NAPLAN 2022

In the last week of this term, our Years 3 and 5 students will be participating  in the national NAPLAN ONLINE Practice Test session during the NSW Test window date of 24 March – 8 April 2022. This will take the form of two tests, an Omnibus and Writing (Year 3 will participate in the omnibus only. Omnibus is a combination of Numeracy, Language Conventions and Reading).

• It is an opportunity for dioceses/schools to test their IT and support structures – i.e. a dress rehearsal for the real event.
• The window is far enough away from the real test event that any issues identified may be remediated appropriately.
• It is an opportunity for a national platform resilience test.

The practice test provides a good opportunity for students to familiarise themselves with the test platform

Excessive preparation for NAPLAN Online is not recommended. Students and parents can use the public demonstration site ACARA NAPLAN demonstration site to familiarise themselves with the types of questions and tools available in the NAPLAN Online tests. An area that we have identified in the last few years where the children need to follow the advice of the teachers is with Maths. As the test is online many students do not use the paper and pens that are available to them to do their working out which results in the children not achieving as well as what they are capable. We ask that you keep encouraging your children to work out their answers through drawing or writing on paper to give themselves the best advantage.  If you have any questions about NAPLAN Online, please contact your child’s teacher.

NAPLAN testing fortnight for 2022 is the 10^th – 20^th May.

Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL)

Do Your Best: Learn and let others learn!

During our ‘Do Your Best’ focus, students are learning how to do their best through learning and letting others learn. At St Joseph’s we highly value learning and we are focused on our own desire to be active learners. We do this by fostering a great love of learning and mastering new skills. PBL lessons over this fortnight will outline ways each student can make an effort to be a creative learner. Lessons will also focus on the importance of how our behaviours impact the learning of others in the classroom too.

In the classroom we are highlighting the importance of respecting others’ right to learn by working quietly, listening, staying focused, asking for assistance and challenging ourselves. We aim to complete our set work tasks with quality and attention to detail. When working collaboratively we are learning to be great listeners, to take turns and ensure we actively contribute. This means that we respect different points of view and we are inclusive of all members in our group.

If you have an opportunity, please discuss these concepts with your children. 

Students are enjoying taking their class tokens to the colour house boxes and watching the numbers rise.

Special thanks to our dedicated Sports Captains for counting our tokens.

National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence

Last Friday 18 March 2022 was the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA). The theme for 2022 was Kindness Culture. By building Kindness Culture together, we can promote inclusion, respect and community belonging for all students in schools across Australia.

To recognise the importance of this day we held an assembly led by some of our Year 6 students and Ms McGinlay. During the assembly, these students highlighted the different types of bullying as well as what we can do to be upstanders and call out bullying when we see it. Students came out of uniform dressed for the theme “Uniquely You”. Across the day, students also took part in anti-bullying activities supported by our Year 6 Leadership team.

The Leadership team did an outstanding job in leading these tasks! Here is just some of the positive feedback shared by class teachers:

Miss Coe:

Isabella was outstanding! 3B loved having her run the lesson, they were engaged and settled throughout her teaching, which highlights her kind and gentle nature. She answered questions thoughtfully and respectfully throughout the lesson. I was so impressed with her and her approach, what a lovely role model for our younger grades. She is welcome back to 3B anytime!!

Miss Flaherty:

Daisy was very confident when presenting the Anti-Bullying Day PowerPoint to Year 1 Gold. She captured their attention and spoke very clearly, ensuring their understanding. She encouraged questions and responded thoughtfully to their ideas. Students in Year 1 Gold commented, “Maybe Daisy can be our assistant all the time!”. She did an excellent job!

Mrs Temple:

5 Gold had the pleasure of welcoming Luke to run the Anti-Bullying Day activity. I was blown away by the professional and confident way he presented the content to Year 5. Luke listened to everyone's ideas and gave all students a voice to share their experiences. He should be extremely proud of stepping up at the last minute to share with a Stage 3 class. It shows great maturity and impressive leadership. Well done, Luke!

Miss Cook:

Luca was amazing!!! Not only was he clear in his delivery, but he also avoided simply reading from the slides. He was also very aware of managing his time effectively. He kept an eye on the time to make sure he had enough time for the activities, and at one point he decided to skip one slide and move on to the storyboard activity, which I thought showed excellent time management. He wandered around the room and gave his peers feedback and encouragement. He took this seriously and was professional.

Wellbeing Policy Launch

Student wellbeing is one of the priority areas in our diocese for 2022. Over the last two years, the diocesan Wellbeing and Pastoral Care Policy and Procedure documents have been reviewed and updated in line with current research, legislation and relevant guidelines.

As part of the introduction and launch of the Student Wellbeing and Pastoral Care Policy and Framework, Mrs Charnock, Mrs Pearson and our school captains Eleonor and Luca were invited to attend a special function at the St Pius x Factory Theatre on Thursday 17th March.

At this event CSO staff, Principals, Teachers and students had an opportunity to share what their schools are currently doing in support of student wellbeing. Mrs Pearson shared on behalf of St Joseph’s outlining initiatives such as our school’s Lunch Club, Gardening Club and quiet areas for outdoor play.

We look forward to sharing further Wellbeing initiatives with our community in the months to come.