St Joseph's Primary School South Grafton eNewsletter

From our Leadership

Welcome

Dear St Joseph’s Families,

Dibels End of Year Assessments

Between weeks 4 and 6, all students completed the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessments. These assessments evaluate key literacy skills, including reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension, providing valuable insights into your child’s progress and areas for growth. Your child’s 2025 teachers have already reviewed these results during a recent professional learning meeting to plan the next instructional steps for the first few weeks of learning in 2025. A parent letter has been sent home with your child’s results, including an explanation of the scores.

Math Assessment Interviews (MAI) for 2025

In the first week of school in 2025, students will participate in the MAI (Math Assessment Interview). This one-on-one assessment helps teachers understand each student's mathematical thinking and pinpoint areas for growth. The information gathered will guide tailored learning plans to support every student’s progress. Student results will be provided to parents after the completion of all assessments.

2025 School Annual Improvement Plan (SAIP) Goal- Teaching and Learning
Our 2025 School Annual Improvement Goal for teaching and learning is: "All students’ learning and engagement will be optimised through a consistent approach to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and pastoral care.”
Throughout the year, we will pursue this goal with a continued emphasis on Grammar and Punctuation from 2024 and the addition of a new focus on Mathematics.

Our specific focus in these areas will be guided by the use of student growth and achievement data. Professional learning for teachers and goals for students will be informed by triangulating data sources to ensure teaching is precisely targeted at each student’s next instructional level.

Year 6 Graduation

On Tuesday, our Year 6 students, along with their families and teachers, came together to celebrate their graduation! It was a wonderful occasion, filled with memories and excitement for their next chapter. We congratulate and wish them all the very best as they commence highschool.

End of Year Celebration & Awards

St Joseph's school community came together last Thursday evening to celebrate the achievements of our students. The students delighted everyone with their entertaining performances which was followed by the presentation of the Annual Awards.

Our thanks to all who ventured out to celebrate student success and hard work. The ‘one hit wonders’ was truly embraced by everyone!

Farewell

St Joseph’s community farewells two of our longest serving teachers….Mrs Donna Bancroft and Mrs Anna Smidt. Both these teachers have influenced the lives of countless children and families.

Their 20+ years at St Joseph's have seen them work through changes in teaching methods and community expectations.

What has never changed is their joy of being surrounded by a classroom of kids!

May they enjoy their well earned rest and we will look forward to seeing them at Joeys on their visits.

We also farewell Sophie Donohoe and Kirby Danvers, as they embark on a new journey, may their road ahead be filled with adventure and success.

Junior Joey's Graduation

Congratulations to our amazing Junior Joeys who successfully graduated from our Kinder Transition program! We look forward to welcoming our Kindergarten students and their families in 2025.

and a Happy New Year

Principal-Danny Rankin

Assistant Principal-Anne Forwell

Leader of Learning - Brooke Donoghue

Leader of Evangelisation - Matthew Green

Highlights of Term 3 & 4

Grandparent's Day

ACER STEM Video Game Challenge

Colour Fun Run

Celebrating Visual Arts

Mercy Feast Day

Choir Performances at Dougherty Villa, St Francis Aged Care, St Catherine's Nursing Home & Grafton Shopping World

Public Speaking Competition

Exuro

Jacaranda Parade of Youth

Junior Joey's Transition Program

Primary Sport

Socktober

Remembrance Day

Stage 3 Rowing

Kindergarten & Stage 1 Excursion to the Big Banana

Stage 3 Excursion to Yamba

School Notes

SCHOOL FEES

BPay is the preferred payment method for school fees.

Scheduled payments can 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

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.

Late arrivals - Parents are reminded to accompany your child to the Office to provide the reason for your child's late arrival.

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.

Please notify the School Office if your child will be absent for an extended period of time, Principal approval may be required.

Getting to School by Bus in 2025

Will your child be catching the bus to school next year? Applications are now open for a Bus Travel Pass. As it’s a busy time of year, we highly recommend you make this application before the end of the year. It’s also good to check the bus timetable to make your child’s journey to school as easy as possible. Here is how it works:

Bus passes

All students catching the bus in 2025 will need a school travel pass.
Under the School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS), eligible students can apply for free or subsided travel between home and school.
For more information about the School Student Transport Scheme and how to apply for a school travel pass, visit https://apps.transport.nsw.gov.au/ssts/#/ from a desktop computer.

Bus timetablesBusways is the school bus operator that runs your schools’ bus services. To find your child’s school bus timetable visit the Busways website by using the following steps:

Go to busways.com.au/nsw
Click on ‘school services’ in the navigation bar and then proceed to ‘school timetables’
Enter the school’s name in the field that says ‘enter a school name’
Select the school’s name and the timetable should open on your device. If you are unable to find or search for the school’s name, use the drop-down menus on the same web page to find the school.
Once the timetable is opened, you will be able to identify which school bus services are available in your area for your child to use.