Dear Families and Friends, 

National Reconciliation Week 2025

Over the past two weeks, as a Catholic community, we have taken time to reflect on our nation’s history to deepen our knowledge, grow in understanding, and continue building pathways of respect and hope. This week, our community prayer—beautifully led by the Year 5 students—gave thanks for the rich contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Together, we prayed for continued reconciliation and a future filled with hope.

Leadership Restructure

With the wonderful news that Vanessa Saccardo will begin maternity leave in mid-August, I’m pleased to share that we are in the fortunate position of being able to draw on the strengths of our existing team to ensure continuity. This restructure will minimise disruption and allow us to continue moving forward with key priorities and programs.

• Christine Farrugia will increase her time from 3 to 5 days per week. She will continue in her current role as Assistant Principal: Religious Identity and Mission and will also take on the role of Leader of Inclusive Education, overseeing supports for students with disability, the gifted and talented program, and the coordination of our Education Support Officers.
• Michael Mastrangelo currently holds a Position of Responsibility (POR) as SEQTA, Assessment & Curriculum Leader. His release time will increase from half a day to a full day, enabling him to lead more fully in areas he has already been working closely with Vanessa. We are also delighted to welcome back Serena Mohammadi from maternity leave, who will join Michael in the Year 3 classroom one day per week.
• Joshua Bennett will take on the role of Leader of Learning. Alongside Vanessa and Bonnie, Josh has been engaged in professional development focused on High Impact Teaching Strategies. He will now lead this work and oversee the continued implementation of our Literacy Agreement, which he played a key role in developing throughout 2024.
• Felicity Davis will continue her work as POR: Visible Wellbeing, ensuring our wellbeing program remains strong as we complete our formal training.

Having led through many leadership transitions over the years, I’ve learned that while change can bring uncertainty, it often opens the door to new opportunities. This restructure enables us to continue implementing our Strategic Plan and Annual Improvement Plan, maintaining our focus on Connection, Excellence and Gratitude. Vanessa is a valued member of our leadership team, and while we will miss her, we look forward to her return. As she has said, “We are just getting started!”—and I believe it will be hard to keep her away for long!

Developing leadership within our staff is a key responsibility of mine, as strong schools are built not on individuals, but on strong, capable teams. I’m proud of the depth of talent we have at St Joseph’s Kingswood. Christine, Josh and Michael have all been undertaking leadership development through avenues such as postgraduate study and Catholic Education’s Inspiring Leaders Program. We are truly in capable hands.

Term 3 Reception Teacher

I’m pleased to announce that Ms Charlie Viles has been appointed as our Reception teacher for Term 3. Many of you will already know Charlie from her work in OSHC and as an ESO. A qualified teacher, Charlie has developed strong relationships with staff, students and families, and gained valuable experience through her time working within our school. She has already begun working alongside Kate in the Joeys transition program and will continue supporting the children as they prepare to begin school in Term 3.

Educational Support Officers in Curriculum (ESO)

We are pleased to welcome additional staffing to support our inclusion programs and teaching teams:

• Carmen Whybrow, who will soon join us full time. She brings a wealth of experience from various educational settings and will be a valuable asset in supporting students and staff across the school.
• Benji Hughes, who many of you know from OSHC and recent replacement work, will join us full time in term 3 and for the remainder of the year, replacing Charlie Viles as she takes on her new role.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our school community.

Jodie Higgins

Principal

In all things, Charity

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

Students in Festival Choir are working hard to learn all the repertoire and choreography for our School Hub Group Assessment coming up in Week 8 and had an extended rehearsal after school this week, ending with hot chips!

Our Instrumental Concerts are coming up in Week 8 for students who learn an instrument through the school. Your instrumental tutor will let you know the details of your concert. We are looking forward to hearing the students’ progress and celebrating their hard work.

Congratulations to Chloe M 4P, who recently came 2^nd in the Salisbury Brass Band Solo melody contest in the Under 14 year olds section. 

Rebecca Pfitzner

Music teacher

Despite cloudy skies, there was plenty of sunshine in spirit on Friday 16 May, as we participated in National Walk Safely to School Day.

Our morning was made even more special with a visit from SAPOL, who joined our House Captains in welcoming families. Students were greeted with special stickers and temporary tattoos in recognition of the day.

Thank you to everyone who walked from home and those who parked a longer distance away from school and walked from there. This day serves as a valuable reminder of the many benefits of regular physical activity—not just for our health, but also for our planet. Walking to school helps reduce traffic congestion and car emissions, leading to cleaner air and a healthier environment for everyone. Another key message on this day is the importance of vital safety messages, including using designated pedestrian crossings and always holding hands with children under the age of 10 when crossing the road.

Thank you to everyone who participated, promoting healthy habits and road safety.