Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

This Sunday, 8 June, is Pentecost Sunday. This is one of the most important celebrations in the Church’s calendar, often called the ‘birthday of the Church’. 

Pentecost commemorates the day, 50 days after Easter, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and other followers of Jesus, who were gathered together in Jerusalem. The Book of Acts describes it as a mighty wind, with ‘tongues as of fire’ resting on each of them. This was the fulfilment of Jesus' promise that He would send the "Advocate" or "Helper" after He returned to the Father.

Before Pentecost, the apostles were largely fearful and uncertain, hiding away after Jesus' ascension. After the Holy Spirit came, they were transformed. They were filled with courage, wisdom, and the ability to speak in many different languages (Acts 2:4-12), allowing them to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Jewish crowd gathered in Jerusalem at the time and eventually converting followers to Christianity around the world.

Pentecost reminds us of the presence of the Holy Spirit that lives within each of us giving us courage, wisdom and gifts to live out our faith every day. Pentecost is a day of joy, renewal, and a call to continue the mission of spreading God's love.

2025 Annual Improvement Plan 

Goal: Through quality assessment, students will be challenged in their learning, to ensure continual growth and achievement.

• Learning Walk in Years 3-6 - members of the Leadership Team escorted Mr Andrew Heffernan, Head of Continuous Catholic School Improvement, on a Learning Walk last Friday. We observed excellent practice and student engagement in all classrooms. 

   

• Moderating Processes continue in Professional Learning Teams where teachers  moderate work samples, assessments and application of learning to align with the Common Grade Scale and to develop consistent teacher judgements.

   

• Peer Observation Cycles have continued over the past two weeks with all classroom teachers participating alongside Instructional Coaches - Mrs Grose and Miss Boyd-Skinner.  We have observed exemplary teaching and have valued learning from and alongside each other.

School Cyclic Inquiry 

As you may know, our school is currently undergoing a School Cyclic Inquiry (SCI), a process that typically happens every four years. This inquiry is a key part of our system's larger Continuous Catholic School Improvement Framework. Its main goal is to celebrate the successes of our school's strategic plans over the past four years and help us identify important areas for our focus over the next four years.

A significant part of this SCI involves a Panel visit to the school over two days. This Panel, made up of five educators from both within and outside our system, will be at St Joseph's on Friday 20 June, and Friday 27 June. Their role is to help us reflect on our progress and identify future areas of focus.

On Friday 27 June, Panel members will conduct interviews with a selection of staff, students, and parents. These discussions will gather insights on the school's achievements over the last four years and suggestions for future growth.

If any parent is willing to participate in a group interview and is available to come into the school between 11:20 am and 11:50 am on 27 June, we would be very grateful for your contribution. Please contact the school office by Monday 16 June, if you are able to participate.

Recent Staff Professional Learning

Research tells us that the quality of the teacher is the greatest in-school influence on student achievement. Therefore high quality professional learning for teachers must be a priority to ensure improved teacher practice that leads to improved student learning growth. Professional learning undertaken by our staff over the past fortnight includes:

26 May 2025 - Primary Curriculum Maths

Mrs Walls

29 May 2025 - Principal & Clergy Day

Mrs Duffin

3 June 2025 - Religious Education Coordinator Network Day

Mr Walker

4 June 2025 - Senior School Support Officer Network Day

Mrs Gallagher and Mrs Riley

6 June 2025 - Principal Network Meeting 

Mrs Duffin

School Assemblies

School assemblies are held fortnightly (even weeks) at 2pm in the school hall. Our next school assembly will be held tomorrow, Friday 6 June at 2pm.  All are welcome!

Please Note: Due to the Year 4 excursion scheduled for this Friday, this week's Awards for Year 4 students will be presented at the Week 8 Assembly.

Kaylene Duffin

Principal, 

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Principal Awards

Our Principal awards are presented to students fortnightly on the even week.  

The following students received their Principal Awards tomorrow's assembly, Friday 6 June  2025 (Week 6).

How does my child receive a Principal's Award?

Class teachers nominate students for Blue Merit Awards which are presented at the weekly assembly.  When five Blue Merit Awards have been received, students send them to the school office to be recorded and are then eligible for a Principal’s Award. When students attain their 4th Principal Award, they are awarded a Principal’s Medallion at an assembly. End of Term awards can be included as part of the 5 awards.  Please see the "School Handbook" for a full list of eligible awards.

Acknowledgement to Country

St Joseph's Bulli acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal people past, present and emerging the traditional custodians of the land on which our school is built