Week 4 Term 2 2025

Dear Families,

We have had another wonderful 2 weeks at St Joey's, and I can honestly say I feel blessed coming to work here every day. You and your children are a massive part of this, so thank you.

On Wednesday last week, we farewelled a very special member of our school community. Jenny McCormack was a parent and teacher at our school for many years and continued to support our community whilst working in the inclusion space in the Catholic Schools Office. Her dedication to our community continued even after she left education, always being one of the first to put her hand up when volunteers were needed in any way. 

We were blessed as a school community to be asked to represent all the children Jenny had impacted in her time in education by standing as a guard of honour at her funeral. I can honestly say I have never felt prouder of a group of students than I did of our students who took part in this. They stood, in steamy conditions, for over 15 minutes without a single question or hint of complaint. They showed respect and reverence to the situation and represented our school with pride and immense regard for Jenny and her family. You should all be so incredibly proud of your children. They are amazing.

Farewell Jenny. You will be missed terribly. 

Over the last few weeks, and continuing throughout the rest of the year, our staff have been having professional learning around the Science of Learning and how this can be used effectively to ensure our children achieve to a high standard.  The Science of Learning (SOL) is a research-based approach that helps us understand how children learn best. This science brings together findings from psychology, neuroscience, and education to make learning more effective and lasting.

The SOL supports your child  through:

• Clear, Step-by-Step Teaching: We break learning into smaller parts, so students build understanding step by step. This helps reduce confusion and sets them up for success.

• Practice and Repetition: Just like learning to ride a bike, students need time to practise skills. We revisit key ideas regularly to help move learning from short-term to long-term memory.

• Check for Understanding: Our teachers often ask questions and use quick activities to see who’s “got it” and who might need more help. This ensures no child is left behind.

• Engagement: Through the use of "Engagement Norms", our teachers are ensuring they offer a learning space where students are constantly engaged in learning. This leaves no time for distractions or poor choices. To begin with, this process can be quite tiring for the students, but once they develop the stamina required, it results in higher engagement, stronger learning and happier kids. 

The Science of Learning helps us make the most of every lesson. It’s one of the many ways we support your child’s learning journey, every day.

If you have any questions about how we teach, feel free to reach out.

It was wonderful to see so many families at our Kindergarten Information night for 2026. 

I am currently completing interviews for new enrolments for students who already have siblings at our school, and I am beginning enrolments for future families next week.

If you know of any families who might be interested in learning more about our school, for enrolments at any year level, I am happy to do school tours at any time. They just need to call the front office to make an appointment.

Don't forget our Working Bee this Sunday from 8am-12pm. Come and lend a hand as we tidy our gardens, construct raised veggie beds, fill the long jump pits, clean up our outdoor spaces and spruce up the buildings. A sausage sizzle will be provided by the Community Forum. We hope you can join us!

On Friday, the 6th June, at 9:30 am, we will be celebrating a very special Whole School Mass.
This mass will be led by our Stage 1 students and will have a focus on the Sacrament of Baptism.
A number of our students and family members will be receiving the Sacrament of Baptism at this Mass, and I feel very blessed to be able to be a part of this wonderful celebration.
All school families are invited to attend this very special occasion. 

GLOW RETREAT- All Year 6 students will be attending the GLOW retreat at St Xavier Catholic College on Thursday, 29th May. All students must be at school by 8:15am to catch the bus.