Dear families

Yesterday we received some prayer cards with a 'Prayer for Peace in the Middle East'.  We sent the cards home.  I hope you have time to read this prayer.

Lord Jesus Christ,

The Holy Land is once again struck by violence, hatred, and death.
Lord, look with mercy upon the land that was your earthly home.

Receive the deceased into your presence.
Comfort those who mourn, are wounded, or forced to flee.
Be close to all who are full of fear and despair.

You are our peace and the light of the nations,
put an end to the spiral of terror and suffering
in the Holy Land and in the whole Middle East!

Let peace and justice flourish at the holy sites.
You are our refuge. Let the people be safe in your Love. 

Have mercy on us and on our time.

Amen.

Baby News

Recently the Jenkin family (Nicky and Ben) welcomed baby boy twins to their family, Ned and Gus. Wilfred (Foundation student) is very proud to be a big brother.  We wish your family all the very best from our school community.

New Gr 6 Student Leaders

We announce and congratulate our last Gr 6 student leaders for 2023.  We look forward to your leadership in the last part of this school year. Congratulations Fenn, Summer and Noah.

Sacraments

One of the most important things we do in a year is to prepare students for the Sacraments.  We prepare and celebrate Reconciliation in Gr 3, First Holy Communion in Gr 4 and Confirmation in Gr 5 or 6. This weekend three of our students are celebrating their First Holy Communion in our church on Saturday 18th at 6pm.  We pray especially for Maycee Shankar, Ethan Jamieson and Harry Westbury.

Mini Vinnies

Today the Gr 5s in our Mini Vinnies team travelled to Morwell by train with Mrs M G and Jess to participate in the Mini Vinnies Conference.  They shared their work with the larger group and participated in some formation activities helping them to understand their work within the wider church.  We are very proud of our work in this space. Picutured below are the Gr 5s with Taryn and Jess.

Orientation

We are welcoming 15 new Foundation students for 2024.  We are conducting three orientation sessions to help in transitioning to primary school.

Tuesday November 28th  9am to 11am (Parent Information Session to be held at the same time)

Tuesday December 5th  9am to 11am

Tuesday December 12th  9am to 11am (Statewide Orientation Day)

A Few Reminders:  Remember icy poles are sold on Fridays in Term 4 and Term 1. (Remembering our Vic Kids Eat Well  healthy eating message, the icy poles have NO SUGAR).  The money raised goes to supporting local charities.

Also remember school hats are compulsory in Term 4 and Term 1. If you're child forgets their hat, there are usually spares in the classroom or sick bay, and failing that they may have to stay on the back verandah and play.

2023 School Fees

School Fees are now overdue.  Please ensure your account is settled before December.  If you are experiencing financial troubles please ring the office to talk to Trish or Lucy and organise a payment plan.

Healthcare/Pension Card

If you have a current healthcare /pension card, please make sure the office has a copy as this greatly reduces your school fees.  

May God continue to bless and guide us in our learning.

Trish Mulqueen

Colour Run
Our Colour Run is happening on Friday the 1st of December at 1:30pm. Parents and carers are welcome to come along and watch. It is always a fun and fantastic day!
Students can start fundraising now! Simply go to:
www.mycause.com.au/events/stjoescolourslimespec
Then click on “Join a class” and add your child to the class list to sign up.
Alternatively, a paper fundraising form can be collected from the office for families who would prefer to fundraise offline.
Students who raise more than $40 will get their ticket to the event for free. Tickets include a zooper dooper icy-pole.
Otherwise tickets can be purchased on CDF pay for $10. We are also selling sunglasses on CDF pay for $5.
The class that raises the most money will get a special lunch the following Friday and will get to slime their teacher and Mrs Mulqueen!
We will be looking for volunteers to help set up and run the event closer to the day. We always appreciate the help our volunteers provide and the Colour Run is an especially fun event to get involved with!

Healthy Lunches
A reminder that we continue to offer a weekly healthy salad roll lunch day each Wednesday through local bakery, Bella’s Bakehouse. Please place orders by noon each Tuesday and a freshly made salad roll will be delivered for lunch on Wednesday.

Christmas Raffle
Our Christmas Raffle will be drawn on Thursday the 14th of December.
We ask all families to please donate an item to go towards the prizes. A tub for donations can be found in the office. Your support is greatly appreciated!
We are currently exploring an online option for purchasing tickets versus the traditional paper raffle ticket books. Tickets will be available as soon as this is finalised, hopefully next week.

CAMPS SCHEDULE

Today we have the Gr 2 camp after school and next week we have the Gr 1 camp after school on Thursday 23rd Nov.  Then we have the Foundation Camp on Thursday 30th November.  These activities aim to challenge the students to move out of their comfort zone and help to develop resilence and confidence.

‘The Quest of Music’ School Production

Recently St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School produced an exceptional school concert entitled ‘The Quest of Music’.  Seven students (Zander Murto, Summer Parise, Evie Lowe, Fenn, Liana Eerhard, Bryce Varley and Tahlia Pedemont) met regularly to plan, write the script and produce the school’s concert. Ms Cathleen Ryan helped to guide the script composition.  Music teacher, Ms Raelee Hill, directed the concert and provided support to classroom teachers to choregraph dances. The school concert was performed at Lowanna College Auditorium.  The students were especially proud of their performances and everyone enjoyed an entertaining night at the theatre.

We wish our Gr 6s the very best in finishing primary school.  We have a number of exciting activities to send them off:

1.  Graduation and End of School Year Mass,  Friday December 8th 2.15pm in the church.  We hope all Gr 6 families can join us as the whole school farewells you.

2.  Gr 5 & 6 Fun Day, Wednesday December 13th, excursion to Gumbuya Park. No additional cost, as this is covered with the excursion levy. 

3.  Graduation celebration, Wednesday December 13th, 6pm to 7.30pm in Mary MacKillop room at school.  Alimentos catering. $15 per person.

We are all invited to the Parish BBQ on Friday December 8th at 6pm in the Parish Centre Garden.  Meat will be provided, you are welcome to bring a salad or dessert to share.  Last year a few of the staff went to this event and it was a really good time.  I'd really like to encourage you to come this year, it is warming to be apart of a larger community.

Each year we order special Gr 6 Tshirts and jackets.  This year Lauren Chapman is coming to school tomorrow to help students with appropriate sizing.  The students will come home, with a sizing recommendation and then parents are asked to place their order on CDFpay. Polo shirts are $40 each and jackets are $62.  Payment cannot be cash as it must be ordered through CDF online.  Closing date is Friday Nov 24th.  Orders cannot be taken after this date.

The Australian Government has put out this 60 second media ad that talks about preventing child sexual abuse.  It says clearly that conversations with our kids have the power to prevent child sexual abuse.  Every talk brings us closer to a world without it.  Let's end child sexual abuse - one talk at a time.  Please watch and re-watch this 60 second campaign.  If we are all aware of child sexual abuse, it is less likely to happen.

Written School Reports are now available on PAM.  Hard copy reports are available on request.

Gr 3/4 reports have been written by Michele Midgley and myself, with extra information supplied by Janet Poelsma and Wendy Oates, it has been a real team effort. 

Parent/teacher interviews will be held in week 6 next term, on Wed Aug 21st. Of course, if you would like to see your child's class teacher before then you are welcome to arrange an appointment anytime.

After very careful consideration, the staff have set the  class structure for 2024.  The structure is:  F/1, Gr 1/2, Gr 3/4, Gr 4/5 & Gr 5/6. 

If your family’s enrolment situation at St Joseph’s is changing in the future, we would appreciate you letting us know. An accurate indication of student numbers assists us enormously in our planning for 2024.