PRINCIPAL'S NEWS

Miss Jaclyn is always busy keeping abreast of our socials and sharing the terrific

Fundraising at St Joseph - Current and Future Projects

A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful school community who continue to show such generosity and support for St Joseph’s. Your willingness to contribute time, energy and resources makes a real difference to the opportunities we can provide for our students.

Funds raised through last year’s Friday Markets are being used to purchase and install new basketball posts and backboards, with arrangements for this upgrade currently underway. A portion of the funds is also allocated to the SRC to support the purchase of additional yard and classroom equipment. Recent additions have included sand to top up the sandpit, the purchase of a new sand pit new boat, portable footy goal posts and soccer goals.

Our Social Club fundraising from last year will (greatly) contribute towards the resurfacing of the undercroft, helping to create an improved, brighter and more engaging space for students to play and gather.  Work on this will hopefully commence during the next school holidays.

Looking ahead, fundraising in 2026 will focus on the development of the courts space. This will be a joint project between the school and the parish, with both communities working together to support this important upgrade.  The parish will also be fundraising towards this project, and we are grateful for the strong partnership that exists between the school and parish. 

Together, the parish and school have worked with MACS and the Archdiocese to ensure the long-term sustainability and shared use of these facilities, supporting both the school and parish community well into the future.  

THANK YOU to Andrew Elliot (former parent), who developed this proposal, which we now hope to get underway this year!!

CURRENT SITE...

PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS...

Levelling the existing grass area and installing synthetic grass will make this space more usable for school and the community

Resurfacing/painting the tennis courts to improve the facilities and community appeal

This exciting project will provide a significant uplift to the outdoor spaces shared by our school and parish community. We are very excited about the possibilities it will bring for our students and the wider community.

It is wonderful to have a clear and transparent fundraising goal, with a project that will make a visible and lasting difference. As planning and fundraising progress, we will closely monitor developments and keep the community updated, sharing milestones along the way.

When supporting any fundraising initiative, it is always helpful to remember the purpose behind it — creating improved spaces and better conditions for our children to learn, play and grow. We are grateful for the continued support of our community as we work together towards this shared vision. 🙏

Divisional Swimming Carnival 🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️

Congratulations to Lola Barker, Mila Barker, Hamish Smith and Leo Katsoulakos who recently represented our school at the Divisional Swimming Carnival. 

Lola - 50m Backstroke

Mila - 50m Freestyle

Hamish - 50m Breaststroke & 50m Butterfly 

Leo -50m Backstroke & 50m Freestyle 

Competing at this level is a wonderful achievement and reflects the dedication, effort and perseverance these students have shown in developing their swimming skills.

Our swimmers represented the school with great pride, demonstrating excellent sportsmanship, determination and resilience throughout the day. Divisional competition brings together some of the strongest swimmers from across the area, making it a fantastic experience and a significant accomplishment to reach this stage.  

Well done to our four competitors and congratulations for competing at an advanced level of competition.  Congratulations to Leo (2nd place in both events) and Hamish (3rd place in Butterfly and 2nd place in Breaststroke), whowill now progress to the Regional Competition (one level before State Championships).  Leo will compete in the 50m Backstroke & 50m Freestyle, and Hamish will compete in the 50m Breaststroke.

Well done to our team for their outstanding effort and for representing our school community so well. 🌟👏🏊‍♀️

Senior Classrooms – Learning Together

This year, our senior classrooms have slightly larger class sizes, with 24 or 25 students per class.  While these numbers are still relatively small compared with many other schools, they are at the larger end of what we have traditionally had at St Joseph’s.

To ensure we continue to provide a high level of support and personalised learning, a number of structures have been put in place.  Importantly, there is a minimum of three educators working in the senior learning space full-time, providing greater flexibility for small group teaching and targeted support.

Mr Joseph has been a fabulous asset to the strong teaching team of Mr Joey and Ms Sophie. Together, they are working collaboratively to support all students and create a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

The team is also making good use of a range of break-out learning spaces across the school. These include a separate Library space, the I.T. break-out space, and Room 8, which provides another large learning area that can be used for small group work, targeted instruction and quieter learning cohorts when needed.

In addition, Ms Lucy is working with students on literacy intervention programs, supporting those who benefit from additional targeted learning in reading and writing.

Our learning spaces allow for flexibility, with the option of opening classrooms to create larger collaborative learning areas when appropriate. This approach enables teachers to respond to student needs, provide varied learning experiences, and support both collaborative and small-group learning opportunities.

These arrangements ensure that, even with slightly larger class numbers, students continue to receive high levels of support, engagement and personalised learning.

St Joseph's Feast Day

We warmly invite our families to join us in celebrating St Joseph’s Feast Day on Sunday 22nd March at 11:00 am.

Our parish community will gather for Mass to honour St Joseph, the patron saint of our school. This is always a special occasion in the life of our St Joseph’s community, as we come together in faith, gratitude and celebration.

Following Mass, there will be a shared morning tea. We kindly ask families who are attending to please bring a plate of food to share.

Head Lice Reminder 🧴

We have recently had a number of cases of head lice reported at school. Head lice are very common among primary school children and can spread easily through close contact.

We ask all families to please check their child’s hair regularly, particularly around the nape of the neck and behind the ears. If head lice or eggs (nits) are detected, please commence treatment promptly.

An important part of effective treatment is thoroughly combing through the hair with a fine-tooth lice comb to remove both lice and eggs. While this can be a little arduous and time-consuming, it is a necessary step in successfully eliminating head lice and preventing them from returning. Repeating the combing process over several days is often required.

Regular checking and early treatment are the most effective ways to help prevent further spread within the school community. Thank you for your support in helping keep this under control. 

Upcoming Events - see full calendar for more details

• Sacrament of Reconciliation - Thursday March 19, 6:30pm
• St Joseph's Feast Day - Sunday March 22, Mass @11:00am
• Parent Teacher Interviews - Monday March 23
• Friday Market - March 27