Michelle Tamaro and her daughter Aria who will start kindergarten Tuesday. Credit: Ben Symons.
Aria Tamaro can rattle off a long list of new things she is looking forward to when she starts kindergarten on Thursday.
Having watched her older siblings take the same step, the five-year-old from North Parramatta knows there will be new friends, new teachers and new activities. But, most of all, Aria is excited to have new books to read.
"I love all books, I love colourful books," she said, listing the Spot series and comedian Andy Lee's Do Not Open This Book, as among her favourites.
Almost 65,000 kindergarten students will start at NSW public schools this week as a new syllabus that mandates the use of phonics when teaching pupils to read is rolled out in all classrooms.
Most state and Catholic schools return on Tuesday, while some students at NSW's independent schools started late last week.
The new kindergarten to year 2 English and mathematics syllabuses will be mandatory across the three school sectors for the first time this year, as part of an overhaul to the NSW curriculum that places heavier emphasis on literacy and numeracy foundations in early schooling.
The curriculum has a greater emphasis on phonics, a method that teaches students to sound out letters and letter combinations when learning to read. For example, they might learn that the short "c" sound can appear as "c" as in cat, "k" as in kit and "ck" as in duck.
A statewide phonics screening check, conducted in public schools after a term of remote learning in 2021, suggested more than 40 per cent of year 1 students were not meeting benchmarks.
Trialled across 400 schools last year, the new curriculum also increases the focus on core skills such as spelling, handwriting and structuring a sentence.
In maths, lessons will shift to be grounded in mathematical reasoning, ensuring students understand how they arrive at an answer. The teaching of addition and subtraction will also no longer be separated, instead taught as opposite components of the same process.
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell, whose own youngest daughter will start kindergarten this week, said the first syllabuses of the state's curriculum reform were designed to build strong literacy and numeracy foundations for learners' early years and beyond.
"The students starting kindergarten next week will be the first of the 'curriculum reform generation', benefitting from these evidence-based, back-to-basic syllabuses from their very first day," she said.
Sydney Morning Herald
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10 Aug 2026
From Facebook
In Science, Year 2 have been learning about forces. Students completed a fair test, investigating the effect of gravity’s pulling force. They concluded that the steeper the ramp, the further and faster a car will travel. Well done Year 2! 🌟
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From Facebook
Joey's Cafe' is fast approaching! Join us on Wednesday 2nd September. We are delighted to welcome Daniel Merza an award-winning motivational speaker & author, who will present an engaging session on, 'Raising Children to Thrive'. Daniel is known for his powerful storytelling and practical strategies that empower families to equip and inspire children to succeed, maximise their potential and truly thrive. Come along for a cuppa, connect with other families and enjoy an uplifting evening together ☕️🧁 Please remember to RSVP and encourage your SJK parent peers to come along! We look forward to seeing you there.
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10 Aug 2026
From Facebook
In Science, Year 2 have been learning about forces. Students completed a fair test, investigating the effect of gravity’s pulling force. They concluded that the steeper the ramp, the further and faster a car will travel. Well done Year 2! 🌟
10 Aug 2026
From Facebook
Joey's Cafe' is fast approaching! Join us on Wednesday 2nd September. We are delighted to welcome Daniel Merza an award-winning motivational speaker & author, who will present an engaging session on, 'Raising Children to Thrive'. Daniel is known for his powerful storytelling and practical strategies that empower families to equip and inspire children to succeed, maximise their potential and truly thrive. Come along for a cuppa, connect with other families and enjoy an uplifting evening together ☕️🧁 Please remember to RSVP and encourage your SJK parent peers to come along! We look forward to seeing you there.
07 Aug 2026
From Facebook
💙 National Principal Appreciation Day 💙 Today we give thanks for our wonderful Principal, Mrs Rochelle Borg, and the leadership, compassion and dedication she brings to our St Joseph’s community each day. Through her commitment to our students, staff and families, Mrs Borg leads with faith, kindness and a genuine spirit of service, helping each member of our community to feel known, valued and supported. We are truly grateful for all that you do, Mrs Borg. May God continue to bless you in your leadership and the important work you do each day. 🙏💐 Happy National Principal Appreciation Day! 🌟
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From Facebook
Today we celebrated 100 Days of Kindergarten! 🎉 Our students had an amazing day taking part in lots of exciting activities to celebrate how far they've come in their learning journey. They loved completing a 100 Days scavenger hunt, imagining what they might look like 100 years from now, and creating some very yummy fairy bread 🌈🍞 To top off a fantastic day, we were lucky enough to have a special visit from Joey, which was the perfect way to end our celebrations. We are so proud of everything our Kindergarten students have achieved in their first 100 days of school. We can't wait to watch them continue to learn, grow and shine throughout the rest of the year! ⭐️❤️
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From Facebook
Year 6 Voice of Youth Competition On Monday, our Year 6 students took part in the Voice of Youth speech competition. The program provides every student with the opportunity to write, prepare and deliver a speech, while also giving those with a flair for public speaking the chance to showcase their talents. We are so proud of the courage, creativity and confidence shown by all our Year 6 students as they shared their ideas and messages with an audience. A special congratulations to our school finalists Aubrey, Akua and Bianca, who will go on to represent our school in the Cluster final. What a wonderful celebration of student voice and expression. 🤩👏
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From Facebook
Our year two students were delighted to welcome Aunty Roz into their classroom yesterday. Aunty Roz shared a range of Indigenous artefacts and stories. This rich learning experience supported students’ understanding of Aboriginal histories and cultures, as they explored the meaning, materials and uses of artefacts for hunting, music and daily life.
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From Facebook
SJK is proud of our Year 5 & 6 Orchestra, who demonstrated their musical talents at the Captivate Arts Factor expo yesterday. They were amazing!
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Our school orchestra enjoyed their final rehearsal today ahead of their performance on Monday, including a beautiful rendition of Frère Jacques. It was wonderful to see their focus, teamwork and confidence as they brought their pieces together. A special thank you to our stage two audience, who were very impressed with what they heard and provided such encouraging support. We wish our orchestra the very best for their Captivate Arts Primary Strings Learning Exhibition, we know you will make us proud.
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From Facebook
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