Deputy Principal News: School Closure Day
Today our entire staff will come together for our final whole-school closure day of the year. The focus of the day will be data analysis of our most recent assessment period, as well as student data handover and curriculum planning for 2026. These sessions will be invaluable for reflecting on the year’s teaching and learning, celebrating student growth, and planning for continued student success in 2026.
A central part of the day will involve analysing the assessment data collected throughout the past few weeks. This process will serve three important purposes. First, it will help us identify trends in the results and use these insights to reflect on the effectiveness of our teaching practices. Second, it will allow us to examine individual student growth and overall progress across 2025. Most importantly, this data will be used to inform our handover conversations, as teachers pass on this year's data to the students' 2026 teachers, looking to set up each student for further growth and success. At St Joseph’s, we are fortunate to use sophisticated systems that track and monitor student growth, providing rich feedback to support our teaching team. With these tools, we will be able to explore the data in depth and dedicate the majority of the day to analysing and evaluating emerging trends.
In preparation for the analysis, every staff member will have participated in an individual data conversation with the Teaching and Learning team over the past two weeks. These personalised discussions support staff in analysing their data and preparing for Semester Two reporting, and they also prompt reflection on the students who have demonstrated the strongest growth in 2025.
Staff will be encouraged to identify the strategies and efforts that contributed to this success, such as:
Building relationships and understanding individual needs:Teachers emphasise the importance of knowing students deeply as learners and individuals, fostering strong connections and supporting personal growth.
Developing a positive mindset and confidence:Encouraging students to build resilience, embrace challenges and believe in their ability to succeed remains a powerful driver of improvement.
Targeted strategies and engagement:Personalised support, small-group instruction, structured accountability and exposure to engaging curriculum content all contribute to meaningful progress.
Opportunities for extension and consistency:Providing consistent learning routines, access to extension options and repeated exposure to essential concepts helps consolidate understanding and improve performance.
It is incredibly affirming to see how these factors align with our professional learning focus at St Joseph’s and how they position our students to learn and thrive. It is encouraging to witness how the research-informed practices we prioritise as a school are embraced so wholeheartedly by our exceptional educators. This commitment is demonstrated not only by our classroom teachers but also by our dedicated Learning Support Officers.
I feel privileged to work alongside such a talented, knowledgeable and committed team of educators who know their students so well. Each day, they open their classrooms and share their student data with us as leaders, united in the goal of continually improving teaching and learning across every learning area in our school. We remain deeply grateful for our Learning Support Officers, who play a vital role in supporting the strategies and approaches that make St Joseph’s such a special place.
Tom Hartney
Deputy Principal and Teaching and Learning Leader