Principal News

Week 5, Term 2

Dear Families,

Year 1N Assembly

Congratulations to our divine Year 1N class for their stunning display at assembly today! They all read so confidently and the excitement about being up on the 'big stage' was palpable. Well done to Miss Nardella for so expertly leading her class; you are doing a wonderful job in Year 1.

It is such a joy to be able to host our class assembly items now that our atrium is (almost) completed (new ceiling fans and lights are still coming). At St Joseph's, we pride ourselves on offering an unparalleled community experience and class assemblies are one important part of this experience. Thank you to the many parents and friends who make it a regular occasion to stay and support our students while they present their items and receive their awards.

Mother's Day

It was another overwhelming success as we celebrated the annual Mother's Day and Special Friend's Breakfast last Friday. We sincerely thank our Year 3 and Year 5 parents for supporting this fabulous day and acknowledge the tireless contributions of our precious mums, grandmothers and friends at St Joseph's. The generosity of our families reflects greatly on our thriving school community.

After our breakfast, the gorgeous Year 3 students presented a beautiful and incredibly thoughtful assembly for our families. We acknowledge and celebrate the role of 'Mum' can be played by many people - mums, dads, step-mums, grandma, auntie. Coupled with many laughs and tears, our students clearly articulated the sentiments of all our students - they love their mums/special people and are grateful for the significant role they play. A special mention of Miss Dillon, Mrs Pepper and Miss Matthews for preparing the children for this assembly. Amazing!

We thank our dedicated helpers, as events such as these would not happen without the assistance of our wonderful and generous parent community:

Mother's Day Stall: Year 5 Parent Reps - Steve, Agi, Stef, Julia W, Liana, Poppy, Erika, Ingrid, Annette, Tony, Glenn, Ash, Julia F.

Mother's Day Breakfast: Year 3 Parent Reps - Annette, Caz, Molly and Cara for their coordination plus the parents who were onsite at 7am to serve breakfast - Corey, Ben, Andrew, Richard, Adam, Travis, David, Andrew, Dean, Shane, Martin, Spiros and Molly!

We recieved this lovely email that we wanted to share - we have the most special community going around:

This is just a short note to say a huge thank you to you and all the team for all the effort you went to in order to make Mother's Day so special. The hand made cards, poem that brings tears to my eyes, listening to the Mother's Day story, all in addition to the flowers at the gate and big smiles and breakfast from all the St Joey's students before the most beautiful Assembly...wow...I'd been told that Mother's Day at St Joey's was amazing, but this was incredible.

Cross Country

Following from the success of the Holt Championships, we have 17 students progressing through to the Beachside Cross Country competition. Congratulations go to the following students: Patrick, Archie, Harvey, Sam, Elsie, Maia, Charlie, Arlo, Hector, Hamish, Poppy, Penelope, Astrid, Andreas, Will S, Will W and Flossie who will be competing on Tuesday 28th May.

Learning Diversity

Across the school our students and teachers are blessed to be supported by our Intervention Team and LSOs (Learning Support Officers). Whether it be working one-on-one or small group work, our Intervention Team work with students daily, in small group, targeted sessions across literacy, numeracy or social and emotional curriculum areas.

Wendy Dugosija, Amanda Bowman, Jen Kahan, Melanie Foulkes, Anna Perruzza, Bek Skehan, Melissa Pascoe

All LSOs at St Joseph's have additional educational qualifications, enabling them to deliver strategic, evidence-based programs. This team meets regularly to discuss student progress, review adjustments, personalised learning plans and train in current best practice. Their impact, and the critical role they play in the academic and social/emotional growth of our students, is never overlooked when we celebrate student achievement. This influence remains a key piece to our success and reputation at St Joseph's. We thank these staff - Anna Perruzza, Melissa Pascoe, Jen Kahan, Sandra Mackie, Louisa Molfese, Fiona Kelly, Melanie Foulkes, Anita Jacobs and Amanda Bowman - for the wonderful, and often tireless, work they do with our children, teachers and families.

Congratulations, Georgia!

We are delighted to share Georgia's news (Year 5). She has been invited to join the Villarreal Elite Excellence Program and participate in their Player Development Week in Spain! Georgia is an exceptional soccer player and we are absolutely thrilled for her. A future Matildas star in the making!

School Uniform

Our knitted jumpers, as seen on Domenica (Year 4), are available now from Nicholls Schoolwear in Gardenvale.

We have now transitioned to our winter uniform and remind all families to be mindful of these expectations. School shorts are permitted over this period. A few gentle reminders:

No nail polish.
Hair that is below shoulder length must be tied up.
White socks on PE days, navy socks otherwise.
Sneakers only worn on PE day or as instructed by the classroom teacher.
Students must change their shoes after basketball/tennis lessons.

Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge

All students are invited to participate in the Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge this year. Username and passwords were sent home with students last week, alongside log-in instructions. If you would like any additional information about the challenge, please see the website. Please contact Alannah Harrison if you have any questions.

Little Gems

It was a delight to pop down to Elsternwick Park to see our Year 6s play football last week. Not only did they play an elite game, their support and enouragement of one another was simply outstanding. We could not be more proud of this incredible group of students.

Coach Coldie (Miss Coldebella) and Angus deep in conversation and strategising for the second half.

Don't foget our lovely new beanies are for sale at the School Office. $15, payment via cash or card.

The Year 4s worked with the spheros this week, looking at mapping and grid references, before applying their understanding using digital technologies.