Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

Welcome back to the start of Semester Two. I hope the recent Student Vacation Period provided students with an opportunity to rest, recharge and prepare for the exciting term ahead. It has been wonderful to see our students return with such a positive attitude and a readiness to learn. I also sincerely thank families for their continued support in ensuring students present in the correct school uniform and uphold our high expectations. 

2026 NAPLAN

Congratulations to the students in Years 3 and 5 on their NAPLAN Test results. Early analysis of these results indicates strong Literacy and Numeracy skills. We are especially pleased with the ‘learning gain’ achieved by Year 5 students, as measured by the improved growth in performance within this National Assessment Program. NAPLAN results have recently been sent home to parents.

NAIDOC Week Celebrations

I wish to express my gratitude to those families who were able to attend our NAIDOC Week celebrations on the last two days of Term 2. Thank you to our P&F for contributing funds to provide our students with authentic Aboriginal cultural experiences through the presence of Gumaraa. Students and teachers shared overwhelmingly positive feedback on this incursion. 

Staffing News

This term, we welcome Mrs Lena Haritos from her return from maternity leave. Mrs Haritos will work in the Indentured Casual Role each Thursday and Friday.

Parents and Friends Association - Ratifying the Constitution

Our Term 3, Parents and Friends Association  (P&F) General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 5 August, 2026 at 7pm in the school hall.

At this meeting, we are required to ratify the P&F Constitution. This will involve the Constitution being accepted by a vote.  We warmly welcome all parents!

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:

• Recent Staff Meetings focused on analysing varied data sets including NAPLAN, PAT and Reporting Data with the purpose of identifying trends and measuring learning growth.
• Collaborative Planning and Co-Teaching Cycles have continued this fortnight.

Professional Development Plans

Each year, teachers must complete a Professional Development Plan (PDP). This involves setting a teaching improvement goal aligned to our Annual Improvement Plan. This year, teachers will use the iPad on a Swivel camera to record themselves teaching a lesson, or series of lessons. The purpose of this is for teachers to monitor their progress towards their goal by reviewing the footage of themselves teaching. 

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:

21 July 2026

Instructional Coach Professional Learning

Mrs Clarkson & Miss Boyd Skinner

4 August 2026

Collaborative Planning Cycles

Miss Wragge, Mrs Turner, Mrs Liplyn, Mrs Clarkson

Mrs Smith, Miss Muse, Miss Boyd Skinner

6 August 2026

Collaborative Planning Cycles

Mrs Hoile, Mrs Page, Miss Boyd Skinner

7 August 2026

Collaborative Planning Cycles

Mrs Lantry, Mrs Parker, Miss Boyd Skinner

School Assemblies

This term we begin weekly assemblies alternating between K-2 and Yrs 3-6. Assemblies will be held in the hall from 2pm. All are welcome!

31 July 2026 (Week 2) - Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2. 

Celebration of Learning - Year 1

7 August 2026 (Week 3) - Years 3-6.

Celebration of Learning - Year 4

Parents will continue to be notified via Compass each Monday if their child is receiving an award at assembly.

Kaylene Duffin

Principal

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Principal Awards

Our Principal's awards are presented to students.

From Semester Two we will move to separate fortnightly assemblies:  

• K–2 (even weeks)

• Years 3–6 (odd weeks)

The following students from K-2 will will receive their Principal Awards at our school assembly, Friday 31 July 2026 (Week 2).

The following students from 3-6 will will receive their Principal Awards at our school assembly, Friday 7 August 2026 (Week 3).

How does my child receive a Principal's Award?

When students have received five awards from any combination of the following categories: Blue Merit, End of Term, Spelling Bee (1st , 2nd 3rd), Stage 3 Public Speaking (1st , 2nd 3rd), Stage 3 Diocesan Christmas Art Story (top three in Yr 5 & Yr 6) and St Francis of Assisi, they submit them to the school office to be recorded and become eligible to receive a Principal’s Award at the school assembly. Upon receiving their fourth Principal’s Award, students are presented with a Principal’s Medallion at a school assembly.

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