From the Principal

Welcome to Term Two

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term Two which promises to be another action-packed term here at St Joseph's.  We are looking forward to many exciting events including the Mothers Day Celebration which is to be held on  Friday 7 May between 9:00am and 10:40am.  Please refer to the Upcoming Dates Link in the newsletter for early notification of the other events for Term Two and the remainder of the year.  You will see the Pupil Free Days have been included as well.

Parents Welcome On-Site

It has been wonderful having parents back on site late last term and in Term Two.  Seeing everyone's smiling faces has been such a change from face masks. The Twilight Sports was a great occasion and we look forward to many more community events this year.

Child Safety and COVID Safe Protocols

Parents coming on-site for anything other than drop-off and pick-up are reminded that they are required to sign in at the office.  This is a requirement of all parents, visitors and contractors in all Melbourne Archdiosces Catholic Schools under both our Child Safety and COVID Safe protocols.  When you sign in, you will be issued with a numbered lanyard which should be returned to the office when you sign out on departure.  Any parents on-site without a lanyard will be directed to the office to sign in.

Assembly - Student of the Week Presentations

An assembly will be held this Monday afternoon at 2:15pm in the Sports and Performing Arts (SPA) Centre.  We will be presenting the remaining Students of the Week from Term One (Refer to the Student Of the Week tab for winners.  We will also be doing a tally of the Gotcha Tokens which students have been awarded for showing pro-social behaviour that supports our School Values - Be Kind, Be Safe, Be a Learner, Be Like Jesus.

ANZAC Day Commemoration

On Friday the whole school participated in an ANZAC Day Commemoration, led by the Year Six students. The children behaved superbly, maintaining a reverent and respectful manner throughout.  It was great to see them taking the time during the minutes silence to reflect on the readings, poetry and music which had been shared.

Before and After School Supervision

Before School supervision commences at 8:30am.  Parents are advised that they are responsible for the supervision of their children prior to this time.  Staff generally arrive at school between 8:00am and 8:30am and are engaged in planning, preparations and meetings at this time.  Between 8:30am and 8:45am there are two staff on Yard Duty - one greeting and sanitising children at the Drop Off Zone and one supervising children on the oval and playground on the school side of the driveway.  Responsibility for the supervision of the children rests with these staff at this time. 

After school, all available staff are responsible for the supervision of children in the pickup zone outside the office.  Students are to move straight to this area when dismissed from their classrooms.  To avoid children leaving the pickup area, the playground is closed after school until the last child is collected from the pickup zone.  In the past, many children have left the pickup area to play with their friends who are being supervised by their parents on the playground.  We hope this change will allow for all children to be ready to be collected by their parents when their car arrives.

School Attendance - Every Day Counts

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. Students learn new things at school every day – missing school puts them behind.

Read More.

Reporting Student Absences

In the event of your child missing school, it is vitally important that this is reported to the school along with the reason for the absence.  As a school, we are mandated to report to the Department of Education on student absences, including the reason for the absence.  When absences are not reported to the school, our office staff have to make contact with families to follow up on absences.  This is a very time-consuming process.  Thanks to the parents who remember to do this, as it lightens the workload of Alison and Di, allowing them to focus on more productive activities.

To report an absence please email office@sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au and cc your child's teacher.  Alternately, you may wish to call the school office on 59671183 and leave a message if your call is made after hours.

Internet User Agreements

Thank you to the majority of families who have returned their children's Cybersafety and Acceptable Use Forms, distributed via email at the end of last term.  If you have not yet done so, please click the link below to access the form, discuss it with your child, sign it and return it to your child's teacher:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eS_mtAN8RSmo9U7YBiC9PsCjiPyCG2n-/view?usp=sharing

Uniform

On most occasions the vast majority of our children wear their correct uniform to school each day. I thank Parents and Carers for assisting us by making sure their children are in their full school uniform.

Occasionally, students have been wearing runners on the wrong days. Sport socks with logos have also crept in from time to time. A reminder that students should be wearing plane white or navy socks to school.

If for any reason children are unable to wear the correct footwear or any other uniform item, Parents/Carers are asked to write a brief note or email to their child's classroom teacher. We are very understanding that, from time to time, things may be lost or in the wash.

It is vitally important that all uniform items are clearly labelled with your child’s name. This makes returning items to their owners very simple.  We have a lot of un-named items in our Lost Property at the moment which will soon be moved to the Second Hand Uniform Shop.  Please encourage your children to look in lost property if they are missing any items.

Hats are not compulsory in Terms Two and Three. As a SunSmart school, we do require our students to wear their hats when outside in Terms One and Four. If your child is not wearing their hat throughout the cooler months, you may wish for them to bring it home to be washed and put away for safekeeping.  This way, you can be sure they will have it ready to go in Term Four when it is required again.

To read our full uniform requirements or to place a uniform order, please visit the link on our website below:

https://www.sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au/uniform-shop/

Second-hand uniform items are also available via the office. Parents are welcome to purchase second-hand uniforms for just a gold coin per item. Feel free to drop into the office before or after school with your child to try some items on for size and to make a purchase.

I hope you are enjoying a restful weekend,

Keep warm and dry!

Nicholas Boyhan

Principal