From the Principal
Our Kindergarten Transition Started Yesterday
It was lovely to welcome our new Kindergarten students for 2026 this morning!
They were so excited to be at 'big school' as were their teachers to welcome them.
The children buddied up with their little friends quickly and settled into their activities - they are really ready for the changes that Primary School has to offer.
Thank you so much to our families for choosing St Joseph's School as the school for your child to be a life long learner. We know you will feel welcome at St Joseph's as we truly value your child and our families.
What We've Been Up To: A Quick Look 👀
It's great to reflect on the hard work everyone—students, staff, and families—put in this year!
Stretching Our Minds 🧠
This year, a core focus has been the reinvigoration of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) across all our grades. We've been challenging our students to really extend their knowledge and understandings. Simply put, we want our students to become great problem-solvers! Teachers have been giving them strategies to transfer those skills to trickier, open-ended learning tasks and the ability to apply their learned knoweldge.
Making Feedback Count 💬
Our School has also placed an emphasis on feedback. This isn't just about teachers telling students what's next. We've been ensuring that our students can clearly articulate the next steps in their learning based on feedback. Whether it's feedback from a teacher, a peer, or even their own reflection, we want it to be timely and genuinely move their learning forward. This aligns beautifully with the clarity we bring to lessons through our Learning Intentions and Success Criteria and our whole-school approach using to track every student's progress.
Looking Ahead to 2026: Our Next Steps 🚀
Our plan for 2026 builds on this strong foundation and continues our journey of growth.
Religious Education 🙏
Next year, we'll be working together to write a formal St. Joseph's Tenterfield School Prayer. This will be a wonderful opportunity for our school community to reflect on our values and faith as we create a prayer that is uniquely ours.
In Teaching and Learning ✏️
We are committed to continuing our great work from 2025, with a few key refinements:
- Guided Maths Focus: We'll be refining and focusing specifically on Guided Maths lessons. This targeted approach will further enhance the strategies and skills our students have in Mathematics, giving them more personalised attention in this crucial subject.
- Team Teaching and Differentiation: We'll continue to work in strong teams as co-teachers. This collaborative approach is key to ensuring that every single student receives an education that is differentiated, meaning it's tailored to meet them right where they are and challenge them to take the next step. This is how we ensure all our students thrive!
A Note for Our Transition Parents 🗓️
Just a quick note: Our leadership team will be travelling to Glen Innes in Week 4 to present our Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) for the key areas of development over the coming twelve months. Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to share our morning discussion time with our transition parents on that specific day - Tuesday 4th November. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience, and I look forward to connecting with you all soon!
