Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

Our School Support Officers are highly valued members of the St Joseph’s team, and we are incredibly fortunate to have such professional, dedicated and caring staff serving in a variety of roles across our school.

Last week was World School Support Officer Day, providing a wonderful opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank these valued colleagues for the important contribution they make to the life of our school each day.

Office School Support Officers: Mrs Wilson, Mrs Riley, Mrs Malys Classroom School Support Officers: Mrs Vincent, Mrs Laxton, Mrs Woods, Mrs McMahon, Mrs Parker, Mrs Rutledge Wellbeing School Support Officer: Mrs Welch

We are also fortunate to have a number of highly valued casual School Support Officers who support our students and staff throughout the year.

Thank you to each and every one of these colleagues for the care, commitment and support they so generously provide to our school community.

Strong School Attendance

Strong student attendance is widely recognised as being vital to academic achievement, a sense of belonging and the development of positive relationships at school. I am very pleased to share that our school’s current attendance rate is 95.05%, which is above the Wollongong Diocesan target of 90%.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our families for the value you place on regular school attendance. I know it is not always easy to ensure children come to school, particularly on days when they may not feel like attending, and I also recognise that travelling during school term time can sometimes be more affordable and accessible for families. However, every day at school matters, and your support in prioritising attendance has a significant impact on your child’s learning, wellbeing and connection to school life.

Principal Appraisal

During the third year of a Principal’s first contract at a school, the Wollongong Catholic Education Office initiates a Principal Appraisal process. My appraisal will take place on Thursday 18 June 2026 and will involve a panel of colleagues from the Catholic Education Office, along with a Principal colleague, visiting the school to facilitate the process.

As part of the appraisal, parents have been invited to complete a survey to help inform the panel’s commendations and future areas of focus. The link to complete the survey was emailed from the Catholic Education Office to parents last Friday. I believe these may have ended up in 'junk' (not sure if this is an omen).... I thank you in advance for your participation and feedback.

The panel will also conduct brief phone conversations with several parents as part of the process. If you are willing to participate in a short 5–10 minute conversation on Thursday 18 June, I would be very grateful if you could contact the school office to indicate your availability.

2026 Annual Improvement Plan 

Goal: Students will be challenged to maximise their learning growth in Writing and clearly articulate their learning goals, know their next steps, and monitor their progress.

Progress Update

• All grades have now completed their first Collaborative Planning Cycle. A major focus of these sessions has been the development of Personal Learning Goals in Writing for each student.

• Co-Teaching cycles are currently taking place in all classrooms. These involve class teachers and an Instructional Coach (Miss Boyd-Skinner Years K & 3-6, Mrs Clarkson Years 1 & 2), teaching planned lesson sequences alongside each other and providing feedback. 

• In line with our AIP priorities, teachers have continued to deepen their understanding of student agency within the Writing classroom. This week’s staff meeting focused on the important role that Learning Intentions, Success Criteria, personalised Writing Goals and effective feedback play in strengthening student agency and ownership of learning in Writing.

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. 

Please find a snapshot of the professional learning our staff will attend over the coming fortnight:

25 May 2026

Staff Development Day 

• Understanding diverse learning needs with emphasis on neurodivergent learners
• Vision and Mission

26 May 2026

Religious Education Coordinator Network Day

Mr Walker

27 May 2026

Wollongong Environmental Network Day

Mrs Kors

1 June 2026

System Wide Professional Learning Day 

Mrs Duffin, Mr Walker, Mrs Clarkson

3 June 2026

School Environmental Management Plan 

Mrs Parker

School Assemblies

Our next whole school assembly will be held this Thursday 28 May at 2pm.  

Please note:

Due to the Paul Kelly Cup (AFL) our End of Term Assembly has been changed to Thursday 25 June

Updated Assembly Dates

• Week 6 - Thursday 28 May

• Week 8 - Friday 12 June

• Week 10 - Thursday 25 June

Kaylene Duffin

Principal

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Principal Awards

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

The following students will receive their Principal Awards at our whole school assembly on Thursday 28 May 2026 (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