We have had a very positive start to term 2. The best part was welcoming families back to school! Our Mother's Day Brekkie was a wonderful opportunity to get together and welcome everyone back. We are certainly looking forward to welcoming you on more occasions. COVID is still in the community, and we hope it stays at a minimum as not to impact learning. We will let you know if cases in an individual class arise. We still ask that you continue to keep children home if they are unwell, and that we keep the handwashing up to avoid colds and flu as well. These strategies certainly worked over the last couple of years.

I am also excited to announce, whole school liturgies/assemblies and the like may resume from Monday 16 May 2022. Schools are asked to make best use of the space available to spread out those attending. Currently, adults in attendance are still required to wear masks. We look forward to seeing you around the school even more with this announcement. Obviously, there may be some adjustments, particularly as the multipurpose hall is a small space, but we are working to do what we can. 

Meredith Spencer

Last term Meredith took long service leave and has since decided to retire! Meredith has been a wonderful welcoming face at St Joseph’s School since joining the school in 1995. It has been such a blessing to have her first-hand knowledge of all things St Joseph’s School, particularly our recent history and the many families she knew so well. Since Meredith announced her retirement, staff have shared memories of their time with Meredith over the years, acknowledging her dedicated support of families and particularly teachers. However, the most common comment has been about her sense of humour and wit. Meredith, on behalf of the community we thank you for all you have given to St Joseph’s School and wish you all the best as you begin your retirement.

Staff Changes

As announced on Seesaw last week, Brooklynne McKenna is unable to continue her position at St Joseph’s School due to other work commitments. I thank Brooklynne for her thorough planning and warm welcome to the JOEYS children and Playgroup children and families. This week we welcome Serena Razon to JOEYS and Playgroup, so please join us in giving her a warm St Joseph's welcome! Serena is a teacher with experience in Early Years settings and in community liaison.

This week we were also saddened to hear that Sarah Zulian is Leaving St Joseph's. Sarah has won a Marketing position at Sacred Heart College enabling her to fulfil her goal of working full time in a school marketing position. Sarah is saddened to leave the St Joseph's Community but excited to start a new chapter with Sacred Heart and we wish her all the best. This is Sarah's last week at St Joseph's so please join the St Joseph's staff in wishing her farewell and good luck. 

We will be advertising to fulfil the new positions shortly. 

Traffic Management

A number of families have enquired about traffic around the school. Since I have been in contact with the Marion Council to review the traffic

• We spoke about options for Seafield Road, including the possibility of a one-way option. A traffic review had been undertaken 2 years ago and found that this would not be possible.

One challenge is that Mitcham Girls is on the same road but on the opposite side, also, a change in direction would impact traffic on roads on either side of us, this includes Tutt avenue, which also has 2 schools.

• There are also some safety issues around the pedestrian crossing on Cambridge Terrace. As such in the mornings the staff member and students manage the crossing and soon there will be crossing monitors in the afternoon as well.
• We are still in the process of reviewing the bus stop on Cambridge Terrace, as the bus uses parks and blocks the view of the crossing.

I encourage families to be patient with each other at school drop off and pick up. Even though it is not a one-way street, I do encourage families to travel West on Seafield road at drop off and pick up like a ‘pseudo’ one-way street. Obviously, we can’t enforce this, and the public are not aware. I can see this is what mainly occurs.  If there are any incidents to report, please call the office and we can report it to the police as well as self-reporting. Number plates and vehicle descriptions will help as police will make follow up calls if they have details.

National Walk Safely to School Day - Friday 20^th May

National Walk Safely to School Day is a program encouraging families and children to walk safely to school to teach road safety, encourage healthy lifestyle and promote environmental impacts.

I encourage families to take this opportunity to walk to school this Friday and hopefully make it a more regular occurence. It is wonderful to see that many families already walk or ride to school on a regular basis. I understand that not all families are able to walk to school as you may not live close enough, but I am sure you take opportunities in your local area to walk, or park a little further away to enjoy a short walk to school.

And remember: Until they are 10, children must always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road.