Dear Parents, Carers and Families,

It is with great joy that I welcome you all back to our St Joseph's school community after the holidays. It is such a wonderful feeling to be back once again after our long summer break and to be part of this warm and wonderful community. On behalf of our leadership team and staff, I extend the warmest welcome to our students, families in our St Joseph's school community.

Beginning of the School Year Prayer

We pray for all leaders, teachers and staff in our school.

May they be people of wisdom and courage.

May they speak words of truth and love.

May they be valued and respected.

We pray for all students in our school.

May they be people of peace and love.

May they feel welcomed and included.

May they be valued and respected.

We pray for all parents, carers and families in our community.

May they be people of hope and compassion.

May they nurture and support their children in their faith journey.

May they be valued and respected.

For all these prayers and for those that are deep within our hearts, we pray.

Amen

Welcome

It has been so wonderful to be at the gate over the past two days, welcoming families and children back to school after the holidays. It truly is a blessing to be part of a community where such a strong sense of joy and connection is felt so warmly. It has also been lovely to see our new families being welcomed so openly - this deep sense of belonging is a joy to witness throughout our school.

Each year when a new school year begins, a new journey also begins. For our Prep children, it is a few small steps as they begin school, and for our Year 6s, it is one giant leap as they enjoy their last year of primary school in readiness for secondary school in 2027. Whether the children begin a new year in Prep, Year 6 or other levels in between, it brings with it the excitement and opportunity for new friendships and new learnings. We look forward to enjoying each of these special milestones with the children.

Over the last few weeks our staff have spent many hours excitedly preparing for the return of our students after the summer holidays. A lot of care and thought has gone into setting up classrooms, preparing resources, and in planning for the wellbeing, care and learning of all students. As I have walked around visiting the children in their classrooms they have been very settled and happy, ready to commence another year of learning.

It is with great excitement that I welcome our new Prep children and their families to our school community. Our Prep students have settled in so wonderfully and are already beginning to feel right at home. It has been a joy to watch them build relationships with their teachers, make new friends and settle into the rhythm of school life. It is so lovely to see them playing on the playground after school with their new friends and not wanting to head home in a hurry.

It is wonderful to begin the new year with many new families who have joined the school community at St Joseph's. We welcome you all. This is a very exciting beginning as we journey together to support and care for the young people at St Joseph's.

St Joseph's is a special place and we have no doubt that each new member of our community will soon feel St Joseph's warmth, sense of belonging and community spirit. This is a very exciting beginning for you as we journey together, and work with you to support the wellbeing and learning of your child in our care.

There is such a lovely feeling of warmth and excitement around our school...

Welcome to our St Joseph's Preps!

Congratulations to our amazing Preps - what a great start to school life they have had! Our youngest learners should be so proud and I'm pretty sure their parents are incredibly proud too! We look forward to sharing in the lives of new Preps and their families.

And Welcome to our Prep Parents!

It was a morning of very mixed emotions for some of our Prep parents after drop off on the first day of school! I'm pretty sure we didn't have any tears from our Prep children but I may have spotted a tear or two from a couple of our Prep parents! It was so lovely to welcome you to our school community with a special morning tea on the first day. A special thank you to Marta Cummings our Junior Leader for organising the lovely morning tea with the help of some of our amazing parents- Stef, Angela, Jess, Caz, and to a very generous past parent Shahan for preparing the beautiful gifts for you to keep as a reminder of your child's first day of school.

A special thank you to Marta Cummings our Junior Leader for organising the lovely morning tea with the help of some of our amazing parents who wer at our school super eraly to set up- To Stef, Angela, Jess G, Jess G Caz, Claire we appreciate your support and for helping to make this such a lovely welcome for our new families. And a very special thank you to a very generous past parent Shahan ( LSO Hudson's Mum) for preparing the beautiful gifts she prepared for our Prep parents as a reminder of each Prep child's first day of school.

And a Special Shout Out to our Amazing Prep Teachers!

A special thank you to our very loved Prep teachers for their incredible efforts in helping our youngest people settle into school life. While we know some children may take a little while to separate from their families, we have been in awe of the ease and calmness in the Prep space. Thank you to our very special Prep Teachers Niki Liolios and Luisa La Rosa. It takes very special teachers to have so much love and patience as little people begin their first days at 'big school'.

Welcome to new students and families across our school...

We also warmly welcome our new students in other year levels across the school- Cameron (Year1), Hugo (Year 1), Julia (Year 1), River (Year 2), Randall (Year 3) and Penelope (Year 4). I have no doubt St Joseph's will feel like your second home in no time!

We are so excited that you are now part of our St Joseph's community.

Beginning of the Year School Mass

Today we celebrated as a faith community and began the year with our whole School Mass. We extend a heartfelt thank you to our Parish Priest Fr Michael Gallacher who celebrated the Mass along with our Parish Seminarians Patrick and Anthony. It was lovely to reflect on Fr Gallacher's words about growth across a year - that it is like a seed and plant which requires care and nurturing to see it grow and bloom. It was a beautiful celebration to begin our school year together. We thank the many families and parishioners who attended the Mass with us, it was lovely to see so many of you join us. Our Year 6 School Leaders received their school badges as a sign of their leadership throughout the year and a special blessing from Fr Gallacher. Our school staff also received a special blessing from Fr Gallacher encouraging us to lead the children in faith hope and love. We are honoured to have the special responsibility of inspiring the young people in our care. A special thank you to our Religious Education Leader Donnella DeVisser for preparing the children and organising this beautiful Mass for us all.

Meet our School Leaders for 2026

We congratulate Cooper O'Mara and Xavier Lim on being elected as the School Captains for 2026! We look forward to their leadership this year and taking on some special responsibilities throughout the year. We also congratulate our other Year 6 school leaders Benji, Daniel, Nicholas, Spencer and Alexander. They are very excited about their leadership positions and being positive role models for the younger students at St Joseph's. They will wear their badges with pride, honouring our school values of Strength and Kindliness.

Our St Joseph's School Staff for 2026

I also welcome our staff as we begin another year at Joseph’s. Our staff work with passion, enthusiasm, dedication and a genuine love for the children in their care. They bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience, and also contribute willingly and passionately to the nurturing, high-performing culture of our school which enriches the beautiful community that exists here at St Joseph’s.

I am extremely grateful for knowledge and support of our wonderful leadership team, who have expertise in their specific areas of responsibility, as well as a passion for leading learning, and ensuring that the wellbeing needs of our children across our school are their highest priority.

Leadership Team for 2026:

Annabelle Marinelli - Principal
Dean Butler - Deputy Principal and Learning Leader: Numeracy
Amanda Jackson - Learning Leader: Literacy
Donnella DeVisser - Religious Education Leader
Lauren O'Grady - Learning Diversity Leader
Georgina Carman - Wellbeing Leader
Marta Cummings - Junior Leader
David Prowse - Senior Leader

St Joseph's Staff for 2026

I proudly introduce our St Joseph's staff for 2026:

Staff Professional Learning - School Closure Days

This week on Tuesday and Wednesday our staff began the year with 2 days of professional learning, planning for our school year and faith formation with Fr Gallacher our our two Parish seminarians Anthony and Patrick. It was great way to begin our school year together as the staff of 2026.

Class Information

Today our class teachers sent out information regarding each class and an overview of learning for the term which you would have received on the Class Dojo's. We encourage you to take the time to read this so that you are up to date with the class events, schedule and learning.

Exciting Baby News!

We are very excited to share some very exciting baby news in our St Joseph's school community. Thomas Garvey (baby brother of Valentina in Year 3) was born on Wednesday morning! I know you will join me in congratulating Georgina and Ben and the extended Garvey/Healy families in our school. Valentina is a very proud big sister and is enjoying her first cuddle with Thomas when he was only 12 hours old. We look forward to meeting him soon!

School Advisory Council and Parents & Friends

I look forward to working closely with the School Advisory Council (SAC) and Parents and Friends (P&F) Association. I am truly grateful for the support from both of these important groups and look forward to working closely with them across the year.

I proudly present the SAC Members for 2026:

Fr Gallacher (Parish Priest)
Annabelle Marinelli (Principal)
Dean Butler (Deputy Principal)
Chair - Kate Tehan (Mum of Alice)
Secretary - Michael Tuohey (Father of Grace)
P&F President - Stef Brunetti (Mum of Olympia)
Sascha Pausewang (Father of Scarlett)
Annie K (Mum of Rafaela and Felix)
Jess Dennis (Mum of Albie, Will and Winnie)
Simon Hulett (Father of Holly)
Lucy McGrath (Mum of Spencer, Bennett and Agnes)

I also proudly present the P&F Exec Team for 2026:

President - Stef Brunetti (Mum of Olympia)
Deputy Co Presidents - Angela Lam (Mum of Harvey) Jess Groenheide (Mum of Holly)
Secretary - Hayley Bowman (Mum of Jack)
Treasurer - Angela Nicolai (Mum of Elliot)
Major Events - Fleur D’Altera (Mum of Andre)

I sincerely thank both SAC and P&F members for their dedication and their commitment to serving our school in 2026.

We also extend a heartfelt thank you to the parents and carers who have nominated to be Parent Reps for 2026. We thank you for your dedication and effort in supporting and connecting our parent community.

We are so grafetul for the support of our Grade Reps for 2026:

Prep:

Tetyana Adeykina (Mum of Aric)

Antigone Yow (Mum of Margaret)

Grade 1

Claire Yelland (Mum of Billy)

Fatima Sampayo (Mum of Grace)

Grade 2

Kylie Stanney (Mum of Louis)

Annabelle Mannix (Mum of Tommy)

Grade 3

Caz McBride (Mum of Harry)

Jess Dennis (Mum of Albie & Will)

Grade 4

Laura Kay (Mum of Clements)

Bianca Bernadi (Mum of Harvey)

Grade 5/6

Brigette (Mum of Chelsea)

Natasha Lapthorne (Mum of Matilda)

We look forward to many successful fundraising initiatives and community events planned for this year - it is simply not possible without the work and commitment of our parent/care groups and the ongoing support of our entire school community.

Australian Catholic University - Pre Service Teachers at St Joseph's

This year, we will be partnering with the university to support pre-service teachers as they undertake their teaching placements in school settings. Supporting pre-service teachers is an important part of our professional responsibility as educators.

Over the course of the year, we will welcome several pre-service teachers into our school and classrooms. Next week, one of these students will begin their placement in Year 2 with Ms Tanya Huebner. We are grateful for the support, guidance, and modelling that Ms Huebner will provide in mentoring this student.

Important Dates for Term 1

I encourage you to take a moment to review the Term 1 dates page in this week’s newsletter so you are up to date with all the important activities and events happening this term. We encourage you to be involved in the life of our St Joseph’s community.

Wellbeing at St Joseph's

The wellbeing, safety, and care of all our students is our highest priority. This year, we will place a strong focus on student wellbeing, and across the year you will notice the introduction of several new initiatives and programs designed to support our students’ social, emotional, and personal development. These initiatives will strengthen our commitment to creating a safe, supportive, and nurturing learning environment where every child feels valued, connected, and able to thrive.

Please take some time to read both of the Wellbeing Pages in this week’s newsletter. Our Wellbeing Leader, Georgie Carman, introduces a new wellbeing program called UR Strong and has also provided more information about the parent session taking place on Tuesday evening next week.

'Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids' Parent Presentation- Tuesday 3rd February

We extend a warm invitation to attend this very valuable 'Peaceful Parents, Peaceful Kids' presentation, next Tuesday 3rd of February, with Georgina Manning.

We strongly encourage at least one parent/carer from each family attend. The evening will commence at 6pm and will conclude at 7:20pm.

This is not a session for children, however if required, childcare will be provided for school age children on the evening.

We look forward to seeing you then.

What's On Next Week..

On behalf of our staff, I welcome you all to the 2026 school year. We look forward to an exciting year, partnering with you to care for and support your child, focusing on their wellbeing and learning as a priority throughout the year.

At any time, if you have any questions or concerns about the wellbeing, care or learning of your child, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child's class teacher, one of the school leaders, or Dean Butler, Deputy Principal or myself, Annabelle Marinelli, Principal.

With great excitement for the year ahead, I wish you all a wonderful weekend with your beautiful families.

With the warmest regards and blessings to you all,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au

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