From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we approach the end of another remarkable year at St Joseph's School, I find myself filled with gratitude and pride for all that we have accomplished together. It has been a year of growth, learning, and community building, and I am excited to share some of the highlights in this year-end newsletter.

Our students have once again demonstrated their dedication to their learning. From outstanding perseverance with literacy and numeracy to creative and innovative performances in our school production, our classrooms have been buzzing with curiosity and an interest in learning.

Beyond the classroom, our students have shone in various extracurricular activities. Whether it's on the sports field, at Camp or at our exciting excursions, the students have engaged wholeheartedly. We celebrate not only their achievements but also the values of Responsibility, Respect and Resilience that they exemplify.

A heartfelt thank you to our fantastic St Joseph's staff members who work tirelessly to create a nurturing and challenging environment for our students. Your dedication, expertise, and compassion are the driving forces behind our success.  I would like to particularly thank Katie Vranken (Deputy Principal) for her support with the leadership of the school community.

In 2024 the following staffing arrangements will be in place:

Foundation - Rebecca Beveridge

Year One/Two - Meredith Smith

Year Three/Four - Lisa Bourke & Katie Vranken

Year Five/Six - Paula Durrant & Terry Foley

Year Five/Six - Simone Traynor

Jacqui Tarquinio will be working with us in a Casual Relief Teacher capacity throughout the year.  We are very grateful to her for her significant contributions throughout the 2023 school year.

Our school community is a partnership between students, staff, and parents. The support and involvement of our parents have been invaluable, and we appreciate the collaborative spirit that defines our community. We are particularly grateful to Laura and her Parents & Friends team who organised a number of fantastic events throughout the school year, most recently our Colour Explosion Run 4 Fun. Thank you to all our parents for their continued trust and engagement.  We look forward to further increasing the involvement of our families throughout 2024.

This year, we have made significant strides in enhancing our school's environment. From technology upgrades to improvements in our school grounds, these investments are geared towards providing an even better learning environment for our students. Special thanks to Anthony Willemsen for the outstanding job he does keeping our buildings and grounds in such great shape.

As we bid farewell to this academic year, we also farewell our Year Six Students.  We wish them well for the years ahead and invite them to keep in touch in the future.  We eagerly anticipate the arrival of our new cohort of Foundation students.  It has been a pleasure seeing their confidence increase with every transition session.

We look forward to the opportunities and challenges next year will bring. Our commitment to fostering academic excellence, spiritual development, and a sense of community remains unwavering.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, we will be inviting applications from parents for membership of our School Advisory Council in 2024. This group will assist with driving School Improvement. Together, we can ensure that St Joseph's continues to be a place where students thrive spiritually, academically, socially and emotionally.  Communication will be sent out about this over the school holidays and appointments to the Council will occur early in 2024.

The end of the academic year will be at 12:30pm this coming Friday 15 December.  School will recommence in January with Foundations commencing on Tuesday 30 January.  Years One to Six will book in for testing sessions on either  Tuesday 30 or Wednesday 31 January.  All the students will be on-site together for full days from Thursday 1 February.  The Foundations will have Wednesdays off until around the Labour Day Public Holiday in March.

 Wishing you all a joyful Christmas season and a well-deserved break.   We hope that the new year brings even more success and fulfilment to each member of our St Joseph's School Community.

Kind regards,

Nick.

Nicholas Boyhan

Principal

St Joseph's School