As we approach the end of another term, it is timely to reflect briefly on what has been achieved over the term and to look forward with optimism to what is to come in term 4. Firstly, congratulations to our Confirmation candidates for taking the step to confirm their commitment to their faith. It always gives me a sense of hope to see these young people stand up for what they believe in. Thanks to everyone involved in their preparation for this sacrament.

We had our final productions this week, with the 3/4 performing their final evening performance last night. Three productions, some over two nights, plus matinee performances, has been an enormous feat. Enormous for everyone; students, staff and parents! The delight, joy and pride that the students exhibited was well worth it. This was a new way of doing our performances this year and as such, was a trial year. There has been such a positive response from families which we will take into consideration when looking to the future. We learn from what we do and always welcome feedback to shape future events. Many thanks for your support, everyone.

Father’s Day celebrations, Book Week and Italian Day, science and sporting incursions/excursion and a year 3/4 camp were all on the calendar. The year 6 leadership day at school as well as the combined Catholic schools senior sports day at Marist provided opportunities for our year 6 students to meet students from other schools who will be moving on to secondary school together in 2024.

Our year 1/2 classes have successfully relocated to allow for the builders to commence the refurbishment over the holidays. Exciting times ahead. Year 5 and year 6 camp will be coming up along with graduation, orientation and end of year events. I am pleased to announce that we will be having two Prep classes for 2024 so we will be welcoming 45 new little people to our school for transition before the end of the year. Wonderful news!

All this, whilst we keep our feet firmly on the ground with learning and teaching our core business. This can only happen with amazing support from staff and parents. Special thanks to the P and F who are always ready to help in any way. Thanks also to the School Advisory Committee who provide a solid sounding board for me as your representatives. Mr Redi has been enjoying some well deserved Long Service Leave this week, and I would particularly like to acknowledge the extra work that Vanessa Barry has capably carried out, with the support of all staff, after being required to step in to Acting Principal during my leave this week.

I wish everyone, students, staff and parents a refreshing two weeks break, as we rev up for term 4!

Best wishes,

Roslyn Joyner

Principal

TERM 3

Friday 15 September                     - Last day of Term 3 – school finish time is 2:20pm

TERM 4

Monday 2 October                          - First day of Term 4

Mon 2 – Fri 6 Oct                             - Dental Van visit

Friday 6 October                              - Footy Day

Tuesday 10 October                       - Gippsland Regional Athletics at Joe Carmody Athletics Track, Newborough

Friday 27 October                            - Day for Daniel

Monday 6 November                    - School Closed

Tuesday 7 November                    - Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Friday 10 November                      - Colour Run (back up date Fri 24 Nov)

Mon 27 – Wed 29 November     - Grade 5 Camp – Camp Rumbug, Foster Nth

Thursday 30 November                - Senior Swimming Carnival

Saturday 2 December                    - First Holy Communion Mass at 7pm

Sunday 3 December                       - First Holy Communion Mass at 9am

Mon 4 – Wed 6 December           - Grade 6 Camp – Urban Camp Melbourne

Thursday 7 December                   - Senior Swimming Carnival (back up date)

Friday 8 December                         - Grade 6 Gumbuya World Excursion

Friday 15 December                       - Last day of Term 4 – school finish time is normal at 3:20pm

Sacrament of Confirmation

On Friday night some of our Grade 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation with Bishop Greg Bennett officiating. The mass was at Marist-Sion Hall, with students from St Ita's and others from the Parish also receiving the Sacrament.

Thank you to the parents who supported their children, along with their teachers and the Sacrament team who also helped prepare them.

Congratulations to these wonderful children who committed to and have chosen to take the next step in their faith journey.

Many blessings to you all.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Congratulations to Beckham Bremner, grade 6, who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation last weekend.

From St Joseph's Parish

Sacrament of Confirmation

Congratulations to the following candidates who were confirmed by Bishop Greg Bennet last Friday night. Special thanks to Patricia Bertacco and all who helped prepare the children for this Sacrament. We pray the Holy Spirit will guide them throughout their faith journey.

Crystal Allsop, Evelyn Blackwood, Edward Davidson, Isabella Hendricks, Ryda Hickey, Isaac Hughes, Niamh Juster, Indiana Kelton, Ruby Kemp, Samuel McDonald, Sydney Oliver Moyle-Burke, Lachlan Nardone, Indiana Olson, Grace Patterson, James Pilla, Lucinda Somerville, Harper Webster and Mason White.

SACRAMENT OF FIRST COMMUNION

Advance Notice – Parent Information Night

There will be only one Parent Information night on Wednesday, 11^th October at 7pm in the Marian Room at St Joseph's Church for families whose children are ready to make their First Holy Communion this year. We are very fortunate and delighted to have Rev Dr. Fr. Elio Capra as our guest Presenter. He lectures in Liturgy and Sacramental Theology and has much experience in presenting Sacraments to parents in a very informative and entertaining way.  

Enquiries: St. Joseph’s Parish Office: 56231642

A message from Deacon Mark

Everyone is in favor of forgiveness, in principle. “Every one,” C.S. Lewis writes, “says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until there is something to forgive” (Mere Christianity, p.115). What do we do then? What do we do when there is something to forgive?

Sadly for us and our world, we often lack forgiveness when it is needed. Wars, holocausts, relationships, trivial encounters. As individuals and as communities there is much to forgive and much to be forgiven for. Anger, resentment, revenge often dominate our thinking, sometimes over decades and generations. Our minds, bodies and souls can be poisoned against forgiveness. Poisoned indeed; there is much modern medical evidence that resentment, anger and lack of forgiveness, is a huge underlying cause of premature death. Scientists can measure resentment and anger weighing down the spirit and leading to physical health issues, while acts of forgiveness reap huge health rewards, lowering the risk of heart attack; improving cholesterol levels and sleep; and reducing pain, blood pressure, and levels of anxiety, depression and stress. (John Hopkins Medicine 2017)

For our spiritual health, but also for our physical and mental health, we need to let go of revenge and resentment, finding ways to forgive those who have trespassed against us in our lives, our families, our church, our society or our world. As we ask the Father to forgive our trespasses, our first reading queries how can we ask compassion from the Lord if we harbour anger against another? (Sirach 27:30-28:7).

Forgiveness, for Jesus, is not a quantifiable event. It is a quality; a way of being, a way of living, of loving, of relating, of thinking and seeing. It is nothing less than the way of Christ. If we are to follow Christ then it must become our way as well. “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (Matt 18:21-35).

Deacon Mark Kelly

Sacrament Coordinator: The position of Sacrament Coordinator for the Parishes of St. Joseph’s and St. Ita’s has become available based at St Joseph’s Parish Office Warragul. The primary purpose of this role is to coordinate the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Hours of work are two days a week 9-3pm. Applications are to be submitted by email to Confidence.Masvosva@cdsale.org.au by Friday 15^th September.

For a position description please contact Fr Confidence via email. 

There will be ongoing Training and support provided.

Sacrament Dates for 2023

Change of Eating Times at

St. Joseph’s in Term 4

As part of our Whole School Approach to Positive Behaviour Support (W.S.A.P.B.S.), at St. Joseph’s, we have focussed on improving our routines at school. Routines are a critical element to “creating environments that are predictable and known, therefore providing safe learning spaces for all students and staff” (DOSCEL, 2020). Schools with routines that are explicitly taught and practised are more likely to have more students engaged in learning and a reduction in behavioural issues. 

Commencing in Term 4, we will be trialling a change to our eating routine. Student’s will play and then eat at 11:30am and 2:10pm each day with fruit stops in between. The efficacy of this trial will be measured by data collected on our staff portal, SIMON.

Lunch Orders: Lunch order days remain the same and are delivered on Wednesday and Friday's and will arrive at school for the first eating time at 11:30am. Lunch orders will need to be ordered by 10:00pm the night before.

* Refer to the Term 3 Week 8 edition of the Newsletter for the full article.

Footy Colours Day

Friday 6 October

UPCOMING SPORTS DATES:

Tuesday, 10 October Gippsland Regional Athletics. Joe Carmody Athletics Track, Newborough

13 - 17 November - Foundation- Grade 6 School Swimming Program, Leisure Centre

Thursday 30 November -  Senior Swimming Carnival, Leisure Centre

Hats for Term 4

As we look forward to sunny days in Term 4, we must be SunSmart and remember our hats. Hats must be broad rimmed St. Joseph’s approved uniform, no caps.

Catholic Cluster Sports Day

Newcombe

On Friday, 1st September, all the Grade 5/6s went to Marist-Sion College for Winter Sports.

We had different schools joining us. They were Trafalgar St. Josephs, Columba Catholic Primary School, St. Angela of the Cross and St. Ita’s.

We all started with a warm welcome from Principal Lisa Harkin, and a lovely song by two Marist Students, Lilly in Year 11 and Ethan in Year 10. After this, all the 5/6s were dismissed into their sport groups.

The people in our newcombe group were Aiden, Angela, Ariel, Audrina, Emmett, Hayley, Isabella, Isiah, Lucinda, Matthew, Meryl, William and Zoe.

We started by versing St. Joseph's Trafalgar, followed by St. Ita’s and Columba.

At the end, all the schools got a free sausage sizzle from Marist- Sion. Overall, versing the other schools was fun and our team won 3 rounds out of 6.

By Angela and Meryl

Football

During week 8, we played school footy against St Columba and St Ita’s. The first game we played was against St Ita’s. They played really well and it was a close game. A couple of players who played really well for our team were Adam, for getting some good tackles and intercept marks, Isaac B for stopping 3 goals and Talan for going hard. Our next game was against St Columba and it was so close, we only won by two points. Our whole team played excellently, attacking hard and getting some really good marks. We played Columba again in a final, we had a great start scoring two goals straight up but they scored back, it was really close but we ended up winning the day. Big thanks to Mr Mac for being the best coach ever and thanks to all the Marist kids for taking their time to umpire our game.

By Issac

Soccer

At the Cluster Sports day, our soccer team played against three other schools. They were St. Angela of the Cross, St. Joseph’s, Trafalgar and St. Ita’s, Drouin. The first game we played was against St. Ita’s. We were all playing our hearts out and ended up winning. The next game was against St. Ita’s which we won by 2 goals. When our last game against St. Angela’s came around, we were winning 1-0 at half time but then they kicked one goal and we tied. We had to have 5 minute overtime and they kicked the winning goal from a penalty kick. Thanks Beckham for being our captain and Mrs Silver and Kerry for supervising. Overall, everybody had a great time and it was a good opportunity to meet new people.

By Sam

Netball

In week 8 our school, St Ita’s, St Angela’s, St Columba and St Joseph's, Trafalgar all participated in the Catholic Cluster sports day. Around twenty-four 5/6 students played netball. Our coaches were Katie Balfour, Ebonie Price and Jo Benson. Team A played 6 games and Team B played 4 games and we all had fun competing against the other teams.

The Catholic Cluster was an amazing day and the year 5s will definitely be looking forward to doing it again next year.

By Niamh

Good Luck!

Good luck to Bailey Mumford from Grade 5 who has been selected to attend the Basketball Victoria Jamboree in Echuca during the holidays.

We hope you have a wonderful time Bailey!

Sports Uniform Reminder

It has been great to see so many students prepared for Sport each week with the correct sports uniform. Just a reminder that the sports uniform is to be worn only on the students' Sports Day. This includes appropriate footwear for vigorous activity.

TUESDAY: Grade 3/4 Classes

WEDNESDAY: Foundation and Grade 1/2 Classes

THURSDAY: Grade 5/6 Classes

Grade 6 can also wear their sports uniform on a Monday.

Book Club

Overdue Books

Overdues notices were emailed on Monday. Thank you to all families that have returned their library books promptly. The holidays may be a good opportunity for students to locate their overdue items and return to the library in term 4.

On Tuesday and Thursday nights, our students in Grades 3/4 put on a show for all our families to enjoy. Thank you to our Arts Teacher, Rose Butera, the Middle team and all that helped make our show such a wonderful event.

If your children are not intending to return to St Joseph's in 2024 (apart from Year 6 students), please send an email to principal@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au as soon as possible informing of the change. We have a number of enrolment inquiries and are preparing for 2024 classes. Our Foundation 2024 enrolments are still open, please encourage any family or friends to speak with Kitty in the office if they are looking to enrol their child in 2024.

Rapid Antigen Tests are available from the school office.

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.

SCHOOL BEANIE

The school beanie is available and in stock at the Warragul Beleza store. They are available for purchase and are $18 each.

Gold/yellow long sleeve polo shirts are available in sizes 2, 4, 6, 8 & 12 - 16 (size 10 & 14 are no longer available)

Green windcheaters are ONLY available in sizes 2 & 14

Fostering a nurturing environment of respectful relationships within your family holds the key to not only harmonious living, but also improved academic outcomes for your children. As parents and caregivers, embracing the art of teaching children about respect at a young age sets the stage for a lifetime of healthy interactions and empathetic understanding. It will help cultivate a positive environment where communication flourishes, conflicts are resolved constructively, and bonds are fortified.

Teaching children to respect themselves and others will open up avenues for both personal growth and academic achievement. Fostering an environment where respect is not just a word, but a practiced behaviour, will empower young people with essential life skills. Effective communication, active listening, and the art of compromise, will provide your child with a solid foundation that will transcend family interactions and help them collaborate effectively with peers, teachers and the broader community.

Equipping children with an understanding of healthy versus unhealthy relationships is an important aspect of their development. It will guide them to make informed choices, foster positive connections, and set boundaries that contribute to their emotional wellbeing. Understanding the nuances between healthy and unhealthy relationships provides children with the essential tools to navigate their social world, build self-esteem, and cultivate meaningful relationships.

In this edition of SchoolTV, learn how to empower young people in healthy interactions to embrace differences and forge connections that honour their self-worth. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://stjwarragul.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/respectful-relationships

Save the new date, Friday 10 November will be this year’s Colour Run. It promises to be a great day and we would love to see a big crowd in attendance.

The back-up date in case of inclement weather will be Friday 24 November.

Stay tuned, all the details will be released at the commencement of Term 4.

Father’s Day

We hope all our fathers and special people enjoyed Father’s Day. It was great to see so many attend the breakfast and enjoy some of our indoor games (recently purchased with funds raised through Cookie Dough).

Big thanks to Woolworths Warragul for donating the fresh apples and bananas for our Father’s Day breakfast.

Second Hand Uniforms

Has your child lost or grown out of their bomber jacket? If you’ve checked the mountain of lost property with no luck, we have heaps of second-hand jackets in all sizes available, for a gold coin donation. Thanks to Warragul Drycleaners who have donated their services to professionally clean our second-hand school uniforms.

View these in the school hall or contact the P&F Committee on stjosephswarragulpandf@gmail.com.

P&F Meetings

The next P&F meeting is scheduled for Friday 6 October at 2pm at the school boardroom.     

If you would like to be involved, we would love to have you. Please reach out to us via email stjosephswarragulpandf@gmail.com, send us a message through our Facebook page ‘Parents and Friends of St Joseph’s Primary School Warragul’ or just turn up.

Woolworths Cricket Blast

Western Park Cricket Club Juniors

Geoff Watt Memorial Fun Run & Festival