Principal's Report

First up, a reminder to all parents about the P&F Meeting at 6:30 pm on Wednesday 25 May in the Stage 1 classroom - entry via Church Street. 

As I wrote in the last newsletter, at this meeting I will personally be walking parents through some simple school and cohort data from the CSO Data Ecosystem that allows our St Joseph's teachers, school leaders and CSO staff to be able to tightly focus their professional work on the exact learning and wellbeing needs of our Glen Innes students. It will not be a night full of ‘educational jargon’ and will provide some emerging insight for families to understand how our expert team of skilful helpful adults actually determine WHERE kids are currently placed with their learning, WHAT we can do in a precise and informed manner to grow their learning NOW and WHAT can we do NEXT based on their improvement?

As a real-time example, our team of skilful, helpful adults use the PM Benchmarking tool to measure the impact of their expert teaching to improve reading. The PM tool allows teachers to measure the age-appropriate reading level of each child. For example, and for their age, our current Year 3 students should reach a PM level of 25 by the end of this year. When we assessed their levels at the end of the first term, 81% of this cohort are at or above level 25 already! Two students are at the top of the scale at post-30 and only 5 students are not quite at level 25…yet! 

A quality example of the great learning partnership that exists between our Year 3 children and the Stage 2 teaching team who are building on the great foundation set in Kindergarten and Stage 1 from previous years. Come along next Wednesday and I can showcase other pieces of our strategic work that improve the growth in learning for your children!

Our enrolment drive for 2023 has begun in earnest and I encourage all families to share the good news about St Joseph’s Glen Innes. While our new radio ad and roadside banners go some of the way towards promoting our school, research proves that the best way to promote our school (which is proudly your school!) is via word-of-mouth! So, talk to your friends, family and business contacts and spread the word that we are enrolling now and looking for great kids and great families to join us on the journey to enhance positive wellbeing and learning growth! Prospective families can book a “Walk and Talk” with the Principal through our website - places are filling fast!

You may have noticed in previous newsletters Mrs Chard demonstrating some examples of the contemporary work being done at St Joseph’s Glen Innes to improve engagement and growth in learning for Numeracy and Mathematics? This initiative called MaST is not only getting results here in the Armidale Diocese, it’s being noticed at the national level through the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC). Dr Kevin Trimble from NCEC met with Mrs Chard and other CSO staff recently to highlight the strategic and highly successful work we have been doing in the Mathematics and Numeracy space over the past 3 years. Well done Mrs Chard and all the staff at St Joseph’s Glen Innes for making an impact on our kids!

As we promoted through COMPASS, next week is Catholic Schools Week with this year’s theme being - A Hope-Filled Future. If anything more encapsulates our hope for the future it is our incredible learners at St Joseph's!  So, come along next Wednesday  25 May and participate in some practical math's games that reflect how our students are benefiting from the MaST initiative and are applying their mathematical knowledge and skills in novel and engaging ways!    To finish the fun, stay and enjoy a sausage sizzle with all the students during lunch break.

May God go with you

Geoff McManus

Principal