Principal News

Welcome back! 

Dear families, 

It was an absolute delight to welcome everyone back to St Joseph's on Tuesday, as the students returned for their first day of the school year. The classrooms were buzzing, with many happy (and relieved) parents introducing themselves to their child's new teacher and the students becoming familiar with their classroom, before rushing outside for a play with their friends. In particular, the excitement over our newly refurbished classrooms and student bathrooms was palpable, with many families popping in to have a sneak peek!

As with all the classes across the school, our Preps made such a fabulous start to school and this bodes so well for the year ahead. We sincerely thank Miss Mclean, Miss Aloi and Mrs Quitt for their work in settling the students so well into the new routines and expectations of St Joseph's. 

In particular, our Year 6s excelled in their first week and we are very much looking forward to working closely with them across the various leadership groups. We could not be more impressed with the level of leadership displayed by these students - including singing loud and proud today at Mass! 

I would also like to acknowledge our staff, who worked over the summer break to prepare their classrooms/learning spaces and complete the many administrative requirements for the start of the school year. 

In 2024, we warmly welcome Mr Jack Jansson (1J), Mr John Gately (PE) and Mr Peadar Cody (5C) who are joining our team this year. We also welcome back Bek Skehan (Learning Diversity) from maternity leave. 

New Families

We extend a warm welcome to all the new families joining us this year: 

Brugal-Fernandez, Cameron, Comerford, Creek, Dillon, Dooly, Dowd, Galbraith, Gilbert, Hoare, James, Jones, Knowles, Le, Lenten, Makar, Moore, Nguyen, Nauhria, Narasimha, Nowell, Pieterse, Poloie, Reiseger, Robertson, Simon, Stevens, Tyrell, Vlahovich, Waters, Weinhandl, White. 

We are delighted to have you as part of our community and look forward to forging strong and positive relationships over the years to come. 

Building Project Update

As communicated in my previous Operoo notice, Stage 2 of our building project is now complete. We thank our fabulous builders, Spaces Australia, for working tirelessly over January (they were back onsite on the 2nd!) to ensure the rooms and bathrooms were ready for our students on their first day of school. It was a huge effort. 

At our Working Bee on Friday 26th January, we simply could not have anticipated the number of parent volunteers (30+ families)! I sincerely thank those in attendance for their efforts in preparing our school for Day 1 - we truly could not have done it without you. From moving pianos and large furniture items, unpacking boxes, cleaning tables, vacuuming, setting up pencil tubs and book shelves and helping with displays; it was a beautiful testament to the strength of our community. It also provided many students (and parents) with a lovely 'preview' of their classroom before school returned on Tuesday. Across the week, the feedback from our families has been overwhelmingly positive, with many families commenting on the incredible transformation of the classrooms. We could not be happier with the final result! 

We are now in Stage 3, which involves the Year 6 classrooms, the two Year 6 stairwells, finishing off the atrium and building tiered seating in the foyer (outside the tuckshop). Painting on the atrium is under way and construction on the other areas listed will start within the next week. Fortunately, access to the school via the foyer will not be impacted by the works. 

We will keep our families across any further building updates via the School Newsletter. 

Prep and Year 5 Buddy Program

Our Prep and Year 5 buddy program started on the first day of school, with our Year 5s taking to their roles as mentors with ease. For many of our students, they consider this relationship as one of their most treasured over their primary school journey, and the Year 5s have been simply bursting with excitement at the prospect of 'finally' getting to be a big buddy. This week, they have engaged in shared lunches outside and lots of buddy playtime, and this program can often be one of the key ingredients in settling our Preppies into school life. 

Notably, the Year 5s sat with the Preps at Mass today and provided such exceptional leadership during the service, supporting the little ones to sit and listen. It was just beautiful. Well done, Year 5s! 

Parent Information Session and Parent/Teacher Interviews

On Wednesday 7th February we will host Parent Information Sessions for Years 1-6. As we will be running some sessions concurrently, if you have a session clash, we ask that you please attend your eldest child’s session. In the sessions our teachers will cover specific year level information, including English, Maths, wellbeing, Religious Education and other general bits and pieces. 

• Year 1 & 2/Year 5 and Year 6 @ 6-6:45pm
• Year 3 & 4 @ 7-7:45pm

Prep families will have their session on Tuesday 27th February at 6:30pm. 

On Tuesday 13th February and Wednesday 14th February, we will host our parent/teacher interviews for all families. These are a fantastic opportunity for parents to share important wellbeing and learning information with your child/ren's teacher for 2024. Please make a booking via the link: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/r7nft 

School Photos

School Photos are booked for Thursday 29th February. Please send your child to school in their full summer uniform. Year 6s will need to also wear their rugby jumpers. If your child has their Sport lesson on this day, please pack their runners in their school bag. 

School Open Days & Tours for Enrolments 2025

Enrolments for Prep 2025 are now open and we encourage all families to submit their applications as soon as possible. The enrolment application is to be completed via our School Website here: https://www.sjelst.catholic.edu.au/enrolment 

Our Open Days are scheduled for: 

• Wednesday 28th February, 9am - 12pm
• Tuesday 5th March, 9am - 12pm
• Thursday 14th March, 9am - 12pm

Our families are our greatest advocates, so keep spreading the good word about our amazing school to your friends and family. Tours are always welcome outside of these hours, so please contact the office at your earliest convenience should you be unable to make one of the above times. 

School Uniform 

At St Joseph's we pride ourselves on maintaining high standards for our school uniform and these standards are maintained by staff and leadership at the school. The students wear their school uniform 4 days per week and sports uniform 1 day per week. When wearing school uniform, it is expected that students will be wearing black leather school shoes, not black runners. Hair must be tied up and back if it is longer than shoulder length. The ribbons / headbands / scrunchies should only be in school colours please. 

Students are expected to wear the school hat (and no other hat) until the end of April. Nicholls School Wear has stock of our new school hat, which is wonderful news. When families need to purchase their next school hat, this will be the only hat that is available. The legionnaire hat is still part of the school uniform. 

Nicholls School Wear on Martin Street have all available items. The Second Hand Uniform Shop will be open on Friday 9th February from 8am. We are requesting donations to ensure the successful running of this stall.  Can items please be washed and brought to the office next week. Thank you in advance. 

Student Mobile Phones / Smart Watches

We ask families to remind their children that all mobile phones and Smart Watches (i.e. any device with cellular capacity) are to be handed in to the classroom teacher at the beginning of each school day. This aligns with the Victorian State Government legislation. Thank you for your cooperation. Parents who need to contact their child can do so by contacting the school office.

School Fees

The school fees, levies and camps are billed for the whole year at the beginning of Term 1 and were sent out this morning. If you didn't receive your statement via email please contact Moira McKinnis, School Finance, (mmckinnis@sjelst.catholic.edu.au).  Families are welcome to pay their school fees off in a manner that best suits their needs i.e. in one annual payment, by the term, month or fortnight. BPAY is the preferred payment method, however payment can be made at the school office by EFTPOS or cash. Reminder: statements are sent out throughout the year. 

If you change your email address, residential address or any contact phone numbers, please let the office know.

Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund (CSEF)

If you have a Health Care Card that was current on 29/01/2024, please email Moira for CSEF and Concessional Fee Rebate Application Forms (policy can be found on the school website). CSEF Applications close on 16th February. 

School Routine - Reminders

Please see the additional newsletter page that outlines the school expectations in regards to drop off, pick up, parent communication, basketball and other important matters. 

Year 6 Canberra Camp

Our Year 6 students will soon be undertaking an educational tour of the National Capital. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. The Australian Government recognizes the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the National Capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship Education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $45 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

Changes to St Joseph's Medication Policy

The MACS Medication Policy has undergone recent updates. For any long-term medication administered at the school, a Medical Authority Form must now be filled out in advance by a registered medical practitioner. It's important to also note that the school is unable to administer any medication, including painkillers such as paracetamol, if a child presents to Sick Bay. Further details can be found in the policy, attached below. 

Little Gems

As seems to be the tradition, we have enjoyed a steady stream of Year 7 students dropping in to say hello to their teachers and show off their new school uniform. It really is such a joy when our past students visit or we get the odd email update - we just love hearing about their transition to secondary school. 

Hands up who loves Prep? 

Don't miss Miss Coldebella's Wellbeing newsletter page this week. She provides some helpful tips and tricks to navigate the return to school. 

And finally...

It fills me with such joy that our year has started off so smoothly. This does not happen by accident! Our successful start is attributed to the significant investment from our families and staff - setting the students up for success across this first week back at school. The Preps (and all students for that matter) could not have been more settled and have embraced their entry to school life with a zest for learning. Well done, students!

A very proud principal,

Claire Tobin