Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

Special Assembly: 10am Friday, 12 September

Next week we will be saying farewell to our Deputy Principal, Mr Redi. Camillo is moving to Melbourne with his family to take up a position with the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Education Office. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Camillo’s dedication to the school community, his work, and especially his passion for learning and teaching. His genuine caring nature has been a gift to our school. As a Deputy Principal he has been unwavering in his leadership to improve all aspects of the school. He has always supported me in my role as Principal and has willingly and capably stepped into the Acting Principal role when required. His loyalty to the school, the students, staff, parents, and me personally, has been unwavering. Thankyou Camillo, for everything, and we wish you a happy, fulfilling life in the future.

It was wonderful to see so many fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers and special people here this morning to enjoy a Father’s Day breakfast with their children. This event is a highlight for our children over the year. They love bringing their dads into the school and showing them around. Special thanks to the Lion’s Club for their assistance in providing the barbeque and thanks to the P and F for organising this as well as the stall.  The stall is always a success with the students having the opportunity to purchase something special for dad. We wish all fathers a Happy Father’s Day!

Best wishes

Warm regards,

Ros Joyner

Principal

Tuesday 22 July – Friday 19 September

Monday 8 September                                   Child Safety Week

Tuesday 9 September                                   Parent & Teacher Interviews

Thursday 11 September                               Parent & Teacher Interviews

Friday 12 September                                     Special Assembly at 10:00am

Monday 15 September                                 Divisional Summer Sports

Tuesday 16 September                                 Italian Day (see article for information)

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

Term 4

Tuesday 7 October – Tuesday 16 December

Monday 6 October                                          Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 7 October                                          First Day of School for Term 4

Tue 7 – Fri 10 October                                   Dental Van visiting during the week

Friday 24 October                                            Grandparents Day classroom visits and morning tea

Monday 3 November                                    School Closure Day

Tuesday 4 November                                    Melbourne Cup Public Holiday

Tuesday 16 December                                   Last Day of Term 4 – 3:20pm finish

**Please ensure you check the newsletter and ClassDojo for any changes that may arise.

Congratulations to our Confirmation Candidates

We warmly congratulate the children in our school who recently received the Sacrament of Confirmation by Bishop Greg at St Ita's Church. This is a very special step in their faith journey as they are strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit and called to live out their faith with courage and love.

We thank their families, teachers, and parish community for supporting them in their preparation, and we pray that the Spirit continues to guide and inspire them always.

 Children's Liturgy

A message from Deacon Mark

Hate your Mum!

How confronting is this gospel! How uncomfortable does Jesus make us! “Hate your father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters and your own life!” That seems to be Jesus’ instruction to us in this gospel (Luke 14:25-33).

We’d be reluctant to sign up to such a program because, at first glance, this passage flies in the face of all we hold dear about following Jesus. Surely the whole message of the gospels is that we come to Jesus through the love which we have for one another?

Like so much else in scripture, this needs to be understood in context. Jesus is using hyperbole here, exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. And also “hate” should better be translated as “prefer”- a call to love family less than Christ. Read with this understanding we discern that though our primary allegiance should be to Jesus rather than family, our whole gospel experience teaches us that allegiance to Jesus is completely compatible with love of family (and neighbour) and of our own lives.

Some of Jesus’ followers would be confronted too being told that, far from being easy, following Jesus is going to mean giving up all our possessions and carrying our cross. So, can’t we own anything? Yes, but just as we can and should love our families, so too we can have possessions, but our primary focus must be on the Kingdom.

Whatever Jesus is asking of us here though is dramatic and existential. This isn’t a bit of tweaking to our lifestyle or fixing this bit or that bit. Jesus is a radical, counter-cultural prophet calling for undivided loyalty to himself above family loyalties and above any other distractions; for total commitment and dedication to the Kingdom of God – the only thing in the end that makes sense.

Deacon Mark Kelly

At this time of the year, we ask families whose children are not intending to return in 2026 (apart from Year 6 students), to 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 2026 classes. Our Foundation 2026 enrolments are now at capacity.

As we prepare for 2026 classes, please refer to our class allocation policy to explain our procedure. Please note from our policy:

Parents and carers may provide the School Principal with specific information about their child's learning or social needs, in writing, that they believe the school may not be aware of. Whilst the School Leadership Team appreciates that Parents or Carers may believe their child would benefit from being placed with a certain teacher, we are unable to consider these requests. The information should be provided in writing (letter or email) to the Principal by Friday, Week 3 of Term 4 (24/10/25). This information will be referenced, along with other available information, during the class placement process. The Leadership Team will manage this process in consultation with parents and class teachers. It must be clearly understood that no definite guarantees can be given regarding parental concerns.

Please note that all historical requests have been cleared. If you have an ongoing learning or social need request - this must be put in writing and sent via email to principal@stjwarragul.catholic.edu.au

Class Allocation Policy

ITALIAN DAY 2025 - A Day in Venice

Our Italian Day is on Tuesday 16th September, the last week of term. The students will be participating in activities based around the fabulous city, Venice.
They will spend the day in multi-age groups and rotate around six different activities. Students and staff are invited to come to school dressed up with an Italian theme such as, a famous Italian person, the colours of the flag (green, white and red), a tourist, an Italian sports person, Pinocchio or an Italian landmark. 

Our day will begin at 9am with a short costume parade and a song in the hall before the children commence the activities. Families are most welcome to watch our parade.

PLEASE NOTE: We would like the children to bring a reusable shopping bag to school to carry their food, drinks bottles and stationery to each activity.

Issue 6 orders have now been processed. Ordered items will be distributed to students upon their arrival. Thank you for supporting Book Club.

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.

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

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.

Second-Hand Uniforms – Donate or Grab a Bargain

Donate:
Do you have school uniforms your child has outgrown but are still in great condition? We’d love to give them a second life!

Families are encouraged to donate clean, good-quality uniform items to the school office. These items will then be made available to other families in our community.

Need uniforms?
A selection of clean, pre-loved uniforms is available for a gold coin donation. We also have a limited number of school bags for just $10.

To donate or browse available items, please contact the P&F Committee on stjosephswarragulpandf@gmail.com or ask at the school office.

Father’s Day BBQ Breakfast & Stall

Our annual P&F Father’s Day BBQ Breakfast was held with the breakfast cooked by the Warragul Lions Club. A total of 300 bacon and egg rolls and 160 sausages in bread were served up along with cereal, fruit, tea and coffee also provided. The effort was a huge hit with both kids and adults, who appreciated the warm, delicious start to their Friday morning.

During the morning, the students visited the Father’s Day stall which offered a wide range of gifts, perfect for Father's Day. The Father's Day Stall raised an impressive $1,367.

Events like these highlight the ongoing dedication of volunteers and organisations like the Warragul Lions Club and St Joseph's Parents and Friends.

Join us on Facebook

We welcome all families to join our Parents and Friends Facebook page — a great space to connect, ask questions, and stay engaged with our wonderful school community.

Simply search: 'Parents and Friends of St Joseph's Primary School Warragul'.

P&F Events and Meetings in Term 3

• Our upcoming Parents and Friends meetings and events to pop in your diary are:

  • Big Blokes BBQ: Friday 10 October. Want to help St Joe’s raise funds and also help out at this fantastic local event which supports men’s health and wellbeing? We’ll be looking for volunteers- please stay tuned or reach out to P&F for more info.
  • P&F Meeting: Friday 7 November, 2.00pm at the school.
  • Colour Run: Fri 14 November- please save the date.

If you would like to be involved, we would love to have you join us. Please reach out to the P&F 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) visit: Working with Children Check | Working and Volunteering | Service Victoria).

Understanding the growing challenges related to mental health among young people is an important consideration. Anxiety, depression and self-harm - are all causes for concern. Factors like academic pressure, social media, family dynamics, and societal expectations, are contributing to these issues. It's therefore crucial for parents and caregivers to take action early, remove the stigma around discussing mental health, and offer accessible support to address these issues and the wellbeing of their children.

R U OK?Day is an initiative that focuses on preventing suicide by encouraging meaningful personal connections and helping informal support networks to help recognise the signs of distress. We urge all families to take part, emphasising the value of genuine human relationships and reminding everyone to ask the important question, "Are you OK?"

Engaging in R U OK?Day activities goes beyond the classroom; it's a commitment to our students' overall development. By talking openly about mental health, schools create safe spaces where students feel understood, valued, and supported. As parents and caregivers, you can contribute by fostering open conversations, normalising feelings and breaking down mental health stigmas. Participating in R U OK?Day promotes compassion and shows our dedication to the wellbeing of the entire school community, reaffirming that together, we can truly make a difference.

This Special Report provides guidance on how to talk to your child about mental health and engage in meaningful discussions.

Here is the link to your Special Report https://stjwarragul.catholic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-r-u-ok-day

James and the Giant Peach

Warragul Basketball Association

Peninsula Cinemas, Warragul