Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

Congratulations to our Year 6 students and young parishioners who made their Sacrament of Confirmation this week. Both evenings were meaningfully celebrated by Bishop Brian Mascord and Father Patrick and our students were a credit to the school, their families and themselves. Sincere gratitude is extended to Mrs Smith, Mrs Allan and Mr Matthews for their support in preparing the students for the Sacrament, the organisation and facilitation of Monday's Confirmation Retreat and for the Confirmation liturgies.  

'"...filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, we may always mirror Christ's presence in our relations with others, our openness to those in need, and our living witness to the Gospel message of joy and peace." (Pope Francis, 2013)

Student Attendance Matters

You may be aware of a new school attendance campaign launched by the NSW government called Every Day Matters. This campaign aims to improve current student attendance levels to pre-COVID levels. Like NSW public schools, the Catholic Education Office Diocese of Wollongong, has a target of a 95 per cent attendance rate for students. This roughly equates to students being absent two days per term.

The importance of attending school for students’ academic success and sense of belonging is well documented in research. Missing just one day of school each fortnight adds up to four weeks of lost learning a year. Over a student’s school life, this equates to an entire year of missed learning.

The Every Day Matters campaign aims to drive behavioural change among parents and students to:

• reduce absenteeism close to weekends and/or public holidays;
• reduce family trips during term;
• reduce arbitrary days off due to convenience or pressure from students.

I encourage families to help students reach their attendance goals by ensuring they attend school every day unless they are unwell, booking holidays during breaks and reaching out to your child’s teacher or to a member of the school leadership team for support, if required.

Semester 1 Reports

The Semester 1 reporting period is a time to celebrate your child/ren's achievements and learning during the first half of the year. 

The reporting period is twofold: the report and the parent-teacher conference. The parent-teacher conference compliments the written report and is a valuable communication channel with teachers. 

When will my child's report be available?

Semester 1 student reports for Kindergarten to Year 6 will be available via the Compass Portal from 3:30 pm on Wednesday 26 June (Week 9).  

Parent/ Teacher Conferences

Semester 1 Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held during Weeks 9 and 10. 

How can I prepare for the parent-teacher conference?

1. Take time to read your child's report carefully, especially the areas of achievement and areas for growth. 
   Preparing: make a note of any of the comments you are unsure about or would like to know a little more about. Perhaps there is a concept you are curious about.

What else could I ask at the parent-teacher conference?

What is one way I can really help my child next term?

What advice can you give me about helping my child talk about their learning at home?

What can I do to get more involved in my child's learning? 

How can I help my child with....... in Maths?  

What can I do to help my child be more positive about his/her learning? 

Parents will be able to book Parent/Teacher Conferences via the St Joseph's COMPASS Parent Portal. All Parent/Teacher conferences will be face to face meetings. Bookings will be open tomorrow, 21 June at 4.00pm and will close Wednesday 26 June at 5.00pm.

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.

Professional Learning Teams

• Our teachers met within their Professional Learning Teams to continue to evaluate student progress, moderate student assessment data and plan for future learning. 

Professional Learning

• A number of teachers attended professional learning offered by the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Wollongong. This included developing our understanding of quality assessment from Professor Jim Tognolini as well as the Revised NSW Mathematics Syllabus. Teachers who attended these days will now share their learnings and insights with our whole staff during upcoming Professional Learning Team meetings and Staff Meetings.

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:

11 June 2024 - System Professional Learning Day: Quality Assessment, Professor Jim Tognoloni 

Mrs Duffin, Mrs Grose & Mrs Clarkson

12 June 2024 - Mathematics Curriculum Day

Mrs Walls & Mrs Parker

13 June 2024 - Quality Assessment - Professor Jim Tognolini

Mrs Walls & Mrs Lantry

13 June 2024 - Kindergarten SPOT (Speech Therapy & Occupational Therapy)

Miss Negus

Captains’ Report

Hello this is Sophia M and welcome to this week's newsletter. It has been a hectic and busy fortnight for Year 6 as we will be commencing our tiny forest/community garden next term on which green thumbs and captains have been working hard on designing this initiative. 

On Monday of Week 8, Year 6 had a retreat day where we completed activities preparing us to receive the Holy Spirit on the evening/s of Confirmation. It was a fun and an educational experience. 

This week Year 6 completed their confirmation and was blessed with the Holy Spirit. Father Patrick and Bishop Brian led us in prayer and our Confirmation Sacrament. We learnt about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and we cannot wait to action these throughout the school community.

That is all for now, stay tuned on the Captain's report.

School Assemblies in Term 2

Our next school assembly for Term 2 will be held tomorrow, Friday 21 June from 2.00pm in the hall.  All welcome.

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 on Friday 21 June  (Term 2 Week 8). 

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.

End of Term Awards

The following student will be presented their End of Term 2 Achievement Awards on Friday 5 July 2024 (Term 2 Week 10). Parents of students receiving End of Term Awards are welcome to join the assembly.

Academic Achievement Awards

Habits of Mind Awards

Mary of the Cross 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.