St Joseph's School Taree eNewsletter

Principal Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

Last week we celebrated Catholic Schools Week across the Diocese, celebrating what makes our schools great. In this Jubilee Year, we chose to use the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ to provide our students with an opportunity to journey like pilgrims throughout our school, reflecting on how they live out our school’s Vision and Mission. It was the week to launch our new Vision, ‘In communion with Christ, we learn and serve for the common good of all.’ Just like this vision defines who we are as a Catholic School, the experiences last week asked students to consider who they are and how they can use their gifts to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ for others as they journey with peers, staff, their family and community each day.

School Vision and Mission Statements

In communion with Christ, we learn and serve for the common good of all.

Follow Jesus Christ as our model for inspiration and empowerment.
Live like Saint Joseph as we act with honesty, integrity, compassion, respect and justice.
Care for our environment and Country as faithful stewards of creation.
Grow as responsible, curious and resilient learners
Empower one another to love learning and exceed through personal growth
Promote academic excellence through quality education.
Celebrate diversity through inclusion and collaboration.

Respond to the needs of others through acts of kindness, courage and advocacy
Value identity as we nurture a culture of belonging
Develop and share our gifts in service of one another

Flood Recovery support

We are grateful for the support provided by our Diocese to assist our families and the community in the recovery process following the recent flood event. We appreciate the capacity to support families in different ways including with school fees, uniforms, groceries, and household items. We will continue to reach out to our families and welcome your support in identifying those in need.

School Uniform changes - we want your help!

Since joining the St Joseph’s Taree staff in 2024, I have received many comments, concerns, suggestions and general feedback about the school uniform options available. I have decided to seek the support of an interested group of staff and parents to consult with all stakeholders within our community before simplifying the uniform options. This example of Family and Community Engagement will include approximately 3-5 meetings during Terms 3 and 4. Some of the meetings would need to be face to face but others could be attended online. If you are interested, please send an email to admin@tareesj.catholic.edu.au by Friday 13th June. If you can’t be part of the team but would like to contribute your thoughts, we will use a survey option to capture your feedback. I have included some of the uniform options below for your consideration.

Thank you for your engagement with the review of our School Vision and Mission and celebration of Catholic Schools Week, your support is appreciated!

Yours sincerely,

Brooke Stephens

Most school uniform options

Assistant Principal

Oral Language

Oral language is the foundation for all literacy learning. It plays a vital role in children's ability to communicate effectively, express their ideas, build relationships, and develop reading and writing skills. A strong foundation in oral language sets children up for success both in the classroom and beyond.

Families play a very important role in supporting oral language development. Here are some simple, everyday strategies you can use at home:

Talk together often: Engage in conversations during daily routines like mealtimes, car rides, or getting ready for bed. Ask open-ended questions like:

“What was the best part of your day?”

“How did that make you feel?”

“What was the hero, hardship and highlight of your day?”

Read aloud daily: Sharing books, even for a few minutes a day, introduces new vocabulary, models expressive language, and builds listening skills. Encourage your child to predict what might happen next or retell the story in their own words.

Sing songs and rhymes: Singing nursery rhymes and songs helps children hear the rhythm and patterns of language, which is important for literacy development.

Play pretend games: Imaginative play supports storytelling, vocabulary growth, and expressive language. Try playing shops, schools, or doctors together.

Listen actively: Show genuine interest in what your child is saying. This builds their confidence and encourages them to express themselves more.

By making language a natural part of your everyday life, you’re giving your child a strong start in literacy and learning. Thank you for the important role you play in supporting your child’s development!

Spelling and Maths Bee Success!

Congratulations to all of our students who competed in the St Joseph’s Spelling and Maths Bee last Tuesday. Our participants demonstrated fantastic skills and sportsmanship, and our audience was wonderfully supportive. A huge thank you to Miss Rachel Noalan for organising such a well-run competition. The regional competition is taking place this Friday at Holy Name, Forster, and we wish the very best of luck to the following students representing St Joseph’s:

Stage 1: Johann Cometa (Spelling) Hannah Midhun (Maths)
Stage 2: William Collins (Spelling) Zaide Hollis (Maths)
Stage 3: Flynn Yates (Maths), Kiera Ma (Spelling)

Go Joeys!

Kia May Wall

Assistant Principal

Religious Education Coordinator

Catholic Schools Week at St Joseph's Taree

One Call, One Mission: Pilgrims of Hope

Last week, we celebrated Catholic Schools Week with a strong sense of purpose and community spirit. Guided by the Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle theme One Call, One Mission: Pilgrims of Hope, our students and staff embraced the opportunity to reflect on our shared identity and the unique role our school plays in nurturing faith, learning and serving others.

Throughout the week, students took part in a range of activities designed to help them explore what it means to be part of a Catholic school community today. They engaged in classroom reflections, creative art projects, and a school-wide pilgrimage that highlighted the values at the heart of our NEW Vision and Mission.

Vision_Mission.pdf

These new statements, launched during the week, reflect who we are as St Joseph’s Taree. Our Vision calls us to “In communion with Christ, we learn and serve for the common good of all.” Our Mission commits us to live with "Faith", grow as we "Learn", and to "Serve" others. These words were brought to life as students moved through prayer stations during our pilgrimage, each one linked to our school vision and mission or the Jubilee Year theme of hope.

The week culminated in a beautiful liturgy celebrated by Fr Kevin Corrigan. His words encouraged all of us to listen to God's call in our lives and to respond with courage and compassion, just as St Mary MacKillop did. The liturgy was also an opportunity to pause, pray, and give thanks for the gift of Catholic education in our community. During the liturgy, Mrs Stephens gave a heartfelt address, reflecting on the strength and direction our new Vision and Mission provide. She encouraged students to see themselves as always growing, always learning, and always walking together in hope.

We ended the day with a community BBQ, a simple but meaningful way to gather, share and celebrate everything we value at St Joseph’s.

Catholic Schools Week reminded us that we are part of something bigger - a faith-filled story that continues to unfold. Together, we walk with one call and one mission, as pilgrims of hope.

School Leaders' Recount of Catholic Schools Week

Yr_6_Leaders.pdf

Catholic Schools Week

Sacramental Program: Confirmation

Families with children enrolled in the 2025 Sacramental Program should have received an update regarding the new date for Confirmation, following the recent extreme weather event.

Confirmation will now take place on Sunday, 3rd August at the 9:30 am Mass at Taree.

There will be a practice session on Friday, 1st August at 5:30 pm at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Taree.

Thank you for your understanding and flexibility with this change.

Primary Coordinator Report

PIVOT check in data

We are currently in the Check in phase of our student wellbeing surveys, where the 3-6 students are surveyed each week. The survey is only 5 quick questions and it is pleasing to see the trending answer to “How are you feeling this week?” is staying consistent despite the flooding event in our community. The students have generally been quite settled inside and outside the classrooms since our recent school closure. I know that the children and teachers have responded well to being back in the routine of school.

Staff will be engaging with the PIVOT data in this week’s staff meeting to identify potential areas we can improve. It will also be an opportunity to celebrate the positive impact we are making for our students.

PB4L

Rebecca Sams (school psychologist) bullying lessons have wrapped up, with Year 3 having their turn last week. She said that year 3 was the most responsive group- well done by Year 3 teachers and students! Next term, we will offer another series of talks around the prosocial behaviours in friendships which refers to actions taken by one friend to benefit or help another, fostering positive relationships and social development.

This fortnight’s school wide focus in Relationships that Rock will be following social rules and teamwork. This will provide classes with the opportunity to have some fun while participating in activities that require teamwork. Students will give and receive feedback from peers and teachers around the desirable qualities of teamwork. It should be a fun fortnight!

Loretta Riddiford

Primary Coordinator

K-2 Pedagogical Mentor

When I am in the K-2 classrooms, it is very evident that all the students are demonstrating growth in their academic skills and social development. Our dedicated teachers have worked tirelessly to provide a nurturing and stimulating environment, ensuring each child reaches their full potential. We are proud of the collaborative efforts between parents, students, and staff, which has contributed to a successful semester of learning.

It has been such a joy to assist class teachers in Year 1 and Year 2 collect some reading data in the last week. Personally, it is rewarding to see the growth the students have made since teaching them in Kindergarten. All our staff plan for their students' learning based on achievement data, and it is always wonderful to watch the students tackle their group or individual learning tasks with such independence. The K-2 team are supporting our children to be generous, kind and curious learners.

The Year 1 students have been using cardboard boxes to emphasize the attributes of 3D objects- check out some of the photos below.

Both Year 1 and 2 students have participated in the maths and spelling bees to find the finalists for Stage 1, we congratulate all the students who participated.

The kindergarten students are deep in the learning pit to recognize and apply sounds to their reading and writing. Thanks to the parents for supporting their children with home reading practice. This week however, we had a welcome break and participated in one of the stations for Catholic Schools Week, where our AEW’s came to show the children Aboriginal artefacts. They especially liked learning about ochre- as they all got to try some out.

Reporting period is upon us at the moment; we are all working towards collecting final assessments for Semester 1 reports. The Compass reports will reflect your child’s progress in all Key Learning Areas and will be published in Week 8, in time for families to book an appointment with their child’s teacher in Week 9. Keep an eye on your Compass notifications so you are aware of the opportunities to meet with the class teacher.

Loretta Riddiford

Pedagogical Mentor

Change of Dates

Diocesan Touch Trials

A big congratulations to Tyler Kesby for earning a spot on the Maitland Newcastle Diocesan Touch Football team!

St Joseph’s School Athletics Carnival - Please note that both the date and venue have changed.

The school’s Athletics Carnival will take place on Friday, 20 June 2025 at Tuncurry Sporting Complex, South Street, Tuncurry. Please refer to the note sent out on compass today for further information.