Term 3 Week 4
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through Term 3. Our classrooms and playgrounds have been full of learning, laughter, and plenty of energy. As we continue to build a safe, respectful, and supportive school community, I’d like to highlight two important focus areas for this term: keeping our hands to ourselves and building resilience and upstander behaviour.
Hands Off – Keeping Each Other Safe
Our school has a clear expectation that students keep their hands and feet to themselves at all times. This applies not only to situations of conflict but also to “rough play” with friends. While some children see chasing, wrestling, or pushing as harmless fun, these actions can quickly escalate and lead to injury or misunderstandings. By reinforcing “hands off” at home and school, we help children develop the skills to play respectfully, solve problems with words, and maintain positive friendships.
Raising Resilient Upstanders
In a strong school community, we not only stand up for ourselves but also for others. An upstander is someone who speaks out or takes positive action when they see someone being hurt, excluded, or treated unfairly. Developing resilience and the confidence to be an upstander takes practice. You can help at home by:
Talking with your child about what respectful behaviour looks and sounds like.
Role-playing different situations so they know how to respond safely and appropriately.
Encouraging persistence when things are difficult, rather than giving up too quickly.
Praising kindness, empathy, and problem-solving skills.
When children learn to set boundaries, use their voice respectfully, and show care for others, they become confident contributors to a safe and inclusive environment – both in school and beyond.
Thank you for working in partnership with us to nurture these important life skills. Together, we can ensure our school remains a place where every child feels safe, respected, and supported to thrive.
IRIS CONNECT:
At St Joseph’s, we are committed to providing the highest quality education for our students. To support this, we ensure that our teachers are provided with meaningful, high-quality learning experiences.
This year we will be implementing IRIS Connect — an innovative video-based platform for teacher professional development. This tool enables teachers to record lessons, reflect on their teaching practice, set professional goals, and share best practices with colleagues. IRIS Connect is used by various educational institutions across Australia.
There may be times when students may incidentally be part of lesson recordings; however, the focus of the recording is on the teacher and their teaching practice and not on the students.
If you do not wish for your child/ren to be included in these recordings, please email twdp@lism.catholic.edu.au
Please note:
- These recordings will only be used for professional learning purposes.
- Videos are stored on the secure IRIS Connect server and are only shared with St Joseph’s staff members for collaborative development.
- AI features in IRIS are limited to transcripts only.
We thank you for your support in fostering a culture of continuous innovation and improvement in our school.
Tell Them From Me Survey: TTFM
Parent Feedback
This survey was open to all parents in our St Joseph's community last term, 43 parents from our school completed the Parent Survey.
The survey includes seven separate measures, which were scored on a ten-point scale. A score of 0 indicates strong disagreement; 10 indicates strong agreement; 5 is a neutral position (neither agree nor disagree).
The 'Partners in Learning' Parent Survey is based on a comprehensive questionnaire covering several aspects
of parents' perceptions of their children's experiences at home and school. It is based primarily on Joyce
Epstein's framework for fostering positive relations between the school and the community. Successful
schools foster greater communication with parents, encourage parental involvement in their child's
schoolwork, and enlist parents to volunteer at the school and participate in school governance. The survey also
provides feedback to schools about the extent to which parents feel the school supports learning and positive
behaviour and promotes a safe and inclusive environment. The overall results are as follows
Some of the areas you scored us lower than the Diocese's average were...
- Parent activities are scheduled at times when I can attend (We have moved some events to before and after school, where possible, to provide greater parent attendance)
- I am informed about my child's behaviour at school, whether positive or negative. (Gotcha certificates, School Spirit awards, compass behaviour reflections, phone calls home, teachers available to meet with parents before and after school outside of official parent-teacher interviews, parent teacher interviews)
- I am well informed about my child's progress in school subjects. (Reports, SeeSaw)
- I am informed about opportunities concerning my child's future.
- I am informed about my child's social and emotional development
- I take an interest in my child's school assignments.
- I ask about any challenges my child might have at school.
- Teachers devote their time to extra-curricular activities (We encourage students to join community extra-curricular activities, as our staff are not expected to run these)
I have shared some ideas around what we already do, but would like to work closely with our Parent Community Group, who meet each term in Week 5 on a Monday evening @ 5.00pm. to discuss how we can improve some these issues and would invite your feedback.
Regards
Tracey
Assistant Principal Learning & Teaching
STORYBOX ONLINE
Dear parents,
Reading is the key to everything—the more you read, the more you grow in writing, thinking, and understanding the world. Encouraging a love of reading and engaging children with quality literature—both fiction and non-fiction—is essential for learning and enjoyment.
We have a school subscription to Storybox Online and would like to share it with you so your family can benefit as well. While we always encourage visits to the local library, this site is a wonderful way to inspire your child to read at home.
Storybox Online Access
- Website: Storybox Online
- Username: St Josephs ( A space between St and Josephs)
- Password: joeys
We hope you enjoy exploring the many wonderful stories available! Let's get everyone Reading!
Happy Reading
Combined Catholic Schools Public Speaking Competition
Six Catholic schools competed in this year’s Public Speaking Competition, with two talented representatives from each school. The standard of performance was truly outstanding—every speech was engaging, confident, and inspiring. Congratulations to our representatives who competed this year Early Stage 1 - Liz Joby & Pippa Denman; Stage 1 - Noah Petersen & Isla Wilson; Stage 2 - Eva Noai; Stage 3 - Zara Bolster & Amire Kelly. You all performed brilliantly.
I have to admit, St Joseph’s children were the most outstanding, winning three of the four sections and achieving a second place in another!
Congratulations must go to the overall winners:
Early Stage 1 – 1st Place: Liz Joby
Stage 1 – 1st Place: Noah Petersen
Stage 3 – 1st Place: Zara Bolster
Stage 3 – 2nd Place: Amira Kelly
You were truly fabulous, and I am so proud of you all!
BOOK WEEK CELEBRATIONS
Our Book Week parade will be held next Friday 22nd August at 9:00am. The theme is "Book An Adventure". Come dressed as your favourite character. Parents are all welcome.
ART EXHIBITION
Every child has completed an art piece for an annual Art Exhibition which will be held on Thursday 28th August from 3.00 - 4:00 pm in the library. Please come and see the wonderful, creative items on display.
GRANDPARENT'S DAY
Don't forget to invite your grandparents to come to school on Grandparent's Day, Friday 29th August. Classroom activities have been organised for our students and their grandparents in the classroom at 9:00 am, followed by our liturgy and then a shared lunch on the playground. We would love to have as many grandparents here as possible.
See you there.
Cheers
Chris
Important Dates
*Friday 15.8.25 9 am Whole School Mass - Feast of the Assumption
*Monday 18.8.25 Kinder Excursion to Tropical Fruit World /Parent Community Group Meeting 5 pm
*Tuesday 19.5.25 Year 5 retreat Day
* Thursday 21.8.25 Year 3 Retreat Day
*Friday 22.8.25 9 am BOOK WEEK PARADE
* Tuesday 26.8.25 Year 4 Camp overnight
* Thursday 28.8.25 Year 3 Excursion Jellurgal Cultural Centre / Art Show at school 3 to 4 pm
* Friday 29.8.25 Grandparents' Day
* Friday 5.9.25 Father's Day Breakfast
* Tuesday 16.9.25 Year 2 Seaworld Excursion
NAPLAN 2025 Results
A reminder that if you want more information about your child's NAPLAN results please contact your child's teacher for an interview. Also for your convenience, your child's NAPLAN results are now available in the COMPASS App.
Chris