Newsletter 11, 24th July 2025

Principal's Report

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

Welcome to Term 3!

I hope you all enjoyed a restful and refreshing break over the school holidays. Term 3 may be a shorter one at just nine weeks, but as always, there will be plenty to keep us busy. We look forward to a term of meaningful learning and exciting activity!

It was such a joy to see our students return on Monday with big smiles and plenty of energy, reconnecting with friends and teachers and diving straight back into classroom routines with enthusiasm.

This Friday, we’re looking forward to a highlight of the term – welcoming our Grandparents and Special Friends to school. A reminder that Mass will begin at 9:30am in the church, and we can’t wait to celebrate this special occasion with our extended school family.

As we settle into the winter season, please ensure students are wearing the correct winter uniform each day. Students are to continue wearing their full sports uniform on Wednesdays (3-6) and Thursdays (F-2).

We’re excited for a term filled with discovery, connection, and growth, and we thank you for your continued support as we work together to make this a great term for all. Please be sure to check out what's coming up in the IMPORTANT DATES below.

Wishing everyone a happy, productive and fulfilling Term 3!

Take care and stay warm,
Mary 💚💛

Mary & Martha

At our School assembly on Monday, and again at Staff Meeting, our prayer centred around the story of Mary & Martha. This passage can be a powerful reminder to us all to not lose sight of peace and purpose amid the busyness of the term.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Loving God,
As we begin this new school term, we turn to You with open hearts.
Like Martha, we are ready to serve — to plan, to teach, to support, and to care.
Grant us energy, patience, and wisdom in all our tasks.
Help us meet the needs of our students with diligence and love.

But like Mary, we also want to sit at Your feet.
In the midst of our busy days, remind us to pause.
Give us the grace to listen, to reflect, and to draw strength from Your presence.

May we find the balance between doing and being —
between offering our gifts and receiving Your peace.

Bless our school community — each staff member, each student, and every family.
Let this term be a time of growth, learning, kindness, and joy.

We place our work in Your hands,
trusting that with You at the centre, all will be well.
Amen.

Important Dates

July 25th - Grandparents Day - Mass at 9:30am; class visit & morning tea
July 29th - 100 Days of Prep Celebration
Aiugust 1st - House Athletic Sports at Charlton College
August 9th-17th - Science Week
August 14th - Calder Athletic Sports Day Charlton
August 19th-22nd- Mrs Hogan attending the National Catholic Education Conference
August 17th-22nd  - Book Week
August 20th - Book Week dress up day
September 5th - Father's Day Breakfast
September 12th - The Flying Bookworm Show (Juniors)
September 17th - Tentative date for Annual School Concert
September 18th - End Term Three for students
September 19th- School Closure  Staff professional learning - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives

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 remaining FOR 2025. 
Friday 19th September - Staff professional learning - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives
Monday 27 October - Staff professional learning - Structured Literacy

Grandparents & Special Friends

REMINDER
We are celebrating Grandparents & Special Friends tomorrow - Friday 25th July.

Mass in St Joseph's Church at 9:30am
Visit to the classrooms between 10:15-10:45am
Mornming tea around 10:45am

All welcome. 

Wellbeing at St Joe's

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break and are ready
for a busy Term 3.
Reminders
 We collect the 10c recycling containers for our Breakfast Program.
Containers can be dropped off to Heenan’s Newsagency or you can search
St Joseph’s Primary in the ‘Education’ section.
 Breakfast Program operates on a Tuesday and Thursday morning from
8.30am – 8.55am. Children come to the Multipurpose room and have a
drink and/or toast. Children are encouraged to sit down at the tables to
have their breakfast.

RRRR - The Four Rs
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships – during Term 3 I will be popping
into the P – 2 room and the 3 – 6 rooms to conduct lessons on the 4 RRRR’s.
P – 2 topic this term is Emotional Literacy. The aim is to recognise and identify
their own emotions and describe situations that may evoke these emotions.
3 – 6 topic is Emotional Literacy. The aim is for the students will name emotions
that they may feel in response to different situations.
School TV
SchoolTV covers a vast range of topics, each featuring interviews with leading
global experts and a carefully curated selection of resources from key
organisations.
We encourage you to explore and utilise this platform, as it serves as a valuable
tool in building relationships, fostering connections, and deepening
understanding. By breaking down barriers, it helps pave the way towards better
mental health and wellbeing for young people.
Keep a look out in the newsletters for links to topics.

Tamara Wright

Athletic Sports

During Term Three students prepare for and participate in the annual Athletic Sports Carnival.

Through a Sporting Schools Grant, we have a coach visiting from Bendigo Athletics to help students prepare for the athletic events. Garnet will visit today, Thursday 31st July, Thursday 7th August and Wednesday 13th August. 

Next Friday, 1st August, all students will walk to Charlton College to join in their House Athletics, in preparation for the main event (time to be confirmed).

The Calder Athletic Sports are held at Charlton Park on THURSDAY 14th AUGUST. Students from P-6 participate in this full day event.

Students are to wear their full sports uniform for the Athletic events and are welcome to wear their runners & sports uniform on the days Garnet comes for practice sessions. 

DOBCEL Strategy to 2035

2026 Enrolments Now Open

A place to belong. A place to thrive. A place where every child matters.
At St Joseph's School we are proud to offer a nurturing environment where children grow in mind, heart and spirit.
Inspired by our Catholic tradition, we walk with each child on their unique journey - celebrating who they are and guiding who they are becoming!
Commitment to child safety & well-being
Learning that inspires - explicit instruction and individualised support
A welcoming community celebrating diversity
Living our values everyday- we are safe, responsible & respectful
Structured Literacy
Auslan Language Curriculum
Evidence based data-driven practices
No fees for Prep enrolments
Experience the St Joseph's difference! We invite you to discover what makes our school a truly special place.

https://www.sjcharlton.catholic.edu.au/

Foundation/1 Class Report

Welcome back to Term 3! 
I hope you all had a lovely holiday break spending time with friends and family. 
It was great to see everyone on Monday. We have lots on this term and the students were keen to dive back into our daily routines. 
On Tuesday 29th of July (next week) the Prep students will celebrate 100 days of school at St Joseph’s. Students in P/1 are invited to dress as something that resembles 100 (dressing up as an older person, bringing 100 of something eg cards, coins, 100s and 1000s biscuits) and we will be doing activities around this for the day. A note will be sent home tomorrow with more detail. 
Assessments for Term 3 will begin next week.
Remember to reach out to myself or the school if you have any worries or concerns. 
I hope everyone has a great week and stays warm. 
Katie Brown 

Grade 2/3 Class Report

It was great to welcome the students back this week and hear all about their holidays!

Students have settled in very readily and are congratulated for all the hard work they have completed this week.

We are excited to have some of our grandparents and special friends visit us at school tomorrow.

Today we had our first athletics coaching session with Garnet which was a lot of fun! One thing we learnt was how to get a good start in our running races!

A great Week One of term. Well done, everyone!

Grade 4/5/6 Class Report

Firstly, thank you to all of the St Joseph’s community for giving me such a warm welcome this week.  The students have been very supportive in showing me how things work in their class.

The students of Class 4/5/6 started off the week by writing a letter to Mr Lanyon introducing themselves and talking about their interests and hobbies.  Students then explored how as writers they can use descriptive language in their stories to make the reader feel a certain way about a character.

During Numeracy students have continued focussing on using a variety of Multiplication and Division strategies where they have been attempting to solve the same problem in more than one way. 

In Religious Education students have begun learning how our Christian faith calls us to show the virtue of hospitality to others. Students enjoyed recalling times when they have shared a special meal or had a party with others. They talked about how enjoyable it was because they shared it with loving friends and family. 

Next week Class 4/5/6 will recommence their AUSLAN lessons via zoom. 

Mr Lanyon

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
Parents and family members are reminded, 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.