Matthew O'Brien, Principal

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and the wider St. Joseph’s Primary School Community,

Pope Francis has declared the 2025 jubilee year a year of hope. 

We pray for Pope Francis as he faces his health challenges.

Father in Heaven,

May the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ and the flame of the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May the same grace spread joy and peace throughout the earth.

May we be inspired by St Joseph to be caring, honest and brave

Amen

Dobcel Strategy 2035

Last week I was in Horsham with fellow principals and DOBCEL leadership continuing to unpack the DOBCEL Strategy 2035.   The DOBCEL Board and community have now co-designed a new strategy - Pursuing fullness of life for all - presenting a bold approach to driving high performance across our system of schools over the next decade and beyond. 

Introductory video

Matthew O'Brien
Principal

Happy Birthday to children celebrating their birthday this week.

Rylee Henderson, Jimmy Kermond, Diyana Bulegoda, Jackson Snell, Zeke Hrabar, Ryan Doan, Macie Van Den Broek, Milla Thompson, Tate Rentsch, Noah Roberts, Jack Walker, Andrii Strekalov and Lottie Foster.

Since the beginning of 2024, our school - along with many others - has joined the Ballarat Diocese Flare Primary Literacy Strategy. As a part of our ongoing improvement strategy in Literacy instruction we are participating in an award-winning research partnership with La Trobe University.

The Sciences of Reading and Learning tell us that a systematic, explicit approach to the teaching of the alphabetic code and the grammatical rules that underpin written English offers our students the best chance at becoming confidently literate. The approach we are strategically adopting is called Structured Literacy, which is the approach endorsed by the International Dyslexia Association, the International Literacy Association and the Australian National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy.

Our whole staff group has been working closely with the Structured Literacy team from the Catholic Education Office, and we will continue over the next few years, to learn more about the principles, elements and characteristics of a Structured Literacy approach. This is a substantial change that will take time. However, we are assured by the results achieved in the pilot schools and the endorsement of the La Trobe University researchers.

Please read the attached letter in regards to the collection of data for the research project. If you do not wish your child/children’s data to be used for the study, you may opt out by collecting a hard copy form from the office and signing it. 

Marlie Boyd
Assistant Principal 

New Date: Middle and Senior School Sports Day

Middle and Senior School (Years 3 - 6) - Friday 7th March, 2025

Junior School (Foundation - Year 2) - Friday 14th March, 2025

We are looking forward to the upcoming Sports Days. We are particularly excited to welcome parents, carers and family members as spectators to the day. The following information is provided to help make the day run as smoothly and safely as possible. 

Event Program

What to wear

Sports Uniform

• Navy Blue school logoed shorts
• House coloured Sports polo (compulsory)
• Navy Blue logoed windcheater, vest or coat
• School logoed hat
• White socks (no logos)
• Runners

No hair colour or coloured zinc permitted.

Spectators

Spectators are welcome at our school sports. Enter via the gate near the school hall. Spectators are not to enter the school building (with the exception of the School Hall for event and toilet access)

Volunteers

If you are able to assist on the day please email Matthew McMillan at mmcmillan@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au and indicate which age group/year you would like to assist with. All volunteers are required to have a current Working With Children Check.

Parking

On street and tennis court parking is available. Please obey parking rules.

Photography

Please read the St Joseph’s Primary School Photography Guidelines for Parents and Carers. 

Sign your child out

A reminder that if you are taking your child home early on sports day, they must be signed out at the office. If, by arrangement, you are taking another person's child we must receive either verbal or written permission (note in diary) from the child's parent.

Canteen

Children are will not be able to have a lunch order on their School Sport Day as they will be working to a modified lunch timetable.

Good luck to all of our athletes.

Dear Parent/Guardian

The Lions Eye Health Program is offering Free Vision Screening for St Joseph’s Primary School for Foundation, Year 3 and Year 6 students.

If you would like your child to participate in this vision screening program or wish to know more about the program, please view and/or complete the linked form.

Registrations close Thursday 20th March. 2025.

Pizza Day: Wednesday 12th March, 2025

Orders Close: 3pm Monday 10th March, 2025

Once per term the PSA run a Pizza Day as a "special occasion" lunch option and to raise money for the PSA.

Children can choose from either Garlic or Hawaiian pizza (Gluten Free options available) which are provided by Pepper's Pizza (formerly Pinkies Pizza) who are one of our school sponsors.

Orders are now open via CDFPay (Canteen ordering system)

There are no canteen orders on Pizza Days and children not wanting to order pizza should bring their lunch from home.

Sorry, no late orders can be accepted.

Our PSA is once again holding a Hot Cross Bun Drive. Baker's Delight Norfolk Plaza Bakery will be supporting this event and donating $2.50 from every pack sold back to the school. Orders are now open through CDFPay.

Please place your order against the eldest child in your family with orders now open.

Buns available to order are:

• Traditional Hot Cross Bun - 6 Pack,
• Choc Chip Hot Cross Bun - 6 Pack,
• Apple and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns - 6 Pack,
• Fruitless Hot Cross Buns - 6 Pack. 

Orders close: 3:00pm, Monday 31st March, 2025.

Delivery date: Thursday 3rd April, 2025.

We require some volunteers to assist on the day of delivery from 1:30 pm to pack the packs of buns and deliver to the classrooms. If you can assist please email Alecia on abidmade@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

New Books

I have become a little guilty of finding book treasures in my school holidays and purchasing them for our library.  I then become so excited when I promote them to our students, that I forget that we need time to add these titles to our Library Computer System and then we need to cover these books before we can loan them out with confidence.  If you think you could spare some time to cover some of these books, either on-site, or at home, then please email me with your interest;

elloyd@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au

The students would be most grateful to get their hands on these great new books as soon as possible!

Mrs Emily Lloyd
Teacher-Librarian/Digital Technologies

Get the babysitters booked - ready for an epic trivia night

How it Works

Gather a group (8-12 people) OR sign up solo/couple

Register + pay for your ticket through CDF pay ($20 per person) 

If you’re entering as a group you will be able to nominate your “table leader” OR you can suggest your child’s classroom to join the class table 

• BYO - bring drinks and nibbles - (think eskys and platters)
• DJ after the trivia night - from 10pm - hang around for a dance and catch up
• Spot prizes and raffles will be drawn on the night

It’s about building community, having fun + fundraising for our new playground!

Tables are limited, so don’t wait too long - we don’t want you to miss out.

We will be holding a Classroom Helpers information session for all parents and carers in Foundation, Year one and Year Two who would like to help with reading activities in their child’s classroom.

9:15am, Tuesday 4th March, 2025

If you would like to be involved in the helping in the classroom please register your interest and attendance/apology on the linked form. 

Please note: All school volunteers must hold a current Working With Children Check. These can be obtained free of charge at https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/ 

The session will focus on child safety and how to support children in developing reading skills using the latest research based approaches.

Do you have a Health Care Card (Low Income) or a Veterans Affairs Card?

If so, you could be eligible to claim a number of financial support packages.  There are three main options, through two different Governing bodies:

The Victorian State Government

• The Camps, Sports & Excursion Fund $154 per child
• Schools Savings Bonus $400 per child

DOBCEL Ltd:

• Family Fee Assistance $925 per family

To apply for these, please complete the form below and email to cduyn@sjwarrnambool.catholic.edu.au along with a copy of your relevant card.

Term 1 Roster

School Canteen Support