Travel to and from Kildare Campus

All Kildare families will have received communication via Compass last week regarding student transport to and from Kildare Campus.

To recap, we have implemented a number of changes to help alleviate traffic congestion and ensure the safety of our students. These include:

New Student Transport Coordinator

We are pleased to announce that we have employed a new full-time Student Transport Coordinator - Tracy Regan. Tracy joined us at the beginning of this term and is based at Kildare Campus. If you have any questions regarding your child’s transport to school please email Tracy at: transport@sje.vic.edu.au or contact her on 03 5469 0361.

Later Pick-Up Time For Cars - IMPORTANT

To avoid cars backing up on Mt Terrick Road and blocking the driveway for school buses, we kindly ask all parents/carers who are picking up children, to please delay their arrival until after 3.15pm.

From Friday 21 March, the pickup zone will be closed to cars between 2.45pm - 3.15pm. If you arrive prior to 3.15pm you will be asked to park in the visitor car park, and to wait for your child there until all buses have departed.

This will provide buses clear access to and from the Campus and will help ensure the safety of our students by reducing the amount of traffic in the one spot, at the one time. This will also provide students with more time to collect their belongings from their locker, ensuring they are ready for you when you arrive and enabling the traffic to flow more freely.

Extra Bus Services

Last Thursday (13 March), we added two additional bus services to our existing supply.

One additional shuttle bus (provided by SJC), and one additional Dysons bus (provided by Transport NSW).

The extra SJC shuttle bus will collect any overflow of students who do not fit on the first round of shuttle buses exiting Kildare Campus, and will only remain in place until the end of Term 1.

The second Dysons bus is a permanent addition, and will transport our NSW Country bus travellers from Kildare to Brigidine Campus to catch their connecting buses home.

For clarity, approximately 146 students attending Kildare Campus are registered NSW Country bus travellers eligible for transport via Dysons Bus Service (funded by Transport NSW). Until yesterday, only one Dyson bus (57-seat capacity) was allocated to collect students from Kildare Campus, meaning 89 NSW Country bus travellers have been requiring access to our shuttle service for transport to Brigidine Campus to catch their connecting bus home. (This is in addition to our NSW Town bus travellers and Victorian Town bus travellers who also rely on our SJC shuttle service).

We have been lobbying NSW Transport for years for additional bus services to meet demand, and this second Dyson bus (also 57-seat capacity) is a step in the right direction. It will reduce the overflow of NSW Country bus travellers accessing the school’s shuttle buses to approximately 32 students, relieving pressure on that service.

NSW Bus Travellers

In further positive news, NSW Transport has formally approved the extension to Kildare Campus for NSW bus travellers (town and country). The buses and routes are still being finalised by NSW Transport, so in the interim NSW Town bus travellers, and the overflow of NSW Country bus travellers will need to continue to use the shuttle bus service to Brigidine Campus to catch their interconnecting bus to home.

For Term 1 we are allowing NSW students (both Moama Town bus and NSW Country bus travellers) to travel for free on our shuttle service to and from Kildare Campus. Moama Town bus travellers just need to show their Newton’s bus pass, and NSW Country bus travellers their Dyson’s travel pass card. If students are yet to receive their 2025 Newton’s bus pass, they can show their 2024 pass. Year 7 bus travellers can show a print out of their travel approval email received by Transport NSW until their 2025 pass arrives.

We hope this interim measure will provide enough time for the NSW town and country bus service routes to Kildare Campus to be finalised and operational. When this occurs, it will eliminate the need for NSW bus travellers to use our school shuttle service. We will keep families informed of any updates.

Shuttle Bus Smart Cards

Year 7 students received their Smart Cards earlier this week.

From Monday 24 March, the grace period for free shuttle bus travel for Year 7 students will end and all students will be required to pay $1 per trip (with the exception of NSW students as outlined above.)

Please follow the instructions on the document below for activating your student's Smart Card and uploading funds.

*Shuttle Bus Eligibility:

● NSW Country and Town Bus Service travellers catching their connecting bus home (Priority) **note this is an interim measure until the bus route extensions to Kildare Campus are finalised and operational**

● Echuca Town Bus Service travellers residing in town who are catching a connecting bus at Brigidine Campus to home (Priority)

● Students who are NOT catching a connecting bus at Brigidine Campus will only be permitted to access the shuttle service if seats are available on any given day. Please be aware that seats for this service are limited. Parents of these students are advised to have a Plan B in case the shuttle service is full.

Victorian Country Bus Travellers

Students who travel to school on a Victorian Country bus, use the Echuca College interchange, where they board buses to bring them to and from Kildare Campus. They do not need to access the school’s shuttle service.

Request for Additional Supervised Crossing for Kildare Campus

We have made representation to Campaspe Shire Council for the installation of an additional supervised pedestrian crossing at the end of the bike and walking path on Mt Terrick Rd, near Woodland Circuit.

We believe an additional crossing would complement the existing supervised crossover and further ensure the safe movement of students, particularly during peak times when traffic flow is high. We will keep you informed of developments in this space.

How you can help

Your voice can make a difference - please make your concerns known to:

Local NSW MP (Helen Dalton - Member for Murray) - murray@parliament.nsw.gov.au
NSW Minister for Transport John Graham - john.graham@parliament.nsw.gov.au

We thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

David Armfield

Acting Director - Kildare Campus

Tracy Regan

Student Transport Coordinator

Intervention Programs to Support Reading and Spelling

MacqLit (reading) and SpellEx (spelling) are two programs that are delivered throughout Years 7, 8 and 9 at Kildare Campus. St Joesph’s College values knowing where students are in their learning development and through screening, data collection, general teacher observations and parent/teacher conversations, students are identified if they need additional support in reading and/or spelling.

Students in 2025 needing support have already been identified and a course confirmation has been emailed to parents. Parents, please read through the course confirmation and sign. By signing the agreement, you agree for your child to participate in either MacqLit or SpellEx during 2025. St Joesph’s College invests in a lot of resources so that the integrity of the programs is upheld and most importantly students can reach their learning potential and gain confidence in their literacy abilities.

What is MacqLit?

MacqLit is a reading program for children in middle to upper primary and the beginning years in secondary schooling, who need support with their reading. It usually takes place in groups of up to four students and takes up to 35 minutes a session.

Why has my child been selected to do MacqLit?

Your school will be able to give you more information about why your child has been chosen to participate in MacqLit, but usually it is because your child is not making as much progress in reading as the others in his or her class or they are entering their secondary schooling below the age-appropriate reading standards. The aim of MacqLit is to help those struggling or needing extra support with their reading, to catch up with their classmates as quickly as possible.

What is involved in MacqLit?

Trained teachers or teacher assistants work with small groups for up to 35 minutes a day, up to five times a fortnight, using the carefully structured MacqLit materials. The program will teach your child how to read and spell words using appropriate strategies. The school will decide how long children need to be on the program, but it will usually be for several terms, depending on how much catching up they need to do.

What does it mean for my child at St Joseph’s College Kildare Campus

Your child will participate in MacqLit lessons three to six times per fortnight. Your child’s lesson will take up to 35 minutes with a trained teacher/ education assistant in a discrete learning area. Group numbers will range from one to four depending on the need and timetabling. Students will be withdrawn from Italian, Humanities, Religion and Reading Room.

What is SpellEx

SpellEx is a spelling program suitable for students needing support in spelling. SpellEx provides a language-based, explicit approach to the teaching of spelling. The program has sequenced and scripted lessons that are supported by a range of differentiated resources and can be delivered as whole class, small group or one-on-one instruction. SpellEx provides instruction in grapheme choices, useful rules and conventions, morphology and key spelling terminology. The interaction between phonology, orthography and morphology underpins the approach, providing students with a deeper understanding of the English spelling system. SpellEx incorporates assessment at regular intervals throughout the program ensuring that teachers are keeping track of students’ progress, adapting instruction as needed.

Why has my child been selected to do SpellEx?

All students in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 complete a spelling screener in English at the beginning of the 2025 school year. Students are then identified from the results of the spelling screener. The school also looks at other data results including; NAPLAN, report grades and teacher recommendations, to identify learners needing extra support.

What is involved in SpellEx?

Teachers or teacher assistants work with small groups for up to 40 minutes, up to three times a week, using the carefully structured SpellEx materials. Group numbers will range from one to five. The program will teach your child how to spell words using appropriate strategies. The school will decide how long students need to be on the program, but it will usually be from four to six terms, depending on how much catching up students need to do.

What does it mean for my child at St Joseph’s College Kildare Campus

Your child will participate in SpellEx lessons three to six lessons per fortnight. Your child’s lesson will take up to 35 minutes with a trained Teacher/ Education assistant in a discrete learning area. Group numbers will range from 1-5 depending on the need and timetabling. Students will be withdrawn from parts of Italian, Humanities, Religion and Reading Room lessons.

How can I help my child?

Although SpellEx can only be used in schools by specially trained teachers and classroom assistants, parents can help their child setting up a routine/space so they can practise their spelling words at home. Parents can discuss with their child about what they have been learning in SpellEx. Don’t be surprised if your child comes home and informs you things about spelling that you didn’t know!

For any questions or concerns please contact Jennifer Dickinson, Program Coordinator on email: jdickinson@sje.vic.edu.au

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