Dear Parents and Friends,

It has been a busy few weeks at St Joseph the Worker Primary School, with many important events bringing our community together. We enjoyed celebrating St Joseph the Worker feast day and have been pleased with the strong parent and student participation in our sacramental information sessions. These meetings play an important role in supporting students as they prepare to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist in the next few weeks.

Mother’s Day Stall and Morning Tea

Thank you to all those involved in our recent Mother’s Day Stall. It was well organised and ran very smoothly. It is always wonderful seeing the excitement and joy on the children's faces as they purchase something special for their mum. Thank you to those who volunteered to help with the stall and organised the raffle. We really appreciate your support. 

We had a huge turnout for our Mother’s Day morning event and classroom visits, and I thank our staff for organising this annual event. It is always wonderful to see classrooms so full! Our mums, grandmothers and special friends had a wonderful time exercising with their children, enjoying a coffee and treat before working in classrooms. It was terrific to receive so much positive feedback from our parents who were very thankful for their lovely morning. 

We extend our thanks and appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of our Mother’s Day celebrations. A special thank you to Sarah and her family who organised all of the beads for the activity last Friday. It was a big effort and ensured that our morning ran smoothly. To our amazing JLA 2 students, thank you for leading a beautiful assembly in honour of Mother’s Day. A big thank you to Michele for her invaluable support in organising the flowers and coffee van, and to Marisa for providing a delicious morning tea that was enjoyed by all. And to Jane, thank you for your dedication in supporting the planning of the event and ensuring everything ran smoothly from start to finish.

Special thanks to Stephanie for leading our exercise class. It was wonderful to see so many mums and children actively engaging in the activity, and we are grateful to Stephanie for sharing her expertise with our community.

We sincerely thank R J Edgar Real Estate for their generous support in providing the coffee van, and Northcote Flowers for the stunning blooms that helped make the day even more memorable.

Working together

Thank you to all parents who participated in the Child Safety & MACS Code of Conduct Session facilitated by Cherrie. I joined the online session last week and it was wonderful to see such strong parent engagement. These sessions provide important clarity around our shared responsibilities and the need for careful and consistent practices to ensure student safety, privacy, and confidentiality.

We greatly value the contribution of parent volunteers in supporting teaching and learning at our school. To assist in classrooms, on excursions and with school activities, parents are required to completed one of these sessions and hold a current Working with Children Check. Parents are encouraged to check that their WWCC is current and if necessary, provide updated details to the office. I sincerely thank Cherrie for leading these sessions and supporting our parent community so effectively.

Changes to Reporting Student Progress

I encourage you to read Sarah’s article in this newsletter, which outlines the recent changes to how we report student achievement and progress. These updates align with current guidelines and are designed to give families a clearer understanding of how students are progressing over time.

Respecting the Right to Disconnect

At St Joseph the Worker Primary School, we value positive and respectful communication between home and school. To support staff wellbeing and maintain sustainable practices, we ask families to recognise staff members’ right to disconnect outside of work hours.

While emails may be sent at any time, staff will generally respond within 48 hours during school hours. Staff are not expected to read or respond to communication in the evenings, weekends or during holidays.

To support clear and respectful communication, we ask families to remember the following when writing an email:

Be respectful and constructive: Professional standards apply in all communication. We encourage families to model self-control and self-respect for our children; nothing should be written in an email that would not be said in person.
Use a clear subject line: A relevant and concise title helps staff quickly understand the purpose and urgency of your message.
Keep communication concise: Clearly outline your question or request to support a timely response. As a guide, aim to keep emails to fewer than 250 words.

For urgent matters during the school day, please contact the school office so messages can be passed on promptly.

We thank families for their understanding and ongoing support. By working together, we help maintain a positive, balanced and respectful school environment for all.

Learning Together: Building Cultural Safety and Respect

Yesterday, our staff engaged in a valuable professional learning experience engaging with Australians Together. This provided an opportunity to listen to and learn from the voices and experiences of First Nations peoples, deepen our understanding of First Nations perspectives, and reflect on how we can ensure our teaching practices are meaningful, respectful and inclusive.

Part of our learning included understanding the ongoing impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including the effects of dispossession, discrimination and racism. Understanding these truths is essential in building empathy and ensuring that our school is a place where all students feel safe and supported. It also reinforces the importance of everyone working together to actively challenge racism and address bias in all its forms.

Ensuring that we are a culturally safe school requires an ongoing, collective commitment from our entire community. Each of us has a role to play in fostering attitudes and interactions that are respectful, inclusive and reflective of our shared values. This includes actively recognising, valuing and celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures within our school. Through this shared commitment, we strengthen our culture of respect, deepen understanding, and continue to build a more inclusive and connected community.

At its core, cultural safety is grounded in respect, understanding and inclusion. Teachers are uniquely placed to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation. Together, we commit to working collaboratively, recognising that we all have a role to play in ensuring respect for all people, deepening understanding of the impacts of colonisation and racism, and valuing the importance of culture to identity and wellbeing. In doing so, we continue to build a culturally safe environment and work towards building a brighter future for all.

Wedding Congratulations

Congratulations to Mary Leos and Matthew on your upcoming wedding on Saturday, 23rd May.

On behalf of our community, we wish you every happiness on your special day and as you begin this exciting new chapter together. May your marriage be filled with love, laughter, and lasting joy.

Please note that Mary will be taking leave from Wednesday, 20th May, and will return to school on Wednesday, 27th May. While Mary is away, Michael will be working in MLA 2.

We extend our warmest wishes for a beautiful celebration to Mary and Matthew and a wonderful future together.

Staffing Update

It is with sadness that I inform our community that Sally Ericksen has resigned from her position as Learning Technologies Leader at our school. We sincerely thank Sally for her dedication and the valuable contributions she has made to our students and school community. We wish her every success and fulfillment in the next stage of her professional journey.

District Cross Country

Congratulations to all our students who took part in yesterday’s Zone Cross Country event. We are incredibly proud of their efforts. Many of our students achieved outstanding results and will now progress to the next level of competition, well done!

A special thank you to Cara for her support, encouragement, and expertise in preparing our students for this event. Please read on as Cara has provided further information about the success of our students later in the newsletter. Add a group photo here – see email sent this morning

Prep 2027

Prep enrolments close on May 27th. If you have a child to be enrolled for Prep 2027, l ask families to complete the enrolment form and hand it into the office as soon as possible. Families who have enrolled their child will receive an email inviting them to attend an interview in coming weeks.

Meeting with families individually provides us with the opportunity to get to know your child better. We want all our new preps to thrive academically, emotionally, and socially when their school journey begins. We know from experience that if children are not ready for school, they can really struggle and sometimes fall behind. When students are very young, they can often benefit from spending another year in kindergarten to strengthen their foundational knowledge, improve their social interactions, and enhance their readiness for the challenges of not only prep, but also the higher grade levels.  This is not a reflection of children’s abilities or potential. On the contrary, it is a proactive measure intended to ensure that they have a solid foundation upon which to build their academic and social skills. If you have any questions about your child commencing school next year, please contact Michele.

School Winter Uniform

All students should now be in full school winter uniform. Thank you for your ongoing assistance in ensuring your children are meeting the dress code of our school. Please note - the wearing of the correct school uniform is compulsory. Ensure that the sports jumper is only to be worn with the sports uniform only on sports days.

Just a reminder that students' hair (both girls and boys) must be tied back if it is shoulder length or longer. We would remind families to please ensure all clothing is clearly labelled. 

Black leather school shoes are a compulsory part of our school uniform. Black runners are not school shoes. If your child’s school shoes cannot be cleaned with black nugget, then they are not school shoes! Sports shoes, or runners can be worn on Sport/PE day only.

Birthday Treats - a reminder

Some parents, particularly from the junior classes, like to send a birthday treat to share with your child's class. Items need to be individually wrapped, not require refrigeration or special care, and will be given out at the end of the school day. As a number of students in our school have allergies to some foods, please provide teachers with a list of ingredients so that we can ensure the safety of all students.

School Fees

A further reminder as we still have some families who have not yet paid the Student Levy fee and the First Instalment of school fees. If you have not settled these very overdue accounts, can this be done immediately or make an appointment to see me to discuss this situation. 

Important Dates for Term Two

Thursday 21st May First Reconciliation 9.45am
Friday 22nd May Confirmation 6.00pm
Wednesday May 27th Enrolments close 2027 Preps
Saturday 30th May, Eucharist 11.00am
Monday June 8th is a public holiday for the King's Birthday 
Tuesday 9th June School Closure Day

We ask that St Joseph the Worker continues to bless our wonderful community.

Kind regards,

Maria Barnes

Principal

A Prayer for Mothers

We thank you Lord for the great gift of motherhood. It is within our mother’s womb, that we began life. It is in her embrace that we have known safety and comfort. It is through her encouragement that we grow and mature.

Lord, bless our mothers. Draw close to them and hear their prayers for their children. 

Give them the grace of surrendered love – a love that images the love of our heavenly mother, Mary.

May all mothers find daily the strength to love generously, the patience to endure graciously, and the grace to live their vocation of motherhood joyously.

We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Child Safety Standard 3