Dear Parents, Carers, Staff, Students and the wider St. Joseph’s Primary School Community, welcome to the new school week.

A big weekend of sport has passed with Victorian teams and individuals excelling. Last week the Vixens won the netball league grand final; two Victorian clubs completed in the AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Storm held on in a very tight contest to record a great win and a local Warrnambool horse trainer (Ciaron Maher) trained the winner of the Cox Plate horse race. These outstanding Victorian clubs, individuals and communities are living examples for us all on how to manage difficulties in an honourable and positive way. What was exceptional in my opinion was the humility all leaders of the teams displayed. They all recognised the privilege they have experienced in this COVID time to still play their sport. They all expressed how their efforts were about sharing hope for the community and importantly recognised the monumental support individuals received from families, friends and the community.

 School Curriculum Update

Over the next few weeks at St. Joseph’s several engaging, challenging and interesting events will occur. These experiences will celebrate several initiatives focusing on learning, culture and community. We will recognise “Book Week” as an activity encouraging the importance of books to learning, enjoyment and storytelling. Another week will have a “Languages, Japanese” sharing week. Classroom teachers and students will have an opportunity to engage with our language teachers in classrooms together learning new Japanese vocab. In November we will also celebrate National Aboriginal and Islander Observance Week (NAIDOC Week).

To help build our understanding around our Australian history I share here the background information about the NAIDOC Week Theme: “Always Was, Always Will.” This theme recognises that First Nations people have occupied and cared for this continent for over 65,000 years. That Aboriginals are spiritually and culturally connected to this country and that this country was criss-crossed by generations of Aboriginal Nations.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were Australia’s first explorers, first, navigators, first engineers, first farmers, first botanists, first scientists, first diplomats, first astronomers and first artists. We also recognise that Australia has the world’s oldest oral stories. The First Peoples engraved the world’s first maps, made the earliest paintings of ceremony and invented unique technologies. Aboriginals built and engineered structures - structures on Earth - predating well-known sites such as the Egyptian Pyramids and Stonehenge. Aboriginal adaptation and intimate knowledge of Country enabled aboriginals to endure climate change, catastrophic droughts and rising sea levels.

NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges and celebrates that our nation’s story didn’t begin with documented European contact whether in 1770 or 1606 - with the arrival of the Dutch on the western coast. The very first footprints on this continent were those belonging to First Nations peoples. The Aboriginal coastal Nations watched and interacted with at least 36 contacts made by Europeans prior to 1770. Many of them resulting in the charting of the northern, western and southern coastlines – of our lands and our waters. For all of us this nation’s story began at the dawn of time.

Finally, in regard to curriculum I also invite our Year 6 families to read the specific curriculum updates that will arrive home about events and activities celebrating, remembering and preparing for 2021. I note that the Year 6 Inquiry Learning Unit of Work will focus on Personal Development, “Growing and Changing”. In this Unit students work through activities around personal health, puberty, growing and changing.

Employment Update

I can now formally inform all in our school community that Mrs Jo Pangrazio (Foundation Teacher and Learning Leader), along with her husband Peter, will be moving to Bendigo in 2021. Jo has recently gained employment at St. Peters Primary School in a full-time teaching position in their Junior School. Jo first started teaching at St. Joseph’s in the year 2000, after moving from Melbourne with their three children. Jo has contributed twenty years of dedicated, outstanding service to the St. Joseph’s school and parish community. Jo was able to lead the re-invention of our Junior School programs, bring vision to our curriculum, help many young teachers begin their teaching careers and support every family in their child’s learning journey at our school. Jo’s calm, professional manner and her enjoyment of life, along with her commitment to teaching will be sadly missed by us all. I wish Jo and Peter all the best in their new life adventure knowing that their move to Bendigo brings them closer to family; and for Jo a new professional challenge. We will formally thank Jo for her service to our school at our final assembly later this year.

Regards,