Term 2 Week 6, 2024
From our Leadership
Welcome
A simple, yet effective prayer.
Eisteddfod
Thank you to Mrs Hickson and our amazing choir for all your effort at the Grafton Eisteddfod.
Congratulations to our students on their engaging performance. Our Junior Choir placed 1st and the Senior Choir placed 2nd.
We are just so proud!
Parent Group Meeting Rescheduled
Due to a clash of dates with after school meetings, the Parent Group meeting scheduled for Week 7 will now be held on Tuesday, 2 July in Week 10.
Welcome
We warmly welcome Layke in Kindergarten, and his family to our school community.
Bullying and Friendships
Here is Part 2 of our bullying and friendships information.
Conversations about Bullying
Having an open dialogue about bullying with your child is crucial for fostering trust, understanding, and resilience.
You could use this video Bullying is NEVER OK! (youtube.com) as a conversation starter.
Here are some tips for initiating and maintaining this important conversation:
- Ensure that your child feels comfortable and safe discussing sensitive topics like bullying. Choose a quiet, private setting where your child feels relaxed and free to express themselves without fear of judgement or reprisal.
- Be Ready To Manage Your Reactions.
- Start the conversation by asking open-ended questions that invite your child to share their thoughts and experiences. For example, you could ask, "Can you tell me about what's been happening at school lately?" or "How are things going with your friends?"
- Practice active listening by giving your child your full attention and demonstrating empathy and understanding. Avoid interrupting or dismissing their feelings, even if you disagree with their perspective. Reflect back on what they're saying to show that you're truly listening and validating their experience.
- Let your child know that their feelings are valid and that it's normal to feel upset or worried about bullying. Reassure them that they're not alone and that you're there to support them every step of the way.
- Focus on empowering them with knowledge and strategies for dealing with bullying. Help your child to brainstorm possible solutions or strategies to manage the situation. If your child is experiencing bullying or if the conversation reveals other issues, contact the school.
Family/Parent Calendar
A reminder of how to access the parent calendar.
On the home page click on the calendar icon as shown.
Make sure you have the parent calendar selected. You will then be able to see any events/important dates for families eg. carnivals, pupil free days, meetings etc.
School Masses
Thank you to Fr Emmanuel, teachers and students for presiding/participating in our Stage Masses at school. It has been wonderful to celebrate Mass on site with our whole school community. They have been joyous occasions.
The Stage 3 Mass will be held at 9.00am in our Mercy Hall on Friday, 14 June. A whole school mass will be held at St Patricks Church, South Grafton on Thursday, 27 June at 9:15am.
We look forward to seeing you there if you can make it.
St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal
Our first event for the Vinnies Winter Apeal will take place on Friday, 28 June. We are hosting a Pyjama Day and Tinnies 4 Vinnies fundraiser. Students are invited to wear their pyjamas to school on the day and bring a donation in the form of a non perishable tin food item. Further details will be shared in the coming weeks.
Hockey
Kindergarten and Stage 2 have been practising their hockey skills with Coach Rick from Hockey Australia. The students had a wonderful time and are looking forward to next week. Rick will be teaching the fundamental skills of hockey to all Stages during the coming weeks.
Tell Them From Me Survey
Our Tell Them From Me Survey closed on May 24. We sincerely thank families who completed the survey, that will help shape our school improvement journey. Data from past surveys has been used to make positive changes for our students, staff and families. This year we had 17 families who shared their thoughts - Thank You.
Our student, family and teacher data has returned. The results will be shared with you in the very near future.
Teaching and Learning
‘Good News’ Story
Last week, our school was featured in the latest edition of the 'Primary Curriculum Implementation Newsletter.' The spotlight was on our outstanding results in the Beginning of Year (BOY) Dibels Assessments, completed by our Year 1-6 students. While all students across the diocese took this assessment, our results, which demonstrated both achievement and growth, were specially highlighted. We were asked to share some strategies we've implemented across our school that we believe have contributed to these results.
Here is our schools excerpt from this document:
Dibels Data: Growth AND Achievement
The ‘WHAT’, ‘WHY’ and ‘HOW.’
At St. Joseph’s Primary in South Grafton, our beginning-of-year Dibels data continues to show significant growth. However, for the first time, it also indicates a notable number of students reaching the achievement level, marking a new development in our data.
The ‘WHAT’:
When comparing our BOY (MOY for Kinder) 2023 data to the BOY data for 2024, the following was celebrated:
The ‘WHY’:
2022 was our year of data discovery. In 2023, we prioritised our data analysis. At our school, the work of the Learning Collaborative isn't just an addition to our curriculum; it is at the forefront of planning in all that we do.
As a collective staff, we reviewed Parameter 1 and embraced the belief that all students can reach high standards with adequate time and support, and all teachers can teach to high standards with the right assistance. We acknowledged that maintaining high expectations and implementing early and ongoing interventions are crucial.
The ‘HOW’
To initiate our approach, the entire staff analysed the data in 2023 and developed a hypothesis. Each teaching staff member selected a sub-skill from the DIBELS data to concentrate on during Component A and/or Component B and set a goal for teachers. This goal was then taught, assessed, recorded, and shared at a subsequent staff meeting, initiating a cycle of collaborative pedagogical growth.
Over 12 months, we built teacher capacity by implementing the following strategies, which aligned with our belief in every student's potential for high achievement:
- Formed small groups for InitiaLit, utilising trained Teaching Assistants to conduct InitiaLit core and intervention programs (Parameter 10)
- Placed students in InitiaLit at their next instructional level, irrespective of their current year level, even if it meant starting midway through a program based on assessment data
- Developed a process for reteaching to address gaps in student knowledge, ensuring no student is left behind.
- Established a cyclic process for collaborative data analysis, with data shared promptly with the IL/LOP, along with 'next steps' blurbs, ensuring program and assessment procedure integrity and identifying professional learning needs.
- Integrated initial assessment data analysis during PLT’s and used this data for differentiation in the explicit teaching of Component A and B.
- Incorporated skills exposure throughout the day via instructions and routines, reinforcing learning.
- Held term-end meetings involving teachers, principals, and learning leaders to evaluate growth and achievement, discuss pedagogical strategies, identify students requiring intervention and CMM (Parameter 6), and plan resource allocation and timetables for the following term (Parameter 10), fostering shared responsibility and accountability-- We all own all the FACES (Parameter 14)
Dibels ‘Middle of Year’ (MOY) assessments will take place between weeks 1-3 next term.
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
As we continue to advance in our efforts to achieve the 2024 School Action Improvement Plan Goal for Teaching and Learning, ensuring that "All students meet the expected learning progressions for their grade in 'Grammar' and 'Punctuation'," teachers will implement explicit and tailored teaching strategies in the upcoming learning cycle. The learning will be based on the clearly defined Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for each group shown below. These goals will guide both teachers and students in the achievement of specific writing goals for their group, as well as their own personalised goal, fostering a focused and structured learning environment. Additionally, teachers and students will utilise these criteria for teacher feedback, self-assessment and provide constructive feedback to their peers, promoting a collaborative and reflective approach to learning.
Principal-Danny Rankin
Assistant Principal-Anne Forwell
Leader of Learning - Brooke Donoghue
Leader of Evangelisation - Matthew Green
Sport Coordinator - Caitlin Crispin
Our School Athletics Carnival is being held on Friday, 7 June at Barnier Park, Junction Hill. The back up date for this event is Thursday, 13 June.
Some other important points for the day are as follows:
Children are asked to wear their school uniform, however, they may wear a coloured T-shirt in their house team colour.
Please remember sun protection. Each child should have their school hat and be wearing sunscreen as well as having plenty of water to drink.
Shoes must be worn in all events. No spikes are permitted at our school carnival for safety reasons.
It is important that any child leaving the carnival with their families see their class teacher to have their name marked off before leaving.
Most of all we hope that all students have a very enjoyable day.
Congratulations to Owen who came 16th at the Polding Cross Country in Sydney.
An amazing result, well done Owen!
Gumbaynggirr Language - Liz Hegedus
Ginnagay Ngujawiny -Hello You Mob,
Last week, we celebrated 'National Reconciliation Week' with a beautiful liturgy.
'National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievement. It is also a chance to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
Every year the theme changes, this year's theme is 'Now More Than Ever.' We must continue the fight for justice and rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We can do this through treaty's, truth telling, understanding our history, through education and the big item tackling racism.
But, we can't achieve these goals on our own. Everyone in Australia regardless of your name, colour, language, culture, ideas and opinions, needs to work together, to make sure our country is a safe respected place for generations to come.
At St Joey's, we have created a 'Walking Towards Reconciliation Walking Track.' The students feet and hand prints represent their future. These ideas by students, represent how they want their future to be. It is up to them with our help, to move forward to achieve reconciliation.
We only have one life, lets make it the best we can.
Darrundang Ngiinda - Thankyou Miss Liz Hegedus AEW Aboriginal Educational Worker
School Notes
SCHOOL FEES
Thank you to those families who have made the change from Direct Debit to BPay for fee payments. BPay is the preferred payment method for school fees.
Scheduled payments can also be set up using BPay, the Biller Code and your personal reference number can be found on your Fee Statement.
Paying through BPay ensures that your payment goes directly to your account. Any enquireies please contact the School Office.
ABSENCES
Please notify the School Office if your child will be absent for an extended period of time, Principal approval may be required.
Only full day absences are to be entered into Compass, for partial absences - arriving late or leaving early please phone the School Office to notify.
Change to afternoon travel arrangements may be emailed to the school if before 12.00pm sjpgraf@lism.catholic.edu.au
After 12.00pm please phone the School Office on 6642 2899 with any changes.
MUSIC LESSONS
Mrs Hickson is currently teaching voice/drama and piano lessons. These are private lessons that will take place during school hours.
Please phone Mrs Hickson on 0421656019 or email maree.hickson@lism.catholic.edu.au
Bookclub
Book Club Issue 4 is out now! If you would like to order through the school, please return your orders to school by Wednesday, 19 June.
Remember you may also order online through the link below.
Uniforms
Merit Awards
Congratulations to the following students who received a Merit Award.
TERM 2 WEEK 4
ES1: Lacey, Mickey, Logan
Stage 1: Emilia, Esther, Sophie
Stage 2: Harleen, Meliah, Heston, Mason, Ana
Stage 3: Phoenix, Charlotte, Aaliyah, Maddison
School Calendar
TERM 2 2024
Week 6
Friday, 7 June - School Athletics Carnival at Barnier Park, Junction Hill
Friday, 7 June - CANTEEN CLOSED due to the Athletics carnival
Week 7
Tuesday, 11 June - Parent Group Meeting (Postponed to Week 10)
Week 8
Monday, 17 June - School Assembly 2.15pm
Week 9
Tuesday, 18 June - Sacrament of Confirmation
Friday, 28 June - Semester 1 Reports published on Compass
Friday, 28 June - St Vincent de Paul Fundraiser - Pyjama Day
Week 10
Monday, 1 July - School Assembly 2.15pm
Tuesday, 2 July - Parent Group Meeting 6.00pm - 7.00pm
Friday, 5 July - Staff Development Day (Pupil Free Day)
Canteen
Canteen
Open every Wednesday and Friday
Closed Friday, 7 June due to the Athletics Carnival
Online orders are placed through the Compass app prior to 8.30am. Lunch orders may still be brought in with your child, please write their name and class on the front of a paper bag along with their order.
Volunteers are always welcome, please leave your details with the School office if you're able to assist.
