Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome back to St Joseph's School for Term Two!

I hope this message finds you well and that you had a restful and enjoyable break. Term Two promises to be an exciting and productive one, filled with new learning opportunities, extracurricular activities, and community events. Our dedicated staff are enthusiastic and prepared to continue guiding and supporting every student to reach their full potential. Together, we will build on the successes of Term One and work toward even greater achievements.

We look forward to working in partnership with you, encouraging the students to stay engaged, embrace challenges, and take advantage of all the opportunities available to them. Our school community thrives when we work together in a spirit of respect, cooperation, and shared purpose.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or contact me at the school office.

Wishing you all a successful and enriching Term Two.

Vale Pope Francis

We are all saddened by the death of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who passed away on Monday, 21 April 2025, at 5.45 pm AEST. In his announcement of the passing of Pope Francis, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Holy See's Camerlengo, remarked:

"Pope Francis’s entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinitely merciful love of the One and Triune God."

Looking back on his twelve years of service as Pontiff (2013–2025), Pope Francis always had a merciful and compassionate heart for the poor and the vulnerable. In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, he expressed a desire for a Church that “is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.” His hope was that “we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: ‘Give them something to eat.’” (Mk 6:37, EG 49)

He set a great example not only through his words but also through his actions - throughout his entire life and especially during his papacy.

Click below to view a video of Pope Francis meeting with young people and discussing issues that are important to them. This gives you an incite into the kind of person he was.

Mother's (Special Person's) Day Celebration

Please click the link below to provide us with your thoughts on how you would like to celebrate Mother's Day at St Joseph's this year:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfY0eIQ9BV6d_zEYQDIt3RrvsRtPp4x3gnqt9PXW-KAH90n2w/viewform?usp=sharing

Feedback will be taken until Saturday morning when we will let you know the final decision.

Pupil Free Days for the remainder of 2025

Pupil Free Days offer the school an opportunity to develop staff professionally. With recent updates to the Victorian Curriculum and changes in teaching practices in line with Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) Vision for Instruction, professional development has never been more important. We are also working to develop the capacity of the staff to build the resilience of the students. MACS allows schools four pupil free days for Professional Learning each year. So far this year, we have used three, leaving only one more between now and the end of the year.

Since the introduction of the current Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, schools are required to provide Time-in-Lieu (TiL) to staff for hours they are requested by the principal to work outside their 38-hour week. This includes School Camps, Parent Information Nights, Parent Teacher Interviews, etc. Unfortunately, funding has not been increased to pay for the replacement of staff on these days off. The solution from MACS was for schools to close for four days throughout the year, to acquit the time owed to staff. We took one TiL day on Tuesday 11 March, the day after Labour Day. This means there will be four more Pupil Free days throughout the remainder of 2025.

To assist parents with planning ahead for these days, see the dates below:

Monday 3 November - Time in Lieu Acquittal

Wednesday 17 December - Professional Learning

Thursday 18 December - Time in Lieu Acquittal

Friday 19 December - Time in Lieu Acquittal

This means that there will be no Pupil Free Days in Terms Two and Three and only one during Term Four before the children commence their Christmas Holidays on Wednesday 17 December.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to chat with me. My door is almost always open and when it's not, I am happy to arrange an appointment.

On ANZAC Day, our school has once again been invited to participate in the march in Yarra Junction. Any students, or families, wishing to represent St Joseph's in this march are asked to meet at the Commonwealth Bank in Yarra Junction at 10am on ANZAC Day (preferably with students in full school uniform).

We will be marching to the Cenotaph behind our school banner for the ANZAC service. Parents will need to stay and supervise their own child/ren prior to the march commencing and during the service at the Cenotaph.

Term Two Events

Please visit the Upcoming Dates Page to keep up with what's happening this term at St Joseph's School. These events are also accessible via the calendar on our school website.

Best wishes for the ANZAC Day Long Weekend.

Kind regards,

Nic

News from Four/Five

REACH Incursion