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Matthew O'Brien, Principal
Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and the wider St. Joseph’s Primary School Community,
150 Years of Catholic Education
This week we are celebrating the arrival of a message stick.
In Aboriginal culture, Message Sticks were passed between different clans and language groups to share information. They were often used to invite neighbouring groups to corroborees, initiation ceremonies and other celebrations and gatherings.
This message stick is one of 5 message sticks that have been made to celebrate the 150 anniversary of the Diocese of Ballarat.
One stick is the Mother Stick which will remain at the Catholic Education Office in Ballarat.
The other four sticks will travel to every Catholic Primary School in the Diocese before returning to Ballarat and to the Mother Stick.
The Design
The Journey Track represents the 1000s of teachers and students and staff and their many great gifts shared along the journey.
Southern Cross guides you as you travel in the four directions.
Four U Sign represents the leaders in the regions gathering to share stories, ideas and to learn from each other.
The Two Circles represent the river and the ocean waters.
The message stick is on display in our foyer this week, our Year Six leaders have taken it to all of the classrooms to present it to the children. Everyone is invited to assembly this week where we will join together to celebrate a liturgy in acknowledgement of reception of the message stick.
Walk to School Day
Matthew O'Brien, Principal
Happy Birthday to children celebrating their birthday this week.
Spencer Sarra, Eva Smedts, Akarsan Paramanantham, Flynn Burleigh, Georgie Milroy, Ahana Prashanth, Lachie Crowley, Harley Inns, Meredith Jones, Ivy McDonald, Lylah O'Grady, Hugo Wilson and Sawyer Hallam.
The PSA will be running their annual fundraiser to raise additional funds for the Art Department.
This year your child's artwork will be available on Ribbon and Clay.
Ribbon and Clay
Ordering Details
Orders are now open via CDFPay at a cost of $18.00 and close at 3pm on Tuesday 15th October.
Orders will be delivered in plenty of time to use these items as Christmas presents.
Note: Our Art teachers will endeavour to ensure your child has completed the necessary artwork. However, if your child has been absent for an extended period of time for holidays or sickness they may not have completed their artwork.
Scholastic Bookclub
Welcome back for another term of reading books in our fabulous Library. (LRC). We hope everyone received Issue 7 of the Scholastic Book Club last week. If you are looking for another copy, we have spare catalogues in the LRC at the Circulation Desk.
First time ordering from Book Club?
You can order books via the website or download the App from App store.
Be sure to select ‘St Josephs School’ and then add your children and their classes. Once you’ve logged in once on the App - it should remember you each time, which makes it easier to order in the future!
You also have the option to tick the “GIFT” box when ordering. This is a great opportunity to purchase some Christmas Gifts and we will sit them aside secretly for your collection.
Closing date for all orders is Monday 28th October.
Overdue Notices - Library Books
If you have any queries about this procedure, please do not contact the school office, instead we ask that you contact Mrs Emily Lloyd directly;
elloyd@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au
Thank you for supporting us in keeping our School Library up to date!
Mrs Emily Lloyd, LRC Coordinator
Cricket
Year 6 Cricket trials are happening on Tuesday 15th October, with a possible extension into Wednesday if needed. I’m looking forward to seeing some keen cricketers displaying their talents today. Best of luck to all students trying out.
Basketball
A reminder that the regional basketball tournament is fast approaching, with our Year 6 Boys and Girls teams competing on Thursday 31st October. We’re excited to see them represent our school and wish them all the best!
Regional Athletics
A huge congratulations to our Athletics team, who competed in Ballarat on Friday 11th October at the Regional championships. Everyone put in a fantastic effort. Special congratulations to Georgie Milroy, who earned a 3rd place medal in the long jump! Well done to all the students for their hard work and commitment. Keep up the great work!
This year we will celebrate Grandparents Day at St Joseph's
on the morning of Thursday 24th October.
9:30am - 10:30am
Classroom Visits
10:30am - 11:00am
Performance by Year 2 drama and music classes
11:00am - 11:30am
Morning tea in the Hall
5:30pm - 6:30pm
Thursday 31st October
The aim of this meeting is to present information regarding the proposed Japan Trip for students in September 2025. This trip is for Year 6 students and the possibility of Year 5 students which is to be confirmed.
We are currently gathering details about pricing, and will have more information regarding this at the meeting.
An agenda item at the PSA meeting next Tuesday will be 2025 planning. We are inviting all families to be involved.
Our model will involve small groups, taking responsibility for special activities i.e. Pizza Day, Mothers Day Stall, Hot Cross Bun Drive, Art Activities, Raffles, St Joseph's Day, Father's Day Breakfast, Canteen support etc. These events are activities that are well established with excellent support and resources.
We just need teams of people, happy to support any of these events. All are welcome to come along and join in.
Next Meeting Date: Tuesday 22nd October, 2024 at 7:30 pm.
How can I help? Come along to the meetings, contribute to the discussion, share ideas, support events that enrich the school community.
Cyber Safety
Please be aware that there will be sensitive issues and content discussed in this session.
- Warrnambool Police Student Sessions Monday 4th November
- Parent and Student Session: 6pm, Tuesday 5th November
To further support and educate our children we have partnered with the Warrnambool Police to run information sessions focussing on Cyber Safety for Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6.
They will also run a parent and student night at 6pm on Tuesday 5th November.
Please note that this session is designed for both parents and students and is designed to open up conversations that can continue at home. I strongly encourage all parents of students from Year 4 and beyond to attend this important session.
Please note that families will need to register their attendance at the Tuesday evening session.
