St. Joseph's Primary Penshurst.

ISSUE: Term 2 Week 3, 2023.

School Vision

St Joseph’s Penshurst, as partners in Catholic education and with our school community, pursues fullness of life for all.

Acknowledgement of Country

At St. Joseph’s Primary School we pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land, the Kolorer gunditj people and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

The area around Mount Rouse is the country of the Kolorer gunditj clan of Aboriginal people. Their title is derived from their name for Mount Rouse which is Kolor. The permanent spring that is now located within the Penshurst Botanic Gardens was a traditional meeting place for Aboriginal people in the region.

Principal's Message.

Congratulations and thank you Mums, Grandmas and special ladies in our lives, I hope your day was as glorious as the sunshine was all day Sunday.

In the past days our Senior class has been exploring our Penshurst streets observing our town's historical changes, viewing the old photographs in the Post Office.

A buzz of discussion about past stores and services that belonged in the town have been valuable.  The Local saddler and the importance this professional had for the region's people had the students intrigued, many wonderrings grew once the connections to leather and transport were discussed. The Garages, iron merchants and Penshurst's very own Print Press were popular locations of discussion along our walk.

Stories and family connections to our town should not be lost and we encourage the students to share information from home with the school.

Both the Senior and Junior classrooms are exploring Inquiry Learning units based on 'Where we live' and the 'Why behind local change'. This Thursday our students are going on an excursion to Hamilton Miniature Railway and the Historical Museum to feed more of their inquisitiveness and research the changes of regional life over time. Let's hope the have a lot to share Thursday Night.

We wish Zoe the best of luck in her Regional Cross Country race this Friday at the Warrnambool Deakin Uni course. Give it your best shot Zoe!

An important reminder that both our SAC meeting and the School Working Bee have been moved back a week.

Term 2 SAC meeting : Wednesday 24th May at 6pm.

Working Bee: Friday 2nd June at 3.30pm.

Catholic School Culture

MASS TIMES – 2023

Penshurst: Sunday 8.30am

Hamilton: Saturday 6pm

Sunday 10.30am

Dunkeld: Sunday 8.30am

Glenthompson: Sunday 8.30am

Learning and Teaching

Our Mother's Day Luncheon.

Happy Mother’s Day was the words of the day!. Not even the power outage could spoil our quaint gathering at the Penshurst Bowls club.

It is on this day we thank our special ladies for the amazing job it is that they do. Thanking them for all those awesome things that our mums always do for us. It is on this special day, and every other day, that we say THANK YOU MUM, for being the amazing, hard-working, loving and super person that you are! 

Thank you students for your help reading our Mother's Day prayer and being our devoted waiters and waitresses. You made Mum's Luncheon a special one!

Mother's Day Luncheon.

St Joseph's Cross Country.

All warmed up and ready to race, our students were chomping at the bit....ready to run! The weather turned on a glorious day and our students cherished the opportunity to run their cross country course around the Botanic Gardens. All the students are commended on their efforts to try their best and cheer on their school mates. There was lots of encouragement, celebrations, parent cheering and running support. St Joseph's Cross Country afternoon was truely a St Joseph's family event 

Cross Country Champs enjoying the sunshine.

Community Engagement

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea.

Help support a very good cause and connect with your community this 3rd of June at Penshurst Hall. Australia's Biggest Morning Tea will be hosted by Luklies Property Maintenance providing coffee, tea, cake and biscuits to raise money to help fight cancer!

Every dollar raised helps support those impacted by cancer.

Leadership and Stewardship

Pupil Free Days in 2023

Schools are allocated six pupil free days per year. Two of these days are used as the first and last day of the school year. The other four are determined by Leadership to address professional learning priorities for staff.

At least one of these days must be dedicated to learning in the area of Religious Education, staff formation etc.

The following Pupil Free Days are listed below:

Term 3 Week 5 - MONDAY 7th AUGUST - Mathematics / Writing Professional Development.

Term 4 Week 6 - MONDAY 6th NOVEMBER - First Aid Training. 

Calendar Dates

 Term 1 - Special Dates to Remember:

May

  • Wednesday 24th - SAC Meeting 6pm.
  • Sunday 28th - Pentecost Sunday

June

  • Friday 2nd - Working Bee - 3.30pm.
  • Monday 5th - Friday 9th - Swimming Week (Hamilton)
  • Monday 12th - King's Birthday Long Weekend.
  • Wednesday 21st - Friday 23rd - Year 5/6 Urban Camp.
  • Friday 23rd - Last Day of Term.

Wellbeing & Child Safety

Asthma Plans and Ventolin

Keeping children safe is our number one priority at St Joseph's. Thank you to the number of families who have made plans to update medication requirements and asthma plans. It would be appreciated if families could prioritise the updating of both plans and medication as soon as possible. Thank you for your support with this important matter. 

Child Safety

The 22nd to 26th May is National eSmart Week, organised by the ‘Alannah and Madeline Foundation’. One of the sessions they have planned for the week is a parent webinar called ‘Parenting in the Digital Age’. It is a 45 minute webinar on Monday 22nd May and is free to attend.

It will run from 7:30pm - 8:15pm. Please click the link here for more information and to book your spot.

The updated Child Safe Standards (eleven in total) came into effect in July last year and are a vital part of what we do here at St Joseph's. More information about these standards can be found here:

https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safe-standards/the-11-child-safe-standards/

COVID 19 Arrangements

Managing a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19

  • It is recommended that rapid antigen tests (RATs) are used by students and staff if they:
    • have symptoms of COVID-19 infection, no matter how mild
    • are a household or close contact of someone who has COVID-19
    • are a social contact of someone who has COVID-19.
  • The Department of Health recommends that all Victorians report their positive RAT result via the online form or by calling 1800 675 398.
  • Principals are no longer required to inform their school community of a positive case associated with the school.
    • Staff or students who are positive are strongly recommended to stay home and isolate for a minimum of five days.
    • Symptomatic students or staff should not attend school, even if failing to test positive on a RAT or PCR.

    Communication

    There is no longer a requirement for schools to inform their communities of positive cases.  All health information is held in accordance with the school’s privacy policy.

    Masks

    Staff and students who wish to wear a mask will continue to be supported to do so. Masks are available from the administration office for anyone wishing to obtain one.

    Any staff or students who are  close contacts are recommended to wear a  mask indoors.

    Any staff or students returning from isolation are recommended to wear a mask for 7 days after returning to school.

    RAT Kits

    RATs are available for all Victorians from council sites. Individuals can obtain two free packs (10 tests) for themselves and two free packs (10 tests) for each household member. People with disability and their carers can get up to four free packs (20 tests) in line with existing RAT distribution for people with disability.

    Vaccination 

    DOBCEL strongly supports vaccination for all in our community who are eligible. There is no requirement for adults entering the school to declare their vaccination status.

    All community adults are reminded of the child safety requirement to sign in when attending the school between 9.00am and 3.00pm

    Transport 

    Parents who have tested positive to COVID 19 are permitted to drive children to and from school during their 7 day isolation period. They are required to return home immediately afterwards and not attend other locations.

    Medically At Risk Students

    Students who have chronic health conditions, especially affecting the respiratory system ie Asthma, must have up to date health support plans. Families who are unsure about the status of their child’s plan should make contact with teh school administration office.