Principal's Page 

Dear Families,

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools School Improvement (MACSSIS) Data

We recently received our MACSSIS school perception data. You may remember completing the survey yourself in August/September. Staff and Year 4, 5 and 6 students also completed the surveys. Here are some snapshots from our data.

*Staff - Improvement in all areas of the survey from last year with the greatest improvement being in Professional Learning. All results were higher than the average of all other MACS schools scores.

*Students - Our student scores were very similar to last years scores and were close to the other MACS school's average. The greatest improvement was in learning dispositions. An area we will focus on next year is student engagement to learning.

*Family - There was no family data last year that we are able to compare. Our family data is above the average MACS school's average in all areas except Catholic Identity which is just below it.

Oak's Day Event Thank You

Thank you to Zoe, Sophie, Liz and Hope for their organisation of the Ladies Oak's Day Lunch; for their energy, dedication and persistence. It appears that everyone had a fabulous day and a generous amount of $13 000 was raised for digital technologies equipment such as robotics, a green screen, spheros and drones as well as improving some of our outdoor spaces. Thank you to all parents who generously supported this event.

COVID

No doubt you have heard that we are experiencing another wave of COVID in the community. There are some cases presenting at school so please take precautions, monitor for symptoms and test often. All students will receive another two packets of Rapid Antigen Tests today. I no longer need to report COVID cases at school to the community.

Before and After School Care

TheirCare will be running before and after school care in 2023 at Sorrento Primary and students from our school can also attend. The operating hours will be from 6:30am  until the commencement of school and after school until 6:30pm. Students will be walked to and from St Joseph's with TheirCare staff. An information Webex will be held in the next few weeks. We will let you know date and time as soon as we do.

Happy and Resilient Young People

Please remember the wonderful opportunity we have to listen to Dr Michael Carr Gregg, one of Australia's highest profile psychologists, speaking to us on raising happy resilient young people. This will take place at Sorrento Community Centre on Thursday December 1 at 5:00pm.  I encourage all parents to attend and benefit from his expertise.

Art Expo

What a wonderful evening we had showcasing our Arts Curriculum last Thursday, despite the weather. Thank you to Mrs Jenny Young, Miss Jasmine Gregory, Mrs Jane Byrne, and staff who supported the event and families for attending. It was fantastic to see so many of you present.

Multicultural Day

To link with every year level's "Connections" unit of learning, we will be having a whole school Multicultural Day next Friday 25 November. Students will be invited to wear free dress or an outfit from their family's culture of origin. Students will be asked to bring a a plate of food from their family's culture of origin to share with others. More details will be sent home via an Operoo later in this week.

School Fees

For the last two years there has been no increase on the school fees. After discussion with our Business Manager and to help assist us with our running costs, an increase of $50 will take place in 2023 ($20 Family Fees and $30 Compulsory Levy). A formal letter will be sent to notify families later this week. If you are experiencing difficulty with paying fees, please contact me to discuss. Please remember Payment Plans are always available.

Welcome

A warm welcome to Alaaky (Year 1), Shataya (Year 4), Angel (Prep 2023) and their family who commenced last week. We hope your time at St Joseph's is positive and rewarding.

Congratulations to Ethan (Year 1), Charlotte (Prep 2023), Tarryn and David on the safe arrival of beautiful Margot. We wish you all every happiness.

Christmas Eve Children's Mass

The parish is looking for a volunteer to be a contact person for the Christmas Eve Children's Mass at 6:30pm. I am able to organise everything but am unable to make the Mass. If you will be attending and would like to meet and organise the children on the night, please email me.

Enjoy your week,

Monica

moshannassy@sjsorrento.catholic.edu.au