I hope everyone got to enjoy the Melbourne Cup weekend and is making the most of the more favourable weather we are having. Mid term 4 sees us very busy with excursions, camps, guest speakers to classrooms and assessment.

Staff Professional Learning

Staff certainly benefited from the whole day professional learning opportunity on Building Cultural Understanding through Interreligious dialogue on November 1st.  As consistent with our approach to be welcoming to children of all faiths and backgrounds and encourage students to enter respectfully into dialogue about Religious concepts, staff enriched their own knowledge of other faiths. We had the opportunity to enter into dialogue with individuals of Jewish, Hindu and Muslim faith and while developing a deeper understanding of these religions, we reflected further on our Catholic faith.

Pope Francis says the Church has much to give to the world, but also much to learn from it. His Holiness also advocates the model of synodality. He wants the Church to bring people together, embrace plurality, and "adopt an attitude of welcoming and listening to questions and experiences." He desires a Church that is missionary, authentic, humble and solidary, that defends democratic values, and constantly engages in dialogue with other religions and lifeviews.

Pope Francis says that children must be taught what peace is like and for peace to be achieved, people must be in dialogue, “intently listening to the other while understanding what I am”.

The group of presenters from ‘Together for Humanity’ worked with staff on what a Culturally Responsive Teacher does to help students develop a respectful curiosity about diversity so all students can feel safe, included, valued and respected for who they are. We look forward to working with this group in the future, with our students.

Together For Humanity (TFH) provides educational services primarily for students, teachers and school communities with the goal of increasing intercultural understanding and countering prejudice. They partner with schools to convene high quality cross-cultural and interfaith exchanges that foster goodwill between people of different faiths and cultures.

School Captains for 2025

The process of electing our Student Leaders for 2025 has begun.  The Year 5 students have the opportunity to apply for a variety of leadership positions for 2025.

These are:

• School Captain (4 positions)
• House Captains (2 positions per house)
• Liturgy Captains (4 positions)

The process for electing our student leadership is as follows:

1. Guest speakers are invited to speak with students about leadership.
2. Students work with school leadership to identify the characteristics of good leaders and elements of successful leadership.
3. Candidates apply in writing, addressing the criteria as outlined in the role description.
4. Student and staff input into identifying potentially good school leaders is gathered through surveys.
5. A shortlist is created by the 5/6 teachers.            
6. Interviews are conducted by a selected panel (usually the Principal, Deputy Principal and 2024 captains).
7. Decisions are made by the panel and communicated to candidates.   

Students write an application letter and stipulate which role they are most interested in. It should be noted that equal distribution of gender is not a factor in filling the leadership positions. It is hoped that this process, which is not directly influenced by a popular vote, will result in determining the best young leaders for our school.

While we have formal positions of leadership, we encourage all senior students to be good leaders and endeavour to provide different opportunities for them to show leadership. Many students who apply will not be selected and therefore will be disappointed. This is a normal part of life for everybody.  You can help your child cope with disappointment by acknowledging their feelings: it’s ok to feel sad, then reorienting them to focus on other opportunities and being happy for their classmates.

School Advisory Committee

We have a vacancy on the School Advisory Committee and are looking for a parent/carer or guardian to join the committee.

Parents are invited to nominate suitable candidates using the form attached by Friday November 22.  

School Board Nomination Form

Alternatively, you can pick up a form from the school office.

The purposes of the School Advisory Committee are to:

• act as an advisory body to the principal on matters concerning education in the school
• act as a forum for discussion on matters concerning education in the school
• provide a link between the parish priest, principal, teachers and parishioners in relation to the provision of Catholic education in the parish community
• promote community development by fostering a strong inter-relationship between the parish, the primary school and Catholic secondary colleges

Meetings are held five times over the course of a year. They are usually mid-term on a Tuesday morning at 9.05am.  The AGM is held in November of each year.

Sara Donohue and Phil Dynes have resigned from the committee recently. I want to sincerely thank Sara for her five years of service. We very much appreciate the hard work you have put in Sara, to attend meetings and events, review policies and support our school.

Sincere thanks also to Phil who has been a long standing supporter of our school and the wider community. We have really appreciated your input Phil!

ICAS Awards

The ICAS awards will be presented at our Whole School assembly on Monday November 25, 9.05am.

Joanne Coldebella

Principal

Well done to our award winners who were presented with their certificates at our last assembly, congratulations on all your hard work.  

The Prep children have had a busy start to the term. This term we are investigating Living and Non-Living things. We have talked about what is living and nonliving, and then categorised our living things into three more headings to include plants, humans and animals. We talked about what each group needs to survive and investigated patterns they all shared, for example, food, water, shelter and air.

We are then going on our first ever excursion as a Prep student to Maru Koala and Animal Park to help our understanding of all living things. We are very excited!

In Maths our new focus has been place value and looking into division (sharing equally), playing lots of games together to help further our understanding.

We can’t wait to continue our learning.

Prep Team

Our 5/6s have been hard at work turning their learning of natural disasters into a fictional story. They have researched a natural disaster to find out how it happens and how it impacts communities. They are using this to create their very own narrative all about the natural disaster. We are editing our stories to make sure they capture the audience’s attention using onomatopoeia (sound words) and really interesting adjectives and adverbs.

During our Inquiry Unit - Fire and Flood - our 5/6s have been learning about why people choose to live where they live. They are exploring how the environment of that area can affect their choices and what people do to prepare for and respond to severe weather events like fires and floods.

Maths time is seeing our students hard at work on decimals, fractions and percentages. The 5/6s are learning to place decimals on number lines, convert decimals to fractions and percentages, add and subtract decimals and some students are extending their knowledge by multiplying decimals.

We are very excitedly getting ready for our upcoming camps, graduation and Grade 6 celebration day out to Gumbuya World. Not to mention all the sports days we have had where our 5/6s have displayed excellent sportsmanship. Well done to the cricket, basketball and softball teams that recently played, and good luck to our surfers.

5/6 Team

Congratulations to Frankie, Sola, and Skyla for representing our school in the South Coast Primary School Sports Surfing competition last Friday. A special congratulations to Sola for winning the overall event!

CONSEQUENCES

We are constantly receiving enquiries about enrolling in 2025. This is very encouraging and indicates that St Joseph's is offering something families are attracted to and want. If you know that you won't be returning in 2025, can you please contact the front office and let us know. This will help us in preparing and organising the school for 2025. We thank you in advance for letting us know.

Please find the attached orientation session schedule for Prep 2025. This is specifically for new students who have already confirmed their acceptance of offer. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the office. We are looking forward to welcoming our new Preps at our orientation sessions.

School Fee information for 2025 has been sent to all families via PAM. If you hold a concession card in 2025, we kindly request you complete the relevant forms and return them to the school office along with a copy of your card.

If you are already on a direct debit payment and there are no changes to your details, the direct debit will continue for 2025.

We request you complete the forms and return them to the school office by Friday,  December 6, 2024

If you have any queries please email kcarew@stjwonthaggi.catholic.edu.au

School Fee Schedule 2025

Direct Debit Form

Concession Application

CSEF Application Form 2025

School Fees Payment Arrangement 2025

What is Conveyance Allowance ?

The conveyance allowance is a form of financial assistance to help families in rural and regional Victoria with the cost of transporting their children to their nearest appropriate school/campus. The conveyance allowance is available to eligible students travelling by public transport, private car and private bus. The conveyance allowance is also available to eligible students whose nearest school is not serviced by a free school bus.

Students attending a government or non-government school must:

• attend their nearest government or non-government school/campus appropriate to their year level at which admission is permissible
• be enrolled at a school/campus outside Melbourne’s metropolitan conveyance boundary
• reside 4.8km or more by the shortest practicable route from that school/campus attended
• be of school age (5 to 18 years old at time of application) and reside in Victoria.

Forms are available at the school office or download below. If you have any questions please contact the office or email kcarew@stjwonthaggi.catholic.edu.au

Applications are to be submitted to the school office by Friday November 22 for processing.

Conveyance Allowance Application

School closure dates for your diary

Monday, December 16 - Friday, December 20

Last Day of Term 4 for students is Friday, December 13, 3:25pm

Weekday Masses:

Tuesday Our Lady Star of the Sea, Inverloch 11:00a.m.
Wednesday 9:30am St. Joseph’s Wonthaggi
Friday 9:30am St. Joseph’s Wonthaggi

Weekend Masses Our Lady Star of the Sea, Inverloch Sunday 9:00am

St. Joseph’s Wonthaggi Saturday 6:30pm, Sunday 10:30am

PLEASE PRAY FOR; 
Anniversaries:Robbie Kennedy.  For the deceased clergy of the Diocese of sale.  Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. “May they rest in peace.”We pray for the sick, lonely and those suffering from illness and pain. May God’s merciful love shine on them.

Parish Office will be open on Wed & Fri 8.30am-4.30pm. All items for the bulletin or Mass intentions to be received by 5pm on Thursdays.

Prayer Group will be held at Wonthaggi Church on Mondays at 1.15pm. All Welcome

Prayer Shawl Group Plenty of wool & patterns are freely available . Come along to enjoy a cuppa & chat while knitting or crocheting! For enquiries: Philippa Warby 0408 331 340 or Maureen Maartensz 0407 055 447

Toiletries Collection: The annual collection of toiletries eg. toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap ,shampoo etc for needy people will be collected during October. Collection containers are at the entrance to the churches in Wonthaggi & Inverloch, and at St. Joseph’s School

St Joseph’s Wonthaggi Cuppa after Mass held on 1st Saturday & Sunday of the Month

Our Lady Star of the Sea—Inverloch Cuppa after Mass held on 1st Sunday of the Month

Our Parish is committed to the safety, well-being and dignity of all children, young people and adults at risk. Find out more at: catholic.org.au/childprotectionsunday and www.catholicregligious.org.au/safeguarding

If you are concerned about any form of abuse, or believe that someone is at significant risk, you should immediately raise your concerns with one of our Parish Safeguarding Officers. Contact the Parish Office: 03 56 721 111 or St. Joseph’s School Safeguarding Officer 03 56 721 052.   Take care, we are here to help.                  

If you are in need of urgent assistance, please phone either Father Darren Howie 0356 722 923 or Ann on 03 56 72111 or 04999 15 784.

Father Darren Howie                                                              Ann Hemming  
Parish Priest                                                                          Parish Secretary
                               St. Joseph’s Parish Wonthaggi