Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Term Two

As we begin a new school term, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all back and extend my gratitude for your hard work and dedication to work with us to support your children's learning throughout Term One. I hope that you and your family have had a restful and rejuvenating Easter break and are ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.

As we commence this new school term, I would like to remind you of our school's vision and mission:

Vision

Inspired by Jesus Christ,

St Joseph’s School is a community,

nurturing personal, spiritual and academic growth

empowering all for a future of hope.

Mission

Our mission is inspired by the spirit of St Mary of the Cross and the Josephite Sisters.

St Joseph’s School Community is one in which members:

are inspired by Jesus Christ and the gospel values of love, truth, justice and peace.
have a sense of belonging and are active contributors to the parish, local and wider community.
will be given many opportunities to develop spiritually, physically, academically, emotionally, socially and culturally.
value life-long learning and have high expectations of possible achievements.
find meaning through integrating faith, life and culture.
aspire to create a just world that promotes the dignity of every human person.
promote the Gospel message according to Christian values.
will be aware of the rights of all people and will be responsible for their own actions.
appreciate and care for the natural environment.
build relationships that foster a collaborative approach.

To achieve our vision and mission, we must work together with you as a team with shared responsibility and accountability. I encourage you to collaborate with your child's teacher and to celebrate with us the achievements your children are making. We are all here for the same reason – to make a positive difference in the lives of our students. In addition, I would like to remind you of the importance of clear and positive home/School communication. Please keep your child's teacher informed of anything that may affect their learning. They will endeavour to keep you informed about how your child is progressing. That way, there should be no surprises come the Mid-Year Reports and Interviews.

Parents who have signed our Parent Code of Conduct, are holders of a Working with Children Card and have completed the Parent Helpers Course are welcome to assist in classrooms, attend excursions and other activities involving child-related work. Parents who have not satisfied this criteria are invited to make contact for support in doing this.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a successful and fulfilling second term. We look forward to your involvement throughout the term and meeting with you at the mid-year interviews. Thank you for your commitment to our school.

Kind regards,

Nick.

Upcoming Mother’s Day Activities

We look forward to celebrating Mother's Day as a school on Friday 12 May with a breakfast, assembly/liturgy and some classroom activities. Festivities will commence at around 8:15am in the Spa Centre and will conclude between 10:00am and 10:30am. Please refer to the Mother's Day Events link in the newsletter for more details.

Fire Carriers Initiative

St Joseph's is engaging in a program designed to bring Aboriginal culture, history and spirituality to the forefront of education in Catholic schools. Fire stands for Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education. On Thursday Rebecca Beveridge, Katie Vranken and I will be attending our Fire Carrier Commissioning at the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry in Thornbury. We will be accompanied by Evie, Izak and Eli who are our Fire Carrier Student Leaders. We will be meeting with Indigenous Elders and Fire Carrier teams from other Melbourne Catholic Schools. We look forward to sharing our learning with the students and wider community.

Click here to learn more about the Fire Carriers.

Late School Photo Orders

School Photos ran really smoothly today. The whole process was completed by 11:00am, allowing us to get on with the important learning for the day. The children were all presented beautifully when they arrived this morning and showed their best smiles.

A couple of families were a little late ordering and missed the deadline for Family Photos. We arranged for these photos to be taken anyway. Those families will need to contact Advanced Life by phone to arrange payment.

Update Operoo Details

All parents are requested to review and update their children's details on Operoo, if they have not already done so this year. We have noted a number of outdated data sets, particularly in relation to swimming ability. It is crucial that this information is updated prior to our upcoming School Camps.

Go to https://www.operoo.com/ and sign in using your email address and password.

Year 7 2025 Enrolments

Education In Faith

Terry Foley

Holy Week Prayers

Sacramental nights