Irene Stewart, Deputy Principal - Student Wellbeing
istewart@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au
I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and refreshing break and is feeling ready for another wonderful term ahead. Term 4 promises to be busy and exciting, filled with opportunities for learning, celebration, and growth.
Feast of the Holy Rosary: On Tuesday, our whole school joined together online to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Rosary with a prayer service. Throughout November, students are invited to pray the Rosary during recess, led by our Mini Vinnies group.
Hats in Term 4: A reminder that all students must have their school hat this term. Students will need to stay in the shade if they do not have a hat during break times for sun safety.
Morning Drop-Off: For student safety, please do not drop children at school before 8:15am, as there is no supervision of students before this time.
Division Athletics: Congratulations to all the students who represented our school at the Division Athletics in Mornington! We are so proud of your efforts. Mr Haines has shared more details in the Sports section below.
Foundation Excursion: Our Foundation students had a fantastic day at Rain, Hayne & Shine Farmyard! A big thank you to Renee, Sandra and Donna for organising, and to our parent helpers for their support. We’re sure there will be some very tired little people tonight (and maybe a few grown-ups too!).
Have a great weekend,
Irene
Tuesday 21st October - 2026 Foundation Information Night 6:30pm
Tuesday 28th October - Annual Mini Vinnies Fete 3:15pm - 4:15pm
Monday 3rd November - School Closure Day
Tuesday 4th November - Melbourne Cup Day
Friday 21st November - Italian Day
Friday 28th November - School Fun Run
Friday 5th December - Christmas Assembly 1 (afternoon)
Tuesday 9th December - Year 6 Mass / Graduation
Friday 12th December - Christmas Assembly 2 (afternoon)
Tuesday 16th December - End of Year Awards Ceremony / Students Last Day
At St Joachim’s we believe in the importance of communication between home and school and we have a number of platforms that we use.
Read more.
Maire Macphie, Administration
Term 3 fees statements have been issued to all families.
Please do not hesitate to email the office team on office@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au for any questions or to share information.
Here is the link for the parent roster for zooper doopers.
Starting October 17!
Zeeta Andrew, Religious Education Leader
zandrew@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au
October is a special time in our Catholic tradition, dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. One of the most cherished prayers we offer during this month is the Rosary — a prayer that helps us reflect on key moments in the life of Jesus and Mary.
At St Joachim’s, we encourage our students to look to Mary as a model of faith, love, and discipleship. To help nurture this devotion, each grade level takes turns throughout the week to participate in praying the Rosary. Every day during the first half of morning recess, students from our Mini Vinnies group lead the Rosary in the school Chapel.
As part of their learning, our Foundation students thoughtfully created their own rosaries to help say the rosary.
This daily prayer is a simple but powerful way for our children to grow in faith and to feel Mary’s loving presence in their lives.
Thank you to all families who came and supported the students.
Sophie Malignaggi, MSM Classroom Teacher
(28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME )
In today’s Gospel, Jesus went to a village and was met by 10 people who had leprosy disease. Jesus cured these men and when they left only one man praised God and thanked Jesus for what he had done. As a class, we thought about how Jesus may have felt being thanked by one person. We made connections to people in our life who help us and we trust. We reflected on how we are grateful for these people, just like how the man was grateful for Jesus.
During our activity, we made thank you cards and addressed them to people in our lives who we appreciate and are grateful for.
Dear God, thank you for showing us love and forgiveness. We are grateful for being a part of your family. Lord, hear us.
Loving God we thank you for all the blessings in our lives—especially our families, our school, and our friends—may we always remain thankful and recognise these gifts with grateful hearts. Lord hear us.
We pray for world leaders: that they may work to make sure that all people can have what they need to live life to the full. Lord, hear us.
Loving God, we pray for people living in places where there is no peace. We especially pray for people in areas that are fighting wars. Lord, hear us.
Dear God, in this Jubilee Year, we pray that we may be signs of hope in our world and display gratitude to those who care for us. Lord, hear us.
Rebecca Todisco, Curriculum & Educational Leader
rtodisco@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au
Children and young people are using the internet at school, at home and with friends. Even if you are at home together, it is not possible to monitor your child’s online activities every second of the day. It is important to talk with them about online safety issues to help develop their ability to make good choices. This guide covers some of the key online safety issues for young people and includes a range of practical tips and advice on what to do if things go wrong. It covers common online safety issues like managing time online, using parent controls and setting and responding to issues like cyberbullying, inappropriate content, sending nudes and contact from strangers.
This guide is designed for parents and carers of children over 8 years old. For younger children, please request the Online safety for the early years booklet from the Online Safety Commission at onlinesafetycommission.com.
St Joachim's families may like to give Inform and Empower a follow! https://www.facebook.com/informandempower
St Joachim's and Inform & Empower have a long standing relationship that we will be strengthening this year with live stream incursions each term in 2025! The incursions focus on cyber safety as well as other things related to being online.
Carolyn Yass, English Leader
cyass@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au
Reagon Haines,
rhaines@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au
On Wednesday, 8th October, 17 students participated in the Northern Peninsula Division Athletics Trials. Well done to all the participants for their efforts on the day. Congratulations to Onyx L - 1st for 100m with a new Division record of 13.60 seconds, Nevaeh D - 2nd in 1500m, Rupert D - 2nd for triple jump, Sophia L - 3rd for long jump, Alexis S - 2nd in shot put and 1st for discus, Ruby H - 2nd in 200m, Kylah R - 2nd for long jump and 3rd for triple jump, boys 12/13 relay team - 2nd. We wish these students the best of luck for their participation in the SCHOOL SPORT VICTORIA SOUTH METRO REGION 2025 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL to be held at the Casey Athletics Stadium on Wednesday, 22nd October.
The girls A Basketball team won the Frankston District Lightning Premiership Basketball tournament in term 1. On Tuesday, 14th October, they will participate in the Northern Division Basketball play-offs which will be held at Somerville Rec Centre, 14 Edward St, Somerville. The games will be played from 12:00pm until 1:45pm. We wish them the very best.
William competed in his first Brazilian Jiu jitsu competition. Winning silver in the 6 yr old-22kg division representing The Australian Elite team. William started training BJJ in March this year. He is looking forward to many more comps.
Well done William.
The St Joachim's community loves to hear about our students' successes outside of school.
Although it was a tough team to verse we tried our hardest. It eventually paid off as we won by 5 points. It was a very low score 8-13 and to top it off I got MVP (most valued player) - big shout out to our team and parents for their support this season. Goooo…Panthers!!!!!
Sahara, MNG
Vice President,
Sarah Cruise
Secretary,
Elizabeth Bonner
Treasurer,
Lauren O'Toole
If you are unable to attend meetings but would like to be involved please send an email to pandfpresident@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au
If anyone is interested in supporting the P&F, meetings are held once a month on a Friday, some in person and some via zoom. New faces are always welcome.
The Camp Australia Outside school hours care program provides a safe environment ain which all can explore and play.
Please help us in keeping everyone safe by heading into the office if you are coming onto the school grounds. You will notice that all road facing internal gates and doors will be locked during learning times throughout the day.
Please enter through the office and inform office staff if you arrive during the learning time.
Thank you to families who keep their Operoo profiles up to date such as when they change their address, phone number, parents work contact details etc. If you could also email the office@sjcarrumdowns.catholic.edu.au and let us know, so that we can adjust on our system as well.
St Joachim's Uniform is available from Peninsula Uniforms online shop or by visiting their shop in Carrum Downs.