Week 1 Term 1 2025

Welcome!

Greetings to all as we begin the 2025 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, 2025

I provide a list of the staff for St Joseph’s Catholic School Payneham, 2025. I especially welcome new staff members: Antoinette Bovalina (Year 2VB – working on Wednesdays); Lyndall Hanson (ESO); Jacquelyn Smith (ESO); Oscar Bartolozzi (Grounds and Maintenance); and Vince Fusco (Marketing).

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
Caitlin Librandi
Joyce Nero
Lucy Martino

Year 1 Teachers
Maria Prestia
Shendelle Watters
Donny Calabria
Tayla Carosi

Year 2 Teachers
Adriana Graziani (0.6) and Vickie Gagliardi (0.4)
Tania Melfi
Sonia Vernillo (0.8) and Antoinette Bovalina (0.2)

Year 3 Teachers
Margaret McConnell
Sarah Collins (0.8) and Jen Mastrangelo (0.2)
Ben Williams (0.8) and Jen Mastrangelo (0.2)

Year 4 Teachers
Bernardette Robinson
Rosanna Parrella (0.8) and Melinda Harding (0.2)
Nicole Zacher

Year 5 Teachers
Yvette Vingelis
Angela Scarpantoni
Sara Altobelli (0.6) and Alicia Matikulas (0.4)

Year 6 Teachers
Charlelie Kalz
Angelica Mavrofridis

Specialist Teachers
Italian – Emily Parrella (0.7)
Music and Performing Arts – Dean Rattley (0.7)
Physical Education – Adrian Mastrangelo (0.7)
STEM – Nicholas Polvere (0.7)

School Counsellor
Andrea de Dezsery (0.2, Thursdays)

Wellbeing Officer
Olivia Barbaro (0.2)

Front Office
Administration / Reception – Josie Colangelo
Enrolment Officer and Admin. Support – Lanette Burke
Finance – Josie Ferragamo and Helen Crosato
WHS – Sandra Rapuano
ICT Technician – Massimo Paradiso
Marketing – Vince Fusco

Educational Support Officers (ESOs) – Early Years
Maria Lupoi
Shima Safari
Tania Cardone
Giovanna De Meo
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
Lyndall Hanson
Tina Hoffman
Linda LaBella
Jessica Lucarelli
Laura Parletta
Andrew Ruggiero
Zach Silvestri
Jacquelyn Smith
Kirsty Taddeo
Valor Thach
Leah Tregenza
Julie Ward

OSHC 
Director – Karina Forte
Assistant Director – Emma Burke
Permanent Staff Member – Grace Boffa

Canteen
Sarah Roma
Caroline Pearce

Grounds and Maintenance
Oscar Bartolozzi

Parent Information Evening, Wednesday 5 February  

The Parent Information Evening will occur next Wednesday 5 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

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

This year’s St Joseph’s Catholic School Payneham AGM will be held on Tuesday 18 February 2025, commencing at 6:00pm, in the Staffroom. Please see the details that will be sent home shortly.

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.

Opening of Carlo Acutis Building

I remind you about the official opening of the Carlo Acutis Building, to take place on Thursday 20 February 2025 at 10:00am. Please see the official invitation circulated this week. I also draw your attention to the letter regarding the sculpted relief depicting Blessed Carlo (which will be installed and displayed in the building), asking for consideration of a contribution towards this art piece. Any donation will be thankfully received.

Volunteer News

At the End of Year Mass on 5 December 2024, I announced the recipients of the 2024 School Volunteer of the Year Award. I congratulate Mary Maroncelli and Daniel La Bella 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.

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. The Medical Centre, 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 not collected from 3:20pm, 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.

A reminder that by the start of the 2026 school year, all students need to be wearing the new school uniform.

Nut allergies

At St Joseph’s we try 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/caregivers 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.

Condolences

I extend my sympathies to:

• The Caiazza (Anthony, 4RP and Leonardo, 1TC) and Lionello families (Alessio, 4NZ), on the passing of their maternal grandmother.
• Mrs Patrizia Puglia (school APRIM), on the recent passing of her brother-in-law.
• The DiMaio family (Isabella, 4NZ and Cristiano, 2VB), on the passing of their paternal grandfather.
• The Abokamil family (Rayan,2GG), on the passing of his paternal grandfather.

Congratulations

I offer my best wishes to: 
The Lepore family (Noah, RJN), on the birth of baby girl, ‘Lily’.

Wishing you well!

Simon Mechis

Welcome to a new school year!

I would like to extend a warm welcome as we begin another exciting school year! A special welcome to all new families joining our school community this year. I hope you all had a joyous festive season and enjoyable holiday break.

We look forward to working in partnership with you and your child for what promises to be a year of growth, learning and new opportunities. We recognise the invaluable role that parents and caregivers play in supporting our students, and we look forward to building strong partnerships with you as we work together to make this year a success.

New Beginnings Week

This week at school, all students are involved in the ‘New Beginnings - Ready to Learn’ program. The program has an emphasis on the ‘Berry Street Education Model’ (BSEM). This is an important opportunity for students and teachers to develop positive relationships and to create cultures of learning which are outcome based, all of which support high quality learning.

Classes will use this time to establish clear expectations around learning, develop routines and procedures and focus on social skill development. Educational research indicates that student learning is enhanced when expectations are high, and the learning environment is positive, safe, supportive and engaging. The New Beginnings week will support student success, foster a love of learning and develop a positive and healthy mindset within students as they begin the new school year in 2025.

Be sure to ask you child/ren about the exciting activities they have been participating this week at school to get to know their teacher, peers and school community!

School Values and Motto

Our school’s culture is founded on the values of, ‘Community’, ‘Curiosity’, ‘Excellence’ and ‘Creativity’, along with our school motto, ‘Love in Everything’. As part of the New Beginnings Program this week, students have been learning about our school’s values and motto, and importantly, how they can learn to demonstrate these values and motto in their everyday interactions with others.

We believe that following our values, along with our Josephite traditions, underpin the vision of our school and encourage a flourishing school community.

Community - We are respectful to ourselves, our peers and our broader local community. We encourage active engagement in social justice issues, service to others and the promotion of peace.

Curiosity - Our educators strive to bring out your child's inner creativity and curiosity, encouraging them to learn new things and step into the unknown with confidence.

Excellence - Striving to reach high standards, we challenge, evolve and adapt to reach excellence within our school community. Through our teaching and learning programs, our extra-curricular opportunities and indoor and outdoor learning spaces, we aim for continuous improvement from Early Learning through to Year 6.

Creativity - Innovation comes from creativity. We are passionate about allowing children to express their creativity in different ways as they learn and grow over their school learning journey.

‘Friendly February’ calendar 

Please find attached the ‘Friendly February’ calendar (for the upcoming month) from the ‘Action for Happiness’ website. We encourage you to share this calendar with your families at home to promote kindness.

Wishing all our students the very best for the 2025 school year!

Keep Well!

Michael Musolino
(Deputy Principal)

Welcome to the New School Year: A Year of New Beginnings, Pilgrimage, and Hope

As we begin this special year, we warmly welcome all families to our school community. We acknowledge with gratitude the Kaurna people as the custodians of the Adelaide plains region where our school stands. We respect their deep spiritual connection to the lands, waters, seas and skies, and acknowledge their Elders past, present and emerging.

On the first day back, I had the privilege of walking through our school and taking in the serene atmosphere. It was heartwarming to see how settled the children were, ready for the year ahead. While some of our youngest students found it a little hard to say goodbye to their parents, they were quickly comforted by their teachers and friends. With gentle support, they wiped away their tears and stepped into the day with growing confidence. Some parents looked a little anxious, and it was lovely to be able to chat and offer reassurance, knowing that together, we are pursuing this new chapter with hope and joy.

This year is a special year for the Catholic Church. 2025 is a Year of Jubilee! In the Old Testament, the Jubilee Year was a time of renewal and celebration that occurred every fifty years. Debts were cancelled, people could rest, and because crops were not planted, even the land was able to rest. It was also a time when prisoners and slaves were freed, and land was given to those who did not have any. It was known as the year of the Lord’s favour. 

Now, Catholics celebrate a Jubilee every twenty-five years. To this day, it remains a special, holy, year of forgiveness and mercy. Pope Francis called the year 2025 the Jubilee Year of Hope. He announced the Jubilee Year on Ascension Thursday and inaugurated it on Christmas Eve, 2024. The Jubilee Year will end on January 6, 2026. This year’s theme is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. This year, it is expected that up to 35 million people will make a pilgrimage to Rome and walk through the Holy Doors of St Peter’s Basilica. It is a time of reflection, renewal, and transformation.

Our school’s vision and values guide us on our shared pilgrimage of hope, where we journey together, caring for one another and creation. We are invited to live with purpose, as Pope Francis reminds us through the three languages of the ‘Head, Heart, and Hands’. In this Jubilee Year, inspired by the teachings of Jesus and the Gospel, we strive to engage with these languages in all that we do - learning, praying, loving and serving.

As we reflect on our mission and pursue new pathways to nurture the whole child - academically, spiritually, emotionally, physically - we turn to the powerful words of Jesus in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me … He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners … and to set the oppressed free.” These words are a reminder of our calling to trust in God, practise the virtues of patience and forgiveness, share the Gospel story of hope with others, care for each other, especially the most vulnerable, and protect and nurture the world around us.

In this year of new beginnings, as pilgrims of hope, journeying together on Kaurna country, we are invited to model ‘Love in Everything’ with our children by being agents of kindness, compassion, and stewardship, both within our school-parish community and beyond. Let us embark on this shared journey of hope, pledging to work together for God’s kingdom of justice, peace, unity and love.

Pope Francis’ Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom. May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally. 

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

Amen.

With a grateful heart,

Patrizia Puglia