Matthew O'Brien, Principal

Happy Birthday to children celebrating their birthday during January and this week.

Max Burns, Delilah Jannusch, Poppy Logan, Eliza Vagg, Evie Bushell, Violet Greening, Lachlan Johnstone, Milla Rentsch, Nicholas Senchenko, Laila Brooks, Cohen White, Patrick Kerr, Oscar Yu, Alvie Maher, Henry McKinley, Estelle Schrama, Charlotte Newbury, Tom Farley, Annabel Hatton, Anna Nguyen, Desi Ratu, Jack Gladki, Sricharan Kethireddy, Max McCosh, Max McCosh, Lennie Bell, Theodora McCaskill, Lillian Visinoni, Jack Harris, Elijah Longmore, Aria De Haas, Maverick De Haas, Vincent Visinoni, Archie Vladic, Jacob Vladic, Freddie Lange, Neve Croker, Harry Kardas, Darcy Schrama, Maxim Shepeliuk, Boh Vardy, Lola Kenna, Elliot Smock, Charlotte Brennan, Julia Resk Wilson, Lucas Resk Wilson, Amali Greene, Harry Ryan, Rory Suringa and Noah Toohey.

Please note that there will be no school for children in the first week of second term.

This change comes in response to a Professional Development Day to launch the DOBCEL 2035 Strategy on Thursday 24th April. St Joseph’s had communicated a further two days in term two to undertake our full school review.  In order to cause least disruption to families and classes we have moved those two dates to Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd April. These days combined with Easter Monday and ANZAC Day creates a full week without classes for students.

• Monday 21st April - Easter Monday Public Holiday
• Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd April - Full School Review
• Thursday 24th April - Professional Development Day
• Friday 25th April - Anzac Day Public Holiday

I hope that with this early notice families are able to take advantage of the extended break.

2025 School Closure Days

Friday 7th February – Digest your Class Day

Tuesday 11 March – Structured Literacy Professional Development

Tuesday 22nd April - School Review

Wednesday 23rd April - Collaboration with Lee Schlooz re: school review

Thursday 24th April – Southern zone Collaboration Day

Monday 18th August – Catholic School Culture

Monday 6th October – Structured Literacy

3:30pm - 6pm
Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th February, 2025

These initial meetings are designed as an information sharing between parents and teachers. It is an opportunity for teachers to learn more about the students in their care.

Bookings, once open, are made via Parent Access Module (PAM) on the school app or website. 

Our school calendar an be accessed via our SZApp or website and is regularly updated.

Parents are encouraged to refer to this for important school dates including many 2024 dates including:

• term dates
• school closures
• public holidays
• sacramental dates
• school camps
• excursions
• PSA meetings
• School Advisory Council meetings
• Mother's Day morning tea
• Father's Day breakfast
• year level swimming dates
• classroom assembly dates
• orientation day
• graduation mass
• final assembly
• last school day.

In accordance with St Joseph's Acceptable Use and Cyber Safety Agreement, it is a requirement for parents/guardians to discuss the agreement with their child/ren and accept the terms.

This agreement is to ensure that all students that have access to the school’s digital resources are aware of their responsibilities and agree to abide by the school’s Acceptable Use and Cybersafety Agreement.

The agreement covers the student’s use of technology equipment (such as computers, hand held devices, cameras, printers), and digital platforms (such as Internet, networks and email. social media, apps, and software).

Permission is required for each child in your family from Foundation to Year 6.

To access this agreement:

1. Login into your PAM account
2. Select the red bell icon in the top right corner (you will then see the agreement)
3. Download, read and discuss this agreement with each of your children.
4. Select YES for your child to agree to abide by the Acceptable Use and Cyber Safety Agreement and Use Technology Equipment at St. Joseph's Primary School for the 2025 school year.
5. Parents & Guardians of Year 5 and 6 Students will be sent a survey for them to indicate if they wish for their child’s Chromebook to remain at school OR to be taken home and charged overnight. 

This is required to be accepted by Friday 7th February, 2025.

In addition to this action at home, all students will go through the Agreement in class with their teachers.  They will be required to sign a hard copy of the ‘Student’ sub-heading content only.  These contracts will remain with their teacher until the end of this school year.  Foundation to Year Two students will discuss the topic of Cyber Safety in their classrooms by using age appropriate language that they can understand and relate to.

We appreciate your support in helping us keep our students safe in a digital world.

Mrs Emily Lloyd, LRC Coordinator

Mr Pat Allen, Deputy Principal

Swimming trials are for those children who are competent swimmers in Years 3 - 6 wanting to compete in swimming.  

Once the trials are completed swimmers will be selected to represent the school. 

Closing date for submitting this form is strictly 9am, Thursday 6th February 2025. Entries will not be accepted after this date and children will therefore not be considered for selection.

Trials for registered competent swimmers will be held on a Monday 10th February (to be confirmed) for the Division Swimming to be held on Friday 28th February, 2025.

If any parents are available to assist with time keeping on the day please indicate on the form. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Matthew McMillian, Physical Education and Sport Co-ordinator

The Permission to Administer Medication form needs to be completed for short term and long term medication that children may require at school. This form can be completed electronically from the app SZApp from the tile Permission Medication.

In regards to times of medication, it is easier on the staff and most importantly your child to coincide with a bell at either recess/lunch times. We have found that the bell is a prompt for your child and staff and has less interruptions to the day. These times also maintain the children's confidentiality, with less disruptions to the child in regards to being called or required to leave the classroom.

Recommended times are:

• 11:20am - End of recess
  
• 1:00pm - Start of eating time/lunch
• 2:35pm - Between session 5 and 6

Sharing of food items in the classroom

As our school community grows we have more students enrolled who have been diagnosed as having food allergies or intolerances. To support all needs we have procedures for the sharing of food items in the classroom. At times some classrooms will have a shared morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea. This is a supervised event and all families are advised of this via a letter sent from the classroom teacher.

This ensures all children's individual needs are met and catered for.

To ensure the inclusion of all students please adhere to the routine for the sharing of food items within the classroom.

Celebration of Birthdays

At St Joseph's we celebrate children's birthdays as a school by presenting the child with a Birthday Certificate at our whole school assembly. Each classroom celebrates birthdays in different ways. Some classes have a special chair for the day or a badge to wear, most classrooms have birthdays displayed in the room.

For the purpose of an individual child’s celebration or birthday the school permits an lemonade icypole or frozen Zooper Doopers as recommended options for these occasions.  It is not compulsory to celebrate all birthdays through the classroom.

Icy poles can be dropped into the school office. Please label with child's name and room number and let the classroom teacher know.

Numbers required

• Lemonade Icypoles - 3 boxes of 8
• Zooper Doopers - 1 bag of 24 (allow 2 days for freezing)

Uncollected left over icypoles/zooper doopers will be redistributed.

A reminder that we require all families to login to PAM and update their child's Medical Information if their child's medical details have changed. 

This information assists with our electronic permission forms. 

Please follow the instructions below to update a medical profile for each of your children by:

1. Click on link to PAM (found on our webpage or SZapp)
2. Click on student (if more than 1 child, this will need to be done individually)
3. Click on Medical Profile (blue writing to the left of screen)
4. Check all questions and select Edit Details for updates to be made.
5. Once you get to the end of the questions please confirm by clicking on the Green “Update Details” Box found at the bottom right of screen.

As a parent/guardian you are able to access your child/rens medical profile on PAM at any time to update as needed.

If you have any queries or require your PAM login details, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the office.  

A reminder that only students that are registered to travel on specific country buses can use this service.

The service is not to be used for sports training/work/social purposes.

Parent/Carers are to make their own arrangements in this regard.

Centrepay is a voluntary bill paying service which is free for all Centrelink customers.  You can use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payment.  St Joseph's Primary School can only process deductions for Education Fees (School Fees).

You can set this up from your Centrelink account using the reference code for St Joseph's Primary School 555 053 037J and by quoting your school fee reference number (printed on all school fee invoices).

We can also set it up for you from our business Centrelink account.  For us to process this request you just need to complete the Centrepay form linked below.

Our 2nd Hand Uniform system allows for parents to puchase and sell items all year round with options to purchase online.

Items for second hand sale can now be dropped into the school office at any time of the year.  

Uniform items MUST be:

• current uniform items only
• very good to excellent quality
• washed and free of stains
• have any naming labels crossed out
• labelled with either the printable Pricing Label template or similar.

Items that are NOT suitable are:

• school bags more than 2 years old
• library/book bags
• stained or torn clothing
• non-current school uniform
• sports shorts without the school logo
• shoes
• secondary school uniform items.

Unsuitable items will be returned to the seller/donator.

Pricing of Uniform Items

Price uniform items accordingly and receive 70% of the amount (when the item is sold) with 30% of your sale going to the school’s PSA.

Items are kept in the second hand uniform shop until they are sold. We will notify via text of any monies to be collected, this may be after a family has left the school.

Alternatively you can donate items to be sold. We will label and price donated items. 100% of these sales go to the school's PSA.

Refer to suggested pricing guide linked below.

Purchasing of Uniform Items

Parents are able to complete an online form indicating the uniform item and size required and it will then be sent home with your child or made available for collection.

Payment to be made in cash the following day. Items can be returned if they aren't the correct size or quality.

With the strengthening of The Child Safety Standards, we need to be mindful of students travelling in private cars with staff members.  With this in mind, if you are friends, or family, of any staff members at St Josephs Primary School, and you require them to drive your child/ren home from school we will need to get written permission from you. 

This can be done by completing this online form at any time  https://form.jotform.com/241680647401050

School Canteen Support 

St Joseph’s Primary School has been very fortunate to be able to maintain our canteen being available 5 days per week.  This has been due to having Tanya Hughes as a canteen coordinator but also because we have maintained such a strong base of canteen volunteers.  

We would love to continue to be able to offer our canteen services each school day, however, today our most pressing need is to increase the number of volunteers we have to help keep our canteen running at its current high standard and for 5 days per week.

We can work around your work roster or family commitments. You can do as many or as few 'shifts' as you would like. A daily shift will commence from 11:00am and you will be finished by 1:15pm. 

Training is offered. A Working With Children check is required. This can be applied for through the Department of Justice website. 

If you can help out please click the link to fill in your details and availability.

We really hope this request being sent out to all families will increase the number of volunteers, if not, the next step will be to look at changes we would have to make to keep it running which would more than likely mean either less days of operation or more paid time, both of which will have a massive impact on the costs and potential profits made. 

Our Parent School Association has very strong support for maintaining the canteen as a service to families, available daily if possible and quality healthy food at reasonable prices. The small profit from the canteen is spent directly on our school grounds program, including play-ground equipment and student facilities. Voluntary help is critical to achieving this outcome for everyone’s benefit.