Imagine arriving at school and being met at the gate by Willy Wonka with your golden ticket for learning!
That’s exactly what students from St Joseph’s Primary School Kingswood experienced on their first day of school for 2019! By all reports this creative start to the year has already reignited students’ enthusiasm for learning.
St Joseph’s Principal Trish Reilly said both parents and students were excited about having Willy Wonka at the school. “He greeted all the children and asked them whether or not they had a Golden Ticket. When they said no, he said: “Well you can’t come to school but lucky I’ve got one I can give you!”
Starting the school year with this surprise visitor was a result of Mrs Reilly going to see Charlie and The Chocolate Factory during the holiday break. “I was inspired to create a golden ticket for the children as they came back to school to an exciting year filled with great learning,” she said.
Feedback from parents has been very positive. “The parents reported when they arrived at school and saw all the golden balloons and streamers, any butterflies in their children’s tummies disappeared. There was lots of laughter and any tension or anxiety disappeared when they saw Willy Wonka," Mrs Reilly said.
Many parents commented, saying: “It was such a lovely, warm and inviting welcome”; “This was a great idea: thank you, my daughters loved it”; “This was brilliant!” and “I love this school - it is so welcoming and everyone is so friendly. What a fun way for my son to start his schooling.”
Thank you to Tim Martin (AKA Willy Wonka), a great friend of St Joseph’s and a member of the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta Performing and Creative Arts program Captivate team!
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
-
11 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Learning, Sharing and Living Out Jesus’ Mission. ✝️ Year 2 students were delighted to welcome our Year 1 students into their classroom for a special opportunity to learn from one another about Baptism.💧 Year 2 shared their learning about what Baptism represents, while Year 1 proudly shared their beautiful Baptism books, featuring the symbols of Baptism and the story of Jesus’ Baptism. Together, the students explored their focus Scriptures: 📖 Year 1 – Luke 3:21–22, which tells the story of Jesus’ Baptism. 📖 Year 2 – Matthew 28:16–20, where Jesus calls his disciples to “make disciples of all nations.” This wonderful learning experience helped our students see that they, too, can live out Jesus’ mission by sharing their faith, teaching others and helping one another to know and follow Jesus. 💙 What a beautiful example of our Year 1 and Year 2 students learning, teaching and growing together in faith! 🌱✨09 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Last week we celebrated and gave thanks to our wonderful Support Staff. 🤩 Thank you for the care, encouragement and support you provide to our students every day. Whether it's a helping hand, a listening ear, a kind word or simply being thee when our students need you. St Joseph's wouldn't be the same without you all. We thank you for everything you do. 💙💛
More News
11 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Learning, Sharing and Living Out Jesus’ Mission. ✝️ Year 2 students were delighted to welcome our Year 1 students into their classroom for a special opportunity to learn from one another about Baptism.💧 Year 2 shared their learning about what Baptism represents, while Year 1 proudly shared their beautiful Baptism books, featuring the symbols of Baptism and the story of Jesus’ Baptism. Together, the students explored their focus Scriptures: 📖 Year 1 – Luke 3:21–22, which tells the story of Jesus’ Baptism. 📖 Year 2 – Matthew 28:16–20, where Jesus calls his disciples to “make disciples of all nations.” This wonderful learning experience helped our students see that they, too, can live out Jesus’ mission by sharing their faith, teaching others and helping one another to know and follow Jesus. 💙 What a beautiful example of our Year 1 and Year 2 students learning, teaching and growing together in faith! 🌱✨
09 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Last week we celebrated and gave thanks to our wonderful Support Staff. 🤩 Thank you for the care, encouragement and support you provide to our students every day. Whether it's a helping hand, a listening ear, a kind word or simply being thee when our students need you. St Joseph's wouldn't be the same without you all. We thank you for everything you do. 💙💛
04 Sep 2026
From Facebook
🚀 Year 2 are FORCE-fully fantastic! 🤩 Our young scientists have just wrapped up their Forces unit in the most hands-on way—by designing and building their very own arcade games using recyclable materials! ♻️🎮 Students applied their understanding of push and pull forces to plan, create, and test their inventions. The classroom was buzzing with energy as they spent the afternoon playing, testing, and refining each other’s games. 🧪🔧 Well done, Year 2! We’re so proud of your creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. The future of science and invention is in great hands! 🌟👩🔬👨🚀
03 Sep 2026
From Facebook
A very warm thank you to all our parents and carers who joined us for our Joey’s Café last night. We were so excited to see such a wonderful number of parents and carers come together, connect and support this initiative. Your presence and willingness to engage in these conversations is a wonderful reflection of the strong partnership between our school and families. We were thrilled to welcome award-winning speaker and author, Daniel Merza, who led us through a practical, thought-provoking session focused on building resilience in our children. Daniel shared three powerful messages for raising children to thrive: - build connection by showing up, listening and investing time - build belief by encouraging effort, persistence and a willingness to step outside their comfort zone - build tenacity by helping children see challenges as opportunities to learn, focus on progress over perfection, and recognise what is within their control We hope you left the evening feeling encouraged, equipped and inspired with some practical strategies to take into your homes and conversations with your children. Thank you once again for making our Joey’s Café such a success. Your involvement matters and we are so grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow together as a community. We look forward to welcoming you back to Joey’s Café in Term 4 for another opportunity to connect, share and support one another.
02 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Our Year Three students enjoyed their excursion to the Australian Museum where they experienced two exciting First Nations led programs. Students explored how First Nations peoples care for Sea Country and learned about native plants and their cultural significance. Our students had the opportunity to try traditional weaving techniques through hands-on activities and games. A great day of learning and connection with Country, culture and community.
01 Sep 2026
From Facebook
We’re excited to welcome all SJK parents and carers tomorrow for an inspiring evening with Daniel Merza as he explores Raising Children to Thrive. Come along ... bring a peer parent!
28 Aug 2026
From Facebook
28 Aug 2026
Kids get creative: Book Week with a twist as local school encourages students to think deeper
For schools across the nation, Book Week was celebrated through the theme of ‘Symphony of Stories’. For St Joseph’s Primary in Kingswood, they wanted to redefine Book Week and delve into the idea of bringing words to life.
28 Aug 2026
Our schools are cracking the reading code
Do you remember how you learned to read? For a vital skill that is linked to all other learning, it’s surprisingly difficult to explain how to go about learning it.
27 Aug 2026
From Facebook
📚✨ SJK’s Book Parade Comes Alive! ✨📚 Our school grounds transformed into a living storybook as students paraded in their incredible character costumes, each one a walking chapter of imagination, effort and pure love of reading. 🎭📖 This year, St Joseph’s added an exciting twist to our Book Week Parade, students didn’t just dress as their favourite characters they brought them to life with rich, powerful vocabulary! From “courageous” and “mysterious” to “mischievous” and “extraordinary,” the words they chose revealed not only their creativity but also their growing confidence as readers and writers. 🌟 It was a joy to hear them explain why their character was “brave,” “loyal,” or “adventurous,” and to witness the deep connections they’ve formed with the stories they love. This celebration is another shining example of how we set high expectations and look for creative ways to connect every celebration and experience to the explicit teaching and learning happening in our classrooms every day. 🍎📚 A huge thank you to our wonderful families for supporting this special day and to our dedicated staff for making it so engaging, fun and full of wonder. 🌈📖 Here’s to many more chapters of creativity at SJK! 🎉📚
27 Aug 2026
From Facebook
🙏✨ Yesterday, our school captains proudly represented our school at the Education Mass celebrated at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta. This special liturgy coincided with the 40th Anniversary of the Diocese of Parramatta, and as part of Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD), we are also celebrating 40 years of faith-filled education in our school communities.
24 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Due to an internet issue currently our phones are not working. If you need to contact the office for any reason please see our recent compass notification providing an alternate number. Thank you.
22 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Are you ready for our book parade on Tuesday, by bringing a word to life? Remember this year not only are we dressing up, we are also selecting a word that best describes your character or you can dress up as a word! That's right, if your favourite word is sparkle - you can come dressed in sparkles. We are looking forward to building our vocabulary through your creative ideas.