Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

Term 3 is always an exciting term with a lot of opportunities for families to visit and share in the many wonderful experiences that occur daily. In particular, this term, we will celebrate Father’s Day, Book Week and Literacy & Numeracy Week. Each of these events require hours of work behind the scenes and I would like to acknowledge and thank in advance our office staff,  teachers and School Support Officers for their commitment to these events.

There is information within this Newsletter about each of these upcoming events but I would like to highlight Literacy & Numeracy Week as this aligns well with our Annual Improvement Plan goal. As you are aware, our goal is focused on improving student achievement in Mathematics and on Wednesday 28 August we are inviting parents and friends into classrooms to observe Mathematics lessons. Additionally, we will be facilitating our first Maths Cafe....Do you want to learn how students are taught Maths these days and how this can be supported at home over a cuppa? We are very keen to engage parents in our mathematics journey and would love to see you in the Maths Cafe! 

To inform future Maths Cafe workshops we would love to hear from parents what they would like to know about the teaching and learning of Mathematics so that we can address your needs. To share your questions and RSVP to our Maths Cafe next week, please use this link: RSVP to the Maths Cafe

Literacy & Numeracy Week - Wednesday 28 August

• 1.15pm - Maths Cafe in the Year 6 Classroom (Please enter via the office)
• 2.00pm - Open Classrooms to observe Mathematics learning 

Meet Our Staff

Over the next series of newsletters, I would like to introduce you to various staff members and their current roles within our school. Our staff lead and contribute to many dynamic and highly effective learning experiences for our students each day and I hope to share some of these with you.

Please meet Mrs Holly Pirie!

• Mrs Pirie works Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
• She is responsible for the learning in our Library and Library Borrowing. She also sources the texts for our Library. She initiated the Library Monitors this year and enjoys mentoring these students in how libraries operate
• Mrs Pirie is the chief organiser of our Book Week celebrations and brings so much passion and joy to this week. 
• Mrs Pirie is a member of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team and was instrumental in our recent NAIDOC Week celebrations - creating our NAIDOC Week celebratory video and creating our magnificent “What does Country mean to you?” display which involved writing all 410 of our students’ thoughts on country onto a ribbon and hand sewing 410 small bells onto each one. This will be hung in the student foyer in our office….amazing!
• Mrs Pirie has a passion for, and expertise in STEM.
• Mrs Pirie is currently teaching AI in Year 4
• Mrs Pirie supports personalised planning to meet the needs of individual students and is a member of our school Case Collaboration Team
• Mrs Pirie has collaborated with Years 3, 4 and 6 teachers to design and co-teach inquiry units of learning.  

Annual Improvement Plan Update

Goal: Students will achieve excellent growth in Mathematics as a result of shared curriculum expectations and collaborative processes ensuring alignment of curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.

We have held two Professional Learning Community meetings focused on our AIP goal thus far this term. 

• Year 3 and Year 5 teachers participated in planning days with our Mathematics Coach, Mrs Walls. The teachers collaboratively moderated assessments and planned future units of work. In doing so, teachers continued to develop their understanding of mathematics content as prescribed in the NSW Revised Mathematics Syllabus
• Teachers facilitated their Professional Learning Team meetings. Each of the four teams focused on the next part of their cycle.

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:

7 August 2024 - Learning In Leadership course

Mr Aguilera

8 August 2024 - Diverse Learning Support Teacher Network

Mrs Van Gemmert

9 August 2024 - Principal Network Meeting (half day)

Mrs Duffin

9 August 2024 - Year 3 Mathematics Planning Day

Mrs Smith, Miss O’Donoghue, Mrs Walls

9 August 2024 - Year 1 English Planning Day

Miss Wragge, Mrs Fursey, Mrs Clarkson

12 August 2024 - System Professional Learning Day 3

Mrs Duffin

12 August 2024 - Year 5 Mathematics Planning Day

Mrs Parker, Mr Walker, Mrs Walls

13 August 2024 - Senior School Support Officer Network Day

Mrs Riley

14 August 2024 - Curriculum Focus Day 3

Mr Aguilera & Mr Walker

Celebrating Father’s Day

Father’s Day is fast approaching and we are looking forward to honouring the fathers and father figures in our school community. All fathers and father figures are invited to a sausage sizzle breakfast from 7.45am. This will be followed by a reverent prayer service in our Church from 9.15am.

Please complete Google form by clicking link below by Friday 23 August 2024.

Parents & Friends Association

We are extremely fortunate to have such a committed group of parents who form our P&F Executive committee and who attend our P&F meetings once per term.  I very much value the insights, feedback and ideas which are provided at these meetings. If you have never been to a P&F meeting before, I encourage you to come along. Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday 29 October at 7pm.

Social Committee 

The Social Committee is a sub committee within our P&F Association and we are seeking parents who are interested in being a part of this committee. If you have a passion for the social side of school and are keen to organise some fun events, please contact the school office.

School Assembly

Our next whole school assembly will be held tomorrow, Friday 16 August at 2pm. Everyone is welcome.

Captain's Report

Hi, I'm Celie and welcome back to this week’s Captain's Report. 

We are off to a flying start this term! On Wednesday the 7 August, Year 6 students and teachers attended a Mass with Bishop Brian at Unanderra and gathered with other Year Six students from across the Diocese to pray and build friendships. 

On Thursday the 8 August, the whole school gathered with Father Patrick at the Church for a mass celebrating St Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s feast day. After that mass ended, the School and Vice Captains had the pleasure of joining Mrs Duffin and Mrs Smith at a Diocesan Mass at the Cathedral to further celebrate Mary MacKillop’s feast day.

Our new community garden is underway as the Year 6 Captains and the Green Thumbs are planning and preparing for action soon by establishing garden beds and planting different species of plants. Stay tuned and we will keep you updated on the progress!

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 will receive their Principal Awards at our assembly at 2.00pm,  tomorrow Friday 16 August  (Term 3 Week 4). 

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.