Principal's Page

Dear Parents and Friends,

Having reached the halfway point of the year, I would like to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of our students during Semester One. Each day I am reminded of the dynamic learning community that is St Joseph’s. Our school continues to build upon the reputation of inspiring our students to thrive in their learning, be willing to take risks to fulfil their potential and to be proud of their achievements. 

Furthermore, our Year 4-6 students' responses to the recent Tell Them From Me Survey indicated a positive sense of wellbeing where students feel accepted and valued by their peers; and students having positive relationships with friends at school they can trust and who encourage them to make positive choices.

Our achievements this Semester have been widespread. I would like to share a snapshot of these to celebrate:

• Led by our Year 3 students, our school community donated over $2000 to Project Compassion
• The participation and sportsmanship at our Swimming, Cross Country and Athletic carnivals
• The wisdom and problem solving abilities of our Da Vinci DeCathlon team
• The performance and sportsmanship of the St Joseph’s representative Swimming and Cross Country Teams 
• The participation and sportsmanship demonstrated at the Netball, Rugby League, and AFL Gala Days
• Year 6 Leaders of Health and Wellbeing for their Lunchtime Friends initiative 
• Year 6 students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation

We are mindful of balancing the curricular and co-curricular priorities across our school, and I believe that our ongoing success highlights this balance. I would like to acknowledge our dedicated staff for providing our students with so many valuable and lasting faith, learning and wellbeing experiences this semester.

Annual Improvement Plan Update

Goal: Students will achieve continual growth in Mathematics as a result of shared curriculum expectations and collaborative processes ensuring alignment of curriculum, teaching, learning and assessment.

Professional Learning Teams

• Our teachers have continued to meet weekly in their Professional Learning Teams to evaluate student progress, reflect on the impact of teaching practice, moderate student assessment data and plan for future learning. 

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. Professional learning undertaken by our staff over the past fortnight includes:

26 June 2024 - English Curriculum Planning Day

Mrs Lantry, Mrs Greenwood, Mrs Clark & Mrs Grose

27 June 2024 - English Curriculum Planning Day

Mrs Parker, Mr Walker & Mrs Grose

28 June 2024 - Interconnections in Child Safety course

Mrs Duffin

1 July 2024 - English Curriculum Planning Day

Mrs Smith, Miss O’Donoghue, Mrs Haritos & Mrs Grose

NAIDOC Week  Celebrations

We are excited to celebrate National NAIDOC Week tomorrow from 10.30am. All families are invited to join us. Students are invited to wear their Sports Uniform so they will be more comfortable participating in our NAIDOC Week workshop activities. Further information regarding NAIDOC Week is included in the School News section of the newsletter.

NAPLAN Individual Student Reports 

Students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participated in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) during Term 1. A NAPLAN individual student report will be provided for children who participated in NAPLAN early in Term 3. The same report format is used for every student in Australia. 

NAPLAN results are reported against proficiency standards. There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement. Student achievement is shown against 4 levels of proficiency:

• Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 
• Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing. 
• Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

Upcoming Term 3 Dates

The following pertinent events will be held during Term 3, however for all of our school events, please refer to the SJB Events Calendar found on our website. 

Tuesday 23 July - Students Return to School for Term 3 

Thursday 1 August & Friday 2 August - Year 5 Overnight Excursion to Canberra 

Wednesday 7 August 2024 - Year 6 Mass with the Bishop 

Thursday 8 August - St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Feast Day and Whole School Mass

Tuesday 13 August - South Coast Athletics Carnival

Wednesday 21 August - Book Week Parade

Friday 23 August - Soccer Gala Day

Thursday 29 August - Father’s Day Breakfast from 7.45am, Father’s Day Liturgy and Father’s Day Stall

Friday 30 August - Fathering Project Hotdogs and Handball Afternoon/Evening

Friday 13 September - Pupil Free Day

Friday 27 September - Whole School Colour Run

                                            - Final day of Term 3

Save the Date Reminder - Grandparent's Day will be celebrated on Friday 23 October.

School Assembly

Our final whole school assembly will be held tomorrow, Friday 5 July at 2pm. At this Assembly we will present our End of Term Awards, Principal Awards and Merit Awards. Everyone is welcome.

Wishing all members of our community a safe and enjoyable school vacation period.

Kaylene Duffin

Principal, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Principal Awards

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

The following students will receive their Principal Awards at our assembly at 2.00pm tomorrow,  Friday 5 July  (Term 2 Week 10). 

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.

End of Term Awards

The following student will be presented their End of Term 2 Achievement Awards tomorrow, Friday 5 July 2024 (Term 2 Week 10). Parents of students receiving End of Term Awards are welcome to join the assembly.

Academic Achievement Awards

Habits of Mind Awards

Mary of the Cross 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.