ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC
SCHOOL
TAKAPUNA

EDMONDS CUP RECIPIENTS

At our Year 6 Graduation Mass on Thursday evening, we announced our 2023 Edmonds Cup recipients.

The Edmonds Cup acknowledges the participation and contribution the child has made to the life of St Joseph’s School in the fields of leadership, empathy for others and upholding the Special Catholic Character.

Year 6 students along with school staff are given the opportunity to nominate a student that they feel demonstrates all of these outstanding qualities. The nominations are collated and the two Edmonds Cup recipients are determined.

Congratulations to Michaela Foster and Daniel Kim who are the 2023 Edmonds Cup recipients.

These are some of the comments made by staff and their peers about each of them:

Michaela Foster

‘kind-hearted’ child that always goes out of their way to show Aroha and Manaakitanga to those around them
endeavour to lift others up when they are struggling – someone that the other students aspire to be like
community minded and humble in her service to others
carrying out these leadership roles with care and commitment
smiley, happy and positive

Daniel Kim

consistently demonstrates our school values of Manaakitanga by taking care of others, especially the younger students
‘can do’ attitude and always strives to be the best person he can be
fantastic leader who is well-respected by their peers
respectful towards everyone
supportive and kind, going out of his way to help where possible

Congratulations Michaela and Daniel!

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Good afternoon,

As we head into the summer break, the Board would like to thank Alister, the senior leadership team, teachers, and support staff for all their efforts this year. Despite a very wet start, which we are aware impacted many of our families, it has been fantastic to have had an uninterrupted year filled with learning and development opportunities both in and outside of the classroom.

Achievement Data

This week the Board was presented with the latest achievement data for our school. Thanks to the efforts of our teachers and teaching assistants, and supported by whanau, every single one of our students has shown strong progress over the past year.

In our core subject areas, across all year levels:

87.7% of students are achieving at or above the expected curriculum level in reading (74.7% achieving at, and 13% above)
81% of students are achieving at or above the expected curriculum level in writing (73% achieving at, and 8% above)
85.6% of students are achieving at or above the expected curriculum level in maths (70.4% achieving at, and 15.2% above)

These are strong results and the vast majority of our students are tracking exactly where they should be. Where there are areas to address and additional support required, our staff are acutely aware of these and will continue to work with each child and their whanau. We are fortunate within our school to have excellent resources and intervention programmes in place, which help to both support and extend our students so that every single one can progress and reach their full potential.

ERO Report

We also wanted to draw your attention to the latest Education Review Office (ERO) report on our school that was released in October. These reports are developed based on the analysis and observations of an independent ERO assessor who spent time in our school in term 3.

The assessor reviewed our strategic plan and evaluated “how well our localised curriculum responds to the needs of all students, enabling them to achieve equitable and excellent outcomes.” The report also outlines the school’s core strengths and areas of focus moving forward.

The report validated the Boards confidence in the strength of our school’s leadership team and the dedication and commitment of all our staff to delivering high-quality education for our children. We are especially pleased that the report also acknowledged the school’s strong connection with whanau as we believe this plays a core part in helping our students succeed.

You can read the full report on our website here.

Acknowledging the PTFA

The Board would also like to acknowledge and thank the PTFA for its support. It has been fantastic to see the children enjoying the new junior playground, which was partially funded through the PTFA’s fundraising efforts over the last few years. We appreciate all the work the PTFA does to raise funds for our school, along with providing so many opportunities to bring our community together such as the colour run, school discos, quiz night, and more. Your efforts – and the support of our community in getting behind these initiatives – are much appreciated.

Wishing You a Safe and Blessed Christmas

Finally, we would like to thank every member of our community for your ongoing support of our school and for helping make this year particularly ‘awesome’ (as Mr Bridgman would say!).

With Christmas almost upon us, we hope that you will have an opportunity to come together with whanau and friends to celebrate the advent season. For those of you who are travelling, please take care and enjoy your time together as a family.

On behalf of the St. Joseph’s School Takapuna Board, I wish you a blessed, healthy, and safe Christmas and holiday period.

Eric Esnouf, Presiding Member

On behalf of the St. Joseph’s School Board