‘For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.’ John 3:16

Dear Families

Welcome to Week 11 of Term 4. The term is almost over!

The past couple of weeks has been bit of a blur as we have tried to squeeze in so many things that the students have missed out on due to lockdown. To name a few have had camps and sleepovers, visits to the zoo, Advent liturgies, Christmas Carols, Beach Lifesaving Days, Yoga, Graduation excursion to Luna Park, KK and of course our production of Shrek Jnr.

I commend the staff at St Joseph's for continuing to add value and work their best for the benefit of all the children.

Have a wonderful summer and Christmas and thank you supporting St Joseph's. As one of our future school leaders said last week in a leadership speech... 'we are a small school with a huge heart'.

Liam

Class of 2021

Our wonderful graduates spent yesterday at Luna Park before Graduation Mass and Dinner at the beautiful setting of Black Rock Yacht Club.

Thank you Father James for a lovely Mass and thank you to Ben and Melinda for the outstanding role they have played in the lives of these children. The parents of the graduates were incredibly proud to celebrate the end of this chapter and there were many tears of joy and sadness as we farewell the Class of 2021.

Thank you children for representing St Joseph's and demonstrating our values so beautifully all year!

We do have some staff leaving us as well as new staff joining us for 2022.

It is always a bittersweet time farewelling staff members who have added so much value to the school and have become so attached to the children. We acknowledge the work that these educators have contributed in the Catholic system and especially here at St Joseph’s.

We wish them luck in their new adventures and we hold them in our prayers.

Tess Giles (2020)

Miss Giles has worked tirelessly as a Learning Support Officer for the past two years. She has spent most of that time working and supporting junior students and staff. While working full time for us at St Joseph’s, Tess also managed to complete her teaching degree part-time and has been offered a full time teaching position teaching Foundation next year in another school. Congratulations and best of luck Tess!

Reg Del Castillo (2020)

Reg spent her final pre-service placement with us at St Joseph’s, where we instantly loved her youthful energy in the staffroom. Reg began her teaching career in some of the most challenging teaching circumstances in 2020 with frequent and sustained lockdowns, all the while thinking of the children first and foremost. Her guitar playing skills over Seesaw made the daily online routines more enjoyable for children and parents alike. This year Reg has worked hard to complete her Victorian Institute of Teaching registration and is taking the next opportunity to hone her craft in the classroom at St Augustine’s in South Frankston. Thank you for all that you have contributed during your short time with us Reg, we wish you all the best at your new school.

Catriona Botterill (2018)

Catriona’s connection to the school stretches back over a decade with her three gorgeous boys navigating their way through the school. Catriona started on staff in 2018 and instantly brought a wealth of knowledge and passion to the school, teaching students and staff plenty about STEM. We have been lucky to have had Catriona bring her expertise to the school both academically and from a community point of view - it’s always good to have a parent’s perspective on staff. As Catriona moves to a STEM specialist role at St Joseph’s Hawthorn, we wish her all the best and look forward to paying a fortune in consultation fees for her expertise in the future as her services will no doubt become highly sought after across Melbourne.

Henry Mutimer (2016)

Henry is moving into a full-time position at St Louis next year. He has had 5 successful years at St Joseph’s and has left a great impression on all the staff and students. Henry and Elissa welcomed baby Grayson into the world this year and he will be the youngest enrolment in St Joseph’s history! We thank you Henry for the work, the sport, the carnivals and all the fun you have gifted us with. We have watched Henry grow as a teacher (along with the length of his beard) as he had his final pre-service teaching rounds at St Joseph’s. Never shy of pegging dodgeballs at year six students in our annual teachers verse year six competitions, Henry also demonstrates a great deal of compassion for the children at St Joseph’s. We’re going to miss his cheeky sense of humour and height in the staffroom. Best of luck next year!

Kate O’Brien (2006)

Kate O’Brien is as much a part of St Joseph’s as the buildings, church and playground. Her service to the school has been full of energy and love, bringing a wealth of knowledge and fun to the staff and into the classroom. Many teachers, past and present, can recall her renditions of happy birthday in the staffroom; our ears still ringing from the experience. Kate has seen many changes to the school in her time at St Joseph’s, none of which will likely compare to the change that will be felt by her own departure. Having taught all the grades from Foundation to 6, Kate is versatile and just loves to teach, no matter the year level. Kate has served on the leadership team at St Joseph’s for many years and her insight and perspective has brought many of the fabulous initiatives and innovations that are now deeply embedded at the school. Whether it’s her dress ups for book week, her boisterous laughter or her compassionate personality, we will miss Kate and all that she brings to our beautiful school.

Jenny Keely (2010)

Jenny Keely has over ten years of experience working at St Joseph’s. She has worn many hats during that time and has supported every single child that has come through the gates. Jenny was given special mention during our 2021 school review as being the main driver of our ‘vibrant culture’ especially around education in faith. Jenny has been everybody’s fairy godmother at St Joseph’s and she cares deeply for all of us. We have all prayed many times for this wonderful lady as she bravely and stoically faced her health challenges this year. Jenny has chosen to retire at the end of the year to maintain her health and to spend precious time with her family. Jenny’s passion for teaching children has come through in every aspect of her time here at St Joseph’s and in future many staff will be asking W.W.J.D. (What would Jenny do?). Thank you Jenny for everything.

We also welcome several new staff members for 2022 and you will get to know them very quickly next term.

We welcome Samatha Templeton into the PE role as well as being the Year 4 teacher.

We welcome Sarah Fuller who will be working with Year 1/2 and will also be heavily involved in our student wellbeing space.

We welcome Sharon Portelli as a full time Learning Support Officer (LSO) and we are also very fortunate to have Sophie Bowen as our Yoga teacher.

Shrek

All families received an Operoo from school on Friday with the link and password to our video of Shrek Jnr.

Camp - Hi Ace (Cape Shank)

Thank you to Ms Cooke and Miss Lowe and Mr Sandison for going on camp with this great bunch of children. We had a ball and we feel lucky to have been able to go on camp this year!

Carols

Thank you to the wonderful P&F team once again for organising the Carols and the amazing food and drinks we all shared. Thank you Miss Sabba for teaching the children their songs.

Save the date:

Students return to school for TERM 1 on Monday 31st Jan 2022.

Christmas Hampers

THANK YOU so much for your donations. For a small school we do have a huge heart!!

Karate

Great to see Andrew from Allstars back onsite each Wednesday morning with our karate students.

Check out the website for bookings if you are interested.

linkhttps://www.allstarsdefence.com.au/st-josephs-blackrock

Term 1	Students return: Mon 31 Jan - Friday 8th April (Easter 15 April – 18 April)
Term 2	Tuesday 26 April – Friday 24 June
Term 3	Monday 11 July – Friday 16 September
Term 4	Monday 3 October – Tuesday 20 December

Diary Dates

What to look forward to in the coming months