Principal's News
Dear Parents and Carers,
What a beautiful week we have had as we head into the first week of Spring. As the days become a little bit longer, and we enjoy some slightly sunnier days and warmer weather, it is certainly a nice feeling to know that we still have lots to celebrate and enjoy over the last few weeks of the term.
A Prayer for Fathers
Heavenly Father,
You entrusted your Son Jesus, the child of Mary, to the care of Joseph, his father.
Bless all fathers and grandfathers as they care for their families.
Give them strength and wisdom, tenderness and patience, give them ability to love in a way that reflects your love.
We thank You for the gift of fatherhood and for the men who mirror Your love in their daily lives.
Bless all fathers with strength, compassion, and wisdom.
May they continue to lead with humility, protect with courage, and love with grace.
For those who have gone before us, grant them eternal rest.
For those struggling in their role as father, renew their hearts with hope and guidance.
St. Joseph, guardian of the Holy Family, pray for all fathers and their needs.
Amen.
Father’s Day Celebrations
Today, we came together to celebrate the fathers, grandfathers, father figures and all the special people who fill our children’s lives with love, guidance, wisdom and joy.
It was such a beautiful sunny morning to welcome our dads and special people to St Joseph’s and treat them to a delicious Father’s Day breakfast. I heard from a few dads that the bacon and egg rolls were a big hit - and that our dads now have the very big task of ensuring Mother's Day next year is just as special!
We had a fantastic turnout for this much-loved annual event, and it was wonderful to see so many dads and special family members and friends, including those we don’t often get to see at school. Thank you for taking the time to join us. We hope you all enjoyed your breakfast and the opportunity to spend some precious time with your children or grandchildren.
Thank You to our Wonderful Mums
A huge shout out to the wonderful mums who made our father's day breakfast a huge success. They were at school nice and early, ready to work hard and make this event extra special for our fathers and grandfathers. As only they can do, they ran a super smooth operation, cooking bacon and egg rolls and serving coffee.
We thank our wonderful mums for hosting this special breakfast for our community. A huge thank you to a team of wonderful mums - Laura K, Lisa L, Kylie S, Annie K, Angela N, Jess P, Annabelle M, Nicola O'C. What a great way to start the day - with a delicious Father’s Day breakfast where dads and their families gathered to enjoy the delicious egg and bacon rolls and coffee, and share moments of joy. We appreciate you giving your time to make this such a special morning.
Father's Day Assembly
Following breakfast, our Year 2 students Gus and Louis, with the support of Ms DeVisser, Ms Clerehan and Ms Huebner, led a very special short but heartwarming Father’s Day assembly. We enjoyed a beautiful slideshow capturing precious moments between our children and their fathers and father figures. It was a wonderful celebration of the love, joy and special relationships that are such an important part of our children’s lives. A special thank you to Ms DeVisser for putting the slideshow together for our families to enjoy. Thank you to all our fathers, grandfathers and special people who make such a difference in the lives of our children, today and every day. We are deeply grateful for the love, care and support you give. Thank you for joining us and allowing us the opportunity to celebrate and honour you all this morning.
Father’s Day Raffle
A big thank you to Mums Jess G and Jane P (with the Scarlett's older brother Rupert) for organising our Father’s Day Raffle. Congratulations to our lucky winner, Jason Hunt, father of Nicky (Prep) and Matthew (Year 1). We hope you enjoy your special treats and have a very happy Father’s Day!
Father's Day Liturgy
Following our short assembly, we came together as a school community for a beautiful Father’s Day Liturgy, celebrating and giving thanks for the wonderful fathers, grandfathers, father figures and special people in our community.
The liturgy was a wonderful opportunity to pray, and reflect on the love, strength, wisdom and kindness these special people bring into the lives of our children. Our Year 2 students and some of our Year 2 Dads led us beautifully through prayer, song and bringing gifts to the altar.
A very special thank you to Fr Gallacher, for leading our liturgy and for sharing such beautiful words about St Joseph and the important role of fathers and father figures. We are also grateful to Fr Gallacher for the special blessing given to our fathers and father figures.
Thank you to Donnella DeVisser, our REL, and our Year 2 teachers, Tanya Huebner and Ms Ella Clerehan, for their care and preparation in helping our Year 2 students lead the celebration so beautifully. Thank you also to all our staff and students for participating so reverently in prayer and song.
Most importantly, thank you to all our families for joining us, and to our dads, grandfathers and father figures for all that you do. Thank you for the love you give, the sacrifices you make, the wisdom you share and the countless ways you support, encourage and nurture your children and families. We hope you feel God's love through Fr Gallacher's blessing.
We wish all our wonderful St Joseph’s dads and father figures a very happy Father’s Day for Sunday, surrounded by those you love.
Father’s Day Golf
A special thank you to David Bare, father of Raph (Year 2), for organising our Father’s Day Golf Day for our St Joseph’s dads. What beautiful weather you had today! We hope you enjoyed a wonderful day of golf, connecting with new dads in our community and spending time with old friends. It certainly looked like you had plenty of fun on the course!
St Joey's Father's Dinner
A big thank you also to Laura Kay (mum of Clements and Sidney) for organising this evening’s dinner for our dads at The Orrong Hotel. We hope you all enjoy this special opportunity to come together, get to know some new dads in our community, and enjoy time with friends you already know so well.
It is not too late to join the dads this evening! We had a few more dads join just this afternoon. If you would like to attend, you are most welcome to go along and pay directly at The Orrong Hotel.
We hope you all have a fantastic evening and enjoy the opportunity to connect, relax and celebrate our wonderful St Joseph’s dads!
St Joseph's Superstars
Once again, it is always a pleasure to see our students flourish in all aspects of school life and eagerly share their learning and achievements. This week, I congratulate Max, Henry, Bella, Winnie and Asher for taking great pride in their work, demonstrating excellence in their learning and sharing their achievements with me.
Indigenous Literacy Day
For Indigenous Literacy Day at St Joseph’s, our Year 1MJ students explored the wonderful story Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester. Through the story, students learnt about special places, animals, activities and traditions connected to Indigenous cultures. They then reflected on their own connection to Country and considered the special places that are meaningful to them. Thank you to Cameron, Yianni, Isabella and Aidan for sharing your learning with us.
School Advisory Council Meeting
On Thursday evening, our School Advisory Council met to discuss a number of important matters as we began planning for the 2027 school year. I am incredibly grateful for the wisdom, advice and guidance our SAC members shared as we considered our 2027 budget, the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, school fees, class structures, leadership positions and other key decisions. We also proudly shared and celebrated our outstanding NAPLAN results as well as discussing parent/carer communication and maintaining a positive school culture. I deeply value the commitment of our SAC members and the important role they play in representing and supporting our St Joseph’s community. I sincerely thank our SAC Chair Kate Tehan, our Secretary Michael Tuohey, our Parish Priest Father Gallacher, as well as all other valued SAC members Annie Konieczny, Simon Hulett, Jess Dennis, Lucy McGrath, Sascha Pausewang and Dean Butler.
MACSSIS - MACS Schools Improvement Surveys
In 2026, our school, among Catholic schools across our system, is participating in Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS). MACSSIS is an annual process where schools listen to the thoughts and feelings that students, families and staff have about how their school can improve. These surveys help inform the ongoing improvement of schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
One of the main goals of the family survey is to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in our school. MACSSIS data benefits everyone within our school and provides valuable community insights on areas that each school can focus on. Our school believes it is important to encourage families to have a voice and contribute to shaping the ongoing improvement of the school.
The school has randomly invited families to respond via this survey. We thank each of you who will give your time to complete the MACSSIS family survey.
Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 will also be invited to complete the surveys. Their voice is important in sharing their thoughts and feelings about important aspects of school life at St Joseph's. Information about the MACSSIS surveys will be emailed to families of senior students at the beginning of next week. Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions about his.
Open Conversations Next Term
I am excited to introduce Open Conversations with the Principal next term - an opportunity for parents and carers to come together, for me to share school vision and initiatives, opportunities for parents and carers to ask questions, share ideas and engage in open and meaningful conversations about matters that are important to our school community. These informal gatherings will also provide me with an opportunity to share updates, provide information about topical issues and discuss current initiatives and priorities at St Joseph’s. Most importantly, they will be a space to strengthen the partnership between our school and families. As an example, some topics that will be a priority for Term 4, will be the impact of the EBA in Catholic schools, particularly in relation to our context here at St Jospeh's, class structures for 2027, and transition & leadership programs, just to name a few. I warmly encourage parents and carers to join us, contribute their ideas and help shape conversations that are relevant and valuable to our community. More information about this will be shared early next term.
What's on Next Week...
Staying Connected...
At any time, if you have questions or concerns regarding the wellbeing, care, or learning of your child, please do not hesitate to reach out. We encourage you to contact your child's class teacher in the first instance, or alternatively, one of our school leaders, Dean Butler (Deputy Principal), or myself, Annabelle Marinelli (Principal). Working in partnership with our families is incredibly important to us, and we are always happy to listen, support, and work together to ensure the best possible outcomes for every child.
I wish all our dads, grandfathers and special loved ones a very blessed and Happy Father's Day. May you truly enjoy the love and joy in your families.
With warmest regards,
Annabelle Marinelli
Principal