Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope you all had a restful break and have now settled back into the school routine. We've been fortunate to enjoy this beautiful weather, and it's been wonderful to see our little learners return with enthusiasm and smiles.

Morphology Whole Staff Professional Learning Day

On our Pupil Free Day at the start of the term, all staff participated in a full day of professional learning focused on Morphology. Linda Clune, our expert from Playberry Laser, led the session, further deepening our understanding and refining our approach to teaching morphology.

As you may know, all students engage with Morphology through the Laser program. As they progress through the years, this learning becomes more explicit, with dedicated lessons at least once a week. For context, morphology is the study of the smallest units of meaning in words—called morphemes—which include base words, roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

Explicitly teaching morphemes equips our students with essential strategies for decoding and encoding more complex words, expanding their vocabulary, and enhancing comprehension. A strong grasp of prefixes, suffixes, and base words significantly supports students in understanding the meaning of new or unfamiliar words.

If you're interested in supporting this learning at home, here is a useful link from the Five from Five website:
? Morphology and Comprehension Strategies

This term, our focus is on implementing what we’ve learned. In Term 3, Linda Clune will return to conduct classroom observations and provide feedback to further support our growth. At St Joseph’s Kingswood, we are committed to continuous improvement and lifelong learning—this is just one example of that commitment in action.

St Joseph’s Kingswood STRETCH Program

As we continue to grow our STRETCH program, we’re excited to announce the return of the Maths Olympiad, now open to students from Year 1 to Year 6.

The Maths Olympiad, run by the Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads Inc (APSMO), has been offered since 1987 and is designed for high-achieving students. For Years 3–6, students will participate in four problem-solving contests held about six weeks apart from May to September. While the Olympiads are intentionally challenging, the goal is to develop strong mathematical thinking in a fun and engaging way.

• Years 5 & 6 students are selected based on data and demonstrated problem-solving ability. These students compete both with other schools and against their own personal bests.
• Years 3 & 4 students are invited to join team-based competitions that promote collaboration and group problem-solving.
• Years 1 & 2 students will engage in Maths Quest—a non-competitive, inclusive program that encourages exploration and creativity in maths.

We were thrilled with the response from families and students and are deeply grateful to the dedicated teachers running these sessions: Michael Mastrangelo, Joshua Bennett, Sasha Khammash, Bonnie Crofts, and Julia Morrison. Thank you for giving your time every Wednesday after school to make this program possible. We can’t wait to see what the students achieve!

Lego Club is Back!

We’re excited to announce the return of Lego Club for 2025! After a successful launch last year—and with the addition of permanent Lego resources (thanks to generous fundraising and our Parents & Friends Committee)—we’re eager to get building again.

This year, we welcome new Year 6 leaders: Elliot Wells, Orlando Waller and Violet Ferraretto, who will guide and inspire the next generation of Lego Masters.

Lego Club is open to all students, with themed challenges focusing on creativity, collaboration and fun. Here’s when sessions will run during Terms 2 and 3:

• Reception – Year 2: Mondays at Recess in the Hall (starting Week 5)
• Years 3 – 6: Thursdays at Lunch in the Hall (starting Week 4)

We can’t wait to see what our students create!

Inclusive Education

It is always a pleasure to work in partnership with families to support each student's individual learning journey. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be in touch via email, phone, or meetings to review and update our personalised learning plans to ensure they continue to meet your child’s needs.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out—my door is always open.

Warm regards,
Vanessa Saccardo
Assistant Principal