School News

Happy Birthday

Wishing all our students a very happy birthday who celebrated their special day over the holiday break and last fortnight.

21 February - Zahli B Year 5

22 February - Bede B Year 1

24 February - Ellen H Year 3

25 February - Mille M Year 5

27 February - Harlow M Year 2

28 February - Oceana D Year 2

1 March - Isla T Year 4

2 March - Heidi G Kinder and Arya N Year 5

4 March - Coby C Year 1, Harrison B Year 3 and Nieve R Year 6

5 March - Mahalia S Year 4

6 March - Scarlett J Kinder and Brock C Year 6

Regular School Attendance - Arrive To Thrive

Regular attendance at school is essential for students’ learning, wellbeing, and future success. In 2025, Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) has introduced a new Attendance Policy and Procedure to support and promote consistent attendance. Parents play a vital role in ensuring their child attends school every day, and the updated policy outlines new attendance levels, notification requirements, and procedures for extended absences.

We encourage all parents to read the following documents for more details:

📌 Arrive to Thrive Attendance Communication and Monitoring Fact Sheet – explains the new attendance levels, intervention strategies, and communication processes.

📌 Arrive to Thrive Responsibilities of Parents Fact Sheet – outlines parental responsibilities under the Education Act and the steps required for absence notifications and exemptions.

We will continue to provide updates on the Attendance Policy and Procedures in this newsletter. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please reach out to a member of the school leadership team through the school office. If you have any concerns about your child’s attendance or hesitation in attending school, we encourage you to speak with your child's teacher or Mr Aguilera.

Kindergarten Parent Welcome Night

St Joseph’s School Choir

Last week, our St Joseph’s School Choir had its first lunchtime rehearsal, and what a wonderful turnout it was! It was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic students come together. The energy and excitement in the room was wonderful.

We are thrilled to announce that the choir will be working towards performing at the City of Wollongong Eisteddfod in June. This will be an exciting opportunity for our students to develop their confidence, teamwork, and performance skills.

We can’t wait to hear their beautiful voices grow throughout the year! 🎶

Ms Boyd-Skinner

Stage 1 Leader

NAPLAN 2025

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual nationwide assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. It is the only assessment taken by all Australian students, providing valuable insights into their literacy and numeracy skills.

In 2025, students at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bulli will complete NAPLAN online, except for the Year 3 Writing Test, which will remain in paper format. The online format enhances the assessment process by allowing ‘tailored testing,’ where questions adapt to a student’s ability level, resulting in more precise and meaningful results.

NAPLAN complements existing school-based assessments. While it is important for students to take these tests seriously, we also want to ensure they feel comfortable and confident. To help students become familiar with the online testing platform, they will be given opportunities to participate in practice tests during normal learning time. These practice sessions will allow them to get used to the test format and navigation.

The official NAPLAN testing window begins on Wednesday, 12 March 2025. At St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Bulli, the tests will be administered on the following days:

• Wednesday, 12 March (Week 7): Writing

• Thursday, 13 March (Week 7): Reading

• Monday, 17 March (Week 8): Conventions of Language

• Tuesday, 18 March (Week 8): Numeracy

Students who are absent on their scheduled test day will have the opportunity to complete make-up tests within the test administration window, with the final date for make-up tests being Monday, 24 March 2025.

To further support students and families, we encourage exploring the NAPLAN Online public demonstration site for additional practice: https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site.

For more information, please refer to the attached flyer: "NAPLAN 2025 – Information for Parents and Carers."

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school office for further information.

Kind regards

Miguel Aguilera

Head Lice

We have been advised of a number of cases of head lice.  Please check your child's hair  and treat accordingly.  Please click on this link from NSW Health that you may find helpful.

2026 Enrolments - Online applications now open

Our online applications are now open.

You will be required to use our new online enrolment platform, called Funnel, removing the use of all paper forms. Please take note, particularly for sibling applications. The online application form will be accessible from the home page of our school website

Important Update for all Parent/Grandparent Volunteers & Contractors

New Visitor Management System for School        Sign-Ins

We are excited to announce the implementation of a new Visitor Management System designed to streamline and enhance the safety and efficiency of signing in at our schools. This system will change the way parents and visitors sign in, ensuring a smoother and more secure process.

Important Steps for All Parents:

Token for Onboarding Process: If you have previously provided the school with your Working With Children’s Check number you will receive an email with your token via email shortly. If you would like to start volunteering, please click on the link provided below to complete the new on boarding process. 

Clearance for Volunteering: Once you have completed the onboarding process, you will receive clearance from the Child Protection team from the Catholic Education Office, allowing you to volunteer in our schools.

Quick Sign-In App: To make the sign-in process even simpler, we have introduced a quick sign-in app available for download from both the App Store and Google Play Store. This app will allow you to sign in quickly and efficiently whenever you visit the school.

We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we transition to this new system. Our goal is to ensure the safety and security of all students, staff, and visitors. Should you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the school office

Book Club, Issue 

Book Club Issue 2 will close on Friday 28th March for delivery in the week commencing Monday 7th April. Note that every order from Issue 2 above $19.50 receives $5 to spend on Issue 3.

Thank you to SJB families for supporting the Book Club during 2024. Our school earns 15% in Scholastic Rewards on all book club orders. Due to your support we raised $1075 in Rewards during 2024, $700 of which has already been utilised towards new library resources, including books and learning materials. 

School Photo Day - Wednesday 9 April

School Photo Day will be held on Wednesday 9 April 2025.  Group and portrait photographs can be purchased by following this link .

Important Information:

• School photos are to be purchased online 

   

• Sibling Photos - sibling photographs must be ordered online prior to the day of photography.  A photograph will not be taken without an order. Sibling photographs only apply to children enrolled at the school. 

• Late fees/additional charges will be applied for purchases after photo day

   

• Photos will be returned to our school for distribution approximately six weeks after photos are taken.

Sport

Sports Days

Milk Crate Circus - K-3 Incursion 

We are two sessions into our Specialist Gymnastics and Acrobatics program as part of the Australian Sporting Schools grant. Class teachers have observed students enjoying their learning. So far, students have been able to do some unique games, acrobatics, tumbling, juggling, partner work, and hula hooping.

We look forward to using spin sticks and being open to new experiences as the program continues throughout Term 1! The Milk Crate Circus team is led by Corie Hurry, a professional circus performer and Advanced level Gymnastics For All coach with a Bachelor of Circus from Australia's National Institute of Circus Arts.  Affiliated with Gymnastics NSW, Milk Crate Circus' experienced coaches are passionate about empowering students with confidence and inspiring them to be creative. 

This is what some of our SJB students have to say about Milk Crate Circus sessions:

Student Voice:

Kinder KM - I liked doing the rolly polly down the mat, which was like a hill. (Brooklyn M)

Kinder KJ - It has been fun doing cartwheels over the soft mats! (Andie M) 

Year 1J - The rolly polly, rockets and running around has been fun! (Sylvie C & Jack R)

Year 1M - I have liked the learning in Milk Crate Circus. We have been learning skills like a pike, a straddle, motor bike landing and tuck! (Lumi C) 

Year 2J - Milk Crate Circus has been good because the teacher has been kind, funny and skillful. I liked learning to do new tricks to entertain! (Josie M) 

Year 2M - - Gymnastics is so enjoyable because we do bunny hops and jumps, use cheese blocks, hoops, mats, soft beam and the instructor is teaching us to be flexible. Learning to juggle with little bean bags was lots of fun! (Gia S)

Year 3J- The teacher is really funny and he taught us so many different things that we didn’t already know! (Josie W)

Year 3M - I have enjoyed the sessions because it is different and something new! (Ashlyn G)

Diocesan Trials

Congratulations to Zane N, Taj A, Lani B and Grace M who were selected in the Diocesan Touch Football teams and will travel to Wagga to compete in the MacKillop Trials in June. Good luck!

Congratulations to Astin K in Year 6 who will compete in the MacKillop Hockey trials in Goulburn on Friday 28 March. We wish him the very best of luck.

Congratulations to Zane N and George W who will compete in the MacKillop AFL Trials in Wagga on 25 March. We wish these talented AFL players the best of luck.

South Coast Swimming Carnival 

Our SJB students had a challenging day weather-wise at Corrimal Pool on Tuesday for the South Coast Swimming Carnival. We would like to congratulate all of our swimmers and their supporters for staying positive throughout the wet morning when we experienced some very heavy downpours. It was not until the last four events that the weather settled, and we could enjoy some better conditions. All students were great ambassadors for our school and participated in the carnival with spirit and determination. Their awesome efforts in the pool combined to have SJB place 1st for Champion Boys School and 2nd place in the Overall Champion School Point Score, which was a fantastic effort. Well done to the entire SJB squad and thank you again to all parents, grandparents and friends who were there to support the squad and assist with anything required. 

A special acknowledgement goes to Archer T, Stella K, and Isikili V, who were awarded an Age Championship trophy or medal. 

Students who finished in the top 4 of their event are invited to attend the Primary Selection Trials on Friday, February 7, at Corrimal Pool to compete for a place on the Diocesan Swim Team against the Western Region. Congratulations to the following students whose outstanding achievements have resulted in them having the opportunity to compete again on Friday. 

Allegra B, Hamish B, Isla J, Stella K, Saul O, Zara P, Lara S, Archer T, Isikeli V, Keon W

We wish everyone the best of luck at the Primary Selection Trials.  

Kylie Grose / Christine Smith 

Sport Co-ordinators 

Canteen

Open Monday to Friday for recess and lunch.

Cash purchases for snacks and drinks can be made at recess and lunchtime. Snacks and drinks can also be ordered via the new platform FlexiSchools.

Lunch orders

Orders for lunch can only be made through Flexischools.  Please note that orders close at 9.15am daily.  Orders cannot be placed after this time.

Flexischool Parent Support Line - 1300 361 769 (Hours: 7.00am-12.00 noon)

CANTEEN SPECIALS - TERM 1

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Handbook

2024 Bus Timetable (Premier Charters)

PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

Ask your child about the weekly focus for students.

This week's focus:

Be Responsible! Let’s get ready for learning!