PRINCIPAL'S NEWS

🎉 A Huge Thank You for an Unforgettable School Concert! 🎉

I cannot begin to describe how proud I am of all of our students for their FABULOUS performances over the two concert evenings.

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all the students and our dedicated Performing Arts teacher, Jaclyn De Vincentis, for making this year’s school concert such a memorable event! The creativity, energy, and talent displayed on stage were truly remarkable, showcasing the hard work and passion that each student put into their performances.

A special thank you to Jaclyn for her unwavering dedication, guiding our students through rehearsals and inspiring them to shine.   Thank you to Louise, our visual arts teacher, for the huge amount of time she dedicated to supporting Jaclyn, and for preparing the props and displays at the venue.  Thank you also to her husband, Simon, who made our silhouette figures, carted them to the venue and assisted with the set-up on the day!

We are blessed at St Joseph's to have one of the most amazingly committed team of teachers.  The extra hours that each and every staff member gave to ensure the succes of the concert is remarkable. I thank each and every member of the St Joey's team and applaud you for the dedication you show to our students.

👏 Bravo to everyone involved! 👏

FETE PREPARATIONS

Our school fete is coming fast, and our committee has been hard at work...  

Tonight there will be a ZOOM meeting at 8:00pm and EVERYONE is welcome to attend:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://cqu.zoom.us/j/89850535925?pwd=9gnjYTYJyFbvbM3Y4f7ThmKnRBgDFu.1

Meeting ID: 898 5053 5925

Passcode: 035714

We are now calling for help from our community:

DONATIONS - Please help with any donations for the following.  These can be left in the office in the buckets provided. 

There is also a trolley in the office if you need to move goods from your car:

• Toys, Children's Books, Clothing;
• Mystery Bottle prizes - any sealed bottle for a prize eg. Body products, bubble bath, wine, spirits, perfume, sauces, oil etc (check your cupboards for re-gifters);
• Cakes for the cake stall (no cupcakes please, we will have a separate stall for those) - The same cakes  provided for our Friday markets. E.g. brownies, cookies, cakes, chocolate crackles, slices etc. (Individually wrapped and please include a list of incredients)

VOLUNTEERS - Calling all Parents, Seniors, Teenagers, & other Family Members!

Thank you to those who have already offered their help on the day, a volunteer roster is below (please check to see when/where you have been rostered on).   

If you haven't already offered some time on the day, please check the live roster here and add your name to a stall, you will be working with others on the day, and every bit helps:

Volunteer Roster

We are now asking for classes to contribute to the Fete effort as well.  If your child/ren can bring in the following items and put them in the basket in the office, it would be very much appreciated. 

PREPS - Fanta/Orange Soft drinks (cans only) 6, 12 or 24 pack 375ml cans

JUNIORS - Solo/Lemon squash & Lemonade (cans only) 6, 12 or 24 pack 375ml cans

MIDDLES - Coke (cans only) 6, 12 or 24 pack 275ml cans

SENIORS - Chocolate Blocks - Fullsize chocolate blocks such as Cadbury Dairy Milk 

Once again, thank you all for all your help.

PRESALE WRISTBANDS - These will go on sale in the office soon, more information go out next week about these.

It's not too late to join the WhatsApp group - there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved! Whether it’s helping with a stall, donating items, or simply spreading the word, your support is greatly appreciated.  To see how you can volunteer or contribute, please visit the following link:

ST JOSEPH'S FETE VOLUNTEER LIST 

Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you in advance for your contributions toward making this event a huge success!  

2025 CLASS PREFERENCES 

It’s amazing that we are once again at the time of the year when we are beginning our discussions for structures for 2025.  An important component of this is the regrouping of our classes. 

When determining new classes we take the following into consideration: 

❏ a balanced number of students with social, emotional and academic needs 

❏ an appropriate mix of student role models and class leaders 

❏ a balanced number of boys and girls 

❏ student friendship circles. 

Please make an appointment with me if you wish to discuss any concerns you may have that may impact your child/children’s class placement for next year. This may include particular social nuances with other students or any other extenuating circumstances. 

Please be aware that this is not an opportunity for ‘teacher shopping’, but rather an opportunity to share genuine concerns about your child’s learning environment for 2025. 

If you are not intending to return to St Joseph’s in 2025 please contact the office as soon as possible

REGIONAL ATHLETICS

Congratulations to Saskia Thomas and Amelia Brown for representing St Joseph's in the Victorian Primary Schools Sports Association's Regional Athletics Finals! Both girls performed exceptionally in their events—Saskia in the 1500m and Amelia in the 80m hurdles. Although they will not advance to the State Championships, we are incredibly proud of their achievements and their dedication to competing at such an elite level. Well done, Saskia and Amelia!

YARNING CONFERENCE

On August 22, our year five students attended the annual Yarning Conference, facilitated by the Darebin Council.  The conference is centred on the annual NAIDOC theme, which this year is Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud.

This will be the seventh Yarning Conference, and the sixth in which we have particpated. The conference is now a tradition of rich collaboration between many Aboriginal cultural educators, advocates, Elders, and representatives of indigenous community organisations, Darebin primary schools and Darebin Council.   

Below are some reflections on the day...

Last week, the Year 5 students attended the Annual Yarning Conference at Bundoora Park Farm. Throughout the day, we learned about the First Peoples Assembly and Treaty Group, planted over 65 different native Indigenous plants together in the Bundoora Park Native Garden, heard poems from other students from the region, and sang along to a song targeted at promoting a Treaty in Victoria with First Nations Peoples! 

It was a great day, and we learned a lot about how to improve relationships with Australia's Indigenous people!

Joshua Tame (Senior B)

On Tuesday 22nd October, we went to the Yarning conference at Bundoora Farm Park. As part of our pre-learning before the excursion, we made posters at school to show solidarity towards the Indigenous people of Australia. We were inspired by this year’s NAIDOC theme ‘Keep the fire burning. Blak, Loud and Proud.’ 

When we gathered with all the other schools in the barn, the two hosts went out to the crowd to ask a bunch of people about their posters and they read the messages out. Then we sang a song called ‘Treaty’ about why we need a treaty for Indigenous people in Victoria. 

After that, we did a workshop where we potted lots of Indigenous plants. Then we heard from some other students from different schools reading poems that they wrote about what it means to be Aboriginal in Australia.  It was an amazing day, and I had lots of fun.

Millicent Floyd (Senior O)

FREE BASKETBALL TICKETS!!

South East Melboune Phoenix Basketball Club are offering free tickets to their game against the Perth Wildcats on Sunday November 3rd at 2:30pm at the John Cain Arena.

If you are interested please fill in the form below, and the club will then send you a code and instructions how to claim the tickets.

SEMP v Perth Wildcats

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY - this Monday, Nov 4.

Just a reminder that our school closure days this term are on the following days:

• Monday Nov 4 (Melbourne Cup Eve)
• Friday Nov 29