Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

Once again we come to the close of another school year. My sincere thanks to the school community for the way we have all worked together for the benefit of our students.

Last Tuesday we had the final whole school Mass where everyone had the opportunity to farewell our year 6 students. It was also a chance to come together as a school to thank God for all the blessings we have had over the year. The students have been adding to the donations for St Vincent de Paul through the “Giving Tree” over the past weeks. As a result, many children will be receiving gifts who might not have done so without these donations. Thanks to everyone concerned.

On Thursday evening the year 6 students and their families celebrated their final year of Primary School here at St Joseph’s. Thanks to the organising committee for a wonderful evening. We also said goodbye to families who are leaving, those with their last child in Primary School. Thanks for being part of the journey with us over the past 7 years. We wish you all well for the future ahead and look forward to meeting you again as the opportunities permit.

Thanks to our fantastic P and F for all their work over the year. It is great to see the children enjoying the slide so much. Thanks also to the School Advisory Committee for their guidance and support over the course of the year.

We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and committed staff at St Joseph’s. My sincere thanks to each one of them for their work and collaboration over the year. I look forward to working with you all again next year.

Finally, thankyou to our students for making it all worthwhile. Your beautiful smiles can make anyone’s day.

I wish everyone a peaceful, joyful Christmas. Stay safe over the holidays and we will see you next year!

Best wishes,

Ros Joyner

Principal

Term 1

Thursday 30 January – Friday 4 April

Thursday 30 January                                      First day of School for 2025 for all students

Wednesday 5 February                                 First day for lunch orders

Friday 7 February                                            P&F Meeting

Wednesday 5 March                                      Foundation students’ full week at school

Friday 7 March                                                  Pupil Free Day

Monday 10 March                                           Labour Day Public Holiday

Wed 12 – Fri 14 March                                  Year 6 Sovereign Hill Camp

Thursday 13 February                                    Welcome BBQ at 6pm

Friday 4 April                                                     Last Day of School for Term 1 – 2:20pm finish

Upcoming Events

Year 3 - 6 Swimming Carnival

Our Year 3 - 6 students enjoyed a fun day at the swimming carnival with swimming events and activities for all our students to enjoy.

It was wonderful to see so many of students participating in both the swimming and novelty events. The house spirit was alive when each house competed in chanting their house theme.

Congratulations to Mary House who were the overall winners of the day.

Thank you to Mrs Spencer for organising another successful event.

Victoria Summer Cup

Zac, Ace & Neille have been playing soccer in the Victoria Summer Cup over many weekends and won the Southern Division. The boys' team played on the Matilda's Pitch against the North on Sunday and won convincingly 5-0!

An amazing achievement!!! 

Beleza's uniform stores will be temporarily closed over the holiday season. For further information about their last day of trading for 2024, their reopening date for 2025, and their trading hours across the back-to-school season, please see the attached letter. 

Beleza would like to wish everyone in our school community a safe and enjoyable holiday, and they look forward to helping you set up for the 2025 school year!

Christmas Eve Mass - Nativity Enactment

A message from Deacon Mark

Motherette

If we held a “reality” entertainment show to find a mother for the divine incarnation, then Mary of Nazareth wouldn’t get a start. She wouldn’t make it through auditions. In fact, she wouldn’t get a call up at all.

An unmarried peasant child from the least of the clans, the least of the Jewish people! Thank God, his ways are not our ways. God did the selecting and, from all of human history, he chose this unlikely girl. Why?

Mary is a volunteer. She has the free will to refuse the mission. What would have happened to us if she had? Would God have entered the world? Would humanity have been saved?

As God knew she would, Mary was a willing, faithful, loving, and obedient believer. She gives the angel a believer’s, “Yes!” Rightly, Elizabeth proclaims, “Blessed is she who believed!” (Luke 1:39-45)

Pope Francis reminds us that, “Mary’s ‘yes’ at the Annunciation was more than a yes to bearing the Son of God but was also an acceptance of everything she would endure after – something every mother experiences with a new child.  

“It was not easy to answer with a ‘yes’ to the angel's invitation; yet she, a woman still in the flower of youth, answers with courage, despite not knowing anything about the fate that awaited her.”

“Mary at that moment looks like one of the many mothers of our world, brave to the extreme when it comes to welcoming in her womb the story of a new human being who is growing. Her ‘yes’ to the angel at the Annunciation was just the first step “in a long list of obedience” leading to the moment she stands at the foot of her Son’s cross.” (Pope Francis 100517)

Deacon Mark Kelly

The bushfire season is upon us and normally runs from October until April.

As St. Joseph’s is located in a high-risk bushfire area, the school will be pre-emptively closed in the event that the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issues a Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating (FDR) which is the highest level of fire danger. This will apply when the warning is issued for our weather district tof the school (West and South Gippsland - Region).

A decision is made at 1:00pm the day before if possible, and will not change regardless of changing weather conditions. This will help limit confusion and help families plan for how their children will be cared for when their school is closed.

Where possible, four (4) to seven (7) days’ notice of a planned closure will be provided. However, experience indicates that a Catastrophic FDR may be forecast at short notice. Parents, guardians, and carers should expect that in some instances less than four (4) days’ notice may be provided. No one will be permitted on site when this notice has been issued.

When an Extreme Fire Danger Rating has been issued, the school may close and remote learning enacted - students will join their class online through Google Meet.

This is a part of our emergency management plan for St. Joseph's and every effort will be made to give you advanced warning of a closure. 

Dear Families,

2024 School Fees

Thank you to all families that have paid their school fees. All School Fees still owing are now due for payment. Please try to finalise any outstanding school fees before 2024.

Concession Cards

Could all parents who are holders of a Concession Card please forward a copy to Kitty.  This can then be taken into account when processing the 2025 School Fees.

If you have any problems with the fees or questions about the Concession Card, please contact Kitty via email kbarrett@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au

No Booklists for 2025

The 2025 booklists will now be managed by St Joseph’s Primary School. This means that parents/carers will no longer need to organise their child’s booklist supplies - a new levy will be introduced and the classroom teachers will order and manage the supplies. These supplies will be ready to go for the beginning of the school year. You may notice a difference in year level booklist levies - this is determined by the supplies selected by the classroom teachers and if your child requires an InitiaLit workbook (Phonics program in Foundation to Year 2). 

Please note that students in Foundation to Year 5 will pass on their headphones to their new classroom. 

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

Health Department Alert - Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

The Department of Health, Victoria has issued a health alert, increasing pertussis (whooping cough) cases in Victoria.

Cases of pertussis are increasing in Victoria, mostly affecting children aged 10-12 years. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory illness known for causing a cough and can lead to life threatening infections in babies. Symptoms of pertussis may be very similar to other respiratory infections, especially in the early stages, meaning diagnosis by a doctor as soon as possible is important. Please remain vigilant and seek medical attention as soon as possible when symptoms present.

The below exclusion periods apply to diagnosed cases and contacts - 
For diagnosed cases:
 - students diagnosed with pertussis should be excluded from primary schools for a minimum period of 21 days after the onset of cough, or until they have completed five (5) days of a course of effective antibiotic treatment. The treating doctor will complete the required notifications to the Department of Health

For contacts of diagnosed cases:
The exclusion requirement only applies to contacts who meet all three (3) of the below criteria:
- aged less than 7 years;
- in the same class as the student with the diagnosed case; and
- have not received three (3) effective doses of pertussis vaccine.

Students meeting these criteria should be excluded for 14 days after the last exposure to the infectious case, or until they have taken five (5) days of a course of effective antibiotic treatment.

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 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. 

Lunch Orders

• lunch orders will commence Wednesday, 5 February
• 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, 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.

Absences & Holidays

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 as 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 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.

Upcoming P&F Events

2025

• First P&F Meeting for 2025, Friday 7 February, 2pm
• Welcome BBQ, Thursday 13 February from 6pm

P&F - Get on Board

We are on the lookout for some new people to get involved with our Parents and Friends committee.

We meet monthly on a Friday during school terms (about 8 times a year) and help deliver all the wonderful activities outlined above.

Please reach out to us via email at stjosephswarragulpandf@gmail.com, our Facebook page ‘Parents and Friends of St Joseph’s Primary School Warragul’ or chat with an existing member if you are interested - we would love to have you!

Container Deposit Scheme

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

C2000009902

Second Hand Uniforms

We have lots of clean second-hand school uniforms, available for a gold coin donation.

To check out what is available, just ask at the school office or contact the P&F Committee on stjosephswarragulpandf@gmail.com

If you have any uniforms at home in good condition that your children have grown out of, please consider donating them to the second-hand uniform stand. We are in particular need of some of the new style dresses please.

Peninsula Cinemas, Warragul

Upcoming School Holiday Films