Newsletter 16, 12th September 2024
Principal's Report
Hello to Families and all in the St Joseph's School Community,
Bravo! Bravo! What a wonderful effort from our students at our school musical on Tuesday night. They certainly gave it their all and I couldn’t feel prouder of each and every student for the way they managed their individual performances! Last night’s performance also reiterated the amazing teamwork that is part of St Joe’s culture. Each staff member contributed to putting the musical together – lines, dance moves, songs, props, stage set, crowd control and lots of encouragement. Add a supportive parent body, parishioners and community members and an enjoyable evening is guaranteed! Thank you for your attendance and congratulations to the staff and students on a successful presentation.
A notice was sent to all parents yesterday, both a paper copy with students and a digital notification. This notice contains details regarding the time I am on leave from the school so please be sure to have a read. I will be on leave from THURSDAY 12th September – MONDAY 14th October. Please contact Chloe Armstrong in my absence and Cate Olive for administration matters.
Term Three concludes next Friday 20th September. Please note dismissal time will be 2:30pm. Many thanks for your continued support and engagement during what has been another busy term. Best wishes for a restful holiday break.
With commitment to our shared journey,
Mary Hogan
Lord, we thank you for guiding our team's efforts.
We pray for a spirit of collaboration, where each member's strengths can create a unified whole.
Help us to continue to work together seamlessly and to learn from each other so that we may achieve our goals in a spirit of unity and shared purpose.
Remind us that we are all part of something bigger and that we are all connected.
Give us strength and courage to lift each other instead of tearing each other down.
Let us unite in a spirit of respect and admiration so our team can reach new heights.
Amen.
Post Concert Treats
Wellbeing Report
It is fantastic to see most students visiting the breakfast room in the mornings. Everyone is welcome!!
3 DEEP BREATHS
This week the focus is on taking some time to take 3 deep breaths.
3 deep breaths can help us focus better, learn better and improve our overall wellbeing.
Breathe in through your nose for 5 seconds
Hold your breath for 3 seconds
Slowly exhale through your mouth.
Repeat 3 times
Wellbeing Wednesday
Students were involved in a number of activities on Wednesday afternoon.
These included:
* Friendship Bracelet making and Yoga
*Stress Ball Making
* Decorating cookies and lolly kebabs
The students worked in multi aged groups where they demonstrated leadership, kindness, care and supportive skills.
Some comments from the students after the activities were:
I liked making bracelets with Mrs Wright. Mia
Feelings Cookies....they were amazing. Vinny
I loved making cookies. Jaidan
Making stress balls made me feel calm. Ivy
I loved squeezing the squishy stress balls. Samantha
I liked decorating the sugar cookies with lollies. Madelyn
The cookies were yummy.
Making the balloon balls was fun. Jovakkim
Feel good dance party was fantastic. Miss Thompson and Mrs Fitzpatrick
Edwin-on Wellness Wednesday we made stress balls, made friendship bands and made cookies. My favourite part was making cookies. I would like to do this again next year. I would like to make cookies again and make stress balls again.
Connor - We made stress balls and yoga and friendship bracelets and we did cookies.
Ruby-We did some yoga and bracelet making, we also did some biscuit decorating and made stress balls. My favourite activity was biscuit making and giving the cookies cool features. I enjoyed it very much and would love to do it again.
Flynn-Yesterday was wellness Wednesday we made friendship bracelets, stress balls and cookies, I hope next time we can make flour stress balls.
Macey- We did friendship bracelets, yoga, and mindful things with Mrs Wright. We made stress balls with Mrs Armstrong and we made biscuits with Mrs Fitzpatrick. I absolutely loved the stress balls filled with rice they are good for ASMR and your stress. :)
Sophie- Yesterday we did activities. We made cookies, stress balls and bracelets and we had so much fun. Thank you Mrs Wright. I hope we do it again.
Neive - Yesterday I liked making stress balls and cookies.
Rosie - Yesterday was Wellness Wednesday, we did a lot of fun and enjoyable activities. My favourite activity was Mrs Wrights, I loved making the bracelets and when we were done I love the pattern of mine.
Marlly- Yesterday we had three groups doing three activities for wellness Wednesday. I enjoyed decorating cookies the most because they tasted really good and I like the idea of sugar kebabs. After that we preformed the cha cha to Mrs Hogan which I thought was fun and funny.
Patrick-I would love to do it again. It was very fun. We made stress balls, we decorated cookies and did Yoga.
Toby- We made stress balls, we made friendship bracelets and decorated cookies which were delicious. My favorite activity was the stress balls because we get to take them home.
Darcy -We had icy poles, made cookies with lollies on it, we created stress balls, we did yoga and created bracelets. I liked making stress balls. It was fun.
Megg - Yesterday we made stress balls, we made bracelets and we decorated gingerbread men. My favourite part was when we decorated the gingerbread men. I loved it and I hope we do it again.
Finn-It was GREAT. I didn't really like making the friendship bracelets but I loved making stress balls.
Maddy- We made cookies and stress balls, I loved doing the cookies so please do this again next year.
RUOK? Day
Today is RUOK? Day. You can read all about this annual event on our School TV site(see below). RUOK? Day encourages us all to check in on our friends and to have conversations about our feelings. A big thank you to Miss Thompson for making special Kit Kat treats for the students to initiate conversations. “Let’s have a Kit Kat and have a chit chat!”, and Mrs Fitzpatrick for making our R U OK day cookies. They were delicious.
Footy Colours Day
On the last day of term, Friday 20th September, students are invited to wear their favourite footy colours to school. Students may wear football, soccer, hockey or netball colours to school! If you don’t have any sports gear students may wear casual clothes. Lunch will be provided for students on this day.
STOMP DANCING
We are very fortunate to have the STOMP DANCE teachers visiting again in WEEK ONE of TERM FOUR. These metropolitan dance teachers are phenomenal! Students will have a dance session each day and this will end with a concert display of the dances learnt on Friday 11th October. For this week F-2 students will need to be dropped to school at Charlton College where St Joseph’s staff will be there to meet them for their 9:00am dance sessions. More details will follow.
Grade 5 & 6 Urban Camp
Grade 5&6 students, together with Mrs Hogan, Mrs Fitzpatrick and Miss Lee, will spend three nights in Melbourne at Urban Camp from 15-18th October. Online registrations should now be completed. Please contact the Office if you are having difficulty with this. The camp schedule has been confirmed and the week looks like a great mix of education, socialisation, fun and new experiences!
Please note- the bus will leave St Joseph's School car park at 8:00am on Tuesday 15th September!
Personal Development Program
Grade 5 & 6 students will participate in two Personal Development sessions with Jacinta Miller, school nurse for the Mallee area. The sessions will run on the afternoons of Monday 21st & 28th October. Please contact the school if you have any questions regarding this program.
Students of the Week
St Joseph's School TV
SPECIAL REPORT: R U OK?Day
Understanding the growing challenges related to mental health among young people is an important consideration. Anxiety, depression and self-harm - are all causes for concern. Factors like academic pressure, social media, family dynamics, and societal expectations, are contributing to these issues. It's therefore crucial for parents and caregivers to take action early, remove the stigma around discussing mental health, and offer accessible support to address these issues and the wellbeing of their children.
R U OK?Day is an initiative that focuses on preventing suicide by encouraging meaningful personal connections and helping informal support networks to help recognise the signs of distress. We urge all families to take part, emphasising the value of genuine human relationships and reminding everyone to ask the important question, "Are you OK?"
Engaging in R U OK?Day activities goes beyond the classroom; it's a commitment to our students' overall development. By talking openly about mental health, schools create safe spaces where students feel understood, valued, and supported. As parents and caregivers, you can contribute by fostering open conversations, normalising feelings and breaking down mental health stigmas. Participating in R U OK?Day promotes compassion and shows our dedication to the wellbeing of the entire school community, reaffirming that together, we can truly make a difference.
This Special Report provides guidance on how to talk to your child about mental health and engage in meaningful discussions.
Here is the link to your Special Report https://sjcharlton.catholic.
Start exploring SchoolTV today! https://sjcharlton.catholic.schooltv.me/
Child Safety
The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a central and fundamental responsibility of Catholic Education. St Joseph’s School is committed to strengthened practice for the protection of children in line with the Victorian Government child safety reforms.
Child Safety - digital images
Taking Photos/Video Footage
As we begin a new year a reminder to parents and family members to please ensure, when at school events, to take photos or video footage of your child/ren only. Please do NOT post photos of children, other than your own, at school events or wearing school uniform, on personal social media pages other than your own. Thank you for your cooperation in using social media respectfully helping to keep everyone in our school community safe online.
Community News
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung people as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We thank them for sharing their cultures, spiritualities and ways of living with the land, in this place we all now call home.