A Message from the Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
It is great to be back at school after a wonderful overseas holiday. Special thanks to Geraldine for her leadership in my absence and to all members of the leadership team and staff for their continued support whilst l was away. It was very much a team effort with everyone working together and l thank everyone for their great work.
It has been a busy few weeks at St Joseph the Worker. Our Preps celebrated achieving their first 100 days at our school. Our SLA students visited the Shrine of Remembrance and MLA students recently visited the Healesville Sanctuary. Please make sure you read about these and other important learning opportunities that our students have enjoyed in our newsletter today.
School Disco
A very big thank you to our Parents and Friends Association for organizing and running our annual school disco. Our students always enjoy this event and staff and students have shared with me, that it was a fabulous night for all.
Football Finals
Congratulations to our SLA students who recently competed in Football Division Finals. Whilst our students did not win the final, our students gave their best on the day. A big thank you to Rhoe for coaching the students.
Baby News
Congratulations to the Tarquino family on the joyous arrival of baby Julian.
Book Week Parade
Book Week commences next week. Students have been investigating the shortlisted books in their Discovery lessons and in classrooms and are looking forward to our parade next Thursday, 22nd August. There is still time to organise a costume for your child/children and awards will be given for the most creative homemade costumes. Special thanks to Rosa Adorno for organising our Book Week Parade.
Confirmation
Please keep our Year 6 students in your prayers as they will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation tomorrow night, Friday, 16th August 6.00pm.
Professional Learning
On Monday, staff attended professional learning at the National Art Gallery to develop a deeper appreciation of the Judeo-Christian and Catholic traditions by unpacking stories, signs and symbols in artworks and exploring how to connect these to past and contemporary contexts. This learning is linked to our school improvement goal of making authentic connections between traditions, culture and personal experiences.
School Absentee
Just a reminder that if your child is going to be absent from school, you must submit the Absentee eForm via Audiri. If your child is absent from school and you have not submitted an eForm, your child will be marked as unexplained, and you will receive an SMS notification about this.
We also ask that you avoid picking up your child early from school as this disrupts their learning. Early pickups should only be for an emergency or for an appointment that cannot be scheduled out of school hours. Thank you for your support in this matter.
2025 School Year
Planning is already underway for the 2025 school year. If your family is moving away from the area and your children will not be attending St Joseph the Worker next year, please send Michele an email as soon as possible and please let us know which school you are moving to, so we can arrange the required transfer documents.
Looking forward
Please check the newsletter 2024 dates section to see what’s happening in coming weeks at St Joseph the Worker. There are lots of events to look forward to, including Father’s Day open classrooms and assembly, SLA and MLA showcases and R U ok Day.
Professional Leave
In the last two weeks of this term, l am privileged to be able to join twenty-five Principals from the North Central Zone in making a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. During the past two years, our Principal network have been focusing of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si and Laudato Diem with a particular focus on care of the environment. As St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is the patron saint of animals and ecology, we have also been learning about his life. Our pilgrimage will focus on visit to Rome and Assisi, including visiting the Vatican, St Peter’s Basilica, the church of St Ignatius and the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels where St Francis spent most of his life. I look forward to sharing this knowledge with our community next term.
May St Joseph the Worker bless you and watch over you and your family at this time.
Kind regards,
Maria Barnes
Principal