Dear St Joseph’s Primary School Community,

This term has flown by! We have one more week, and then we have our winter holiday break. St Joseph’s Wee Waa will resume for Term 3 on Monday, 17 July.

Today you will receive your child’s Semester One school report. These are important mandatory documents within NSW. All students across the state will receive a document outlining the achievement of their children against the NSW syllabus.

This semester, there are some changes to reports, and these will look different for our Kindergarten and Stage 1 families. This is due to a change in the NSW Syllabus for K-2 in Maths and English. Please read Mrs Baird’s news in regard to the intricacies of the new syllabus. Our 3-6 students will be taught and assessed against a new English and Maths syllabus from 2024.

In your child’s report, you will see a grade, as well as a teacher comment. Teachers have selected one area of the syllabus, particularly in English and Mathematics, and have written a comment that follows a set-out structure. There will be a comment about an area that your child has had growth in; it will then be followed by a comment outlining an area of development or next steps. This is then followed by a comment outlining one way that you can support your child in their growth at home.

These comments will then build into a conversation that you will have in our parent-teacher interviews. The reporting and interview experience go hand-in-hand. It allows you to get a snapshot of where your child is achieving against the mandated syllabus and then leads into a discussion of future goals for semester two. If you have not booked a parent-teacher interview, and you would like one, please follow the instructions listed below.

Infants Excursion

Today, Friday, 23 June, our Kindergarten and Stage 1 students travelled to Pilliga Pottery with staff to participate in a pottery workshop where they made treasure dishes and also enjoyed Gelato for afternoon tea. The students had a great time learning about the pottery process and making their creations. A big thank you to Mrs Avery, Miss C, Mrs Constable, Miss Fullarton, Mrs Lucero, Mrs Towns, Miss Woodhill and Mrs Woodhill for supporting the students on our excursion today.

Semester Reports

Please note that Semester 1 Reports are now available.

Your child’s report can be viewed under their profile via the Compass Parent Portal on both the desktop (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, etc.) and the mobile app.

For further information on how to view your child’s report, go to https://www.compass.education/guide#section-08. Please also see the Learning Gallery for further information on the new K-2 syllabus.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Parent Teacher Interviews

This is a reminder that Parent Teacher Interviews are available to book via Compass and will close at midnight on Sunday, 25 June.

Meetings will take place next week on Monday, 26, from 1:30 pm - 7 pm, and Tuesday, 27 and Wednesday, 28 June, from 3:15 pm - 6 pm. Please note that some times vary for each stage.

Our teachers look forward to discussing your child's learning with you.

For further information on how to make bookings, please go to https://www.compass.education/guide#section-09

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

ADPSC Toni Palmer Memorial Shield

We wish good luck to the following students representing our school at the upcoming ADPSC Toni Palmer Memorial Shield Rugby League on Wednesday, 28 June, in Inverell:

Ellis Allen, Cameron Baird, Sam Carolan, Jag Carroll, Joey Crutcher, Blaine Edwards, Xavier Edwards, Reggie Graham, Percy Hayes, Chase Humphries, Jack Wilson and Johnathon Wilson.

Last Day of Term (PJ/Mufti Day)

Junior Joeys will be hosting a PJ/Mufti Day at school on Friday, 30 June, to celebrate the end of term and raise money for Caritas. Please note that wearing pyjamas is not mandatory, and students may wear mufti clothes if they wish. No singlets and closed-in shoes must be worn.

Students are asked to bring in a gold coin donation.

NAIDOC Week Celebration

This year our NAIDOC Week Celebration will be held next term on Wednesday, 19 July, from 9:15 am to 10 am. Students are invited to dress in Indigenous patterns or NAIDOC colours. The day will begin with a ceremony, followed by a Liturgy and Morning Tea, with cake, tea and coffee provided. All are welcome to attend.

Further information will be communicated with families next week via Compass.

Athletics Carnival

This is a reminder that all students will participate in our upcoming Athletics Carnival on Friday, 28 July, at Cook Oval.

We will be holding the High Jump event a week beforehand at school on Thursday, 20 July (the first week back). All other events will be held at Cook Oval. Please note that students aged 8 years and older will have the opportunity of gaining selection to represent our school at the ADPSC Athletics on 18 August in Tamworth.

Students will be required to be transported to Cook Oval by 8:50 am (supervision starts at 8:30 am) and collected by 3 pm. Forest Coach Lines will also transport students who usually take the bus to and from Cook Oval. This is an all-day event.

As always, an event like this cannot be run successfully without the assistance of helpers.

A big thank you to those who have already signed up. If you are able to volunteer to help out on the day with Discus or Shot Put in particular (which would be greatly appreciated!), please go to bit.ly/43RsrVo. An invite will be sent to you via Compass closer to the date to confirm.

All volunteers will be provided with free Morning Tea and Lunch.

Please note that the canteen will be unavailable at Cook Oval. However, the St Joseph's P & F has organised with Palmer's Market for families to pre-order lunch, via an order form (to be communicated with families next week), and make payment at Palmer’s.

Please see News & Notices for further information.

Have a great weekend.

God Bless,

Alistair Stewart

St Joseph's Primary School

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Issue 9 · 23 Jun 2023

In this issue