PRINCIPAL'S NEWS

Principal's Message...

Dear parents,

If I haven't already caught up with you - welcome back and I hope your family enjoyed a relaxing term break and managed to spend some quality time with loved ones over the Easter Season.

SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS

Our school closure days held last week enabled the staff to reflect upon and deepen our understandings and practices around student wellbeing and supporting positive behaviour.  We focussed on reframing behaviours and shifting thinking from "I Won't" to "I Can't - YET".

The following quotes provide a snapshot of our thinking over the two days...

Later this year our school will participate in the the School Review Process.  Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne undertake a single model of review which supports deep learning and ongoing monitoring of improvement throughout a four-year continuous improvement cycle.  Given this, a component of our professional development last week was to unpack our school data and reflect on our achievements and goals in the sphere of Wellbeing.

PRE-SERVICE TEACHER

Next week we welcome Julia Koot to St Joseph's.  Julia is a pre-service teacher studying at ACU and will be working with Kate in Junior K for a six week placement.

Welcome Julia!

CYBER SAFETY SESSIONS

Inform & Empower Term 2 Sessions

This week students from Prep to Year 6 are commencing their Term 2 cyber safety incursions with Inform & Empower. These sessions are held at the beginning of every term and focus on safe and responsible online behaviour. 

See 'Wellbeing News' for more information and Parent Handouts

MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATIONS

Thank you to Jodie and Louise who organised the recent Mother's Day Luncheon at Matteo's Restaurant.  Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but by all accounts the afternoon was great success.  

Breakfast

This Friday, May 6, we invite all of our Mothers to our "Camp Out" breakfast in the Shelter Shed (given that the multipurpose room is still out of action) from 7:45am onwards.  An invitation with an 'intention to attend' tear-off slip was sent out last week - if you haven't received one and wish to attend please contact the office and we will send a note home.  We hope to see you there!!

Gift Stall

The Mother's Day Stall will be held this week on Thursday.  Thank you to Jo and her band of helpers who are currently busy shopping and wrapping in preparation for this...

There will undoubtedly be an abundance of choices available for the children including...

Gifts range from $2 - $12.  Children will be able to purchase at least two items each.  If possible please provide your child with a bag to carry the gifts home - and also (and most importantly)  to conceal what they have purchased!!

I would like to wish all of our Mothers, Grandmothers and significant loved ones a wonderful Mother's Day...  I hope you are all indulged and enjoy spending some quality time with your families.

UNIFORMS

As the mornings are becoming increasingly cooler students may begin to wear their winter uniform. We ask that all students have transitioned from summer to winter uniform by the end of next week.  From Monday 9th May, ALL student must be in FULL WINTER UNIFORM. 

Academic Uniform

Sports Uniform

Complimentary items to the uniform during the winter months include a school rain jacket and beanie.  Jackets with the school logo are available from Academy Uniforms and Beanies are available from the school office for $10 each.

Please ensure that long hair (shoulder length) is tied back and jewellery and nail polish is not worn to school.  

For more information on school uniform see the 'School Uniform' link on this newsletter

This term the children in Middles and Seniors will have Performing Arts lessons once a week.  Therefore, children are to wear their sports uniforms on the following days:

PREPS - Thursday

JUNIORS - Tuesday  and Friday

MIDDLES - Monday and Friday

SENIORS - Monday and Friday 

UPDATE ON THE ROOF REPAIRS

Last term a structural engineer was engaged to examine the damage to the rafters in our roof and provide a report to our insurance company.  This report has been completed and we are now waiting for feedback to determine the next steps.  We hope that works will commence sooner rather than later.  I'd like to thank our middle students and teachers, Angela, Lauren and Tess for their flexibility and patience during this time of 'relocation'. Thanks also to everyone else who has had to 'move / change / set-up & pack-up' to accommodate for all of our extra curricula activities that would normally occur in the multi-purpose room.

CODE CLUB on every Wednesday at Lunchtime 

Peter Zammit is once again offering CODE CLUB as a lunch time club!! Children from years 3 to 6 are invited and encouraged to attend the club ( which will take place in the Senior Community Space). The club will last approximately thirty minutes. It will normally start at 1.30 and go on until around 2pm.

The response to our After School Code Club with Code Camp has been very healthy.  We had 20 children participate yesterday after school - and there was great buzz of excitement coming from the group.  If you would like more information about this programme  please see the 'Extra Curricula' section of the newsletter.

Why Code Club ? What are the benefits?

Today’s young people will work, live and play in a world that is increasingly digital. They’ll require skills to solve problems that don’t exist yet, they’ll become change-makers who build new solutions and work in fields that don’t even exist yet! And they’ll need to know how technology works.

Coding and digital skills are fundamental for our changing future. By learning how to code, young people are building digital literacy skills for a changing world. They’re also developing valuable soft skills including logic, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.

Peter Zammit- Code Club Convenor

WORKING BEE 

On Saturday May 14 we will holding a Working Bee - (please note the date is May 14, not 15 as per the note that went home this week).  If you are able to assist in any capacity, and for any time throughout the morning please let Carmel know.  The day will kick start at 8:00am.  

ELECTION

This year St Joseph’s will be a polling place for the Federal Election on May 21.  We will be holding a sausage sizzle and a cake stall on the day (May 21).  If you are able to assist in any way (cooking, baking, selling....) please contact the office.

CROSS COUNTRY

This term St. Joseph’s will once again participate at the Annual District Cross Country Championships. Cross Country is open for students aged 9 to 13 years. The event will be held on Tuesday May 24 at Bundoora Park. 

Peter and Tess have volunteered to brave the early starts and facilitate training for anyone who is interested in trying-out for the squad.  Training sessions commenced last Friday and will continue over the next few Friday mornings (May 6, May 13 & May 20) commencing at 8:00am.  If you are interested in joining the training squad please see Mr Zammit.

SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE

Jane Ward, mother of Elan (JK) and Akiva (Prep) has generously shared a worthwhile sustainability initiative with us. Tree Planting at the Merri Creek. If you are looking for a way to give back to the environment and have a little bit of spare time on Mother's Day.

Merri Mother’s day planting

Looking for something different to do with your family this mother’s day? Last year we joined with lots of other families to plant local indigenous plants along the edge of the Merri Creek. You might even spot a Tawny Frogmouth or other St Joey students like these two: Elan (Grade 1) and Akiva (Prep) collecting plant pots.

When: Sunday 8 May, 10am to 12:30pm

Where: Meet at the playground off Sumner Ave, Northcote, Melway 30 C9 or see Google map.

What: Bring your mum along and help Mother Earth by planting indigenous understorey and ground cover plants at Merri Park. Phone Claire 0417 833 957.

Please note that participants over 12 years old must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Please bring evidence of vaccination with you.  

The Friends of Merri Creek have regular planting and clean up days and bird spotting activities. Check out their website for details:  https://www.friendsofmerricreek.org.au/

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Programme - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will commence next week.  Children in grades 3 and 5 (and 7 and 9) will complete the tests on Tuesday May 10, Wednesday May 11 and Thursday May 12.  This year the Year 3 students will complete the tests online, except for the writing test, which will be completed on paper. The Year 5 students will complete all of their tests online. All students have had the opportunity to complete practice tests on chromebooks to become familiar with the new delivery format.  NAPLAN forms a single component of our very rigorous and extensive assessment schedule at St Joseph's - if you have any questions or concerns around these tests please speak to your child's classroom teacher.

CHESS CLUB

Chess Club re-commences onsite lessons this week.  We welcome Jim back and look forward to the future competitions involving our students.  If you would like more information about Chess Club see the 'Extra Curricula' section of this newsletter.

COVID UPDATE - The following information was sent in an email last week.

Face masks

From 11:59 pm Friday 22 April, face masks, while recommended, are not required in any school setting. This means students in grades 3 to 6, staff and visitors in primary schools are no longer required to wear face masks. Any student or staff member who wishes to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk.

Rapid antigen test screening requirements

Students who have tested positive for COVID-19, and have completed their 7-day isolation period, now do not need to undertake rapid antigen test (RAT) screening for 12 weeks after their release from isolation. This was previously 8 weeks.

Household contacts

Students who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are not required to quarantine. They may return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times during their 7-day period. They are required to notify the school that they are a household contact.

Students aged 8 years and above who are household contacts are required to wear face masks when indoors at school unless they have a valid exemption.

If a student household contact returns a positive RAT result, they must isolate for 7 days.

Vaccination requirements for visitors to schools

Parents, carers and other adult visitors are no longer required to show evidence of two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

RAT screening program reminder

RATs will continue to be supplied for the first 4 weeks of Term 2 to support the early detection of COVID-19 at St Joseph's.

The testing recommendations will remain the same this Term for students and staff - every Monday and Thursday morning.

Thank you for your ongoing support in keeping our school safe.