St Joseph's Primary School Trafalgar eNewsletter

Dear Families

Welcome to Winter! We are fortunate to have warm and comfortable classrooms.

Last week we celebrated the church Feast Day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, thank you to the families who sent in donations of non-perishable items for the parish group of St Vincent de Paul. These donations have been gratefully accepted and will be passed on to local families in need. Here is a traditional picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Prayer

Sacred Heart of Jesus, where all blessings come from.

I love you. I offer you my heart.

Make me humble, patient and pure.

Help me to do your work on earth.

Protect me from danger and give me good health and blessings.

I place my heart in yours. Help me. Amen.

(Adapted from the Sacred Heart Prayer)

New Student Leaders

We thank Scarlett Murto and Ayla Stokes for their work in student leadership over the last five weeks. We congratulate our new leaders, Kaylem Horton and Summah McCutcheon, and look forward to their work in this space.

Playground Update

You may be aware that our P&F have been working very hard to fundraise for a new playground, we are very proud of their work in this space. In the meantime, I have been working with the school architect to update our masterplan, which is currently being finalized. Our next step is to prioritize the projects. Projects include a Unisex Student Toilet, improved staffroom and undercover outside area. We are also completing a feasibility assessment of the school to work out how we can fund the projects. As regards the playground we need to fix the plumbing issues around the playground area first. We have received quotes for this and hope to proceed shortly. Our OH&S committee are working with DOSCEL (Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Ltd) to investigate the best way to update the playground.

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

Trish Mulqueen

This year we have been promoting our class teaching Masses. Fr Bernard Buckley is our Parish Priest and he is a great teacher. Our teaching Masses are a good opportunity to learn more about the Mass in a smaller, more comfortable setting. The families who have supported the Teaching Masses have spoken very positively about them, so please feel especially welcome and come along. Your child will love it too!

Pie Drive
Pie Drive orders are now closed. Thank you to all families who have supported our school by placing orders.
Pies will be delivered to school on Thursday the 20th of June and sent home with students. If you have a large order, please come into school at the end of the day to collect.

Pasta Lunch
Today is the last chance for families to order a special pasta lunch for students on Monday the 17th of June. Students can choose from either bolangse or carbonara pasta for $8 and a juice box for $1.50. Unfortunately we cannot accept late orders, to make sure you don’t miss out on a nice warm lunch, please place orders on CDF by the end of the day.

Weekly Lunch Orders
We continue to offer a weekly lunch order each Thursday through K Lee’s Kitchen at the Willow Grove general store. All lunches include fruit, vegetables, cheese, crackers, a choice of sandwiches and a choice of either a muffin or yogurt. Please place orders on CDF by noon each Wednesday and lunch will be delivered to students on Thursday.

Halloween Disco
Our Halloween Disco will be on Thursday the 27th of June from 5.30pm to 7pm in the Mary McKillop room. We are looking forward to a fun and spooky night of dancing and games. We will have prizes for the best costumes! Families will be able to buy tickets on CDF pay soon. Tickets will cost $15 and include hot chips, juice box and water. We are offering lolly bags for $5 and glow sticks for $5 as optional extras.
We will be looking for parents to help out on the night soon. If you are available and have a current Working with Children Check, we’d love to have you on board to help with the fun!

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.

November

Tues 19 2. Interest Based Learning

Wed 20 Father's Group Parish Centre 5.30 to 6.30pm

Tues 26 3. Interest Based Learning

First Orientation Session for Foundation 2025

Fri 29 Gr 3/4 full day at Mill Valley Camp

December

Mon 2 to Fri 6 SWIMMING program

Tues 3 Second Orientation Session for Foundation 2025

Fri 6 3pm Advent Assembly and sending off Gr 6s

Tues 10 Third Orientation Session for Foundation 2025

Thurs 12 End of Year & Graduation Mass 2.15pm

Gr 6 Graduation

Fri 13 Gr 5 & 6 Fun Day

School Reports go out

Tues 17 Last day of school 1pm dismissal

Wed 18 to Fri 20 Planning days for 2025

2025

January

Tues 28 First day of school for teachers

Wed 29 & Thurs 30 Individual Testing Days

Fri 31 First day of school for all students

February

March

Fri 3 Student Free day (Staff Professional Learning in RE)

In this edition of SchoolTV - SEXTING

As teens develop an interest in sex, technology and apps make sexting easy, and unfortunately, acceptable amongst today’s youth. However, many parents are shocked to learn that children as young as 10 are sending naked pictures of themselves to friends and classmates via text and social media. This type of behaviour is seeping into primary school playgrounds causing irreversible damage to young minds.

Sending this type of content is problematic for a child of any age, but over the years there has been a staggering increase of pre-teens using mobile phones to share sexual images and videos. Not only is this type of behaviour detrimental to a young person’s moral and ethical wellbeing, it also has legal implications placing them at risk of a criminal record.

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents will learn how to approach the subject of sexting with their children, as well as offer helpful strategies on dealing with the fallout should their child send or receive content containing sexual imagery.

We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your child, please contact the school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Sexting edition of SchoolTV
https://trafalgar.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/sexting