Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had some very chilly mornings this week, however we have been lucky with a little bit of sunshine as well! This always brings smiles and warmth in and out of the classroom. It has been a productive week with our Beauty and the Beast Jr. whole school rehearsals in full swing, our Parent Teacher Meetings and we had our 100 Days of Prep Celebration. We also celebrated our school's outstanding NAPLAN results. We have lots of to celebrate and be excited about at St Joseph's and we have lots of information about each of these events in this week's newsletter

Pilgrims of Hope - Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity

and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

St Joseph's NAPLAN Excellence

Once again, St Joseph’s leads the way with academic excellence in both literacy and numeracy. We continue to demonstrate outstanding achievement through our exceptional NAPLAN results for 2025. The state and national NAPLAN data was released this week, and we are positioned WELL ABOVE both state and national data, with results in the 'strong to exceeding' categories, for both literacy and numeracy.

In addition, we have seen a significant spike in our already high numeracy results, an achievement we are especially proud to celebrate, given that this has been an area of decline across the state and country in recent years.

I would like to congratulate our school leaders, Amanda Jackson (Structured Literacy Leader) and Dean Butler (Numeracy Leader), for their ongoing, strong leadership in leading these two very important areas of the curriculum and for the work they do with our staff and students to ensure that excellence in learning continues to be a priority.

I also acknowledge the commitment of our teachers, who provide direct explicit instruction in calm learning environments, and implement the latest pedagogical practices with fidelity. And finally, I congratulate our students for engaging in their learning with focus, determination, and pride.

Please take the time to read more about our outstanding results as shared by Amanda Jackson on the 'St Joseph's NAPLAN Results' page in this week's newsletter.

Parent Teacher Meetings

Thank you to all of the parents and carers who attended the Parent Teacher Meetings this week. It was a great opportunity for you to meet with your child's teacher to discuss your child's progress across Semester 1, in all areas of learning. This was a chance to celebrate your child's achievements and to discuss the next steps in their learning. We invite you to continue these conversations with your child's teacher throughout Semester 2.

Annual Report to the School Community

The St Joseph's Annual Report to the School Community (ARSC) for 2024, under the governance of MACS (Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools), is a comprehensive summary that outlines a school's key activities, achievements, and priorities over the academic year. The ARSC is a reflection of 2024, as a year of growth, learning, and continued commitment to excellence in education, student well-being, community engagement and Catholic Identity.

The ARSC aims to give parents, guardians, and the wider community a clearer understanding of the school's operations and outcomes.

It provides detailed information on student performance, including NAPLAN results, attendance rates, and levels of student engagement.

Financial data is included to show how resources are allocated and managed. The report also highlights the school’s educational programs, curriculum development, and professional learning opportunities for staff.

Initiatives supporting student well-being, such as social and emotional learning ,are featured, alongside the school’s efforts to build strong relationships with families, the local parish, and the broader community.

A key focus is the school’s Catholic identity, with coverage of religious education, liturgical celebrations, and faith-based programs, giving parents, guardians, and stakeholders a transparent view of the school’s values, operations, and outcomes.

Here is the link to access St Joseph's Annual Report to the School Community for 2024:

100 Days of Prep Celebration

Today we celebrated our Preps who have been at school for 100 days! They are 100 days smarter, and 100 days a part of our school community. It was so lovely to see them enjoy their special day. A huge thank you to our incredible Prep teachers Ms Niki Liolios and Ms Luisa La Rosa. You love and care for your students and your commitment to their every day lives at St Joseph's makes a difference! Here's to 100 days today and many more enjoyable moments ahead! We also thank your Prep parents for providing a yummy pizza lunch for our Prep students!

Psychologist Onsite at St Joseph's

We are offering a wonderful opportunity for students and/or families to access a psychologist onsite at school at no cost to you. Families may choose to access the support of psychologist for many reasons, and these sessions are confidential in nature. The sessions are free to any students who require these services. They will take place onsite at school, however this will be managed discreetly and confidentially. There is more information about this in this week's newsletter. Please contact our Wellbeing Leader Georgina Carman or your child's Class Teacher if you require any additional information.

Open Day at St Joseph's

This week we held our final official Open Day for 2025. We extend a special thank you to our school captains Bridget and Callum and our wonderful parents who helped us warmly welcome prospective families to our school!

Every Day is Open Day at St Joseph's!

We encourage prospective families to book a tour with us at any time. Please encourage any families you know who are looking for a school for 2026, and beyond, to be in touch with us. We would love to show them around our beautiful school. Every Day is Open Day!

Please spread the word to any prospective families you may know. Your word of mouth is the best advertising for our school.

Prep Meet and Greet Interviews for 2026

It is with great excitement that we have commenced our Prep Meet and Greet Interviews for 2026. It is such a pleasure to take the time to meet our new families and the children who will be joining our Prep classes for 2026. These interviews continue this term and we look forward to seeing them for our Prep Prep Program!

Prep Prep Program

In a few weeks we will commence our Pre Prep program for all children enrolled in Prep for 2026. This will begin on Friday August 15th witch our very loved and very wonderful early childhood educator Ms Stacey. Please see details below or contact the office for more information. We look forward to welcoming new families to our school community.

Only 3 weeks till Showtime! Tickets Now on Sale!

Join us for a wonderful celebration of creativity and teamwork as our school community shares this timeless story of love, transformation, and finding the good within.

Bookings are now open via the trybooking link below:

https://www.trybooking.com/DEDAB

This week we commenced our whole school rehearsals for our school production Beauty and the Beast Jr. The excitement is building as the children practice their lines, songs and dances! Here is a sneak peak from our rehearsals!

A special shout out to Mr Butler for his amazing creativity and design skills and for leading a wonderful team of parents who have given their time this week to assist with costumes and props. We are extremely grateful to the parents for your support! Please look out for the dojo posts over the coming weeks if you would like to help too! We also thank all of our teachers for the work they are doing to prepare our students for this exciting performance.

Please take the time to read the production update in this week's newsletter from our Creative Director Dean Butler.

And a word from our Performing Arts Teacher Ms Wendy D'Arco:

"Beauty and the Beast Jr is fast approaching performance week! All classes and students have been enjoying rehearsals, some have tried on some amazing costumes and we are so grateful for the support we have had in those who have assisted with props too.

We have been super excited that we have started whole school rehearsals, and the happiness and joy presented on stage is amazing. There's such contagious enthusiasm and positivity and we can't wait for it to be show week!"

SAC Meeting

This week our SAC met to discuss a range of school matters, from finance, to infrastructure works and our successful SCF grant, to Parent Code of Conduct, and our amazing NAPLAN results. We thank the SAC for their ongoing support and contributions that they make to the success of our school community. It is always a pleasure to work with the SAC, to consult with them, and to seek their counsel related to important school matters.

P&F Upcoming Meetings

P&F Father's Day Dinner - Save the Date

SAVE THE DATE : FRIDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2025

It’s time to celebrate the wonderful fathers of our St Joseph’s community.

Join us for a two-part celebration:

Father’s Day Breakfast + Assembly

When: Friday morning from 8.30am

Where: School Hall

Start your day with coffee, breakfast and a special assembly in honour of the incredible dads in our school community.

Father’s Day Dinner - ticketed event

When: Friday evening, 6.30pm – late

Where: The Orrong Hotel

Cost: $65 per person – includes set menu (choice of main) and a Father’s Day pot on arrival

More details, including a Trybooking link, to come.

Fancy a round of golf?

If you’re keen for a hit following breakfast on Friday, please email Lukas Konieczny at lukas@newpol.com.au to register your interest.

Let’s raise a glass to the amazing dads who make our community so special. We look forward to celebrating with you!

Sustainable Uniform Shop

On a very cold, 2 degree morning this morning, our Sustainable Uniform Shop was open and run by the very wonderful Angela Nicolai (Eliott's Mum) Simon Dabbs (Mum of Xavier and Pip) Brony Ross (Edmund's Mum) and Laura Kay (Sidney and Clements Mum) for all their work in providing this for our families.

Our St Joseph's School Assembly

100 Days of Prep

Today our superstar Year 5 and 6 students shared their memories of being in Prep and gave some words of advice to our current Preps who celebrated being at school for 100 days today! We thank them for being such wonderful buddies ad sharing in this special occasion with your Preps!

STAR Awards at Assembly

It is always so nice to see so many of our students being the recipients of our STAR Awards! Congratulations to you all for displaying the values of S- Stay Safe, T- Try Your Best, A- Act Responsibly and R- Respect Yourself and Others.

Birthday Awards

We also wish our birthday children a very happy birthday!

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 I had the pleasure of introducing Bart in Year 4!

Congratulations to Bart's Mum, Olivia, for listening so carefully and working out all the clues to guess that her son Bart, was this week's 'Who Am I?'

Bart and his Mum Olivia will now spin the 'Who Am I Wheel' to choose next week's 'Who Am I' which will be shared at our school assembly next Friday.

Meet our Wonderful SJM Staff

Each week I'd like to take some time to introduce you to members of our staff. This week let me introduce our Year 1 Teachers Meg Correy, Wendy Martin and Zoe D'Intini

Hi! I’m Ms Correy, I teach Grade 1 and love being surrounded by their curious minds and positive energy. I started at the school last year and have loved being part of such a warm, welcoming community. This year has been extra special for me as I just got married to my lovely husband, Ben! Outside of the classroom, you’ll usually find me at the beach with my two dogs, Maple and Oatmeal, they’re full of personality and keep me on my toes, much like the Grade 1s! When I’m not chasing after them, I’m probably curled up with a good book or drinking an oat latte at my favourite cafe.

Hi, I’m Miss Martin and I started my teaching journey in 2021. Before joining St Joseph’s Malvern, I taught Prep and Art at St Joseph’s Collingwood. I’m really enjoying my time here and love working with the wonderful students in Year 1MD.

Outside of school, I have a two-year-old daughter named Billie who is currently in her Princess Elsa Era, which makes life very fun and full of singing Let It Go! I also have a 9-year-old Cocker Spaniel named Harold, who loves rolling in muddy puddles and jumping on our white couch.

In my spare time, I enjoy Pilates and hot yoga. My favourite food is pasta!!!

Fun fact: I was named after Wendy from Peter Pan.

Hi, I’m Zoe and I’m thrilled to be part of the team here at St Joseph’s! Before becoming a teacher, I worked as a nutritionist, a role that sparked my passion for helping others learn and thrive. I’m also a proud mum to four wonderful children who keep me on my toes and bring so much joy to my life. When I’m not in the classroom, I love going for long walks with our cheeky Jack Russell, Max, belting out a good tune, or getting stuck into a good documentary. I also love cooking (especially for my big crew), casting a line out to catch a fish and playing netball. My favourite place to holiday, and where all my extended family live, is sunny Queensland... My happy place! I’m loving teaching the gorgeous students in 1MD and being part of such a warm, vibrant school community.

And Meet Billy Bob!

Billy Bob has become a bit of a celebrity amongst our families. Billy Bob, whose full name Billy Bob Sugar Ray Beckham the 1st has quickly become a favourite among the children. Richie says having Billy Bob by his side makes every day even more special for him and the children at St Joseph's.

And here is one very lovely message we received from one of our families about Billy Bob...

"Just jumping in here to say how much we love and value the school crossing supervisor and his lovely little dog.

Today my daughter re- crossed the road to be on the wrong side of the road school, to ensure she could give Billy Bob a cuddle and a pat.

I know this may seem small but to us it's everything and ensures our day is off to a good start.

We often bring the dog homemade dog treats from the cafe and it's just a small token of appreciation for the big role they both play in our lives. A friendly smile and a bit of banter goes a long way.

Please let them both know how much they are valued from all of us."

Let's Stay Connected...

If you have any concerns or worries about your child's wellbeing, learning, or friendships, please do not hesitate to have a chat with your child's teacher as your first point of contact.

If you have other concerns, please feel free to touch base with our wonderful admin team, a member of our school leadership, or myself.

For more serious concerns, I encourage you to reach out to me directly, either by making an appointment through the office, or contacting me via my email.

With warmest regards,

Annabelle Marinelli

Principal

annabelle.marinelli@sjmalvern.catholic.edu.au