Principal's News
Dear Parents, Carers, and Families,
While we are deeply grateful for the term we have shared together - marked by many moments of joy and celebration, including the Sacrament of First Eucharist on Sunday, the Winter Solstice celebrations for our Year 2 students on Monday, and our magnificent and joyful Friendship Fair Day today, as well as the many learning experiences and the strong sense of belonging within our St Joseph’s community - we also acknowledge with sadness that we conclude the term as a grieving community. We give thanks for all that has been shared, while holding one another gently in care, compassion, and prayer during this time in our community.
In Loving Memory of Anna Avramopoulos
It has been a very sad week for our St Joseph's school community, as we grieve the loss of Anna Avramopoulos, beloved wife of George, loving mother to Ari (Year 2) and Nicholas (Prep) and a much-loved member of our St Joseph's school community.
It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the passing of Anna, who passed away peacefully on Monday evening after a courageous ten-month illness. We give thanks for her life and hold her family in our prayers during this time of profound loss.
Our most sincere and heartfelt condolences are extended to George, Ari, Nicholas, and to their extended family - Sophie Stephen and Harry M. During this time of grief, we continue to keep them in our prayers and surround them with the love, care, and compassion that defines our St Joseph's community.
We are deeply grateful for the many messages of support, kindness, and prayers that have been offered by our families. Your compassion and care have been a great source of comfort for their family, reflecting the love and strength of our St Joseph's community during this difficult time.
May Anna rest in the peace and love of God.
Eternal rest grant unto Anne-Marie, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen.
Sacrament of the First Eucharist
Last Sunday, our Year 4 students recently celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist with their families in a beautiful and prayerful celebration at St Jospeh's Church. It was a significant milestone in their faith journey as they received Holy Communion for the first time, deepening their relationship with Jesus and our parish community.
We extend our sincere apprecaition to Father Gallacher who celebrated the Mass, joined by our seminarians, Patrick and Anthony. We sincerely thank them for their prayerful leadership and support throughout the students' sacramental journey.
A special thank you to our Religious Education Leader, Ms Donnella DeVisser, for coordinating the sacramental program, and to Mr David Prowse and Ms Georgie Carman for their support in preparing the students. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to the teachers who attended the celebrations on Sunday, sharing in this special occasion and supporting our students and their families as they celebrated this important milestone in their faith.
We are deeply grateful to our parents and families for the love, encouragement and commitment they showed throughout their child's preparation and on this memorable day.
Congratulations to all of our First Eucharist candidates. May they continue to grow in faith and remain close to Jesus as they continue their journey with Him.
Parish News and Invitation to Parish Luncheon
Please take a moment to read the Parish News page in this week’s school newsletter.
All members of our community are warmly invited to join the Parish for the Parish Luncheon on Sunday 28 June, from 12:30pm to 3:00pm at Malvern Town Hall.
This special gathering will be a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and hear Fr Gallacher share a keynote address on the Mission of the Parish in the Catholic Church. His reflections promise to inspire and encourage us as we continue to grow in faith and service together. We would love to see many of our families and parishioners there. Please find the link to this week's Parish Bulletin:
Semester 1 Reports
Semester One School Reports were distributed to families yesterday via the nForma app. It was wonderful to share in and celebrate the learning growth, achievements and progress made by each child throughout the first half of the year.
These reports reflect the hard work, persistence and dedication shown by our students, as well as the ongoing support and encouragement provided by our dedicated staff and families. It has been particularly heartening to receive such positive feedback from parents, acknowledging the growth and progress of their children.
We encourage parents and carers to take the time to read through the report and celebrate the many successes and areas of growth highlighted. Each report tells an important part of your child’s learning journey.
We sincerely thank our teachers and students for their commitment and hard work throughout Semester 1. We are proud of all that has been achieved and celebrate the learning and progress of all our students.
We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with families as we support each child’s learning and wellbeing in Semester 2. We look forward to discussing each student's learning journey, achievements and future learning goals during our Parent Teacher Interviews on Thursday 16 July, as we continue to work in partnership to support every child's learning and wellbeing.
Friendship Fair Day
Today we celebrated a very full and exciting day at St Joseph’s with our annual Friendship Fair Day. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to come together in joy, connection and community spirit, with plenty of fun activities and shared experiences throughout the day.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our Wellbeing Leader, Ms Georgie Carman, for her outstanding organisation and coordination of such a special event. We are also very grateful to our class teachers for their support in preparing students and running the many fun stalls that made the day such a success.
A special thank you goes to our wonderful Parents & Friends who, as always, generously cooked sausages for the children and provided juice pops and fruit cakes as extra treats, adding to the festive atmosphere of the day.
Families are encouraged to read more about Friendship Fair Day on Ms Carman’s page in this week’s newsletter. Below, you will also see highlights from the day, including the talent show, classroom stalls, and a joyful end-of-day celebration watching the FIFA World Cup soccer match between Australia and Paraguay.
Thank you to our families for your generous gold coin donations. These contributions will go towards supporting Ellie in Tanzania, helping us to continue living out our call to care for others beyond our school community.
What a joyful and memorable day of friendship, fun and generosity at St Joseph’s.
Year 2 Winter Solstice Pyjama Day
This week our Year 2 students arrived at school in their pyjamas for a fun and cosy Winter Solstice celebration. As part of their learning, they have been exploring the meaning of the winter solstice and how we marked the shortest day and longest night of the year earlier this week.
The day was filled with excitement, creativity and plenty of warm winter fun as students engaged in a range of activities connected to their learning. It was a wonderful way to bring the curriculum to life in an engaging and memorable way.
A big thank you to our Year 2 teachers Ms Clerehan and Ms Huebner for organising such a joyful learning experience, and to our families for supporting the pyjama dress-up fun. What a cosy and delightful way to celebrate learning together at St Joseph’s!
Instrumental Music Concert
On Thursday evening, our school hall was filled with families for a wonderful celebration of our students' musical learning at the Semester 1 Instrumental Music Concert.
The concert provided students with the opportunity to perform in front of an audience and proudly showcase the skills and confidence they have developed throughout the semester. It was inspiring to see each performer take to the stage with courage and enthusiasm, and the standard of performances was truly extraordinary.
We congratulate all of our instrumental music students on their outstanding efforts and thank them for sharing their talents with our school community. A sincere thank you also goes to our dedicated instrumental music teachers for nurturing and encouraging our young musicians, and to our families for their ongoing support and encouragement.
It was a fantastic evening of music and celebration, and we are incredibly proud of all that our students have achieved.
St Joseph's Bright Sparks!
It is always the highlight of my day when our St Jospeh's treasures come and show me how proud they are of their learning! It makes my day!
School Assembly
It was lovely to have so many families join us for our final school assembly for the term this morning.
At our assembly today, we once again, we warmly congratulated the students who received STAR Awards and for displaying the values of S- Stay Safe, T- Try Your Best, A- Act Responsibly and R- Respect Yourself and Others.
We also wish all of our birthday children a very happy birthday! Celebrating birthdays together is always such a joyful part of our week, and it is especially lovely hearing our students sing “Tanti Auguri” to the birthday children at our school assembly.
Term 2 'Tag On' Prize Winner
This morning at assembly, Teddy from Prep was announced as the Term 2 'Tag On' winner! Teddy has been doing a fantastic job riding his bike to school each day, always arriving safely with his helmet on and 'tagging on' when he gets to school. He is a wonderful example of our road safety expectations, consistently remembering to slow down, dismounting his bike before entering the school grounds, and walking it through to the bike area. For his great efforts, Teddy was awarded a couple of tickets to Bounce. Congratulations Teddy, we are so proud of you!
Principal Who Am I?
Each week one child is chosen from a 'Wheel of Names' in my office as the nominated person for the 'Who Am I?' This week Charlie G from prep spun the 'Who am I' wheel for this week's who am I after guessing our last student.
This week I had the pleasure of introducing Valentina in Year 3 to our school community! We found out lots of wonderful things about Tina especially that she loves dumplings with soy sauce, plays for the Hawks and loves her family very much especially her new baby brother and her cousins who have either been at our school, are at our school or coming to our school! It was lovely spending time with Tina and getting to know her a little more and sharing her favourite things with our school community. Did you know her favourite colour is pink?
Term 2 Principal Awards
I also had the pleasure of presenting a number of Principal’s Awards to students who have demonstrated our school values of Kindliness, Strength and Excellence in their learning and actions.These students consistently show care and respect for others, perseverance in their learning, and a commitment to doing their best in all they undertake. Their efforts are a wonderful example of the positive spirit we value at St Joseph’s.
Congratulations to the following students, who should be very proud of their achievements and the way they continue to represent our school values so beautifully....
Annabelle C, Giorgio S, Asher A, Amalia D, Valentina G, Ben H, Alma B, Hugo H, Amalia B-L and Lachlan B!
Congratulations to our Semester 1 SRC Students
As Semester 1 comes to a close, we would like to acknowledge and congratulate our Student Representative Council (SRC) members for their outstanding leadership across our school community.
Throughout the semester, our SRC students have represented the voices of their classmates with enthusiasm, responsibility and respect. They have contributed to school initiatives and demonstrated what it means to be leaders in our school.
A special thank you to our Wellbeing Leader Ms Georgie Carman for her dedication and leadership of the SRC group. Through her guidance and encouragement, our student leaders have grown in confidence, developed their leadership skills and made a positive contribution to the life of our school.
We thank all of our Semester 1 SRC representatives for their commitment and congratulate them on a wonderful semester of leadership. We look forward to welcoming our Semester 2 SRC students in Term 3.
All Stars Defence- Karate Grading
On Thursday morning, some of our very keen early morning karate students participated in the All Stars Defence karate gradings, showcasing impressive focus, confidence, discipline, and determination throughout the session.
From the team at All Stars Defence:
It was wonderful to see the progress students have made over the course of the term and the commitment they have shown to developing their martial arts skills. We are incredibly proud of the way they approached the grading and represented both themselves and school community.
A special congratulations also goes to the many St Joseph's students who will be taking part in the All Stars Martial Arts Grading Day in Bentleigh this Saturday. This is a fantastic achievement and an exciting milestone in their martial arts journey.
We wish all students the very best for their grading and thank the All Stars Martial Arts team for their ongoing support and encouragement of all students.
Working Bee - Save the Date
Our next School Working Bee is scheduled for Saturday 18 July from 1pm to 3pm. We encourage all families to save the date and join us for an afternoon of community spirit and teamwork as we work together to maintain and enhance our school grounds.
Working Bees are a wonderful opportunity to contribute to our school community, meet other families and help keep our learning environment safe, welcoming and beautiful for all students. There will be a range of jobs available, and any assistance, whether for the full afternoon or part of it, will be greatly appreciated. Further details and a Sign Up Genius will be provided early next term. We look forward to seeing many families, and thank you in advance for your support of our school.
Staying Connected...
At any time, if you have questions or concerns regarding the wellbeing, care, or learning of your child, please do not hesitate to reach out. We encourage you to contact your child's class teacher in the first instance, or alternatively, one of our school leaders, Dean Butler (Deputy Principal), or myself, Annabelle Marinelli (Principal). Working in partnership with our families is incredibly important to us, and we are always happy to listen, support, and work together to ensure the best possible outcomes for every child.
I wish you all a restful and happy holidays. We will see you all back at school on Monday 13 July
With warmest regards,
Annabelle Marinelli
Principal