Dear Parents and Guardians,

It was fantastic to see so many students dressed up for our football/sportsperson fundraiser today.

Thank you to our families for their support of this event – this money supports Vivian having access to an education at the School of St Jude, Tanzania. The School of St Jude fights poverty through education and provides free education to many poor students. St Jude empowers students to find solutions to assist the 45 million Tanzanians living in poverty. Today we raised

$209.00 and l thank all our families for their support with this.

Confirmation

Congratulations to our Year 6 students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation last Friday evening. It was a lovely ceremony with Bishop Terry Curtain and Father Manny Bonello. It was a very special occasion for the students and their families. I would like to thank all those who were involved in preparing the students for this important sacrament, particularly their teachers Rosa, Michael, Rosanna and Rhoe. Thankyou also to Pauline for her support of our students in preparing for this sacrament and for organising a beautiful mass to celebrate this important faith milestone. Thank you also to Fr Manny for his ongoing support of our students in their preparation and at the mass.

Staffing Updates

After interviewing candidates for the position of Deputy Principal/ Leader of School Improvement with Craig Carlin (MACS) and Mark Miatello (Principal of Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School), I am excited to inform you that Gerarldine Crowe will be our new Deputy Principal/Leader of School Improvement beginning in 2024. On behalf of our school community, I would like to congratulate Geraldine on her appointment and hope that she enjoys her time in these important leadership roles.

Due to personal circumstances, Maria Raso has made the difficult decision to reduce her onsite days next term to two days per week, working Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Maria will be taking long service leave on the other days.

This change has provided the opportunity for Geraldine to begin transitioning into the role of Deputy Principal and she will now be working in Term 4 full time.

Sadly, we say goodbye to Anna Amerena tomorrow. We wish Anna every success in her new role in the corporate workspace. On behalf of our school community, l thank you Anna for your warm, calm disposition and friendly assistance you always provided to students, staff and parents in our community.

3 Way Conversations

Teachers are looking forward to seeing all parents today and tomorrow for our 3 way conversations, which will take place today Thursday June 22 (School will finish at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday) and tomorrow Friday June 23. We have allowed 15-minute appointment times and all parents are expected to attend to discuss your child’s achievements and future learning priorities.

The three-way conference is an opportunity for students, teachers, and parents to talk about the student’s strengths, the areas for future learning. 3 Way conferences strengthen the home-school partnerships and allow our students to see their parents and teacher working together with them.

3 Way conferences provide a forum to acknowledge student progress and celebrate their achievements. We want this to be an affirming experience where parents are encouraged to provide positive feedback to their child based on the work they share.

We understand that some conversations are not always appropriate to have in front of your child. If there is a matter that you wish to discuss privately with your child’s teacher, students will be able to wait outside the classroom after they have shared their learning goal.

MACSSIS Family School Improvement Survey

Each year we ask families, students and staff to share their perceptions about how our school is going. At St Joseph the Worker, we believe it is important that families have a voice and contribute to the shaping of improvement in our school. Parent feedback is invaluable to our progress as a strong school community.

Some families have been invited to participate in our annual online Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS). Families will have received an email with the details of how to complete the survey. We encourage families to participate in the survey however, it is not compulsory.

R U OK Day Thursday, 13th September

Today is our National Day of Action when we remind each other that every day is the day to ask ‘are you OK?’ and start a meaningful conversation whenever we observe that someone we care about may be struggling with life.

As a school we take mental health very seriously. Supporting our community to continue to have important conversations is crucial especially if you have noticed changes in a family member, your child, a friend or a colleague. Don't underestimate the difference each of us can make to others by simply asking r u ok?

Please encourage anyone who may be at risk or experiencing emotional distress, including worried family and friends, to seek support and contact one of the following services:

  Kids Helpline. 1800 55 1800 Phone support is there all day, every day.

Online support is open from 8am-midnight every day (AEST).

eHeadspace. 1800 650 890 Open 9am-1am daily (AEST) 

  Lifeline. 13 11 14 Phone support all day, every day. Online support 7pm-4am daily (AEST).

Catholic Care 03 9287 5555 https://www.ccam.org.au/page/12/counselling

  Beyondblue. 1300 22 4636 Phone support all day, every day. Online support 3pm-midnight every day.

Mensline Australia 1030078 99 78

Australian Catholic Bishops’ Social Justice Statement 2023/2024

The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC) has released their Social Justice statement for 2023/2024. This document focuses on engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to ‘close the gap’ and address inequality and mistreatment, both past and ongoing. Of particular interest is the position of Australia’s Catholic Leadership on the upcoming Voice Referendum. While it is acknowledged that all people need to make their own informed decision, the ACBC statement explains how the Voice to Parliament begins to address many issues that affect Australia's Indigenous peoples. The following quote provides a strong indication of their view on the Voice referendum. “We, [the ACBC], feel that the referendum is too important to fail. The consequences for our people and the whole nation would be devastating.”

School Fees

Thank you to the families who have paid their fees in full. It is very important that all school fees are paid in full and on time to enable the school to meet its financial obligations. Please do not hesitate to contact Marisa if you would like to discuss your account or wish to set up a direct debit payment plan.

School Uniform

Please check your child's summer uniform in the next couple of weeks to see that it still fits them, as many children have grown so much over the past few months! We will let parents decide which uniform your child wears in the first two weeks of term four, as we don’t want our students to be too hot or cold! Beginning week three, all students will be expected to wear the full summer uniform. We will announce this date next term.

Our policy states that a hat must be worn when the children are outside, please ensure that they have the correct school hat from the first day in Term 4. Remember our rule: “No Hat, No Play.

A friendly reminder that students are only permitted to wear their sneakers on PE or Interschool Sports Days.

Father's Day Stall and Assembly

Our Fathers’ Day Stall was held recently and our Fathers’ Day Assembly on Friday September 1. We had a wonderful response to these events and l thank our wonderful parents for organising the stall and staff and students for their presentations to our Father’s as part of our celebration of Father’s Day.

May St Joseph the Worker continue to bless our wonderful community, please take care and enjoy the term holidays. Let's hope we have plenty of warm sunny days.

Maria Barnes

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