CHRISTMAS FETE - TWO MORE SLEEPS!

Dear Parents and Friends,

Only 2 more sleeps until our highly anticipated Christmas Fete. The children are so excited for this wonderful community celebration. As we well know, St Joseph’s does it like no other, so let’s ensure we all roll up our sleeves, pitch in and make it our best Fete yet. The Christmas Fete is not only a celebration of the strength of our incredible school community, but also an opportunity to make a lasting difference for our children. All funds raised will contribute to upgrading the astroturf on the back playground, creating a vibrant and enjoyable space for our students.

We hope that most families have now purchased the superpasses for the various rides and activities, and purchased tokens for the students to use on the day instead of having cash. Superpasses and tokens will be for sale before and after school tomorrow.

Along with the Christmas Carols, Talent Quest Finals, Christmas Market, Splash the Teacher, BBQ and various stalls, the day is shaping up to be absolutely spectacular. Thank you to those families and local businesses that have so kindly donated to our Fete, and the team of parents who have organised and encouraged this level of support.

As the energy continues to grow within the community, with many parents filtering through the building coordinating drop offs and discussing finer details for the day, I cannot begin to thank our Parents and Friends Committee enough. They have been instrumental in bringing this all together. In fear of sounding like a broken record, we continue to encourage as many families as possible to put their hands up and help out over the coming days - it’s not too late and simply cannot be done without your support.

Whilst there are simply too many to mention, our Parents and Friends executive team of Ben Gibbs, Jen Conway and Tim Newberry, and the larger Christmas Fete committee have been nothing short of incredible, investing so many hours into the coordination of this day. This massive task is hard to encapsulate in a newsletter, and certainly has not gone unnoticed. A full list of acknowledgements will be published in the next newsletter. We’re confident the rewards on the day and smiles on our children’s faces will affirm this significant commitment.

All parents must read the P&F page for the final pieces of information before Saturday and please call the school office if you have any last minute questions.

Staffing - 2025

A noted strength of our staff culture has been the promotion of excellence, high performance and professional growth; maintaining a strong sense of cohesion and high educational standards, irrespective of change. In preparation for the coming school year, we have been able to confirm some changes to our incredible team for 2025.

We are thrilled to announce that Lauren Doran is expecting her first child with her husband, Ger. Next year, Mrs Doran will work across various pockets in the school, supporting our staff and students before she begins her leave in late April.

Jess Matthews has accepted a job at Caulfield Primary School in 2025 - congratulations Jess! Miss Matthews has worked in Year 3 for the past two years and we sincerely thank her for her contributions to the Year 3 group and wider Middle School team during her time with us.

After their recent engagement, Peadar Cody has made the difficult decision to return to Ireland with his fiancée, Chloe. They recently purchased a farm and will begin planning their wedding. Peader has only been with us for 1 year, but his impact has been immeasurable.

Louise Howell has accepted a permanent position at SEDA College and will not be returning to the PE position at St Joseph's. Louise will be at school on December 16th and 17th to see the students and say farewell. We look forward to thanking her for her contributions - she has worked as our PE teacher since 2010 and our students have achieved excellent results under her coaching. Mr Gately will also finish up at St Joseph's at the end of the year and we sincerly thank him for filling in for Mrs Howell this year.

After being on maternity leave this year, Annie Opasinis has accecpted a job closer to home and will not be returning to St Joseph's. We sincerly thank Annie for her contributions to St Joseph's - during her time here she has held a variety of classroom and leadership positions and made an incredible impact on our school. Annie will be at school on December 17th to see the students and say farewell.

A full staffing list for 2025, including classroom teacher allocations, will be shared in the coming weeks. Thank you for your understanding and patience with this.

Art Show Thursday November 28th, 5-7.30pm

We warmly invite all members of our community to join us for our Art Show next week, showcasing over 1,000 pieces of student artwork. The students have been hard at work on these pieces throughout the year, and we’re excited to see them displayed across the school. All members of our school community are invited (students, parents, grandparents and extended family members). This is a free event for our community.

The art works will be on display in the atrium, Foyer, Prep A, 2L, 2N, 3M, 4C, 4W and 5D classrooms, set up as a self-guided tour. We ask that children take the tour with their family members to identify their work and celebrate the work of others. The school will be open from 5pm, with families to enter the school via the Front Office. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Lauren Doran, our Art teacher, for her work with the children in readiness for this spectacular event. I would like to also thank our very committed staff, who have spent many hours preparing for this event across the year. We are blessed to have such talented and committed teachers at St Joseph's. Below is a final insight into what we can expect next week ...

Year 5 Camp Forest Edge

What a week it was for our Year 5s! They spent 3 days, 2 nights at Forest Edge Camp. The students had the most amazing time away, bonding with their peers and teachers while participating in some fantastic activities - flying fox, low ropes, mountain boarding, bushwalks, hut building, river rafting and the waterslide. We thank our amazing staff, Miss Dusting, Mr Cody, Sarah Bozic, Tara Pagan, Ben Griffiths and Liana Cauchi for taking the Year 5s away. I am sure that a nice hot shower and a big sleep was on the cards for everyone on Friday evening!

Year 4 Kinder Visit

Our Year 4s have had their final visit to Orrong Road for the year. These termly visits have been such a highlight for our Year 4s - they love visiting their buddies and talking to them about what St Joseph's is like. The added bonus is that a lot of these kinder buddies are joining our community as Preps in 2025 and our Year 4s are excited at the prospect of seeing their kinder buddies transition to Prep buddies. Thank you to Miss Wilkinson and Miss Crawley for their work with the Kinder staff to facilitate these sessions. We look forward to continuing this treasured relationship next year.

Year 4W First Eucharist

Congratulations to Year 4 for proudly making their First Eucharist on Sunday. Supported by Father Pat, Miss Wilkinson, Miss Crawley, Miss Dillon and staff, our families enjoyed a beautiful celebration with the children. Well done, Year 4, for taking the next step in your Sacramental journey.

Year 1 Prayers in Pyjamas

Our Year 1s gathered on Tuesday evening for 'Prayers in Pyjamas'. The evening is offered to our students and their families as an opportunity to engage in prayer together. Thank you to Mr Jansson, Miss Nardella and Miss Dillon for their wonderful work with the students.

Prep 2025 Orientation

Congratulations to our new Preps for 2025! The children spent Thursday morning in the Prep classrooms and had a lovely play on the playgrounds. A special thank you to Miss Nardella and Miss Mclean for the work they have done for the entire Prep Orientation program. A lot goes on behind the scenes to prepare for these days and to establish these balanced classes. Our new Preps took home some 'show bags', designed by our Year 4 students - a very sweet momento.

Prep 2026 Enrolments

Enrolments for new and current families for 2026 are now open. We require all current families to please ensure they submit a sibling application for 2026 prior to Friday 28 March, 2025 to ensure a placement in our Prep intake for 2026. The enrolment application form can be found on our website here. Please do not hesitate to contact the school office should you have any queries.

School AGM

On Tuesday December 3rd at 6.30pm, we will gather for our St Joseph's/P&F/School Advisory Council Annual General Meeting. At this meeting we will share the achievements of the school, Ben Gibbs will discuss the P&F and John Ferraro will talk about the School Council. All parents are warmly invited to attend, so please RSVP via the Operoo.

2025 Staff Planning - School Closure Day

A friendly reminder that the school will be closed on Friday 29th November for the staff to gather and plan for next year.

Little Gems

Over the weekend Kiran (Year 2) was a part of the Caulfield Little Aths team at the Southern Metro Region Relay Carnival. Kiran (aka ‘the speeding rocket’ by the commentator) ran in the under 9 boys 4x100m and medley relay. The boys ran exceptionally well and his team won bronze medals in both events! There was less than a second between the winning team and bronze in the 4x100m relay - it was a very close event!

Archie (Year 2) at his Pa's farm, proudly showing off the new ducklings.

For the past 7 years, Brendan (Year 6) and Mrs Harrison have enjoyed celebrating their birthdays on the same day! This week marked the end of an era - their last shared birthday at St Joseph's. We snappd this photo to mark the occasion.

We cannot wait to see everyone on Saturday for our wonderful Christmas Fete! Tickets and tokens on sale before and after school tomorrow for last minute purchases. Don't forget your hat and suncreen on Saturday, it is shaping up to be a warm one.

Claire Tobin - Principal

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