Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been a very busy start to term 4 for all our staff and students. We have managed school photos this week, a Year 3/4 Reflection day with Year 10 Rostrevor College students, a special photo shoot of the new R-1 Learning Street, Children’s University Graduation at Bonython Hall and many other great teaching and learning moments. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for a great snapshot of life at St Joseph’s.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all our wonderful parents and carers for the way you have adapted to the new entrance to the school for dropping off and collecting students. It is greatly appreciated how our families have done this in a safe and orderly manner, using this zone more efficiently. The staff have been pleased with the way the pick-up zone is flowing as everyone has become familiar with its operation. We encourage you to keep moving along the street in the zone when possible. The more cars that can fit safely in the collection zone, the greater number of students who can then be collected safely.
Just a small reminder to all parents and carers when collecting students in this zone, you must remain in your vehicle, as exiting and leaving your vehicle will hold up the process and create some safety issues for all involved. Staff will do their best to assist students during this collection time which concludes at 3:20pm.
Thank you to the many families who are choosing to park their vehicle and then walk to collect their child/ren, especially if they are in the early years classes. We are lucky to have a reasonably safe and quiet street for our school to use, however it is important to be very aware of cars during these peak times, especially if you are crossing the road.
Important Dates Calendar:
I would like to remind families that you can access upcoming events on our school website (see link). https://www.stjotran.catholic.edu.au/news-events/upcoming-events-1
This page provides you with up-to-date main events throughout the school year, including such things as: our Christmas Gathering, end of year mass, and dismissal dates & times for holidays. I encourage you to check this page to keep you up to date with the latest information on what’s happening in our school.
Next week 40 of our students from Years 3-6 will be attending the South Australian Catholic Schools Athletics Carnival at the SA Athletics Stadium at Mile End. This carnival extends across the week with many Catholic schools and colleges attending. We wish all our athletes the very best and look forward to hearing all about their achievements when they return. We certainly value these opportunities for our students and I would like to thank Ms White for organising and preparing the team.
Finally, I would like to congratulate our Festival Choir students for their wonderful performance last term. The choir spent three terms practicing and preparing for the performance which was held at the festival theatre in the last week of Term 3. The night was a great success and the students should be very proud of their achievements. I would like to acknowledge and thank Julia Johnson, our Choir Trainer for all her hard work in preparing the choir. The festival choir is a very valuable part of our senior student music program and we thank all involved in making it such a successful and rewarding experience for our students.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Dear Parents and Carers,
The Learning Street comes to Life!
In early 2018 the idea of the ‘Learning Street’ was first discussed when the building committee met with our architects to design and develop a comprehensive Master Plan for the school, looking ahead to the next 15 years at St Joseph’s Tranmere. Five years later and we see today the result of the many hours of planning and preparation finally come together as our Reception and Year 1 students experience the Learning Street for the first time this term.
It was delightful to see the many happy faces of students and parents coming through the complex for the very first time. It was a very proud and joyful start to the term, especially for our new mid-year Reception students as they start their school journey.
The Learning Street has now provided our school with amazing contemporary learning spaces and the latest facilities - already we can see how effective the space is for both teachers and students as the classes become a very connected learning community.
We hope to complete the landscaping over the next few weeks and will then organise a time for families to come and visit the Street.
Thank you to all who have assisted with this second staged project. We would like to acknowledge and thank the State Government for their contribution of a $1.6M grant to assist with this timely development.
Recently we completed the construction of our new Sports Shed and hope to move into this space over the next few weeks. This will finally centralise all our sporting equipment and complete our multi-sports development project. This will provide easy access to the equipment for all our Physical Education Lessons, training sessions and our sports academy coaching programs. This project has been funded by our wonderful P & F fundraising initiatives. A huge thank you to all who have contributed in any way - as you can see, when we work together we can achieve many great things for our school.
Our next project will be the construction of the new Early Years Playspace including a new sand and water play space. More information soon.
Catholic Education Open Week August 19 -23 2024
Catholic Schools Open Week is next week and is a great opportunity to see how a Catholic education can set your child up for life. If you know of any families who might be interested in attending our school, they can simply book in for a tour by contacting the office. We will be holding our next school tour on Wednesday 21 August at 9:15am – 10:30am for interested families to see our school in action.
Living Learning Leading (LLL) Survey
Last week all families received an email/letter promoting our Living Learning Leading (LLL) survey. As mentioned in the letter, this short survey (3-5 mins) provides us with feedback from our families on our school’s performance. All responses are confidential and will be used for school improvement purposes.
It is important that we capture as many responses as possible to the survey, so I strongly encourage you to spend a moment of your time to complete the survey which will close on Friday 23 August 2024.
Important Dates
Adrian Grbin
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are certainly into the winter season as the rain has well and truly arrived. Unfortunately, as much as we need the rain, it has slowed our efforts when it comes to our building project and the completion date.
We are into the final stretch internally, however externally will require the holiday break to really start on the landscaping.
The R/1 classrooms will be ready to move into their new classrooms for the start of Term 3. We will be doing the set up and moving during the holiday break.
Next term will begin on Tuesday 23 July 2024 as the whole Eastern Region catholic schools will be coming together at the Convention Centre for a conference focusing on Student Agency, presented by two highly acclaimed international guest speakers on Monday 22 July 2024. Please note the date as the school will be closed on this Monday of Term 3, with the first day of the term being Tuesday 23 July 2024.
Next term we will welcome 17 new Mid-Year Receptions to our school, as they graduate from their Preschools and ELC’s into our school. Tomorrow, Friday 28th June 2024, we celebrate with a special liturgy of welcome for all the new students and their families, followed by a parent and carers information session and morning tea. This has been a lovely welcoming tradition in our school for the last few years and a special way for students and families to begin their school journey.
As Semester One draws to an end, our teachers have been completing this semester’s summative report. School reports are issued twice a year to inform parents and carers about your child’s progress. The reports include academic achievement levels, (Year 1-6) for all learning areas and your child’s approach to learning (R-6). The report also provides an assessment of your child’s progress towards a series of key capabilities, these include how they see themselves as a learner, how they communicate and how they collaborate with others. Information in the report should provide you with a picture of what you already know, based on your current understanding of your child’s progress from their teachers. I would encourage you to take time to sit down with your child and read the report together. Have a chance to discuss and celebrate achievements as well as establish strategies for improvement.
If you have any questions about the report, you can certainly make a time early next term to discuss with your child’s teacher(s).
Congratulations to our wonderful P & F for organising our school Disco last Friday night. The two discos were again well attended by our students - another great tradition in our school. The students had a wonderful time, thanks to the Amazing Magic Mike DJ. The night was very well organised and managed by a large group of volunteers, making it highly successful and a wonderful experience for all our students. A special thank you to Nicole for all her hard work in making it such a success.
Finally, I would like to thank all our students and staff for their hard work over the last Semester and I wish everyone a happy and safe holiday break. I look forward to welcoming everyone back for the start of Term 3 on Tuesday 23 July 2024.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Dear Parents and Carers,
On Wednesday our Year 3/4 Classes and the Year 6 Ecology Team spent the morning working with Landcare at The Gums, planting many trees to celebrate World Environment Day. Our school has built a very productive and positive relationship with Landcare at The Gums since 2019. During this time our students have assisted with planting over 450 native plants. We are all very proud of our achievements and I would like to thank Gerry and Ian from The Gums Landcare Group for allowing us to be part of this very important initiative. We can certainly see how this area is being regenerated and preserved by our next generation of environmentalists.
I received an email from Ian, which I have included below:
Just a quick note to confirm how much we value our connection with you and your students at St Joseph’s School. Today was a celebration of the beauty and intricacy of the natural environment, it revealed how keenly your young people relate to its beauty and significance.
They were a pleasure to work with, we look forward to our next joint venture. Ian – Landcare
Building Update
We continue to see great progress with the Learning Street Project. Major sewage works are planned this week as well as completion of joinery and finally cladding of our instrumental rooms.
The weather, sewage works and some material delays have impacted on our completion date, especially for the exterior works, however we hope to be accessing the Learning Street towards the end of June.
The other exciting news for our school is that we are in the final planning stages for the construction of our new Sports Shed. We are waiting on council approval and hope to make a start on the shed very soon. This project has been funded by the hard work of the P & F and all the donations of our families through many fundraising initiatives over the last few years – this is very much appreciated by everyone, especially the students and our PE Specialist Ms Catherine White.
We are also working on our future Early Years Play space, which will be constructed in the NW corner of the courtyard, right in front of our new Reception classrooms. This play space will include a sand pit and water play. When more information becomes available we will provide a display in the front office.
Positive Behaviour Support PBS
Last term I mentioned that our school is introducing a behaviour education support program called PBS (Positive Behaviour in Schools). The program is designed to teach all students about positive behaviour and provide them with co designed agreements and procedures that align with school expectations. As well as building strong positive relationships, this provides students with a real sense of belonging and a place to be safe.
Positive teacher–student relationships are supportive and fair, and develop in learning environments where students feel safe, understood and appreciated. Teachers build connections with students when they demonstrate respect and trust, and have empathy for their needs (McDonald, 2019).
With the introduction of PBS, the whole school is part of the process therefore this provides a consistent approach resulting in better behavioural outcomes for all students.
One main area of focus that has occurred in our training sessions is for schools to review and refine students’ understanding and appreciation of the school values. As a staff we have been reflecting on our values of Love, Respect, Justice, Gratitude and Excellence and how they are understood and demonstrated by our students each day. The PBS team has worked with staff to develop a more child friendly set of values, incorporating them into new simpler language and representation. Our new values or expectations are:
We are Respectful, We are Kind and We are Learners.
These new values provide our students with a greater sense of ownership and understanding as they are able to easily relate to being kind, respectful and constantly learning, especially when it comes to our behaviour. We believe it is easy to see how Love, Respect, Gratitude, Justice and Excellence can fit into these 3 new values.
Over the next few years, while we implement PBS, you will see that our students will be working on a wide range of expectations and procedures for students to be happy, safe and learning. An example of this happened today in the Year 1NC school assembly. The students presented the procedure and expectations for the classes on how to leave the assembly in a quiet and organised manner. The students provided a very teachable moment to the whole school, clearly explaining how and what to do when leaving a gathering. During this time, students could understand the need to be respectful to the presenters, kind to their classmates and take on new learning.
We plan to build on and provide many clear expectations for students so they experience a very positive and supportive environment for them to grow and flourish in their learning and overall wellbeing when at school and at home.
Drop off and Pick up
Just a reminder that over the last few weeks several families have received a fine for dropping off and picking up students on the solid yellow lines which are located before and after the Emu crossing. Can you please be mindful of these zones and use the correct zone provided.
Once again a reminder that you should not be queue up and around on to Magill Road as this is unsafe and blocks the flow of traffic. It is always best if you can keep driving and travel around the block until the drop off/pick up zone is free.
Thanks again for your support.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome everyone to Term 2. No doubt you are enjoying the beautiful weather we are experiencing at the moment, ideal for building!
This term will be a busy and exciting time for our school as we transition into the new classrooms for our Reception and Year 1 students. At this stage we hope to be the Learning Street complex by mid-June, in around about 4-5 weeks’ time. Each week we see many changes within and around the building. Recently the builders completed the new irrigation system for the grass area, have begun installing the joinery and are beginning to paint inside and out. Over the next few weeks, we hope to get to the lock-up stage and begin more of the landscaping and civil works. One of the major works will be the removal of the old transportable and temporary sandpit as major trenching needs to take place in this area to connect to the sewer in Birkinshaw Avenue. As a result of these works our Year 6 class will make the move into their new and final location – Room 1. This has meant that our Reception Class, RMM will move into the Resource Centre temporarily while they wait for their final move to their brand-new classroom on completion of the project. As a result, we have adjusted the library times for classes during this period to accommodate borrowing for our students. We hope this will only be for the next 4 weeks as we rapidly approach the handover of the site.
I would like to acknowledge and thank all the students and staff for their amazing ability to be flexible and adaptable during this building project, especially since the building has been in right in the middle of the school grounds. It will certainly be wonderful when we can finally transition smoothly across the school grounds accessing all areas more effectively and efficiently.
Last week I was informed that The Gums Landcare Group, which our school is a part of, were declared winners of ‘The Green Adelaide Urban Landcare Award. This award recognises the amazing work Landcare does to protect and make The Gums a better and greener space for all to enjoy. We are proud of our support and involvement in this important group over the last 5 years and we look forward to this continuing for the future of this special space. A special thank you and congratulations to Ian and Gerry from Landcare for our their guidance and support for allowing our students to be future environmentalist.
This week I enjoyed meeting 15 new potential families as they attended our School Tour. It is certainly one of the many enjoyable parts of my role as Principal to showcase our school. We were able to visit many classes to see the students and their learning, see Joey’s Playgroup in action and share the Masterplan and vision of the school. Our Year 6 leaders were there to welcome families and it was a very positive and enjoyable experience. Thank you to all involved.
Finally, I would like to remind everyone about the Pupil Free Day on Friday 7 June 2024 which is attached to the June long weekend. The school will be closed as our teaching staff will be focusing on our Numeracy strategy and the new Positive Behaviour Support PBS program.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you enjoyed the Easter break with Family and Friends. It is a time to be reminded that Jesus is alive and in our midst and he welcomes us in a new life with him. This year we have been blessed with Easter falling before our term break. This has allowed our school community to spend more time on reflecting and coming together to celebrate its true meaning. Thank you to all the parents and carers who attended one of the many special liturgies over the holy week period as we retold the Easter Story.
Building Update
The building project is progressing very well and, at this stage, we remain hopeful of a late May completion. Over the next week and the holiday break, much of the electrical and mechanical works will be completed. The brickwork has been completed and we are now moving into cladding being installed on both the inside and outside structures. It is certainly exciting as we watch the Learning Street grow and change each day.
Swimming Carnival
Congratulations to our fantastic swimmers who competed in the Catholic Schools Swimming Carnival at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre at Oaklands Park on Wednesday. Our team won the overall shield for section 5. You certainly made us all very proud with the way you represented our school and achieved such a great result. Special congratulations to Zara in Year 4 for winning the Aged Champion medal. I would like to thank Ms White and Mrs Edgecombe for their preparation and organisation of the team. Well done everyone.
Arrival & Departure
I would like to remind families about arrival times at school. The first bell sounds at 8:20am. This means the big gate on Birkinshaw Ave is opened and yard supervision begins. Students can then safely enter into the middle yard and place their bag on their bag hook or along the Library veranda for our Year 6 students.
The big gate is then closed at 8:45am for the day and reopens shortly before 3pm, ready for parents and students to use the pick-up zone.
I strongly encourage all families if you are using the pick-up zone, to continually move down the line as quickly and safely as possible so that pick up is smooth and efficient, not leaving large gaps which results in cars banking up along Birkinshaw Ave.
A reminder that Before School Care starts at 7:30am until 8:20am. Please be aware that students who arrive before 8:20am should attend OSHC, as there is no Yard Duty Teacher supervising until that time. Thank you for your support on these matters as the safety and care for all our students is paramount.
Pupil Free Day Dates
Please note the Pupil Free days that we have planned for Terms 2 & 3 this year
Thank you to all our wonderful students for a very busy and productive term of learning. We look forward to the big move next term as we start to prepare for the transition into new learning spaces and make it easier to move around the school grounds.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Dear Parents and Carers,
NAPLAN
Next week will see our Year 3 and Year 5 students participate in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). These online tests will occur between Wednesday 13 March and Monday 18 March.
NAPLAN assists parents, carers and schools to ensure that children are meeting important numeracy and literacy standards. In addition to other assessment tools, NAPLAN is used to support school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor their students’ progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.
The National Assessment Program highlights for families that NAPLAN tests the skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. It is important to remember that NAPLAN is not about passing or failing, but about assessing learning progress.
Each day over the testing period, students in Year 3 and 5 will complete the different online tests. The Online NAPLAN tests are designed to provide precise results and are engaging for students. The tests are tailored (or adaptive) which means that each test presents questions that may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. This helps students to remain engaged with the assessment.
If your child is absent for a particular test, where possible we may arrange for individual students to complete missed tests at another time during the testing period.
Introducing Positive Behavioural Interventions & Support
We are introducing a behaviour education and support program at our school called Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). PBS is a way to teach all students positive behaviour and encourage them to use it. This will contribute to the positive, safe and supportive learning culture at our school and enhance our existing wellbeing and behaviour supports. This approach aims to help all students feel valued, connected to the school community, and achieve better academic results, with staff and students having more time to focus on relationships and classroom learning. Our staff are being trained and supported through Catholic Education SA as we implement this new program in 2024.
I invite you to watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTTivxa9br8 to learn more about PBS and its benefits.
Our thanks to the Department for Education for their provision of a Wellbeing Boost Grant which has enabled our school to undertake this new program.
More information will be shared as we progress through the roll out.
Building site Visit
It was wonderful to see the students engage and participate in our building site visits this week. The students and staff had a sneak preview of what is going to be like in the Learning Street. We believe this was a wonderful learning experience for all our students and I would like to thank Geoff Steele and the building team for organising and providing this great opportunity.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Students in the junior years have enjoyed learning a new Benvenuto - welcome song with actions. And of course, they love singing the many “old” songs they have learnt in the past.
Listening and singing songs in the Italian language can help students memorise new words, patterns and phrases more easily. It’s also a great way to learn better pronunciation.
Students in Year 5 and Year 6 were given the task to research the benefits of learning another language. The students were surprised by their findings.
BENEFITS OF LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE
Learning a new language is fun and exciting. It also has wonderful benefits for children at school and in life. According to research, the best time to start is early in life.
Enhances literacy skills
Children develop a better understanding of English when they study a new language. They become more aware of grammar, conjugation and sentence structures. This helps them understand how English works, enhances their comprehension and accelerates their ability to read and write.
Improves memory and brain function
Learning a language strengthens the area of the brain which is responsible for memory, speech and sensory perception. They are also more creative, perceptive and can concentrate for longer.
Helps develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills
Learning a language enables children to analyse information and solve problems better as they can select relevant information and ignore irrelevant or misleading information.
Fosters respect and understanding of other cultures
Learning a new language nurtures curiosity and openness in children. They become aware of new cultures, and develop a greater understanding and appreciation of other people and customs that are different to their own. As they develop their language fluency, they increase their ability to communicate across cultures and interact positively with people from other countries.
Improves overall performance at school
Studies show that bilingual and multilingual children outperform other children who speak only one language. Academic results indicate this is especially true in reading, vocabulary and maths.
Creates employment and career opportunities
More and more companies are seeking staff who can speak more than one language. Bilingual staff are valued for their ability to communicate in the languages of their business partners and to cross important cultural barriers.
Enhances travel experiences
A person who is able to speak the language of the country they are visiting has more opportunities to enjoy the local culture. They are able to interact more with locals, interpret written information and travel with ease.
Students in Year 3/4 have been engaging in conversations introducing themselves, stating information about themselves. “Ciao! Mi chiamo ……… e ho otto anni. Oggi sto molto bene perchè sono felice.”
Saluti cordiale, Maestra Maria
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you to all our families who attended the Parent Information Evening earlier this week. It was wonderful to see many familiar faces and new faces. The teachers value the opportunity to meet parents and carers as well as provide important information about the year of learning ahead. If you were unable to attend the session, I encourage you to contact your child’s teacher and make a time to meet with them or request the information that was provided.
Learning Street Project
The building project is really starting to take shape as we are now above ground and into the construction phase. The steel structures are completed and the roof is now the focus for the building team this week.
If you haven’t already please visited our Building Projects page on the school, please click on the link below
https://www.stjotran.catholic.edu.au/our-school/building-projects
We are very appreciative to the State Government for a 1.6M grant to assist with this timely development and I would like to thank and acknowledge the State Government for this wonderful contribution.
Child Safety
As part of our professional responsibilities and boundaries, schools are asked each year to communicate to their community about the reporting procedure for child abuse and neglect. It is vital we continue to be observant and report any concerns. Please click on the link provided below for more information.
https://www.stjotran.catholic.edu.au/community/parent-information-policies
This week we started the Lenten season with our Year 3-6 students attending the parish mass on Ash Wednesday, while the R-2 classes gathered for a liturgy in the Parish Hall.
Lent is an important period of reflection, growth and new beginnings in the church calendar. It’s a time for us to have prayerful reflection and get closer to God as we prepare for Easter.
We warmly invite families to our community prayer time each Monday morning at 8:50am in the Parish Hall. Each week a class will run the prayer session for the community to gather and reflect on how we can be the best version of ourselves.
Kind regards
Adrian Grbin
Principal
