God of love, creation and wisdom, 

Thank you for our Catholic school, St Joseph's.

We are grateful for our space. 

Our space to think, . . .

our space to be . . .

and our space for silence. 

Pause - allow time for people to reflect on this. Do not rush to start the next part .

God our friend, you help and guide us in good and bad times.

 Help us always to find our way to you.

 We are all learners in our school community.

Help us to open our hearts to others even when it is challenging,

and celebrate that we are all different in so many ways.

On this land of the Gunditjmara people,

Guide us to look after each other and our environment - both beautiful and fragile.

Journey with us as we create a happy and safe place where we respect and accept each other.

A place where we work together and learn from everyone.

As we try our best in everything we do,

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

Amen

Welcome

It is always an exciting time to start a new school year. Fresh haircuts, new stationary, new classes, a few nerves and the joy of seeing all of your friends again.  I am looking forward to another year of learning, celebrations, creativity and challenge. I extend a warm welcome to all of our new families and children, particularly our Foundation students who will have their first day on Thursday.

I also welcome new staff members; Courtney Garner (D4), Angela Kelly (Library and B2), Tom Beks (B1), Emily Brough (Teacher of Japanese), Hannah Dale (Teacher of Japanese and C2) and our four new trainees Meg McGrath, Lexie Moncrieff, Nicholas Unwin, Hannah McNamara. I hope that all of these staff members find our school as rewarding and welcoming as I do.

Works Over The Summer

There has been a great deal of building works coordinated over the summer while the school was empty of children. A big thanks to all of our trades people who accommodated short time lines to get the jobs done and to Cathy Duynhoven and Andrew Miles who oversaw the projects. The main jobs done were; carpets steam cleaned, windows washed, paths pressure washed, repainting front entrance, new bark in gardens and playgrounds, top up sandpits, knock down shed (in preparation for new building), asphalt playground and build a small shed for middle and senior loose parts play. 

Congratulations

On Tuesday all of the staff members from our local Catholic schools celebrated mass to commence the school year. As a part of the ceremony staff members were recognised for celebrating milestones in our Catholic network.

Congratulations to the St Joseph’s staff who were recognised for their service:

10 Years: Tom Beks, Emily Brough, Emily Lloyd, Jeff Vizon, Christine Thompson

20 Years: Nicole Brennan, Cara Chisholm, Jayne Gercovich, Andrew Miles