inside the building are also asked to exit via the front office. At the end of the day, the gates will be locked at 3.45pm. Families are welcome to continue enjoying the playgrounds, but students must be supervised by an adult. To exit the school after this time, please enter through the foyer doors and leave via the front office.

Staff News

We are so delighted to share that Tom Hartney and his wife, Kat, are expecting their first child! Congratulations, we are so thrilled for you.

This past fortnight we welcomed Mrs Quitt, Mrs Harrison and Miss Coldebella back from their respective European holidays. Sadly, poor Mrs Quitt has since broken her foot and will have some time off to rest and recover. We are sending her lots of good wishes for a speedy recovery.

Not to be outdone by all the puppies that visit St Joseph's, Fiona had a visit from her own family dog, Buckley.

Moira is currently in Japan, returning in early November. This is an extra special time for Moira, as she recently became a Grandma for the second time. Little Alfie was born the day after she left for her holiday, and joins big brother Theo.

Little Gems

Congratulations to Charlotte, Bas, Lachie, Monty and Matilda for competing in the Mini Melbourne Marathon last weekend! A super effort.

As an added thrill on Grandparent's Day, Iris (Prep) and Archie's (Year 2) Grandpa brought some blue tongue lizards in for show and tell, as well as an insect collection to show the students.

Tom S and Archie (Year 2) proudly showed off their information report writing.

Jack, Oscar, Livia and Olivia simply outdid themselves on Grandparent's Day. They were so helpful and friendly to all members of our community, and we are blessed to have such inspiring and capable leaders in Year 6.

Congratulations to our wonderful school community on another stellar fortnight at the best school in Melbourne.

We remind our families that there is no school on Monday 4th November, giving our students a 4-day long weekend.

See you all next week.

Warmest,

Claire Tobin

Principal

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