Dear Parents and Caregivers,

It has been amazing to see so many of our little learners engaged in wonderful learning experiences across our school.  As a staff, we have been engaging in ongoing professional learning around curriculum planning and assessment which has continued to enable our students to be exposed to a wide range of learning opportunities. 

Inclusive Education: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data

It is a busy time for schools as our Census date for collating data for students who require support is looming. All schools in Australia are required to participate annually in the National Consistent Collection of Data for Students with Disability (NCCD). It is designed to count the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school. This national data collection helps federal and state governments plan for the needs of students and is also the way that schools seek and receive funding to support the learning needs of their students.  This allows our Catholic sector to continue to provide and prioritise innovative and high-quality teaching and learning to support all students on their learning journey. Above all though, our Catholic tradition demands that educators see every child as equal, inherently sacred and worthy of dignity and respect. St Joseph’s Kingswood is committed to ensuring we are equipped with the support, knowledge and ability to enable every child to be a valued, empowered and successful members of our community.

For more information, please visit: www.nccd.edu.au.  ‘

Review Meetings, Term 3

Firstly, I’d like to personally thank all families who I am lucky enough to work alongside to develop individualised learning plans to ensure the best possible schooling experience is provided for our diverse learners.  Please note, that as I will be on maternity leave from partway through Term 3, we are going to hold our usual Term 2 review meetings at the beginning of Term next alongside Christine Farrugia to ensure a smooth transition.  In the meantime, I will touch base via phone call and if any families would like a meeting prior, please feel free to contact me at any time.

ST JOSEPH’S KINGSWOOD STRECTH PROGRAM: Year 5/6 Ethics Olympiad

We are thrilled to continue to add to our STRETCH program at St Joseph’s School Kingswood with the inclusion of the Ethics Olympiad. We have two teams of up to 5 students from Year 5 and 6 entering this year.

The Ethics Olympiad challenges students to reflect deeply on complex moral issues and work collaboratively to form thoughtful responses. Unlike debates, the format encourages respectful discussion, agreement, and critique of ideas. Students (referred to as Eth-letes) will build and evaluate arguments based on age-appropriate ethical case studies, guided by a trained coach.

Teams will meet other schools virtually via Zoom and participate in a series of three to four rounds. Their responses will be judged by tertiary-trained professionals, with points awarded for clarity, critical thinking, respectful engagement, and teamwork. Top-performing teams are awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals.

Students were selected through a combination of teacher observation, communication, and performance in mock ethical dilemmas. This careful process ensures that each participant is ready to thrive in this challenging and rewarding environment.

Our Ethics Olympiad teams will be involved in an online training day in August, plus weekly rehearsals after school and will then compete in September. We look forward to keeping you up to date with their progress.

ICAS Competitions

We also welcome back our ICAS competitions (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) again this year. ICAS is developed by UNSW Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of UNSW Sydney, with over 40 years’ experience in educational assessments. ICAS Assessments are now online which allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results.  

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and Digital Technologies. Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online result report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.  We will be offering all of the above tests and communication has been sent home via SZapp on how to register.

As always, there is plenty happening.

Until next time…

Vanessa Saccardo