St Joseph's Primary School Communication Platform

Plan some Spring Walks- More Green time and less Screen time!

https://victoriawalks.cmail19.com/t/r-e-tkyujijy-pluiydrkry-r/

"Pause, Play, Protect: Online Safety for the Holidays"

The e-Safety Commissioner recommends that we support under-16s by talking openly about the age restrictions, finding out how they currently use social media and how they may be impacted by the law.

Helpful resources from the e-Safety Commissioner:

Helping Your Child Stay Safe Online – Simple Tips for Parents

Know what your child is doing online
– Ask what apps, games, and websites they use
– Check their devices regularly
Supervise and take an interest
– Sit with them when they are online
– Talk about what they are watching or playing
Delay social media and chat rooms
– Wait until your child is older and ready
– Many sites have age limits (e.g. 13+ years old)
Help with stress and anxiety
– Listen to your child’s worries
– Teach ways to stay calm (deep breathing, talking, taking a break)

"A Big Thank You to the 195 Families

Who Shared Their Voice in Our School Survey!"

Subject: Sad News – Passing of Sr Maria Tran Thi Dao (FMA)

It is with deep sorrow that I share the news of the passing of a dear former colleague and much-loved member of our school and wider Vietnamese community — Sr Maria Tran Thi Dao (FMA).

Sr Maria was a dedicated Italian teacher at St Joseph’s Primary School for many years, finishing her time with us around 2008. She was a woman of deep faith, and one of the most Christ-centred individuals I have had the privilege of knowing.

Sr Maria touched the lives of many students, staff, and families during her time at our school, and her legacy of kindness, humility, and dedication will not be forgotten.

Sr Maria has now passed into God's loving hands. While we mourn her loss, we also give thanks for the gift she was to our community.

Her funeral will be held on:

This Friday 12 September at 10:00 AM

Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Catholic Church

Hutton/Governors Road, Keysborough

Please share this message with anyone who knew Sr Maria, so they may have the opportunity to attend the funeral or offer prayers in her memory.

May she rest in peace.

God bless,

Alan Brew

Deputy Principal

Parent Information Session

Raising Kids in the Digital World
Wednesday, 27th August

The digital world and screen time are among the biggest challenges children face today, impacting their social and emotional development, online behaviour, anxiety, and safety.

This session is designed to help parents understand these challenges and learn strategies to support their children in navigating the online world safely and confidently.

We strongly encourage at least one parent or caregiver from each family to attend this important event.

👉 Please confirm your booking at: bit.ly/stjosephs2025

🗓 Session Times:

9:00am – 10:30am Interpreted session (Vietnamese)
6:00pm – 7:30pm Child supervision available in the library

St Joseph's- springvale (1).pdf

Interschool Puzzle Competition

Congratulations, Team!

Our students are currently leading the competition against other primary and secondary schools in completing a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in teams of four. What an amazing achievement!

You are holding the best time in our area so far. Fantastic work! The top two teams will advance to the finals, and with your teamwork and focus, you are in a great position to get there.

Keep up the excellent effort and concentration. Let’s hope you can hold the top position

The leaderboard can be viewed at https://interschoolpuzzleclub.com/leaderboard/gen2025

SCHOOL PHOTOS – 2025

Our annual school photos have been taken and are now ready to order.

Arthur Reed Photos uses an online ordering system where you can view your photos prior to ordering.

On photo day all students received a flyer which includes a code unique to them.

You will require this 2025 code to register online and view your photos.

If you have already registered, you will receive an email or SMS from Arthur Reed Photos with a link to view your photos.

If you have not yet registered, please go to order.arphotos.com.au and enter your code to complete your order.

If you have misplaced your registration code, please contact the Arthur Reed Photos customer service team directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Please note that you will need to register online with your 2025 photo code to gain access to this year’s images.

All photo packages will be sent directly to your nominated address, so please ensure that you enter the correct details and nominated shipping address upon checkout.

If you require any assistance ordering your photos, please contact Arthur Reed Photos directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or email customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Thanks,

Ebony Ogilvie

Account Manager

Arthur Reed Photos

Student Advisory Group Report Dandenong Civic Center
By Anna and Jordan – School Captains
Date: 25th June 2025

Today, we had the opportunity to attend a Student Advisory Group meeting at the Dandenong Library. The meeting brought together primary school students from across the area to collaborate on projects that help improve our community.

Reviewing the Children’s Newspaper
We started the session by looking at the nearly finished children’s newspaper. This newspaper includes articles written by students from various schools, and it will be published soon. We discussed the topics in the newsletter, including information about the Mayor, local events, and contributions from students. Jordan even helped with the script writing for the newsletter.

Planning the Children's Newspaper
After reviewing the newsletter, we helped plan future editions. We brainstormed what kind of content would be interesting for other kids and how to improve the layout to make it more engaging. Robin and other staff helped guide us in this process and gave us useful advice and suggestions.

Improving Dandenong Market and Palm Plaza
Next, council planning representatives came in to talk to us about the Dandenong Market and Palm Plaza. They shared ideas on how these areas could be improved to make them more fun and attractive for young people and families. We gave feedback and shared our own ideas on how the market could be more exciting and welcoming.

Why This Matters
We felt it was important to be part of the meeting because we had a chance to make a real impact on our community. Being involved means that young people’s voices are being heard, and we’re helping to make Dandenong a better place for everyone.

Conclusion
It was a great experience to work with other students, council staff, and community members. We learned a lot about planning, writing, and teamwork, and we are proud to represent our school in projects that make a difference.

ART SHOW 31ST JULY 2025

Student Civic Leaders Engagement Report
Springvale Community Hub Visit
Date: Wednesday 11th June 2025

Our school vice captains, Benjamin and Caitlin, accompanied by Mr. Brew and Mr Rob, visited the Springvale Community Hub to attend a civic engagement session organised by the City of Greater Dandenong Council. The session aimed to bring together students from primary schools across the area to discuss and review the Children’s Plan 2021–2026.

Overview of the Children’s Plan 2021–2026

The Children’s Plan outlines the City of Greater Dandenong’s vision and commitment to improving the lives of children and their families. The plan focuses on:

Ensuring all families have access to basic necessities
Promoting the safety, health, and wellbeing of children
Supporting children to feel loved, safe, and included
Encouraging community connection and participation

Robyn, a representative from the Council, led the discussion and explained how the Council uses this plan to support the local community.

Benjamin and Caitlin participated in reviewing and discussing the priorities of the Children’s Plan.

Benjamin and Caitlin then presented feedback from a school-wide survey conducted at St Joseph’s Primary School, which had 137 responses.

Key survey findings from St Joseph’s Primary School revealed that children place the highest value on feeling loved and safe, as well as being healthy. Students shared these insights with the council to support the development of future decisions and planning.

Multiple primary schools from the Greater Dandenong area took part in the event. Students collaborated in small groups to discuss survey results, contribute ideas, and highlight what matters most to children in their communities.

This was a valuable opportunity for student leaders to engage in local government processes and have their voices heard.

By Caitlin and Benjamin

DIVISION CROSS-COUNTRY FINALS

Congratulations to our students who made it through to the Division Finals!
We are incredibly proud of all four students who represented our school with dedication and determination. Their achievements are truly commendable.

A special mention goes to Thowath, who placed 9th and is now eligible to compete at the Regional Cross-Country Championships in a few weeks. Well done!

THE STUDENT ADVISORY GROUP BEGINS PLANNING FOR THE LITTLE DAY OUT

Jordan:
As soon as we arrived at Dandenong Civic Center, we joined other students from neighbouring primary schools. We collected our name tags and sat down at the table. To start the session, we wrote about what’s currently happening at our schools.

For a break, we did a fun icebreaker activity. In this activity, we stood in a circle and threw multiple balls around. Each time we threw a ball, we had to say the name of the person we were throwing it to and remember the correct order. It was a great way to get to know everyone.

Anna:
After the icebreaker, two friendly helpers from the City of Greater Dandenong’s Event Planning Team introduced themselves. They talked about their jobs and explained what they do when planning community events. They also showed us two design ideas for the upcoming Noble Park Little Day Out and Children’s Week Events. These events are based on topics chosen by last year’s Children’s Advisory Group members.

They asked us to vote for the design we liked best. Then, we wrote suggestions on a big poster about what we thought could be improved or added to the designs. It was exciting to have a say in how the events will look.

Jordan:
After we finished writing on the poster, the meeting came to an end. We had some yummy snacks, including blueberry muffins and banana bread. As we went downstairs to wait for the taxi, we noticed some of our artwork from last year’s Children’s Forum on display – it was a nice surprise! Finally, the taxi arrived and took us back to school.

School Photos 2025 – St Joseph’s Primary School

Annual school photos including sibling photos will be taken by Arthur Reed Photos on Thursday 22nd

and Friday 23rd May 2025.

There is no need to return any forms or money to school.

Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online

to view images when they become available in the webshop.

I would suggest that you take a photo on your phone of your unique image code so that if you lose your paper flyer you can still find the code.

Registration is simple, just follow the 3 simple steps on your child’s personalised flyer once you

receive it and remember to add the codes for all your children attending this school.

Even if you registered last year, it’s important that you do again this year using your child’s 2025

image code to link their images for the current year with your contact details.

When images are ready to view and in the webshop, all parents who have registered will be notified

by SMS and email.

Photo Schedule

Thursday:
- Individual student photos
- Class photos for Prep to Year 4
- Whole school photo (weather permitting)
Friday:
- Individual and class photos for most Year 5 and Year 6 students
- Year 6 Graduation photos
- Family photos

Uniform Requirements

All students are required to wear their full winter school uniform on both days.
Please ensure that navy blue ribbons or bands are used in students’ hair to maintain consistency and avoid bright or extreme colours.

If your child has Physical Education or Sport on these days, they should bring their running shoes in their school bag and remain in full school uniform for all activities.

Junior Civic Meeting Thursday 07/05/25

Caitlin and Benjamin, Year 6 School Vice Captain Leaders, walked from St Joseph’s School to the Springvale Library to meet with students from other schools in the South-East metropolitan.

These two students were selected to work with schools such as Sirius College, Keysborough Gardens Primary, Lyndale Greens Primary. This team is known as the Junior Civic Group. They worked with a Council member Robyn who leads kids.The City of Greater Dandenong is a Child Friendly City which means that student voice is very important for our City.

The leaders then worked on what they would like to add or change about certain places in the community like Burden Park of the Springvale Library. They then had a prompt from Robyn. The prompt was 'Being Healthy and Well’ Robyn gave them a rough map of Dandenong and they added a hospital, police station, a park and footpaths so that people could be more active.

Robyn then proposed an idea for a children’s newsletter, where kids can see the news that’s happening in other schools and the community. She gave the leaders a sample newsletter as an example of what it could look like. And then she gave them the opportunity to design their own newsletter.

Caitlin and Benjamin designed a newsletter where you could see what events are happening at other schools and where you could keep up with the latest news and events.

Student voice is very important in our community as everyone should be treated as equals, adults and children no matter what.

(Written by Caitlin and Benjamin)

MOTHER’S DAY BREAKFAST FRIDAY 9th May 2025

To celebrate Mother’s Day, St. Joseph’s invites all Mums, Grandmas, and other special mother figures to a delicious breakfast on Friday, 9th May, from 8:15 to 8:45 AM.

Join us for a morning of delicious food, fun activities, and exciting raffle prizes, organised by St Joseph's staff.

Parent Helpers Needed For Mother's Day Stall – Thursday 8th May

We urgently need parent volunteers with a Working with Children Card to assist at the Mother’s Day Stall.

If you are available to help sell items at the stall for part or all of the day, please contact the school office. (95468223)

Please note the times you are invited to help

9:00am -11:00am

11:45am -1:45pm

Many thanks

Alan Brew (Deputy Principal)

CORE VALUES AND EXPECTATIONS

Welcome, everyone, to the new school year.

We hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Christmas period and we wish you all the best for the Lunar New Year.

We understand that our children may experience a range of emotions as they return to school. Please take the time to talk to your child about this and work closely with the school to ensure a smooth and positive transition into the new year.

If you have any concerns, please address them with your child’s class teacher as the first point of contact. Should you require further support, the school leadership team is always available to assist.

Over the past few years, we have worked extensively to develop the vision, core values, and expectations for St Joseph’s Primary School.

This first part of the year will focus strongly on student expectations, positive behaviour, and consistency.

Many thanks,

Alan Brew
(Acting Principal)

UNIFORM SHOP

The uniform shop is open on Monday and Thursday morning from 9.00am-10.30am. Please enter the school through the school office on St John's Avenue. You can enter the school grounds from 8.50am onwards to access the uniform shop.

Click above to find out about St Joseph's School.

Diana Nguyen is a drama teacher, comedian and actress. She is also an ex-pupil of St Joseph's school. During this period of remote learning we asked Diana to work with us to produce a series of weekly NEWS videos. Watch and enjoy with your family.

Outside School Hours Care and Vacation Care

(Youth Leadership Victoria)

(20/09/2020)

Please enter using the school hall entrance.

You can register at www.ylv.com.au

Or ring to book on 0402106679

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