Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

This morning we welcomed over 250 mothers and grandmothers to our school to enjoy some time with their children at our Mother’s Day breakfast. Special thanks to the Lions Club once again who assisted with the catering. Thanks also to the P and F for helping out with the organising and for running the Mother’s Day stall. Our special visitors then spent some time with the children in the classrooms. The children were very excited to have you with us. We wish all mothers, stepmothers and grandmothers a wonderful day on Sunday.

Today was also a special day with a focus on “Do it for Dolly”.  Some of our year 6 students approached me early in the week about acknowledging this cause and have been very passionate about promoting it this week. It was great to see so many wearing their “touch of blue” raising awareness of the effects of bullying on all members of the community, especially our young people.

It was joyful to wake this morning to the news that we have a new Pope. Bishop Robert Francis Provost became a Cardinal in 2023. Born in Chicago, a lot of his Ministry has been in Peru working with people in the poor communities. After being voted by his fellow Cardinals to this important position during the conclave, Cardinal Provost has taken the name Pope Leo the fourteenth. He has been given the huge task of continuing Pope Francis’ legacy uniting the Church across the world.

As we farewell Ms Hannah Derksen, our Year 3 teacher who is leaving us today, we wish her well in her future endeavours. We also welcome Mrs Lauren McKay who will be the new teacher in Year 3. We look forward to the contribution that Lauren will make to our school community and hope that she feels at home very quickly.

Once again, to all mums, enjoy your day on Sunday.

Best wishes,

Ros Joyner

Principal

Term 2

Tuesday 22 April – Friday 4 July

Thursday 15 May                                             School Advisory Committee Meeting

Fri 16 – Fri 23 May                                           Catholic Education Week

Tuesday 20 May                                               Divisional Cross Country

Wednesday 21 May                                        National Simultaneous Story Time

Wednesday 21 May                                        Catholic Ed Week Mass at St Francis Xavier College – Liturgy Leaders

Thursday 22 May                                             Andrew Chinn Visiting

Thursday 22 May                                             First Holy Communion Reconciliation Ceremony

Sat 24 & Sun 25 May                                      First Holy Communion Masses

Friday 30 May                                                   Pupil Free Day

Sat 31 May & Sun 1 June                              First Holy Communion Masses

Thursday 5 June                                               First Holy Communion Post Teaching Mass

Monday 9 June                                                 King’s Birthday Public Holiday

Monday 16 June                                              Winter Sports

Thursday 19 June                                            Confirmation Parent Information Meeting

Friday 20 June                                                   St Joseph’s School Disco

Sat 21 & Sun 22 June                                     Confirmation Commitment Mass

Friday 27 June                                                   Whole School Mass – Feast of the Sacred Heart at 9:30am

Sunday 29 June                                                Confirmation Commitment Mass

Friday 4 July                                                       Last Day of Term 2 – 2:20pm finish

Term 3

Tuesday 22 July – Friday 19 September

Monday 21 July                                                 Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 22 July                                                 First Day of School for Term 3

Thursday 31 July                                              Confirmation Parent/Child Workshop

Thursday 7 August                                          Reconciliation for Confirmation Candidates

Friday 8 August                                                Confirmation Retreat Day

Wednesday 13 August                                   School Concert

Friday 15 August                                              Sacrament of Confirmation Mass

Mon 18 – Fri 22 August                                 Book Week

Monday 25 August                                          Pupil Free Day

Friday 19 September                                     Last Day of Term 3 – 2:20pm finish

Children's Liturgy

Catholic Education Week

 A message from Deacon Mark

"FOREVER"

What does “eternal life” look like? (John 10:27-30) We don’t have much idea what it entails but the whole purpose of Jesus’ mission is to proclaim the Good News of the Father’s Kingdom both now and in eternity.

Many Christians once had a juvenile image of eternity involving floating around on clouds with God the Father, a big white bloke with a flowing beard, accompanied by bunch of angels and harpists. Or the frightful alternative of Dante’s notion of life in a big barbeque. Mostly we’ve come to a more sophisticated understanding of life being either with or separated from God and we’ve come to more fully understand the unfathomable, merciful love of God who invites us to eternity with him, despite ourselves.

Our path to eternal life with God is listening to Jesus’ voice, which, beyond the recorded words coming his from his lips, includes the example of his whole person and existence among us: his way of life, his love for all, his teaching, his death, and resurrection.

Often, we struggle to hear his voice amid the magnitude and variety of voices and examples seeking to influence us. Incessantly we are bombarded by voices pursuing our money, our energy, our time, our votes, almost our souls. How difficult it is to be still or open enough to reflect on Jesus’ example, to listen to his quieter voice or the voices of those in our family or community who might need some care and attention. Jesus invites us to follow him to eternal life aware of our difficulties and assuring us of his all-conquering love.

Paul reminds us that, though we will die, “neither death nor life, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, not any height nor depth nor any created thing can ever come between us and the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39). Whatever eternal life is – it will be good!

Deacon Mark Kelly

Over the next couple of weeks all students in the school will have participated in this term's Inform & Empower’s Cyber Safety & Digital Wellbeing interactive, live-streamed incursions. The students attend four of these over the school year.

Developed by qualified teachers, these incursions are designed to help create safer and more positive online experiences for your children. 

Inform & Empower is endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider. 

Attached are the 'Parent Tip Sheets' supplied by Inform and Empower outlining what your child learned about in class and how you might open up important conversations about the topics covered, at home.

Yours in Digital Wellbeing and Safety,

Mr Mac

Foundation

On Thursday 22 May, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, will be visiting our St Joseph's School to share his songs with our children. Andrew's songs are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. Parents, Carers and friends are warmly welcome to attend our Andrew Chinn concert at 2:25pm in our school hall.

Newsletter_Athletics_Cross_Country_.pdf

Cross Country Champions

In Victoria, it is compulsory for children and young people aged 6–17 years to attend school.

Parents are legally required to ensure their child attends school every day and to provide an explanation for their child's absence from school unless an exemption from attendance has been granted or an exception to their attendance applies.

Absences

If your child is away sick or away due to a planned absence or appointment, please ensure you advise the school office. Student absence text messages are sent out if your child is marked absent without a reason. Emails or ClassDojo messages may be missed in some instances; if the classroom teacher is teaching or the classroom teacher may be away.

It is imperative that you notify the school office through one of the following methods:

1. Log into PAM (Parent Access Module) and register your child's absence;

2. Email absence@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au or info@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au 

3. Phone the office on (03) 5623 2943

When sending an email, you may wish to "cc" your child's classroom teacher so they are aware of the absence too.

Holidays

If you are planning an extended holiday (a week or more) during the school term, please email info@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au or principal@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au addressing your intentions to our Principal, Mrs Roslyn Joyner.

If you have any questions or need any clarification, please feel free to contact Shirley or Kitty in the office on (03) 5623 2943.

Mother’s Day

Wishing all our mothers, grandmothers and special people a very happy Mother’s Day this Sunday- we hope you enjoy a little hand-picked surprise from the stall.

Thanks to all those who joined us for breakfast this morning- we hope you enjoyed it! We also extend our thanks to Warragul Lions for helping feed us, to Franklin and the Bean for keeping us caffeinated and to the teachers for working an extra long day.

Join us on Facebook

We welcome all families to join our P&F Facebook page. This is a great place to ask any questions you might have and to engage with our school community - please search 'Parents and Friends of St Joseph's Primary School Warragul'.

• Friday 6 June: P&F meeting, 2.00pm at school
• Friday 20 June: St Joseph’s Disco
• Thursday 3 July: P&F meeting, online at 8.00pm

All students must now be wearing their winter school uniform. Please see the attached School Uniform Policy.

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

As members of the St Joseph's school community, we all have a responsibility to keep children safe. To support families with information about the actions our school takes to keep children safe, our Child Safety and Wellbeing policy has been updated, endorsed by our Child Safety Team and shared with our community both here and on our school website. Families are encouraged to read the policy or visit our school website and explore the Child Safety section. 

Victoria’s Child Safe Standards under Ministerial Order No. 1359 require certain roles and responsibilities to be allocated within schools, including the role of Child Safety Champions who supports school leadership to effectively implement their child safety and wellbeing plans. Our Child Safety Champions for 2024 and 2025 are Ros Joyner, Camillo Redi and James McMahon.

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy

Car Line

Our school is very blessed with a long carline with ample parking. However, we continue to experience some issues during the afternoon pickup. Burke Street is extremely busy from 3:00-3:30pm. If you arrive before school finishes, it is an expectation that you move all the way down the carline and fill all the spaces. If the carline is full, take a parking spot opposite the carline and walk to the crossing for student collection. Alternatively, leaving home 5-10 minutes later may be a better option to avoid being stuck in the congestion. Children are supervised in the carline area until 3:35pm, at which time, our carline and Burke Street are clear.

School Crossing

Please remember that the carline is private property and all people using our carline must follow the instructions of the staff managing the area - this is non-negotiable and aggressive or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated. Entering the carline via the exit is dangerous and illegal.

When waiting along Burke Street to enter the school grounds, please do not stop your vehicle on the school crossing. For safety reasons, the school crossing supervisor is not authorised to allow children to cross the school crossing if a vehicle has stopped over the school crossing.

Medical Profiles and Emergency Contact Details

We remind parents and carers that it is time to review your child/ren's medical profile on PAM. Any changes in medical needs should be communicated to the school to ensure that we provide the most up-to-date care for our students. If emergency contact details have changed or emails, phone numbers need updating, please contact the office to provide the updates necessary. The most efficient way to provide these details to the office would be to email - info@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au

If your child is affected by Anaphylaxis or has any allergies and requires an ASCIA Allergy Plan developed by your child's doctor, please provide information and a copy to the office. In addition, Asthma plans may need updating, please ensure that these are also current. If your child has medication stored at our school, please check with the office that the medication is still in date and there is ample supply.

**All Medical Authority Forms held at school must be updated as soon as possible to allow for any medication changes, dosage or student growth . An email was sent out to all familes on 30 January with medication information and the forms required, depending on the ailment. Please contact the school office if you need any further assistance.

Lunch Orders

Lunch orders:

• are every Wednesday and Friday
• can be placed using the Flexischools app
• are delivered to school for the first break at 11:30am
• can be placed until 11:00pm the night before (Tuesday and Thursday) from a full menu
• can be placed until 9:00am on Wednesday and Friday mornings from a limited menu

The lost property shelves can be found in the multipurpose room. 

Parents are most welcome to come and look in the tubs if students have lost any items of clothing, headbands drink bottles etc...

We have plenty of unnamed bomber school jackets from lost property, mostly new and hardly worn. These can be purchased for a gold coin donation. Children can see Mrs Mulqueen on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday's.

Please note that if your child tests positive to Covid-19, it is strongly recommended that students:

• Who test positive to COVID-19 should stay home and isolate for five (5) days;
• Should not attend school after five (5) days if still symptomatic;
• Who are symptomatic but have not tested positive should not attend school until their symptoms resolve;
• Parents, guardians or carers advise the school of the COVID-19 positive test result.

To assist with limiting the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses, parents, guardians and carers should be strongly encouraged to ensure that their child(ren) remain at home if they are unwell, including if they have tested positive to COVID-19.

Warranor Junior Football Club

Warragul Blues Junior Football Club

Peninsula Cinemas, Warragul