Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

With this being the first school newsletter for 2026, I want to warmly welcome you to the 2026 school year and thank you for trusting us to nurture and educate your children. I am very proud to be the Principal of this community and lead an expert learning and teaching team that are committed to supporting the faith, learning and wellbeing of our students. Our staff are privileged to spend our days with your children and we are looking forward to working in partnership with you throughout the year. 

Our Kindergarten students have settled into school life beautifully!  It has been a joy to watch them build new friendships and explore their classrooms and the Adventure Playground with such confidence. We are honoured to be a part of this  monumental year!

A special welcome to Ivy (Year 6), Georgina (Year 5), Ginger and Ashton (Year 4) and MacKenzie (Year 2) to the SJB Community - you are most welcome.

Father Patrick celebrated a beautiful Whole School Mass for us last week. Gathering together in this way provided the opportunity to prepare for a wonderful year by focusing on the importance of the Eucharist. We reminded ourselves that the very essence of receiving the eucharist, the source and summit of our faith, is transformative. When we respond AMEN, we are agreeing to following God's call for us, to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to be of service to others. If we receive the Eucharist but don't let it change how we treat one another in the classroom, on the playground, or at home, then we have missed the point. When we serve others, especially those who are struggling or feel left out, we are essentially 'becoming' the Eucharist for the world. This is the message that we will continually share throughout the year.

The beginning of each school year is the opportunity to provide pertinent information to set us all up for a successful year and as such, this newsletter includes a lot of information on various aspects of school life at SJB.  I ask that you also read the notices in the School News section of this newsletter.

Contacting Your Child’s Teacher

Thank you for the fantastic turnout at our recent Meet and Greet meetings. These sessions provide parents the opportunity to not only meet their child's teacher but to share key insights about their child. This also demonstrates to our students that home and school work together for their success.

Your child’s teacher will always be willing to speak with you regarding any queries or concerns you may have. Similarly, teachers will not hesitate to contact you if they wish to discuss some aspect of your child’s schooling.  

To contact your child’s teacher, please do so through the school office. The teacher will then be in contact with you. You may wish to arrange a time to come in or have a conversation over the phone. We ask that parents not enter classrooms to speak with teachers in the morning before school without an appointment. During this time the teachers are planning for the day’s lessons and will not be able to give you their full attention.

Raising Concerns and Communication

Parents are always encouraged to contact their child’s teacher, through the office in the first instance if they wish to discuss any aspect of their child’s schooling.

From time to time, parents may feel the need to raise a concern or query with a member of the school’s leadership team. We operate a ‘Stage Leadership’ model to support staff, students and parents and we encourage parents to reach out to the Stage Leader in these cases:

Kindergarten Stage Leader - Anne-Marie Clarkson

Year 1 Stage Leader - Anne-Marie Clarkson

Year 2 Stage Leader - Alexander Walker

Years 3 & 4 Stage Leader - Angela Boyd-Skinner

Years 5 & 6 Stage Leader - Christine Smith

Mr Aguilera addresses all issues relating to Bus travel.

Where necessary, specific concerns will be escalated to the Assistant Principal or Principal. Parents are always encouraged to raise queries or concerns with the school. This is the perfect way to work in partnership for the benefit of our students. 

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.

This goal was developed after a thorough analysis of student achievement data, observational data derived from Learning Walks and feedback from last year’s School Cyclic Inquiry. Aligned with our Diocesan Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework, we have specifically identified high impact strategies to consistently implement across the school. Each fortnight, I will provide an update on our progress towards this goal.

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. 

To align with Teachers’ Enterprise Agreement, the majority of professional learning takes place within the school day. Professional learning varies including off-site, on-site and in situ experiences. Teachers prepare all lessons in advance for relief teachers when they need to be off class. We prioritise using consistent relief teachers to ensure continuity for our students.

Within each school newsletter,  I will provide a snapshot of the professional learning our staff will attend over the coming fortnight:

16 February 2026

Curriculum Implementation Working Party 

Mrs Brooks - Creative Arts

Mrs Smith - HSIE

23 February 2026

Curriculum Implementation Working Party 

Mrs Brooks - Creative Arts

Mrs Smith - HSIE

23 February 2026

Primary Curriculum Implementation Advisory Day 

Mrs Pirie

System Welcome & Induction for Early Career Teachers

Miss Muse

26 February 2026

Primary Curriculum Implementation Advisory Day 

Mrs Rogers

SJB Parents & Friends Association (P&F)

We are inviting all parents and friends to attend our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 4 March @ 7pm in the school hall. The work of the P&F is vital in bringing together the partnership between home and school. The role of the P&F continues to evolve and it will be the purpose of this year's P&F to design a model that works for us at St Joseph's. Please see the Parents & Friends section of this newsletter for more information. We would love to see you there.

School Assemblies

Our next whole school assembly will be held this Friday 20 February at 2pm.  All are welcome!

Kaylene Duffin

Principal

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Principal Awards

Our Principal's awards are presented to students fortnightly on the even week.  

The following students will receive their Principal's Awards at our whole school assembly, tomorrow, Friday 20 February (Week 4).

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.

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