I would like to welcome all our Primary families to the new school year. An especially warm welcome is extended to the new families who have joined our community. I sincerely hope that 2020 is a successful year for everyone and as staff, we will do everything we can to ensure this. We welcome the involvement of all parents in the life of the Primary campus and I encourage you to speak with the teachers about ways in which you can become involved.

From early on day one, all students were settled in their classrooms, establishing new friendships, organising their belongings and getting to know their new teachers. Some classrooms were involved in creating art pieces for the Stanthorpe Show, others were making 'Australia' out of arrowroot biscuits, while some were getting to grips with the new online learning tool, CANVAS. We have also started to gather data on the students so that we are better placed to map out their learning journey for the next few weeks.

It is important that a school continues to evolve each year and to that end, there are two projects which I would like to outline. In line with our vision to be a Visible Learning school, Year 6 students this year will be taught in a format that is more closely linked to the principles outlined by renowned educational researcher, Prof. John Hattie. Their classroom, the 'Learning Hub', will look a little different to the traditional classroom in some respects but the students will benefit from evidence-based practices and the support of two teachers in the room for most of the time.  While Visible Learning practices are evident in all classrooms, this initiative with Year 6 is taking our knowledge and understanding further and it is a project that we are very excited about. I look forward to being able to share photos, anecdotes and interim results of this project with the wider community throughout the year.

Some of the skills required to be successful in the 21st Century are said to be collaboration, communication, problem solving and creative thinking. With this in mind, each Friday afternoon in Semester 1 students across Years 1 - 6 will participate in a range of activities designed to develop and enhance those skills. The students will work in multi-age groups and rotate every three weeks. This is another exciting development in our curriculum provision at St Joseph's School which will run alongside the traditional inter-school sport program.

As we begin the academic year, my wish for all students is that they will embrace every opportunity open to them to do their very best academically and that they will show care and respect towards their peers and those in the wider community of Stanthorpe and beyond. As adults in their world, we have a responsibility to model these behaviours so that they can learn from us.

With God's blessings for a successful 2020.

Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary