Welcome to 2024
Greetings to all as we begin the 2024 school year. A special welcome to students and families new to our community. I trust the holidays were an opportune time for re-energising and connecting with family and friends. We are immensely looking forward to this year – learning, developing, and maintaining relationships, and of course enjoying ourselves along the way!
Staffing, 2024
We welcome the following staff members new to St Joseph’s Payneham: Patrizia Puglia (APRIM, from St Michael’s College Junior School, Beverley); Nicole Joanni (Inclusive Education Coordinator, from St Andrew’s School, Walkerville); Ben Williams (Year 1 teacher, from St Mary’s Memorial School, Glenelg); Nicole Zacher (Year 3 teacher, from St Andrew’s School, Walkerville); Melinda Harding (Year 4 teacher, from Immaculate Heart Catholic Primary School, Queensland); and Angelica Mavrofridis (Year 6 teacher, from St Therese’s Catholic School, Essendon, Victoria).
I provide a list of the staff at St Joseph’s Payneham for 2024:
Leadership Team
Principal – Simon Mechis
Deputy Principal – Michael Musolino
APRIM – Patrizia Puglia
Inclusive Education Coordinator – Nicole Joanni (0.6)
Leader of Learning, Literacy – Sonia Vernillo (0.2)
Leader of Learning, Numeracy – Rosanna Parrella (0.2)
Preschool Teachers
Anna Garimella [Joey and Kanga groups]
Jess Vreugdenburg [Koala group]
Nicole Baans [Possum group] and Preschool Educational Leader
Reception Teachers
Rebecca D’Amico
Jen Mastrangelo
Joyce Nero
Lucy Martino
Year 1 Teachers
Ben Williams (0.8) and Caterina Musolino (0.2)
Donny Calabria
Maria Prestia
Tayla Carosi
Year 2 Teachers
Adriana Graziani (0.5) and Vickie Gagliardi (0.5)
Shendelle Watters
Tania Melfi
Year 3 Teachers
Margaret McConnell
Nicole Zacher
Sonia Vernillo (0.8) and Alicia Matikulas (0.2)
Year 4 Teachers
Bernardette Robinson
Melinda Harding
Rosanna Parrella (0.8) and Sara Altobelli (0.2)
Year 5 Teachers
Angela Scarpantoni
Yvette Vingelis
Year 6 Teachers
Angelica Mavrofridis
Charlelie Kalz
Specialist Teachers
Italian – Emily Parrella (0.7)
Music and Performing Arts – David Shinn (0.7)
Physical Education – Adrian Mastrangelo (0.7)
STEM – Nicholas Polvere (0.7)
School Counsellor
Andrea de Dezsery (0.2, Thursdays)
Front Office
Administration / Reception – Josie Colangelo
Enrolments Officer, Marketing and Admin. Support – Lanette Burke
Finance – Josie Ferragamo and Helen Crosato
ICT Technician – Barb Cole
WHS – Dora Cavuoto
Educational Support Officers (ESOs) – Early Years
Tania Cardone
Giovanna De Meo
Maria Lupoi
Shima Safari
Celesta Seal [Occasional Care, ‘Piccolini’ Facilitator]
Chelsea Filipponi [Occasional Care, ‘Piccolini’ support]
Educational Support Officers (ESOs) – Curriculum
Rachel Armstrong
Milena Belperio
Emma Burke
Manuela Ciniglia
Giovanna De Meo
Tina Hoffman
Linda LaBella
Laura Parletta
Kirsty Taddeo
Leah Tregenza
Julie Ward
OSHC
Director – Karina Forte
Assistant Director – Emma Burke
Canteen Manager
Josie Nicolescu
Grounds and Maintenance
TBC
Parent Information Evening, Wednesday 7 February
The Parent Information Evening will occur next Wednesday 7 February. Whilst most of you met with your child’s class teacher/s last week (as part of ‘Meet the Teacher/Family Day’), the Parent Information Evening is a further opportunity for you to hear and learn about the year ahead from your child’s teacher/s. The session is for parents/caregivers only.
The evening will have the following format, in your child’s respective classroom:
- Reception to Year 2, from 6:00pm until 6:40pm
- Year 3 to Year 6, from 6:50pm until 7:30pm
Seesaw….
The Seesaw app. will be used for sharing your child’s schoolwork, as well as a communication tool. If details have not been shared already, information will be coming home soon from class teachers.
Building work update
Over the holiday period, the two-level, eight classroom facility was completed, and this week welcomed our Reception and Year 1 students. Details about the name of the building are below.
The new Nature Playground has almost been completed and looking impressive. The children are looking forward to using this new space.
The Staff Carpark has been reinstated, after the removal of the double transportable. Further, the carpark development on the corner of Portrush Road and Tarcoma Avenue is nearing accomplishment, ready to be utilised for staff and families soon.
Name of New Building – Carlo Acutis Building
During the final term of 2023, there was consultation to decide on a name for the new building, housing our Reception and Year 1 students.
Discussions for the naming of the new building involved students (represented by the Student Representative Council), staff and School Board. After discernment and deliberation and agreement on a name, I wrote a submission to Catholic Education South Australia (CESA), for approval.
I am pleased to say that recently I received notification, advising that the proposed name, The Carlo Acutis Building, had been approved by our Archbishop, Patrick O’Regan and CESA Executive Director, Dr Neil McGoran. An official opening for the Carlo Acutis Building will be occurring in the near future. I will provide details in due course.
The rationale for the name, Carlo Acutis Building, is in honour of Blessed Carlo Acutis. Carlo Acutis was born in London in 1991 and a few months later, moved with his parents to Milan, Italy. He was diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager and died in Italy on 12 October 2006 at the age of 15.
Carlo demonstrated a special love for God from an early age, even though his parents were not particularly religious. He had a deep devotion to the Eucharist, which became a core theme of his life. He went to Mass as often as he could, he spent much time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages. His love for Jesus in the Eucharist was manifested by his acts of charity for the poor and homeless – many of them attended his funeral. He is buried in Assisi and was beatified by the Catholic Church on 10 October 2020.
Carlo was known for bringing his parents and relatives to Mass when usually it is the other way around. Carlo also loved technology and was skilled with computers. He was a computer programmer who built a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles. He also loved playing video games and his console of choice was PlayStation. Although he wanted to play it often, he allowed himself only one hour a week as a spiritual discipline. Young people today are born into a world saturated with technology – it is an ever-present theme in their lives, and it can negatively impact their lives if it is not used appropriately. Carlo provides an example of a young saint who used and engaged with technology in a responsible and positive way while exercising discipline in how much time he used it.
Blessed Carlo is the example of a young modern saint to whom the students, staff and families can relate. He is an authentic example of the Catholic way of life and a great role model for our students.
Extra-Curricular in 2024
This year, in addition to the after-school sports program and OSHC service, we are launching a new extra-curricular initiative (to be held after school). Further information will be distributed very soon. However, the following line-up will take place in 2024: Chinese lessons, Visual Art course (Term One); Cartooning classes, Chinese lessons and Dance sessions (Term Two); STEM focus (Term Three); and African Drumming (Term Four).
Volunteer News
At the End of Year Mass on 1 December 2023, I announced the recipients of the 2023 School Volunteer of the Year Award. I congratulate Ernie Icolaro and Melissa Geisler on this fine achievement.
We are grateful for all people who volunteer at our school. if you are interested in volunteering, you need to have signed the school’s Volunteer Declaration and hold a current Catholic Working With Children Check. Ongoing volunteers also need to have completed the free 2 hour online Mandatory Reporting (RRHAN-EC) training. For further information, please see Josie Colangelo in the Front Office.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
This year’s St Joseph’s School Payneham AGM will be held on Wednesday 21 February 2024, commencing at 6:00pm. Further details will be provided next week.
Parking, road safety, driver etiquette and being friendly to our neighbours
School drop-off and pick-up times are busy for everyone. The aim is for this to happen in a safe and courteous manner. Please demonstrate consideration and patience, as well as travelling slowly around the school, especially where marked (no faster than 25 km/h).
As a result of the busyness at drop-off and pick-up, finding a car park next to the school gate can be tricky. An idea could be to find a park a little further away from the school, where you will not only find it easier to locate a parking space, but also opportunity for some exercise with your child/ren, and an extra chance to ‘connect’, as you walk your child to and from school. You could even plan to meet with another family at a designated point, and then walk 5-10 minutes to school. Moreover, the new Medical Centre, which recently opened on the corner of Portrush Road and Marian Road, is not for school parking.
Lastly, please be considerate of our neighbours, which includes not parking or standing with your vehicle in their driveways. Lastly, kindly ensure your child(ren) are keeping out of residents’ gardens. Thank you for your anticipated attention to the above.
Supervision
For children who arrive at school before 8:30am, they will need to go to Before School Care, as there is no supervision in the yard until this time. Likewise, after school, any child who is not collected from 3:25pm, will be taken to After School Care. Moreover, if your child is being collected early from school, they need to be signed-out at the Front Office.
Supervision at After School Sports Training and Clinics
A reminder that any siblings of children attending after-school sports trainings or clinics, need to be supervised by yourselves (or a caregiver i.e., a grandparent). If this is not possible, please ensure any children not directly involved in the after-school training or clinic are booked into OSHC. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
School Uniform
The students are looking very neat and professional in their uniforms. Wearing the correct uniform brings a great sense of belonging to the community as well as pride in one’s appearance. Let’s work together to ensure it is sustained. A reminder, students are to wear their school hats during Term One and from 1 September (including for after school sports and OSHC). Wearing the sport uniform is only to occur on the allocated days.
This year we have our new uniform being endorsed. There is a two-year transition period (between the current and new uniform); meaning that by the start of the 2026 school year, all students need to be wearing the new uniform.
Newsletter format
Parent Newsletters will be circulated three times a term – in Weeks 1, 5 and 9 or 10. Other relevant messages will be communicated as required.
Nut allergies
St Joseph’s Payneham tries very hard to create a ‘nut free’ environment. There are several students across the various year levels in our school who will suffer an extreme adverse reaction — life threatening in some cases – if they come into contact with any food product containing the slightest trace of nut substance! For that reason, we ask parents/caregivers to avoid sending nut products to school. When classes have ‘shared lunches’, parents will need to be mindful that the plate of food that is being sent to school is ‘nut free’. We appreciate this could be an inconvenience as some children love peanut paste, Nutella and other nut-based spreads. This inconvenience though is nothing compared to the extreme consequences that may result, and we therefore ask for your understanding.
Food allergies
Incidentally, in a typical classroom at least one student is likely to be affected by food allergies, and the number of children with food allergies is increasing. A food allergy is an adverse immune system reaction that occurs soon after exposure to a certain food. As children get older, allergen avoidance becomes complex as they desire to fit in with peers and navigate social activities. Therefore, the rest of the school community needs to be vigilant, to ensure that all children are not placed in awkward situations whereby they may experience a severe reaction. For that reason, we discourage students sharing food and touching other people’s food.
Head injuries at school
Our school’s current procedure for managing ‘minor’ student head injuries i.e., ball impact to the head, bumping into another object, etc., is for students to be assessed by a Senior First Aider in the Front Office. If students are identified to be well enough to continue their day at school, the child’s ‘first emergency contact’ is telephoned to alert that a minor head injury has taken place.
Congratulations
I offer my best wishes to:
- Year 1 teacher, Ben Williams, who was married to his fiancé, Amy, over the school holidays.
- Year 6 teacher, Charlelie Kalz, who was engaged to her partner, James, during the school holiday period.
Wishing you well!
Simon Mechis
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