Dear Families

Welcome to the 2025 school year!  It is great to be back.  On Friday some students welcomed the younger students at the front gate with dancing and singing.  Thank you Maya, Conrad, Sophie, Olivia and Rosie (our lollypop crossing lady),  you brightened our first day. 'Their Care' our after school hours care providers supplied free coffee for us and Jett (the area Manager) gave out information about the service.  Jett is pictured in these photos.

This year we welcome 12 new Foundation (Prep) students and 3 new students in other grades. We hope you all feel especially welcome in our school and enjoy learning with us.

We welcome: Kayla Joyce, Indi Hobson, Leo Tzitziras, Goldie Madex, Florence Treyvaud, Ari Mencev, Ash Varley, Thomas Bain, Mary Steendam, Luka Hollingworth, Enya Neuhausen and Remy Cosa.

We also welcome Lachlan Breust in Gr 3, Toby Leadbetter in Gr 1 and Ruby Cosa in Gr 5. 

Beginning of the School Year Prayer

At the beginning of this school year,

we thank you God for so many things: 

our school, our classrooms,

our friends and our teachers. 

Help us to be thankful for each day and to use it well. 

We thank you for the gift of this new day,

for the learning and the fun we will have. 

Help us to appreciate everything that is done for us  Amen.

Student Leaders

At our school we are proud of our Student Leadership Program which aims to grow successful student leaders. Pictured here are our first group of Gr 6 leaders: Asher Hicks and Billy Deppeler.  Congratulations and we look forward to your leadership in our school.

In addition, we have elected our Student Representative Council (SRC).  Students who were interested in the leadership roles were invited to prepare a speech on how they would fulfil the role and then present it to the senior students.  Then the senior student body voted and the SRC was formed.  Congratulations to Beau Treyvaud who is our RE leader, Maycee Shankar who is our sport leader, Harry Westbury who is our Arts leader, Aleyah Horton-Maynard who is our Child Safety and F.I.R.E. (Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education) leader, Josh Plozza who is our Environment & Sustainability leader and Tom Harrison who is our Learning Leader.  Here are our 2025 SRC: (Tom is absent)

Maintenance Works

We have completed some fabulous maintenance work in the school holidays.  We have completed the Junior Playground area and it looks terrific.  Thank you so much to Nick Baldassa and his workers for moving all the old mulch from the basketball court to the vege garden and then for spreading all the fresh mulch over the playgrounds.  Nick also installed a new age watering system for our 66 silver birch trees that the Treyvaud family planted for us. Thanks heaps Lucas! Thank you also to John and Di Gasi (Roz Shields parents, Jaylah's grandparents) who donated water to fill our 4,500 litre tank to water our new trees.  Thanks also to Danny Farrell who repaired and painted our tee pees and cubbies and painted the inside of some of the classrooms.  Our school looks GREAT! 

Information to parents

Each term class teachers prepare a newsletter that gives information about the learning planned.  It explains the focus in key learning areas like English, Maths and RE (Religious Education).  It also highlights excursions and special events for the term. Be sure to read this information.  The termly class newsletters are released in the first week of each term.

School Fees Schedule

Catholic Schools do not receive as much government funding as Department schools so we need to charge fees to meet our operational costs.  We are a 'not for profit' organisation.  Please see below our fee structure for 2025.  If you are on a Health Care Card this makes a tremendous difference to your school fees, please make sure the office knows that you have a Health Care Card.

This year our students in Gr 5/6 will travel to Melbourne for our camp on Monday Feb 24th to Wednesday 26th Feb. Further information is now available on PAM for these families.  Please ensure you read this information carefully and fill in the necessary permission and information forms.

New Staff

We warmly welcome back to our school Mrs Katie Balfour and she is teaching Gr 4/5 with Ms Liza Marino. We are so pleased to have Katie back, the corridors are once again filled with song and laughter. 

"Wow, two years have flown by quickly!

It has been wonderful seeing so many familiar and friendly faces again. In only two years of absence, it is amazing to see so many new school families here at St Joe's and I am looking forward to meeting you all.

I have been teaching in Grades 5 and 6 for the last two years and am currently teaching Grades 4/5 here. Our class has had a wonderful start to the year and I am feeling very positive about the year ahead."

We also welcome Georgia Bransgrove to our school.  Georgia works as a Learning Support Officer in F/1. 

"Hello! My name is Georgia and I am a new Learning Support Officer at St Joseph’s Primary School. When I’m not at school, I work in a Kindergarten. I live locally with my fiancé, and our animals. I love animals and have 2 dogs, 2 cats and a turtle. I enjoy going for walks, creating something crafty and going on weekend adventures. I have a passion for educating young minds and have been working alongside children for 10 years. Don’t be shy to come and say hello, I’m always up for a chat! 

Fun fact: I can water ski and spend most of the summer months at our holiday house with my extended family."

Athletics Carnival

On Thursday March 20th we will be running an annual Athletics Carnival at the Geoff Watt Track in Warragul.  In Physical Education lessons in class we will be revising the athletic skills for the track and field events.  Taryn will be organising the Athletics Carnival for us and will be asking for volunteers to help run the day soon.  It really is a great day for everyone, so look out for further information to come.

A Few Reminders

Icypoles are sold in terms 1 & 4 for $1 each

What a great start to the school year!

Pope Francis has pronounced 2025 to be a Year of Jubilee. The theme is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. This will be an opportunity for all Catholics to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. It is an invitation to renew our hope, a hope which comes from knowing that God loves each one of us, whoever we are. Pope Francis has asked us to be signs of hope for others, by putting Catholic Social Teaching into action through caring for our common home, and supporting our sisters and brothers who are experiencing war, hunger or poverty.  You will be hearing more about how we will be celebrating this important year in the coming newsletters.

RECONCILIATION

Parent Information Meeting Thursday 6th February 7pm (Wk 2) Marian Room St Joseph’s Warragul

Commitment Mass Saturday 22^nd February 6pm St John’s Church Trafalgar

Parent/Child Workshop Thursday 27th February 4 or 7pm Marian Room St Joseph’s Warragul

Sacrament of Reconciliation Thursday 13th March 5pm St John’s Church Trafalgar

The sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated in Grade 3, First Communion in Grade 4 and Confirmation in Grade 5 or 6 (celebrated biannually). If you would like your child to participate in the Sacraments but they are not yet baptised, it is a good idea that they complete their baptism this year. For more information please email Julianne from St John's Parish Trafalgar at trafalgar@cdsale.org.au. 

Please see below our school's reporting schedule:

Term 1  Parent Teacher Conversations  Mon 10 & Tues 11 Feb

Term 2  Written School Reports available on PAM (parent porthole)

Term 3  Parent Teacher Interviews Week 6

Term 4  End of year written reports

Next week we are running our Parent Teacher Conversations.  If you haven't met your child's teacher, this is a great opportunity for this.  The aim of these meetings is for you to tell the classroom teacher all about your child, their likes, dislikes, hobbies, challenges.  It is also a time to share medical issues and history of your child.  Really it is about setting the classroom teacher up for success by giving them all the information they need to do a great job educating your child.  Parents please go onto PAM (parent porthole) to access interviews and follow the link to book your interview time. 

We meet every Monday afternoon at 3.15 in the Mary Mac room to have our weekly assembly where we sing our National Anthem and give our Birthday Awards.  Additionally, we have two Friday afternoon assemblies  a term, where the students present their learning.  Friday Assemblies start at 3pm.  Please see the table below for the dates for the year.

We know that feeding children with healthy foods helps support their growth and development. But there is a growing body of research showing that what children eat can affect not only their physical health but also their mood, mental health and learning.

The research suggests that eating a healthy and nutritious diet can improve mental health, enhance cognitive skills like concentration and memory‚ and improve academic performance.

Find out more about the latest research from Monash University

Giving your children a healthy lunchbox is a great start to boost their learning, concentration and active play.

Click here to build a healthy lunch box with your children

Prepared by West Gippsland Healthcare Group –
Health Promotion Team 56243500

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy) is a series of annual tests conducted in Australian schools to assess students' academic skills in Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy. These tests will be administered in week 7 from Wednesday March 12th through to the next week.  Gr 3 and Gr 5 students sit the NAPLAN tests.  NAPLAN provides an opportunity for your child to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. It is important to remember that while NAPLAN is an important assessment, it is just one measure of your child's progress and should be viewed as part of a broader picture of their education. 

February

Fri 7                               Assembly 3pm Gr 6s presenting Foundation students

Mon 10                           Parent / Teacher Conversations (please book on PAM)

Tues 11                          Parent / Teacher Conversations (please book on PAM)

Tues 18                          Opening Prayer Service 3pm church.  Followed by welcome gathering at 3.30

Sat 22                            Reconciliation Commitment Mass 6pm Church

Mon 24 to Wed 26           Gr 5 & 6 camp to Melbourne

Thurs 27                        Reconciliation Parent/Child Workshop 4pm or 7pm Warragul

March

Wed 5                           Ash Wed Mass 10am

Fri 7                             Student free day (Teachers at RE professional day)

Mon 10                         Labour Day Public Holiday

Wed 12                         School Photos

Thurs 13                       Reconciliation SACRAMENT 5pm church

Fri 14                           3pm Assembly Gr 4/5 presenting

Wed 19                        St Joseph's Feast Day

Thurs 20                      School Athletics Day Geoff Watt Track Warragul

Fri 21                          3pm Lent Prayer Service in church

Thurs 27                      Confirmation Parent Information Session 4.30pm here at school

                                   Eucharist Parent Information Session 7pm Warragul

Sat 29                         Confirmation Commitment Mass 6pm

April

Fri 4                            Midday Gr 5/6 Easter Presentation in church

                                  Easter Raffle 12.45pm in Mary Mac room

                                  1pm Dismissal last day of term

Mon 21                        Easter Monday public holiday

Tues 22                       First day of term 2

May

June

Tues 10                       Student free day (teachers professional day)

June 26                       School Concert Lowanna 6pm