Principal's Message

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.

As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,

but must remain part of the vine,

neither can you unless you remain in me. 

(Jn 15:4)

Dear parents

Welcome back to Term 4 and to our brand new iNewsletter. We will begin to publish our newsletter fortnightly and it will be released on Thursdays. The next one will be published straight to your inbox on Thursday 29th October. The newsletter will evolve over the next few editions as we consult and consider what items and 'news' will be shared. 

Despite it being strange to meet you under the restrictions we have, it has been lovely to finally meet many of you at the gate in the morning or after school. I look forward to welcoming you into school as soon as we are able. I also look forward to building our community together and providing opportunities for us to gather and celebrate. 

Thank you staff

I would like to start by thanking all the wonderful staff here at St Joseph's for their warmth and support in my first few days as principal.  I am excited to work with such dedicated staff to ensure the best education for your children. 

School Captains' reflections

Thank you to Bridget, Emma, Lachlan and Tex for chatting with me about some of the pros and cons of remote learning and also about the first couple of days back in school. 

Some of the things that worked well with remote learning were; 'less distractions when working, more independence and the chance to organise the day,  comforts of home and being able to see friends via Google Meets.'

The Captains also reflected on the past few days noting that; 'it's nice to be able to play with friends again, not relying on the internet working, access to teachers for help all the time, 'more normality' and just being together.'

Congratulations on finishing Remote Learning

I would like to acknowledge the dedication of the staff at St Joseph's for the way they facilitated the online learning and for the onsite supervision that was required too. Throughout this pandemic staff have responded to the ever changing landscape of guidelines and requirements and it is a credit to the staff at St Joseph's for their commitment and care for your children. 

From COVID to Christmas

2020 has been a year unlike any other. For many families home schooling has been incredibly challenging and we are aware that the experience has been vastly different than the usual school year. Our priorities, under guidance from Catholic Education Melbourne, for the remainder of this term are; Student Wellbeing - supporting the social and emotional learning, Learning and Excellence with a focus on literacy and numeracy, and Transitions for our students in Year 6 and the children starting with us next year. It was great to see on Monday our teachers providing time for students to reconnect and spend time considering the emotions that we have all experienced. Some great work coming from the Year 3/4 students...

As we await easing of restrictions, we are still bound by the guidelines around access to the school for parents. Thank you for continuing to work with us on ensuring that the start and end of the school day is done in a COVID safe manner.

Thank you students

For all of the staff at St Joseph's, the return of the children on Monday was a very special day. It was a privilege to see the students and staff reconnecting and it was wonderful to see the children learning, laughing and playing together.

New gate opening time

As of Monday 19th October the gates will be open from 8.30am and there will be supervision in the playground. We hope that this enables a safer flow of traffic in and out of the school grounds during the restrictions and also offers an extra few minutes for parents who have to go to work etc. This will remain the case regardless of the restrictions. 

Liam Buckley

(please check the calendar on the last page for dress up info for next week & check out the General Info page regarding allergies (now including Kiwi fruit ) &  Classroom Cuisine is back online)