From the Principal

Dear Parents and Families,

Thank you for your support of the staff and students, supervising the learning at home throughout the first four weeks of the term. It has been great, having an opportunity to see the students engaging with their teachers via Google Meet and Zoom Meetings. I have been astounded by the increased levels of digital literacy of both our students and staff over the past month. A number of parents have commented that their skills have also increased as a result of having to support their children with Flexible and Remote Learning.

At this stage we are seeing school slowly returning in other parts of the country. In Queensland Kinder and Preps are soon to commence along with Year 11 and 12 students. At this stage, it is planned that Victorian Schools will remain closed until the commencement of Term Three. This is being regularly discussed at both a State and Federal level. Should this plan change, you will be notified immediately via FlexiBuzz to allow you to make the necessary changes to your current arrangements.

Until then, do the best you can do to keep your children on track with their learning. Keep the communication going with their teachers. Encourage them to ask for assistance from their teacher if you are unable to help them. Except when teachers are supervising in class at school, they will be online and available to provide assistance. We are approaching the middle of term. There is light at the end of the tunnel for all of us. It will be great when we can all be back together again.

I would like to wish all the Mothers best wishes for their first and hopefully last ever ISO Mothers' Day. Wishing you all the Love, Health, and Happiness that you so richly deserve.

SPECIAL REPORT: Wellbeing Checklist for Primary

SchoolTV has generously shared a video report as part of its coronavirus series. In this special report, parents/carers are provided with information on how to support the wellbeing and mental health of their children. Please click here to hear Dr Michael Carr-Greg speaking about a Wellbeing Checklist for Primary

If parents or carers have any concerns about the wellbeing of their child, they should contact their school for further information. For immediate assistance, seek medical or professional help.

Yarra Ranges Council Survey

Yarra Ranges Council is seeking information from parents/carers so that they can respond to the current needs and the impacts of COVID-19.

Parents/carers are invited to complete a short anonymous survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZTVTQSN (it should take approximately 6 minutes).

The feedback they receive will help Council to plan and provide the right supports for children and families. The survey will close on Sunday 17th of May 2020.

If you have any questions around Council run supports and programs for children, young people and families you can contact the Early and Middle Years team (0-12 years) on 1300 368 333 or at EarlyYears@yarraranges.vic.gov.au and the Youth team (12-25 years) on 9294 6716 or youth@yarraranges.vic.gov.au

Maintaining strong relationships during isolation

Being stuck at home alone can be extremely difficult - and being in isolation with others can bring challenges of its own, too.

You may be pulling your hair out; trying to juggle working from home while supervising learning for restless children. You might be feeling lonely and isolated at home by yourself. Or maybe the extra time with your spouse/partner is resulting in arguments, creating a disconnect.

Maintaining healthy relationships in isolation can be difficult, but it's not impossible. And strong relationships are good for our health and wellbeing, too.

Click here to view some useful tips from Catholic Care on maintaining strong relationships during isolation

Student Reports

June and December are traditionally the times of the year when reports are issued to families. Despite the interruptions to schooling in Term Two, it is anticipated that a modified report will be prepared for parents for distribution at the end of Term Two. This will be likely to include Religious Education, English, Mathematics and any other areas that have been substantially taught throughout Term One.

In the coming weeks, teachers will be attempting to gather assessment data based on the learning that has taken place in Term Two. It will be important for parents to assist teachers to gain an accurate picture of how children are progressing with their learning. Clear instructions will be provided to students and parents as to how assessment tasks are to be completed. Most of these will take place via Zoom or Google Meet.

Due to the increased demand on teachers time preparing for, and delivering Flexible and Remote Learning, opportunities for teachers to work on Reports is limited. We are currently exploring ways of creating time within the school day for teachers to plan the learning and prepare for the June Reports. We trialed a 'Finish Off Friday' in Year 2/3 OB this week where Liz held her Zoom Meeting in the morning, providing feedback to students on work they still need to complete. Liz then spent the afternoon focussing on planning for next week and upcoming reports, allowing her the weekend to recover and spend some much deserved downtime with her family.

School Fee Collection

Although the majority of students have not been on site, the school is still incurring it's usual expenses, paying staff wages, bills for gas, electricity, subscriptions, etc. Consequently, the collection of fees remains a priority for the school in order to ensure its viability into the future. Fee statements have been sent to families in recent days. Families are requested to ensure they stay up to date with the payment of school fees as this provides the school with the regular cash flow that is necessary to keep it afloat. Families experiencing difficulties with their school fees are asked to contact me to make alternate arrangements.

Please remember we are here to help

If you or your children are experiencing difficulties as a result of the challenges presented by COVID-19, please reach out to us. We are here to help and we can also point you in the direction of other personnel and agencies who can provide assistance.

Contact Details:

Principal

Nicholas Boyhan

e: principal@sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au

m: 0425 736 305

t: 5967 1183

Deputy Principal

Katie Vranken

e: kvranken@sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au

t: 5967 1183

Student Wellbeing

Liz O'Brien

e: lobrien@sjyarrajunction.catholic.edu.au

t: 5967 1183

Enrolments 2021

Enrolments for Foundation 2021 are currently open. Parents wishing to enroll their child for Foundation are requested to complete a copy of the enrolment form at their earliest convenience and send it to the office. This is also available via the School Website under the Enrolment Tab. While we are about to begin the promotion of our enrolments in the community, we are aware that the greatest influence on people's decisions is word of mouth. If you know of any families considering the possibility of enrolling a child at St Joseph's, a kind word on our behalf would be greatly appreciated. Encourage them to visit our website and book a tour. Strong enrolments are crucial for maintaining our current funding and for the long term sustainability of our school. It is in all of our interests to continue attracting enrolments.

Kind regards,

Nicholas Boyhan

Principal

St Joseph's School

Reflection

Special Message from the Archbishop of Melbourne