Dear Parents and Guardians,

It was wonderful to see so many families enjoying the food and dancing on Tuesday night. So many families attended our beginning of the year event and students and parents have shared how much they enjoyed this evening. A very big thank you to Sera De Pace for her wonderful skills organising this event for our community.

On February 10th we celebrated our Opening of the School Year Mass. Father Manny prayed for our students and the school community that we remain faithful and always strive to reach our full potential. Congratulations to our students for their prayerful behaviour and to our readers who read beautifully.

On Wednesday students, staff and families attended Ash Wednesday mass marking the beginning of Lent. Lent is a reminder of the importance of sacrifice, prayer and looking after those in need. Lent helps us more deeply understand the Easter event that is at the centre of our Christian faith and strengthens our commitment to living the life of love and mercy to which Christ calls us. We can use this time to consider how our actions are defining our relationship with God, with others and with ourselves. Lent is a time for renewing those relationships based on compassion, truth and justice.

2024 Prep Enrolments

We have already had enquiries from families wanting to enrol their child in Prep next year. If families have a child they wish to enrol for next year l encourage you to submit an enrolment application.

Please collect the enrolment documents from the office.
New families are encouraged to book a school tour.

Tutor Program

We have received $27,000 for our Tutor program to continue in 2023. This year we are working on supporting students in Years 3-6 in Maths intervention, supporting students in small groups 3-5 days a week. Our Mini Lit program continues supporting students in Years P-2 with literacy intervention.

Parent Code of Conduct

At St Joseph the Worker, we want what you want - and that is the best for your child! Please trust us and know that we always follow up and respond to any incident and we will always do what is right for your child. When you enrolled your child at our school you accepted and agreed to respect and follow all school policies and procedures.

At St Joseph the Worker we believe that everyone:

has the right to be safe
has the right to be treated with respect and be valued even in disagreement
has the right to participate within a secure environment without interference, intimidation, harassment, bullying or discrimination
is encouraged to be respectful, polite, courteous and considerate of others
has the right to be supported and challenged as ongoing learners

Please note that is it never acceptable for a parent to:

approach a child that is not your own with a view to disciplining that child for their behaviour
approach other school parents to resolve issues arising between students at school (such matters should be referred to school staff)

I encourage you to read our Parent Code of Conduct on our website which outlines the schools’ expectations.

Alumni News

Congratulations to past student Lakisha Jayalath on receiving Mercy College VCE High Achievement award for her 2022 Year 12 results. Lakisha will be commencing a Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Commerce at Monash University. Well done Lakisha

School Uniform

Thank you for ensuring that your child is wearing the correct summer uniform which includes the school hat and correct school shoes - no black runners

The school uniform is compulsory for all students
As a Sunsmart school, hats must be worn at all times when outdoors during the warmer months. We encourage all students to wear sunscreen daily during times of high UV ratings. You are welcome to send sunscreen with your child in their bag.

NO Dogs at School

A reminder that under no circumstances should dogs be brought into the school grounds, nor are they to be tied up and left at the school gates. This is for the safety and well being of both families and the pets themselves. We also have students with allergies to dogs and some who are very scared of them. I ask for your support with this matter and to leave the dog at home or wait away from the school grounds with your dog.

Birthday Treats

It is not an expectation or requirement, but some parents like to send in a birthday treat to share with your child's class. Please note:

Items will need to be individually wrapped and not require refrigeration or special care
They will be given out at the end of the school day

If you have any concerns, queries or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of the leadership team. For classroom matters, please email your child's teacher. For general information or inquiries, please contact the office

Drop off and pick up

Please be very careful when dropping off and collecting your child/ren each day. This week we have had traffic backed up along Wilson Blvd and this was frustrating for many families who would like to stop, drop and move on quickly. In the spirit of working together, it is important that everyone follows this simple request: if you need to get out of your car to assist your child at drop off time, please park in the car parks to do this.

CSEF Applications

If you have a Health Care Card, please fill in the attached CSEF application form and email it to the school on marisa.paras@sjwreservoirnth.catholic.edu.au

Link to CSEF Application Form https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/CSEF-Application-Form-2020.pdf

If you have already submitted a CSEF form for 2022, you do not need to resubmit this form.

Child Safety

As a matter of child safety, parents are reminded that the school’s duty of care regarding supervision of students begins at 8.30am and concludes at 3.30pm. No child should ever be left unattended outside the school outside of these times. If parents need to drop their children at school early, they will need to book their child into our out of school hours program run by Theircare. Theircare offers both before and after care and parents can register online and make bookings via their website https://theircare.com.au.

Anaphylaxis

It is important that l remind parents that we have students in our school who are at risk of having an anaphylactic reaction. Anaphylaxis is a severe, rapidly progressive allergic reaction that is essentially life threatening. The most common allergens in school aged children are peanuts, eggs, tree nuts (e.g. cashews), cow’s milk, fish and shell fish, wheat, soy, sesame, latex, certain animal stings and medication.

The key to prevention of anaphylaxis in schools is knowledge of those students who have been diagnosed at risk, awareness of triggers (allergens) and prevention of exposure to these triggers. Partnership between schools and parents is important in ensuring that we remain up to date with medical management requirements of all students.

Parents of students who are at risk of anaphylaxis update medical plans each year. Please contact Anna to review and update their child/ren’s management plan as soon as possible.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend

May St Joseph the Worker continue to bless and watch over everyone in our community

Prep News