Newsletter 7, 15th May 2025

Principal's Report

Hello to Families and all in the St Joseph's School Community,

We hope all the mothers, grandmothers, and significant women in our students’ lives had a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday. These special moments remind us how important your love, care, and support are in helping our children grow and thrive. It was a joy to welcome so many of you to our Mother’s Day morning tea last Friday- and so special to have four generations of the Wright Family present with us!  The event was a heartfelt celebration of the vital role you play in both your children’s lives and in our school community. Thank you for sharing your time with us and for all that you do each day. Your presence makes a lasting difference—thank you for being such a special part of our school family.

Last week, students also participated in a Regional Arts Program called Country & Belonging. These days were funded by Charlton Arts and Charlton Neighbourhood House and the Charlton Lions Club provided a sausage sizzle each day for lunch! St Joseph’s is very grateful to these community groups for supporting our learning and growing. The days were very informative, enabling the students to learn more about the history, art and culture of our First Nations People. The Grade 3-6 students even made their art come to life with some super overhead drone shots.

To finish off a very busy and exciting week, our students took part in both the Cross Country and Winter Sports events (see details below). A huge thank you to all our families for your incredible support and for staying on top of everything happening—it certainly was a full week, and you did an amazing job!  I’d also like to take a moment to acknowledge and commend our students. Their excellent behaviour, positive attitude, and willingness to participate and cooperate throughout the week were outstanding. They truly demonstrated our St Joseph’s values of safety, responsibility, and respect in all they did. We couldn’t be prouder of how they represented our school.

Mrs Olive spent two days in Werribee last week at the annual SIMON Conference. SIMON is our operating platform and also controls PAM. I’m sure she will have learnt many new things and be eager to try them out on her return. Mrs Olive has worked hard to keep modernising the way we operate, making sure digitalised options are more readily available and streamlining processes. As a school community we are very grateful for Mrs Olive’s on-going dedication and enthusiasm for St Joe’s – thank you!

I am spending today and tomorrow at this term’s Diocesan Leadership Gathering in Horsham. In my absence, please contact the School Office for administration matters and Miss Brown for any other matters.

In faith & learning,
Have a great week,
Mary

Pope Leo XIV

We are delighted to share the joyful news of the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first Pope from the United States of America — a historic and hope-filled moment for the Catholic Church and for people of goodwill around the world.

Formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV has dedicated his life to serving those on the margins. As a missionary in Peru, he worked closely with vulnerable communities, championing dignity, compassion, and justice.

His chosen name connects powerfully with the legacy of Pope Leo XIII, whose 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum laid the foundations of modern Catholic Social Teaching. In Pope Leo XIV, we see a continuation of that tradition—an emphasis on mercy, inclusivity, and a Church that walks alongside those most in need.

As we celebrate this new chapter, we also remember with deep gratitude the extraordinary leadership of Pope Francis. His example of humility and unwavering focus on the poor has shaped the Church in profound ways. May he rest in peace, and may his legacy continue to inspire Pope Leo XIV and all of us working for a more just and compassionate world.

Important Dates

May 12 – 16 – STOMP Dancing
May 16 - STOMP Dance presentation at Charlton College Stadium at 9:30am
May 21 - National Simultaneous Storytime at 12pm
May 25-30 – Catholic Education Week (including Open Morning on Monday 26th & Cluster Day in St Arnaud on Wednesday 28th)
May 27 - Northern Zone Cluster - Strategic Planning towards 2035  - SCHOOL OPEN for students
June 6 - School Closure Day - professional learning in ATSI Perspectives
June 9th - King's Birthday Public Holiday
July 4th - End Term Two

DOBCEL Student-Free Guidelines and Procedures
Student-free days are days where students do not attend school within the gazetted attendance period but are designated for staff professional development, school professional development activities, planning and/or report-writing. Each year, the first day of term one and the last day of term four will be a student-free day in all schools. PLEASE NOTE THE STUDENT-FREE DATES FOR 2025. 
Friday 6 June - Staff professional learning - Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Perspectives
Friday 19 September - Staff professional learning - Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Perspectives
Monday 27 October - Staff professional learning - Structured Literacy

GRIP Leadership Conference

On Thursday 1^st May, our Grade 6 students travelled to Bendigo with Mrs Olive and Mrs Lanyon to attend the  GRIP Student Leadership Day.

The GRIP Student Leadership Conference is unique in that it focuses specifically on training students for their roles as school leaders. The style, topics, and content of this conference are all designed to equip students with practical strategies they can use right now in their roles.

The students participated in the day with great enthusiasm and hopefully left the conference with a clearer vision and greater understanding of what it means to be  school leader. The school has purchased some resources from the day and we look forward to following up on the day in Bendigo by providing the Grade 6s with opportunities to practise their leadership skills.

Thank you to Mrs Olive and Mrs Lanyon for attending the day with the students.

STOMP Dance Program

This week, our students are taking part in the exciting STOMP Dance Program. Each year, we are amazed by the talented and energetic dance instructors who lead the sessions. Their enthusiasm, expert teaching, and engaging class management truly bring out the best in our students.

Over the course of the week, students will learn three to four choreographed dances—a fantastic achievement in such a short time! The program not only builds dance skills, but also encourages confidence, teamwork, and creativity.

To celebrate their hard work, students will showcase what they’ve learned in a special performance for families on Friday. PLEASE NOTE THE TIME OF THE PRESENTATION IS 9:30AM.

Students will travel by bus to the College on Friday morning at 8:50am - please aim to be school by that time so we can be up ready to start rehearsal at 9:00am.

Dismissal we be from St Joseph's School as usual on Friday.

Performance Details:
📅 Date: Friday 16th May 
🕘 Time: 9:30am
📍 Location: Charlton College Stadium
🎟️ Families are warmly invited to attend!

We look forward to seeing you there and celebrating a week of fun, rhythm, and movement!

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Cross Country

All students from Prep - 6 ran the Cross Country at Charlton College last week. Staff were very pleased with the effort given by all students. There was plenty of determination, personal best performances, examples of sportsmanship .....and some exhaustion, on what was a warm day! Well done to all students who competed on the day. Congratulations to Sophie and Lila who crossed the line in first position for their age groups.

Tomorrow, we have eight students attending Regional Cross Country in the Sandhurst Division. Congratulations to Vinny, Lila, Mia, Megg, Flynn, Yazmin, Toby and Sophie who qualified to run in Bendigo. We hope you have a good run and we will be barracking from afar! Good luck! 

DOBCEL Strategy to 2035

Guided by our vision, we will move towards our goal through three practical principles:

1. Deeper collaboration: Systematic efforts to enable deeper cooperation in and between schools combined with building social capital across the DOBCEL system.
2. Networked ground-up innovation: Purposeful investments initiating local innovation and renewal of learning and teaching through co-designed school improvement.
3. Collective autonomy and agency: Schools understand that they are trusted to make the best decisions for those in their care and understand their mutual obligation to the Governing Authority and the responsibilities that they carry. Schools are more connected to one another, and that student voice, agency and active engagement in school is prioritised.

On Tuesday 27th May, teaching staff will travel to Robinvale to be inspired by the insights of educational leaders and thought partners — Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Educational Leadership), Dave Runge (Future Schools Director), and DOBCEL Executive Director Tom Sexton — whose visionary perspectives are shaping this strategy.

This professional learning marks the next phase of the DOBCEL Network Collaboration Days.
The momentum is building — and the future of Catholic education in our diocese has never looked brighter!

PLEASE NOTE:
MAY 27TH WAS ALLOCATED AS A SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY AT ST JOSEPH'S. AS ONLY TEACHING STAFF ARE NOW REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE DAY IN ROBINVALE, ST JOSEPH'S WILL BE OPEN ON THIS DAY WITH RELIEF STAFF SUPPORTING OUR LSO AND ADMIN STAFF.

NCCD Fact Sheet

Students of the Week

Foundation/1 Class Report

Welcome to Week 4!
We had a very busy week last week as we celebrated Welcome to Country at Charlton Park where the children had the opportunity to learn and participate in some Indigenous traditions. It was a great chance for the children to reflect on the differences in our cultures. We are learning about simple sentences in Literacy and we are having fun with some scrambled sentence activities. Numeracy focus has been mass and working with 5s frames. 
A huge well done to everyone who participated in Cross Country - all the students did an amazing job!
Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine. 

Grade 2/3 Class Report

Dear Families,

It’s hard to believe we’re already in May! The year is flying by, and our Grade 2/3 class has been buzzing with learning, laughter, and lots of exciting activities.

LITERACY
Students have been working hard in our phonics sessions. They’ve been using their new sounds to segment and blend words together. We’ve also been reading about the world of Biological Science through our focus text!

MATHS
Students have been exploring the exciting world of probability and chance! We're learning how to talk about how likely or unlikely events are to happen — and it’s been a fun and hands-on experience. Students are using new maths vocabulary like certain, likely, unlikely, impossible, and even chance.

SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Country and Belonging
Last week, we were lucky to explore Aboriginal culture and connection to Country with some amazing guest speakers at Charlton Park. Students learned about the land, traditional stories, and the importance of caring for the environment.

Cross Country
Well done to all students who participated in the cross-country running event! We are so proud of everyone’s effort, sportsmanship, and determination. Congratulations to all involved!

STOMP Dancing
This week, we’re turning up the music and getting our bodies moving with STOMP dance sessions each afternoon! Students are learning exciting routines, working together, and showing off their groovy moves. It’s a fun and energetic way to end the school day!

Thank you for your continued support. It’s a joy to see all the students smiling, growing, and learning each day. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out.

Lara Thompson

Grade 4/5/6 Class Report

Congratulations to Maddie Lanyon and Toby Bourke for receiving Stars of the Week.
Well done on all the students for competing in the School Cross Country at Charlton College. We wish Sophie, Toby, Flynn, Yazmin and Megg all the best for the upcoming Sandhurst Cross Country in Bendigo on Friday.
A huge shout out to all the students on the way they conducted themselves at the Winter Sports in Boort last Thursday. Yazmin and Flynn received the Sportsmanship Award for their respective sports. Great Job!
We have been busily working on addition and subtraction during Numeracy. Every day the students practice their times tables and quick addition facts from a different starting number. During Literacy we have been working on narratives and we continue to work through our Spelling Program. 
Auslan is on a Monday and we have been looking at single words - like Hello, Goodbye, Please and Thank you. Sheets have gone home with students so that they can practice at home and so parents have an understanding too.
Reminders: Friday is Walk to School Day and Wednesday 21st May is NS Storytime @ 12noon
Mrs Wright

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.