Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers

We have reached the halfway point of Term 3, and it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the progress made so far. I would like to acknowledge the incredible hard work and dedication shown by all of our students and teachers. It is truly a joy to walk through the classrooms and playground to see our students engaged in their learning and growing in so many ways during this time. We are very excited to have Mrs Salmon back with us after her time away overseas. Welcome back Mrs Salmon!

Over the last two weeks, our staff have been engaged in various Professional Development courses to ensure we continue providing high-quality, current instruction to enhance our students' learning. We have recently implemented the 'Explicit Maths Program' (EMP) for Kinder to Year 4. Developed by Ollie Lovell and Toni Hatten-Roberts, this evidence-based approach utilises neuroscience to streamline mathematics instruction. Furthermore, a team of teachers, leadership, and Teacher Assistants  attended an inservice today with Sue Larkey, a renowned expert in autism and neurodiversity. Her practical strategies will further support our commitment to inclusive and effective learning within every classroom.

As part of a whole system initative, Mrs Munn and I also represented the leadership team at a workshop with Dr. Simon Breakspeare in Wagga. Dr Breakspeare is a leading expert in school leadership and educational change, who is providing us with valuable insights into implementing effective, research based strategies to implement change. Ongoing engagement in these learning opportunities remains vital for our staff to ensure we continue to deliver the very best educational outcomes for every student.

Transition to Kinder Class 2027 (Junior Joey’s)

You will have been aware that this year 13 schools across our Diocese pioneered a ‘Transition to Kindergarten’ class which is also known as Junior Joey’s in our school. This year we have had 25 children who will be starting Kinder next year, come to St Joseph's each Friday and work with Mrs Brady, Mrs Huard and Mrs Jones to prepare them for Kinder next year. This has been a huge success not only at St Joseph’s but across our Diocese. This program is incredibly beneficial, as it builds essential social skills, familiarises children with the classroom environment, and eases the transition into formal schooling, ensuring every child feels confident and ready for their first day of Kindergarten.

We are pleased to announce that the program will be operating again next year for any child in the Junee community who will be attending Kindergarten in 2028 is invited to apply. They must be 4 years old to register. The program will start on Friday 11th February and children will attend each Friday of the term from 9.00-3.00pm until the program finishes on Friday 3rd December 2027. If you would like your child to be part of the program or know of anyone else who has a child starting Kinder in 2028, please get them to contact the school office. We are limited to 25 places and applications are open until 18th September 2026. The cost is free to be part of the program.

Uniform

Over the last two weeks our whole school PBL focus has been ‘We wear our school uniform with pride’. A big part of this has been ensuring all children have a hat and that they wear their hat all year round to and from school. If they don’t have a hat, they must play under the peppercorn tree in the shade. We are also conducting spot checks to see if children have a hat and with their name on it. Part of teaching children about pride in wearing their uniform is to take care of their uniform and collect it when they may remove it. We are trying to reduce the amount of lost hats, jumpers and jackets which is costly to parents.

A reminder that boys are to wear long trousers as part of their winter school uniform in Terms 2 & 3.

Please check that all of your child’s uniform is named. Thank you for your assistance with this.

Book Week

Next week we will be celebrating Book week and the theme is ‘A Symphony of Stories' and Mrs Hart has been counting down with the students. She has put a lot of time and effort into preparing the library and the staff and students are very excited to be getting dressed up for our Junee Community Book Parade in Railway Square next Wednesday at 10.30am. We look forward to seeing you there.

God Bless,

Angela Scott

Principal