Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Carers

In this final newsletter for the term, I would like to acknowledge and celebrate the varied learning experiences and achievements of our students to date. Our Year 6 students developed their leadership skills at their overnight camp and have been confidently leading our school assemblies, students have competed in our Swimming and Cross Country carnivals and many have represented our school in various sports, our Year 5 and 6 representatives competed strongly at the da Vinci Decathlon, we launched our amazing Cosmic Walk and celebrated Holy Week and Easter with liturgies.

I also congratulate our Kindergarten students for a smooth and successful transition to their very first Term of school. We are very proud of the way they have been engaging in learning experiences, forming friendships and learning about our Catholic faith. Thank you to our parents and families of Kindergarten who have contributed greatly to our students’ positive start to school.

In thanking our teachers and support staff for their continued commitment and passion, I acknowledge the strong partnership that we have with parents and carers for the benefit of our students. I appreciate the cooperation and understanding that our parents show our staff as we navigate the learning and social and emotional development of our students. It is not always easy but together we will continue to provide excellent education for our students.

I hope that all families are able to spend some quality time together during the student vacation period. Please note that day 1 of Term 2 is a Pupil Free Day with all students returning to school on Tuesday 30 April, 2024.

Winter Uniform

Our students officially wear their Winter School uniform from Monday,13 May (Week 3, Term 2). We do provide a two week ‘buffer’ either side of this date to cater for varied weather conditions:

Term 2

Weeks 1 & 2 - students wear Summer Uniform but may wear Winter Uniform on cooler days

Weeks 3 & 4 - Students wear Winter Uniform but may wear Summer uniform on warmer days

I take this opportunity to thank the overwhelming majority of families who support our School Uniform expectations. We have high expectations for learning and behaviour and our Uniform expectations are no different. 

Please note: All students must wear black leather school shoes with their Summer/Winter Uniform. Canvas or jogger style material is not acceptable. 

Girls School Uniform:

• Tunic
• sky blue long sleeve shirt, 
• tab tie (not school tie), 
• school sloppyjoe, 
• navy blue tights or white above ankle length school socks, 
• black leather shoes.  

Optional Uniform - long navy-blue trousers, blue long-sleeved shirt and school tie, white socks. 

Boys School Uniform:

• Long grey pants, 
• sky-blue long-sleeved shirt, 
• school tie, 
• school sloppyjoe, 
• grey socks, 
• black - polishable leather shoes. 

Optional Uniform for both girls and boys (not on school photo day)– On cold days a sky-blue skivvy may be worn under the school shirt only.

Annual Improvement Plan Update

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

Our Staff Development Day on 2 April focused on:

• Representing Number - the learning trajectory Kindergarten - Year 6
• Routine and Non-Routine Questioning 
• Quality Assessment
• Designing class assessments in Representing Number aligned to curriculum expectations 

This was a highly successful day with all teachers coming away with a quality assessment task in the area of Representing Number. This assessment has since been administered to students with results moderated in Professional Learning Teams.  

Professional Learning Team Meeting focused on:

• At this week’s professional learning team meeting, teachers collaboratively analysed students’ assessment data and identified the specific learning needs of each student. This information will be used at our Staff Development Day on 29 April to design a unit of work in response to the data.

From Our School Captains

We asked some of our students to share some highlights from Term 1. This is what they had to say: 

Yr 6

Lylah: The highlight of the term for me was year 6 camp because it was a fun experience and we did heaps of fun activities. It was a great way to gain friendships and learn people’s personality while doing the activities.

Amelie: My favourite part of term 1 was cross country because it was really fun and I got to spend time with friends and dress up for the fun run. I enjoyed doing the nutbush as a grade.

Yr 3:

Hunter: “I loved doing silent ball for brain breaks because it is so fun when the teacher adds rules like one hand or one leg.”  

Lucas: “I loved the swimming carnivals because I liked the war cries and the atmosphere. I was proud of myself because I made it through to the next round.”

Emmanuella: I enjoyed playing Kahoot because it is a fun game to learn and I enjoyed writing the topic My Mum Is My Hero.

Aleia: I loved term one because of the cross country and I came 9th out of year 2 and year 3! I also loved term 1 because of Miss O’Donoghue, she made our learning fun!

Yr 4:

Thomas: My favourite part of term 1 was the Cross Country because we skipped half of school.

Ashby: My highlight of the term was going to the Sydney Rocks where we were informed about history and were able to dress up as convicts.

Zoe C: My favourite part of term 1 was the swimming carnival because I performed well and had heaps of fun with my friends.

Millie: My highlight of term 1 was doing Art with Mrs Brooks because I learnt new skills and made creative artwork.

School Assemblies in Term 2

A reminder that our school assemblies will be held fortnightly from Term 2. These will be held on Friday afternoons from 2.00pm on even weeks. Our next Assembly will be held on Friday 10 May.

Kaylene Duffin

Principal, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

CEDoW Student Mental Health Services to Schools Review

The CEDoW Mental Health Support Services Review is an important initiative, aiming to enhance the wellbeing services we provide. With the collaboration of Altum Counselling and Consulting Pty Ltd, we are conducting a thorough evaluation of our current services and support systems. This short survey, which takes only 8-15 minutes to complete, will be conducted with the utmost respect for your time and privacy. Your anonymous contributions will play a crucial role in improving the support systems within our schools, which will have lasting benefits for both students and staff. We thank you for your active participation. Together, we will strengthen the foundations of support and wellbeing within the CEDoW community. 

Please complete Survey Link by 16 April 2024. 

End of Term Awards

The following students will be presented with an End of Term 1 Achievement Award tomorrow, Friday 12 April 2024 (Term 1 Week 11). Parents are welcome to join the assembly.

Academic Achievement Awards

Habits of Mind Awards

Mary of the Cross Awards

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 on Friday 10 May  (Term 2 Week 2). 

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.