General Information
School Photography in the Generative AI Era
Changes to our Social Media and Use of Digital Images
You will see changes on our school social media including Facebook and Instagram and the posting of student photos and names. This is in direct response to the rise of generative AI and our commitment to the safety of our young people.
The rapid growth of accessible generative AI tools has introduced new risks in regards to how photos and videos may be harvested, stored and altered online. AI enabled photo and video manipulation is increasingly realistic and more accessible. Using photos posted by schools to public locations such as social media this technology is being used to create nonconsensual and sexualised images of students and staff.
We must consider these risks in the context of our duty of care for all our people - our students, our staff and our families. These changes serve to ensure our people are ‘safe, valued, respected and cared for’.
Following the recent advice from the e-Safety Commissioner about increasing AI risks and the misuse of images, our school and the wider Armidale Catholic Schools system are following guidelines to move to a safer digital environment. We will regularly review our practices as the landscape changes to ensure processes are up to date.
To adapt to these emerging risks while continuing to celebrate student success, we are making the following updates to our digital communications:
Focusing on Group & Contextual Photos: We will use wider-angle shots, group activities, and photos that showcase student learning, work, and participation from behind or at angles where faces are not fully identifiable.
Reducing High-Resolution Photos: We will avoid posting close-up, high-definition photos of individual students on public platforms.
Removing First & Last Name Combinations: Student names will not be published alongside their images on public social media.
Using Internal Channels: High-resolution photos, individual achievements, and identifiable images will be reserved for secure, password-protected internal platforms (such as Compass) rather than public social channels.
We know how much our community values seeing the daily life of our school, and we remain committed to sharing the wonderful achievements of our students. However, protecting their privacy and long-term digital footprint must come first.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership, understanding, and support as we take these proactive steps to keep our students safe in an evolving digital landscape.
School Uniform
The official changeover to the Summer school uniform is Term 4. However, with the weather now warming up, students may wear either the Winter or Summer uniform. Parents are advised to use their discretion depending on the weather. Please remember that we do not mix the winter and summer uniforms. Therefore, depending on your choice, the students are to be dressed in either Full Winter Uniform or Full Summer Uniform.
School Summer Uniform: Girls are to wear their summer dress and boys should be in grey shorts and blue short sleeve shirt. All students will need to wear short navy socks and black school shoes. Please ensure that your child has their hat clearly marked with their name.
Thank you for your support in maintaining our high standards in regards to uniform as we transition to the warmer weather.
Pupil Free Days
The following are the Pupil Free Days for the remainder of 2026.
Please mark in your diary....
- Monday 12th October
- Thursday 17th December
Lost Property
We have a large number of items in our lost property that have not been claimed. Can you please make sure that all uniform items are clearly labelled with your child's name so they can be returned. It is impossible to return items that are not labelled or unreadable. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.
St Joseph's Learning Fair
Families are invited to our Learning Fair Wednesday, 23rd September from 12pm - 1pm.
Pack a picnic and stay for lunch after the Learning Fair!
Mobile Phones and Other Electronic Devices
At St Joseph's we acknowledge that parents may wish their child to carry a mobile phone for personal safety reasons however, once students arrive at school they must hand in their mobile phone, smart watch or other electronic device at the school office. Devices will be returned to students at the end of the day. All electronic devices that are brought to school are at the owner's risk. No liability will be accepted by the school in the event of loss, theft or damage of the device.
Transition - Kindergarten 2027
The dates for this year's Transition are:
Term 3
Tuesday, 15th September - 9:00am - 11am
Tuesday, 22th September - 9:00am - 11am
Term 4
Tuesday, 13th October - 9:00am - 2:30pm
Tuesday, 20th October - 9:00am - 2:30pm
Tuesday, 27th October - 9:00am - 2:30pm
Student Support
School TV
Smartphone Readiness Quiz
Deciding when a child is ready for their first smartphone depends less on their age and more on their maturity, self-regulation, and online safety skills. The Smartphone Readiness Quiz in this Special Report from SchoolTV helps parents and carers evaluate these traits alongside their child to encourage open, ongoing dialogue about digital responsibility.
Insightful Results: Skip the basic yes/no answer—get tailored feedback that highlights your child's current strengths and areas where they need further guidance.
Practical Next Steps: Receive actionable resources, including step-by-step guidance on configuring parental controls before handing over a device.
Family Smartphone Agreement: Establish clear ground rules and boundaries around screen time and online behavior together.
Use the quiz as a collaborative starting point to build safe, responsible, and healthy connected habits. Here is the link:
Cultural Groups
On Thursday, 3rd September, our school community celebrated National Indigenous Literacy Day, an annual initiative led by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).
This special day celebrates First Nations stories, cultures, and languages while raising awareness about the educational barriers faced by children living in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Access to books and learning resources plays a crucial role in shaping a child's future, yet many remote communities across Australia have few to no books in homes or local schools.
We were fortunate enough to receive a hard copy of the book 'Come Home, Bigibila', written by Corey Tutt and illustrated by a past Armidale Catholic School student, Jessica Tedim. The Armidale Catholic Schools gifted St Joseph's a copy of the book which was read to the students by Corey Tutt via video. The students enjoyed listening, reading along and having a look through the pages!
Library News
Book Week & Book Fair 2026
A huge thank you to everyone who attended the Book Week parade and came dressed as their favourite book character! Please check out the photos on Compass.
Also, thank you to everyone who made a purchase at our Book Fair. Your generous support of our Book Fair enables our school to receive credit points with Scholastic, which we are then able to convert into resources for our school.
P&F News
P&F Meeting
The P&F plays an important role in building community by organising social events and supporting the school through fundraising activities. We encourage everyone to become involved in the P&F Association. We have a wonderful committee so we encourage our parent body to come along and support our marvellous P&F this year.
Our P&F Meeting is next Tuesday, 27th October at 5:30pm in the staffroom.
School Fees
A reminder to all families/carers that school fee installments are due on the 21st of each month from February to November.
Thank you to those families who have already made payments. BPAY details can be found on emailed statements and we have EFTPOS facilities available at the school.
As always, please feel free to contact the school if you would like to discuss your account or to arrange a payment plan.
Living Well Learning Well
