Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

The Sacrament of First Holy Communion

Over the past two weekends, several of our students have received the sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time. We have one more weekend to go when more students will be doing the same. Congratulations to all students and their families on this special occasion.

Foundation 2026 Enrolments 

Just a reminder that 2026 Foundation enrolment applications are due in by June 30, 2025. Acceptance letters will be sent out early next term so that families and the school can start to prepare for the transition program in Term Four.  If you are a current family of St Joseph’s, please ensure you complete your forms prior to this date.

School Production

The students are getting very excited about the upcoming school production on August 13^th. Today was our first practice as a whole group. It is becoming real now! Remember to keep the date free! 

I wish everyone a safe and refreshing long weekend.

Best wishes,

Ros Joyner

Principal

Term 2

Tuesday 22 April – Friday 4 July

Sat 7 & Sun 8 June                                          First Holy Communion Masses

Monday 9 June                                                 King’s Birthday Public Holiday

Friday 13 June                                                   Years 3 & 4 Mass at 9:30am

Friday 13 June                                                   Luigi Zucchini ‘Spaghetti Spaghetti’ Incursion

Monday 16 June                                              Winter Sports

Thursday 19 June                                            Confirmation Parent Information Meeting

Friday 20 June                                                   Foundation – Year 2 Mass at 9:30am

Friday 20 June                                                   St Joseph’s Galactic Groove 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

Thursday 3 July                                                 P&F Meeting, online at 8:00pm

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

Post Communion Teaching Mass/BBQ

Parents of our First Holy Communion Candidates,

As outlined on the cover of your First Holy Communion Program folder, we are offering a Post Teaching Mass on Thursday June 12th at St. Joseph's Church in Warragul, beginning at 6pm. This Mass will then be followed by the sharing of a light meal together.

Could I please ask that you give considerable thought to this Mass/BBQ and make every effort to prioritise it into your busy schedules. It is an important part of our program, and we also thought that it would be a lovely way to bring all our candidates and their families together to celebrate this important step in their faith journey. At the end of this Mass there will be an opportunity for a whole group photo if parents would like this. 

I need to know numbers for catering purposes and therefore would like you to please RSVP by Monday 9th June.

Please let me know if you can come and provide me with approximate numbers. Feel free to invite special family members, such as grandparents.

RSVP via email:  warragul.sacraments@cdsale.org.au

Thanks,

Liz

Can Challenge

Sacrament of Confirmation

Our Confirmation Mass with Bishop Greg will take place on Friday 15^th August at 7pm at St. Ita’s Church. Parents who intend this sacrament for their child are asked to attend an Information Meeting on Thursday 19^th June, 7pm in the Marian Room in Warragul. For more information, contact Liz via email: warragul.sacraments@cdsale.org.au

Children's Liturgy

 A message from Deacon Mark

Not Settling for Established Ways

Pentecost Sunday, the conclusion of the great Easter season, is a wonderful occasion to take a deep breath and set our course. Easter is about celebration and reflection on the depth and breadth of God’s love for us.         

Recently I heard “the Advocate” described as a fiercely protective presence, accompanying, and guiding us into the unknown. Jesus promises his disciples the Advocate (John 14:15-16, 23-26) and, filled with that Holy Spirit, they burst from the upper room (Acts 2:1-11) preaching confidently and fearlessly to all people. This is celebrated as the birth of the Church. In an astonishingly brief few years those Spirit filled disciples made Christianity a major player around the Mediterranean and beyond. In those same few years though was revealed an issue which has plagued us since. Some zealously fired up with passion for Jesus’ message, but forgetting to consult the Spirit were very soon proclaiming their own words rather than Jesus’.

Australian theologian Fr Frank Moloney alerts us that, “without the nourishing yet critical presence of the Holy Spirit, the “Word” of Jesus is soon forgotten, and we begin to settle for our own “words”……. abandoning the never-ending task of learning from the Spirit …. settling for established ways …. no longer admitting the uncomfortable “memory” of all that Jesus has said to us”. (Moloney, F. This is the Gospel of the Lord p110)

In stillness, openness, and humility we must contemplate, reflect, pray, chill, before undertaking any preaching or teaching or missioning and indeed in our daily lives. Allowing the Holy Spirit into our lives is often confronting; upsetting our prejudices and biases, our programs, plans and policies. Forgetting or ignoring the Holy Spirit though dooms our activities, whatever good intentions we might have. Pentecost is time to be still, to wait on the Lord, realising that Jesus approaches me as he did the disciples, wishing me peace, conferring his gift of the Holy Spirit, and empowering us to pass these gifts freely to others.

Deacon Mark Kelly

Get Ready for Our School Production: Aussieventure!

We’re thrilled to invite all families to our upcoming school production, Aussieventure, which will be held at the Arts Centre in Warragul on Wednesday 13th August.

This exciting event will showcase the creativity, talent, and teamwork of our students as they take the audience on a musical journey across Australia!

Show A 5:00pm- This performance will feature students from: Foundation, Year 1, Year 2 AND Year 4, 5 and 6

Show B 7:30pm- This performance will include students from: Year 3, 4, 5 and 6

Please note: Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 will appear in BOTH performances.

More information about costumes, logistics, and ticketing will be shared over the coming weeks!

We are incredibly proud of all the hard work going into this production and can’t wait to celebrate with our school community.

See you at the Arts Centre!

It has been another busy fortnight of sporting achievements with our Divisional Cross Country and the SSV District Winter Sports Competition.

Divisional Cross Country

On May 20th, 24 students headed to the Geoff Watt Track to participate in Divisional Cross Country.  The weather was perfect and 6 of our students were successful in the top 12 in their age level. 

Niamh Jensen, Layla Craig, Hamish Johnson, Sinead Juster, Josh Robertson and Lexi Walsh have been invited to attend the Regional Cross Country on June 5th. We wish them all the best.

 SSV District Winter Sports

St Joseph's students participated in SSV District Winter Sports held on Tuesday May 27th. Five  teams participated mostly made of grade 6 students with a few Grade 5 Invitations.

Two Netball teams headed to St Pauls to participate, while Soccer, AFL Girls and Boys Teams teams had the opportunity to play at Bellbird Park in Drouin.

The AFL Girls had marvellous success winning both of their games.

Ida Blackwood, Sophia Borg, Alirah Dalton, Liv Hynd, Morgan Knowles, Suzen Kuol, Isla Molenaar, Indy Phillips, Chloe-Lee Stott, Lexi Walsh and Remy Youlden  will  now represent our school at the SSV Divisional Winter Sports on June 16th at Bellbird Park.

Thank you to the parents and supporters who cheered the students on as they displayed a grand effort.

Footy Recount

By Sophia Borg, Chloe-Lee, Remy Youlden & Lexi Walsh

Today, we went to play a round robin at Bellbird Park for the St Josephs girls team. The girls in our team were Lexi W, Remy Y, Sophia B, Alriah D, Isla M, Morgan K, Chloe-lee S, Suzen K, Indi P, Liv H, Ida B.

G1- St Joseph's VS Trafalgar 

The first game we played was at 11am and it was against Trafalgar! In the team's opinion we played really well. During the game we were really puffed but Lexi, Suzen, Remy and Alirah were for sure almost in every part of the field as the play was moving around the field,were, which really gave the team options. During the game someone had high tackled Lexi W to the ground and Lexi W had landed and as she landed she moved her fingers wrong and then when she tried getting up someone on the other team stood on her fingers while wearing footy boots. Soon after that she went for a mark and when she was about to mark it she had jard her finger when marking the ball. 

Final scores G1- 12/3

Before we played our next game we had a 30 minute break, so we decided to go to the footy box and cheer for the boys St Joseph's team. The boys were playing really well when we were watching. It was like the girls little cheer squad on the side lines were giving them some enthusiasm. 

G2- St Joseph’s VS St Paul’s 

The next game we played was at 12.40pm and we were playing against St Paul’s. St Pauls were a pretty tough team but we still managed to work together and win. During the game we were all working together and communicating like a team and it worked really well for us because not only that but we were also encouraging each other. 

Final scores G2- 21/6 

In Conclusion 

Overall it was a very good experience and it gave us all an opportunity to work/play with people your not always with. Being at Bellbird with our friends was really fun and we all enjoyed every part of the day and we also enjoyed watching the boys play and going over to the soccer field to watch some of our other friends play their final games of soccer!

In Victoria, it is compulsory for children 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.

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 Construction

Over the next several weeks, construction will begin on a new car line shelter at the west end of our car line. Once completed, this shelter will serve as our designated afternoon pick-up area, where all students will wait to be collected.

Langden Constructions will be managing the project. While the car line will remain operational throughout the construction period, there may be times when the number of available waiting bays is reduced. We kindly ask for your patience and cooperation during this time.

The safety of our students remains our highest priority. Please ensure you follow the directions of school staff in the car line at all times.

Construction is expected to be completed by the start of Term 3.

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

Anyone with flu-like symptoms, however mild, should not attend school and should follow medical advice, including being tested for 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.

Galactic Groove Disco

With just 2 weeks to go, the P&F Committee are very excited to invite all St Joseph’s students to the St Joseph's Galactic Groove Disco 2025.

Date: Friday 20 June 2025

Location: St Joseph's School Hall

Time:

• Foundation to Grade 2: 5pm- 6pm
• Grade 3 to Grade 6: 6.30pm-8pm

Entry fee includes:

• A fun evening of dancing to the tunes of DJ BOOM
• Fluro sticker and glow sticks
• A small fairy floss snack.

There will also be a quiet area for those who want to party with a little less noise.

Children are invited to dress in their best space/galaxy/alien costume if they like - or just come dressed for some fun! (No pressure to dress up)

Tickets are $10 per child or $25 per family of three students or more.

Book your tickets now at  https://www.trybooking.com/DBJWT

If you’re an adult who also likes to dance or play party games, we are eager for some more parent helpers on the night (nibbles supplied). There are 3 timeslots available, if you can lend a hand, please register at https://volunteersignup.org/BRPTR

Win a Million Cents

Until 15 June, Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme is offering Victorian recyclers the opportunity to WIN A MILLION...Cents. That’s $10,000, and all you have to do is return at least 50 eligible containers in one transaction (and hold onto the proof of return).

There are 5 x $10,000 cash prizes to be won, and one of the winners will also get a bonus $10,000 to donate to a registered CDS Vic donation partner of their choice (e.g St Joseph’s Primary School). Could it be you?

You can enter the competition regardless of whether you keep or donate your container refunds.

Maybe a St Joe’s family will land the bonus $10,000 donation partner giveaway. How awesome is that!

To Enter

1. Return at least 50 eligible containers in a single transaction.
2. Grab your proof of return and head to https://winamillioncents.com.au/
3. Complete the online entry form, upload a photo or screenshot of your proof of return and accept the competition Terms & Conditions.

For those who would like to support St Joseph’s Primary School with a regular donation from your exchange of eligible drink containers, please use partner ID C2000009902, or scan the barcode below.

C2000009902

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'.

P&F Meetings

Our next Parents and Friends meeting is:

• Thursday 3 July, online 8.00pm

If you would like to be involved, we would love to have you join us. Please reach out to us via email stjosephswarragulpandf@gmail.com or send us a message through our Facebook page. Otherwise, you are welcome to turn up at the school office- please ensure you bring your Working With Children’s Check (if you don’t have one, it’s free for volunteers online, visit Working with Children Check | Working and Volunteering | Service Victoria).

Calendar Dates

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

Warranor Junior Football Club

Warragul Blues Junior Football Club

Peninsula Cinemas, Warragul

Warragul_Cinemas_Elio_FFD_Colouring_Comp_Warragul.pdf