School News

Happy Birthday

Wishing all our students a very happy birthday who celebrated their special day over the last fortnight.

9 May - Evie C Year 5, Aasha P Year 6 and Ashlyn G Year 3

11 May - Darcy K Year 3

12 May - Logan R Year 5

13 May - Andie M Kinder

14 May - Layne B Year 6

16 May - Fred L Year 1 and Nina C Year 3

19 May - Hannah L Year 2 and Cristiano H Year 5

20 May - George W Year 5

21 May - Kyan S Year 1 and Max T Year 1

Book Club Issue 3 2025 - CLOSED

Issue 3 is now closed.

Delivery for Issue 3 will begin in the week commencing Monday 26 May.

Book Club Issue 3 2025.pdf

K-2 Phonics Professional Learning

Our Kindergarten to Year 2 teachers and Stage Leaders spent Monday and Tuesday this week engaged in valuable Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Professional Learning. This training, led by Jo Teffone, CEO Education Officer, was a wonderful opportunity for our teachers to collectively learn alongside one another to ensure consistency in our approach to early literacy. The PD explored effective ways to teach phonics, strategies to develop clear articulation, and ways to refine our practice to meet the challenges of early literacy phonics instruction. The course also explored the use of various assessments to identify students' individual learning needs and identify next steps in teaching and learning to help them progress. The K-2 team looks forward to putting our learning into action and ongoing collaboration throughout the year.

National Walk Safely to School Day

St Joseph's participated in the 'Walk Safely to School Day' last Friday 16 May 2025. Staff, students and parents enjoyed a beautiful walk to school, without any rain, and definitely felt the benefits of an early morning walk. Thank you to all students who walked safely from home to school. What a great initiative to create healthy bodies and a healthy environment. Well done St Joseph’s on walking safely to school!

Year 4 collected data on the number of students who walked to school this year. They represented the data using a column graph and summarised the data.

Today, students at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School participated in ‘Walk Safely To School Day’, and we came in with a total of 182 people joining the enviro-friendly exercise. We gladly joined the national celebration with many other schools in the country. We would like to give a warm congratulations to 5J, who had 18 people join, that is 14 more people than the class that had the least amount of people ( 6J ). The school would like to thank the effort of the participants, and the people who didn’t will hopefully join next year.

By Xavier C

Mrs Clarkson had once believed that on ‘Walk To School Safely Day’ the older grades would have less people come. Well, Year 6 didn’t disappoint, but Year 5, they totally blew the roof into the Sun!! Congratulations on getting the highest number of participants for ‘Walk To School Safely Day’! And also congrats on everyone else who participated.

By Jamie L

Today St Joseph’s participated in Walk Safely To School Day, and I’ve made a graph to show how many people in each class had a stroll and walked to school! Good job 5J, you had the most people walk to school! And year 6, I’m sure you’ll do better next time.

Today, St Josephs participated in Walk Safely To School Day. Congratulations to 5J for the most people who walked to school with 18 people followed by 5M with 16 people.

By Olive Vo

Today was Walk Safely To School Day. We made a graph to show which class had the most students who walked to school, and who had the least students that walked to school. 5J had the most students that walked to school with 18 students. 6J had the least students with only 4.

By Ella G

Best You Can Be Visit - Year 5 & Year 6 (Additional PE uniform day MONDAY 26)

We're excited to announce that representatives from the St George Illawarra Dragons community will visit our Years 5 and 6 students as part of 'The Best You Can Be' health and well-being program! This will be an additional sports uniform day for Stage 3 on Monday.

Students will receive a special booklet focusing on important topics like tolerance, respect, inclusiveness, healthy sleep habits, managing screen time, staying hydrated, good nutrition, and the importance of being active. Dragons players and ambassadors share tips and encouragement throughout the booklet to help our students make positive choices and be their best selves!

National Sorry Day- Monday 26 May

National Sorry Day is a day when we pause to remember the Stolen Generations of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Sorry Day leads us into a Week of Prayer for Reconciliation.

On Monday 26 May we will be recognizing Sorry Day at the morning assembly.

On Friday 30 May we will be holding a liturgy in the hall at 11:30am (all welcome).

National Reconciliation Week- 27 May and 3 June

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week this year is 'Bridging Now to Next' This theme reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future. Bridging Now to Next calls on all Australians to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us.

In the #NRW2025 theme artwork created by Kalkadoon woman Bree Buttenshaw, native plants − which are known for regenerating after fire and thriving through adversity − symbolise our collective strength and the possibilities of renewal. This is a time for growth, reflection, and commitment to walking together.

Mathematics at St Joseph's

Maths Olympiad

Apsmo Problem of the Week click here

On 7 May St Joseph's was represented by 24 students from stage 3 in the first competition of the 2025 Maths Olympiad. The Maths Olympiad is an inter-school competition that has been specifically designed to challenge students in Years 5 and 6. It provides an opportunity for students from around Australia and New Zealand to compete as part of a team while striving for individual excellence. We wish all the students well in their next 3 competitions.

Maths in Year 4

Year 4 started this term by partitioning, labeling and comparing fractions. They found complementary fractions to make a whole. During this time they learned how to play a game called "Making a Whole". Ask your child how to play the game or refresh their memory by finding it on the "Love Maths" website click here for the link. During their fractions unit students also explored equivalent fractions and how they are related through multiplication.

Maths in Kindergarten

Students in Kindergarten are currently engaged in learning what a shape is and their essential features. They have learnt to differentiate between squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. Kindergarten is also learning about fractions by identifying what a half is and what it is not.

Fabiola Walls

Year 6 Support Teacher/ Mathematics

ICAS Assessments

Years 3-6 students at St Joseph’s have the opportunity to participate in the University of New South Wales ICAS Assessments this year.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and Digital Technologies and is not compulsory.

If your child is interested, parents must register and pay online by 28 July 2025 through the Parent Payment System, NO payment will be taken via the school office.

2025 ICAS Information for Parents.pdf

Access details for parents:

Your school access code is:

CHJ956

SUBJECT	SITTING WINDOWS	COST
Digital Technologies	Monday 4 August	$20.95
Writing	Tuesday 5 August	$24.95
English	Monday 11 August	$20.95
Science	Monday 18 August	$20.95
Spelling Bee	Tuesday 19 August	$20.95
Mathematics	Monday 25 August	$20.95

ICAS Parent Payment System

Parking - are you getting it right?

A huge thank you to our wonderful parents who follow road rules in relation to parking. You are keeping students safe and you are respectful of other road users and our neighbours. Great job!

A reminder that when collecting your children from school that there is a No Parking zone on Rowan Street. This means that you are not able to leave your vehicle and come into the school to collect your child. You must remain with your vehicle.

Thank you for not parking in the park across the road from the school as it is a pedestrian area.
Thank you for respecting our neighbours by not parking across driveways.
Thank you for not doing u-turns in dangerous places such at the bottom of Rowan Street or by pulling into driveways in Rowan St to turn around.
Thank you for not stopping or parking in the Bus Zone and No Standing areas at the front of the school and church on Park Road.

While at times we have some problems the majority of parents are respecting the road rules and other drivers. We all appreciate you.

Lost Property - Label, Label, Label everything

The school office has been receiving a lot of jumpers, jackets and hats with no names.

Please ensure that your child's name is on ALL clothing so these can be returned to their rightful owners. Any items that are not identified will be sent to the second-hand clothing pool.

We have also had a number of enquiries regarding missing items that have been labelled. Please check your child's clothing to ensure you have the correct items.

2026 Enrolments - Do you have a child starting Kinder in 2026?

A shoutout to parents who have a child ready to start Kindergarten in 2026 - Please get your applications in!! Our online applications are now open.

You will be required to use our new online enrolment platform, called Funnel, removing the use of all paper forms. Please take note, particularly for sibling applications. The online application form will be accessible from the home page of our school website

Online Enrolment Application

2025 Premier Reading Challenge

Premier's Reading Challenge 2025 has begun. If your child would like to participate in the challenge this year, there are two options available for how you can log your children's reading.

Blank Reading Logs are available for pick up from the library any morning before school starts. You can fill these in at home as books are read and then drop back off at the library and Mrs Pirie or Mrs Parker will enter these books into your child's online reading log.

Alternatively, you can email the school to request your child's digital login details and enter their reading at your own convenience.

For any further questions please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Pirie.

Sport

Diocesan Cross Country - Tuesday 27 May

The Diocesan Cross Country Carnival at Willandra has been cancelled for next week.

For those who previously nominated, the Cross-Country Selection Trial option will now be staged at the Illawarra Criterium Track (Lindsay Main Park, Unanderra) on Tuesday, 27 May 2025.

Please note that a new Compass event will be created for the Trials and refunds processed for those students who will no longer compete.

We acknowledge that this is disappointing for some students. We thank all parents and carers for their training commitment and for your understanding.

Kylie Grose / Christine Smith

Sport Co-ordinators