We celebrated the feast of St Mary of the Cross (MacKillop). It was a wonderful Mass for us to remember the work of Mary MacKillop and the impact she continues to have today on our community. We were blessed to have Sr Liz Morris join us and provide a reflection. Sr Liz is a Josephite Sister who lived in the old convent (where my office and the staff room are today) and lives in our parish again. She shared with us that Mary MacKillop wrote to the head of the school when she visited Mitcham many years ago. Sr Liz wrote a letter to me from ‘Mary MacKillop’ and shared it with us. Some quotes included:

“Little did either of us then dream of what was to spring from such a small beginning”

“In all things love”

St Mary MacKillop

In all things love are words used by Mary Mackillop, at our school we have ‘In all things Charity’ on our logo – being charitable is love. Sr Liz, through the letter, reminded us on the importance of kindness, and to pray for peace. In the entrance children brought forward a new image of Mary MacKillop and a commemorative Mary MacKillop Bottlebrush to be planted on site.

Parent sessions - Class structures and sizes

Thank you to all the parents who joined Emma and I at one of the Class structures and sizes information sessions in Week 2. We were pleased to share information and engage in conversation about these topics. For those who attended, please keep an eye in your inbox as we are sending out an anonymous survey to capture feedback from the event.

For those who were unable to attend, I have provided a few dot points, noting some of information is difficult to convey without all the detail that was provided on the night.

• Class structures can change from year-to-year, taking into account many different factors including:
• gender
• social and emotional needs and networks
• learning needs
• behaviour
• Class structures depend on the number of students, not the number of classes (noting that the number of students in each year level varies, so the structures can vary too)
• Likewise, funding for the school is based on the number of students, not the number of classes. Due particularly to the area in which our school is located, our government funding is negatively impacted to that of which if we were positioned in a less-affluent postcode.
• Children at St Joseph’s, Kingswood benefit from a varied and rich program of opportunities included in your school fees. Some of these opportunities are:
• SACPSSA Netball, Swimming, Touch Football, Cross Country, Athletics Carnivals
• SAPSASA Competitions
• Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Band, Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble
• Year 3 Strings Program
• Camps from Year 4
• Excursions from Reception through to year 6
• Coding
• Tenison Outdoor Education Program (First Aid training, orienteering, rock climbing etc.)
• Footsteps Dance program
• Debating, STEM Club, Book Club
• The Australian Curriculum works in Bands - Early Years R-2, Years 3-4 and Years 5-6. We have adhered to these for class structures this year, and will continue this where possible, including providing straight classes in some levels where it works.
• Having streamlined the class structures this year, the teachers for each cohort have been able to work together harmoniously, ensuring better uniformity of teaching and learning across the classes for the students.
• We put significant Teacher training and resources into delivering the Visible Learning strategy. Data shows this to have a significantly positive impact on your child’s learning – far greater than that of single class structures without Visible Learning.  
• Our NAPLAN results are “above” and mostly “well above” the national average in all domains for years 3 and 5 – which should further allay concerns regarding our class structures.   

To allow us to make the best informed decision about the class structures for next year, the most helpful thing you can do (if not already) is to complete the form confirming your children are returning next year – or if you have any queries, making a time to come in for a chat with me.

At the session there were some questions relating to how we teach STEM at St Joe’s, Kingswood. Please see Emma’s article below. 

I look forward to hosting ‘Principal Coffee Chat’ for parents and carers on topics of your choice. My first session will be coming up soon, keep an eye on SZapp for details. If you have a topic suggestion let me know!

In all things Charity,

Jodie Higgins