Newsletter Term 3 - 22nd August 2024
- Principal Report
- Assistant Principal
- Religious Education
- Christian Leadership Awards
- Curriculum News
- School News
- Sports News
- Class News
- Library News /Book Week Final reminder
- Canteen News
- School-Wide Positive Behaviour for Learning (SPB4L)
- Publications & Privacy Information
- Health Matters
- Student Wellbeing
- Community News
Principal Report
Dear parents and carers,
Happy Wellbeing Week. I hope you have enjoyed a little break from the homework routine this week. Our students have been engaged in activities for Mindful Monday, Talk to God Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday and Friendship Friday. It's a St Mary's thing!
There was so much in the news last week about NAPLAN (National Assessment of Literacy and Numeracy) that I would like to share some information and reflections about what was reported. Over the last two years NAPLAN has been assessed in quite a different way, meaning that no comparative data is available to us yet, as students sit the tests on a two year cycle. In 2025 we will have the necessary data to conduct an in-depth analysis of student growth (which is really the most critical information) and share this with you. I can tell you that we are already seeing fabulous gains in our NAPLAN writing results.
For those familiar with the tests, students are no longer assessed in 'bands', instead, results are now measured against 4 levels of proficiency along a continuum. These are:
- exceeding
- strong
- developing
- needs additional support.
If a student does not achieve strong or exceeding they are considered by NESA to be not proficient in that discipline at their stage of chronological development and this is what the media has been referring to. For the past two years about 75-80% of St Mary's students in Years 3 and 5 (the NAPLAN testing grades) have achieved results in the 'strong' and 'exceeding' categories, with many more scoring at the top of the 'developing' level. Overall our school is rated as 'strong'.
Results are demonstrated by NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority) to parents on a line graph. We read every report for every student. If any St Mary's students receive a 'developing' or 'needs additional support' level they are cross referenced with our group of students who already receive additional support and/or are on personalised learning plans. It is very unusual that these children have not already been identified, but if this happens, the school acts on it in a timely manner. It is true that sometimes a student may just have a bad day and the results do not reflect their school work... and once or twice the opposite happens... but generally we regard the test as a valid snapshot in time of a student's ability in comparison to their peers in the same grade across Australia. At school, NAPLAN results are viewed alongside a wide range of other data when we monitor and report on student performance to you.
Unfortunately NAPLAN is a political tool. Can I say 'football'? The media reported that 1 in 3 of Australian students are not meeting basic proficiency levels. This is not the case at St Mary's. However, Australia is a large and diverse country and when scores are averaged out, this is the Australian reality in some disciplines. Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation are often the lagging culprits. Be mindful though, that our new Syllabus documents, on which the NAPLAN papers are based, require far greater rigour from our students. For example Years 5 and 6 are now learning English content that was previously High School content. These syllabus documents have only been released to schools in the past couple of years.
Add to that the fact that NAPLAN tests are now all online (with the exception of Year 3 Writing) and I can tell you how frustrating it was as the internet dropped in and out for some students during the testing period. The students soldiered on regardless.
I think sometimes NAPLAN raw data is thrown around to scare us all. The deep truth in NAPLAN is revealed in following the individual story of the child... is the child learning English as a second language? Does the child have a speech and language delay due to earlier medical issues? (For example if a child comes to school unable to hear the speech sounds of the English Language their phonemic awareness will be impinged.) Has the child had significant absences from school and therefore has missed a lot of learning? Is the child newly arrived from another country? What is the quality of and collaboration amongst the teaching staff? How well do teachers know the curriculum and how well do they know their students? How well has school leadership supported and resourced building teacher understanding of newly released Syllabuses? The list goes on.
There has also been some media hype around Explicit Instruction being the magic fix for everything that is wrong with teaching and learning. Schools that are using this method have been showcased on television. This is somewhat amusing to me as most schools I have ever worked in employ this method of instruction. Certainly our new curriculum supports it. Explicit Instruction is not new. Teachers have in their toolkit a wide range of strategies to use for various learning outcomes. If you were to walk into any of our classrooms, especially in the English block, you would see Explicit Instruction in action, particularly for phonics. There is a continuum of teacher directed instruction as students move along their own continuum from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn. It is a finely nuanced craft.
Towards the end of this term I will publish our school results across literacy and numeracy. I would love to explore this data with you and any of the above mentioned. I am happy to organise a presentation in one of our CaFE group meetings if parents are open to this. My hope is that you will see in what I have written above, as a demonstration of how passionate I am about student learning and my commitment to working together with you to get the very best possible outcomes for every one of our children. If for any reason you are worried about your child's performance on the NAPLAN tests this year, please make an appointment to talk to us about it. Knowledge is always power.
Volunteers
At the CaFE group meeting last week and hopefully now communicated to you through the parent facebook pages, we discussed a pressing problem about the availability of parent and family volunteers to assist Sarah in the Canteen. The numbers of volunteers on the roster has dwindled significantly and this is putting our canteen service at risk. We understand the pressures on families, (I have been a full time working parent their whole lives), but perhaps there is grandparent or two who would like to help out? An aunt, cousin or dad?
The commitment can be as least or most as you can manage. Once a month, once a term, even once a year! I have posted below a flyer from Sarah outlining the commitment... it's just a few hours on the day. We are appealing to families for assistance in the first instance but the next step will be looking at ways to reduce the canteen service if we cannot operate as we do now. Nicole Downey is going to release a survey soon if you would like to indicate your availability. Sarah and our canteen service form an incredibly valuable part of school life and it would be a shame if the service was diminished.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend when it arrives,
Gayle Stratton
Assistant Principal
Staff Professional Learning
This week Clara Carruthers and Rachel Cranney attended The Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) Safety Intervention Professional Learning. This program is designed to help professionals in any setting provide the best possible Care, Welfare, Safety, and Security for Individuals presenting a range of crisis behaviours. The purpose of the training was to build knowledge and skills to recognise, prevent and manage crisis behaviours using person centred and trauma - informed responses.
Religious Education
Joshua Meyers
Acting Religious Education Coordinator
Christian Leadership Awards
Mikaili Elliott Seth Pulbrook Kunnapat Keawprasarn Lena Al Haboubi | In recognition of "Positive View of Life" |
Blake Gavin Marlie Wait Aayansh Sharma George Isbill Izak Joseph Koghulan Sathiah Seelan Otis Pikari Willow Holst-Pierce Grace Boardman Hazel Morris Elijah Gough Zayn Spence Alexis Fragar Jack Flitcroft Thomas Nathan Hunter Brown Hunter Mepham
| In recognition of "Community & Common Good" |
Laura Davis
| In recognition of " Search for Truth & Wisdom" |
Troy Duncan | In recognition of " Hope & Resurrection" |
Curriculum News
World of Maths
This week, students had the opportunity to participate in the World of Maths incursion, an engaging and interactive event designed to make mathematics fun and accessible for all. The incursion brought math concepts to life with hands-on activities and puzzles that encouraged students to think critically and solve problems in creative ways.
Throughout the day, students worked in small groups to tackle various challenges, from geometric puzzles to logic games. The activities were designed to cater to different learning styles, ensuring that every student could find something that sparked their interest.
One of the highlights was the collaborative nature of the tasks, which not only helped students build their math skills but also promoted teamwork and communication. The excitement in the room was obvious as students discovered new strategies and solutions, often surprising themselves with what they could achieve.
Sally Curran
Curriculum Reform
This week, Rachel Cranney and Sally Curran attended the Assistant Principal and Primary Coordinator meeting in Dubbo. Facilitated by CEDB, the day outlined information about the next stage in the NSW Curriculum Reform implementation. Schools and teachers use syllabuses to develop educational programs. While we have been working from the new Mathematics and English syllabus for the past two years, we are beginning to plan for the next rollout of the new K-6 syllabuses:
• Creative Arts (Music, Visual Arts, Drama and Dance)
• HSIE (Geography and History)
• Science and Technology
• PDHPE (Personal Development/Health and Physical Education
All four syllabuses, to be fully implemented by 2027, have a focus on essential content, explicit knowledge and skills and the explicit inclusion of writing across all areas. Our teaching staff will be participating in professional learning over the next few years in order to prepare for and deliver the new content in the given timeframe. A great deal of learning, work and time on the part of teaching staff will contribute to our students have access to and receiving high quality instruction and programs based on the syllabus.
School News
Eisteddfod success!
The Year Two students worked hard to learn their two poems and certainly gave a magnificent performance on the day. Thank you to Mr Meyers for preparing the students so beautifully! Year Two, we are very proud of you all!
2024 CaFE Grade Reps
Kinder: Alicia Holmes, Stacey Tracey (Kinder Orientation Night, Set up Kinder FB group)
Yr 1: Olivia Day-Gorham, Amy Hinchcliff (Kinder Welcome Morning Tea)
Yr 2: Renee Davis, Alicia Holmes (Mother’s Day gifts)
Yr 3: Mel Balchin, Olivia Day-Gorham (Mother's Day breakfast)
Yr 4: Jess McGrath and Katrina Holway (Father's Day gifts)
Yr 5: Kym Flitcroft, Kellie Pickering (Father's Day breakfast)
Yr 6: Kate Pulbrook, Sharon Collins (Easter Egg raffle and eggs. Organise Yr 6 2024 end of year event)
Sports News
Bathurst Diocesan Community Sport
Dear Parents,
Keep up to date with sporting events and achievements across the Bathurst Diocese. Search CEBD community sport or use the following link.
https://sites.google.com/bth.catholic.edu.au/cedbsportcommunity/
SPORTS UNIFORM Term 3
(any changes to the uniform days will be sent out via Compass)
Kindergarten - Friday
Year One - Thursday & Friday
Year Two - Tuesday
Year Three - Tuesday
Year Four - Thursday
Year Five - Tuesday & Friday
Year Six - Thursday
Girls ONLY Cricket Clinic
Phoebe Litchfield is coming to Orange and we will be running a Girls Only Cricket Clinic from 12:00pm until 1:30pm at Wade Park on Tuesday, 22nd October. There may be other players from the Sydney Thunder will also be present. The purpose of this clinic will be to promote Girls Cricket in Orange. There will be no cost for attending this event as it is being sponsored by West Orange Motors Toyota, but we do ask that all girls in attendance are REGISTERED.
If you are interested please contact our school office ASAP as spots are limited.
Class News
Reading Buddies
Year 1 and Year 3 have started a reading fluency program with each other. Twice a week, Year 3 visits the Year 1 classroom and listens to their Year 1 buddy read. Year 1 then gets the chance to hear their buddy read to them. Both grades love reading with each other.
Thank you so much Year 3 for helping Year 1 with their reading!!
Library News /Book Week Final reminder
Book Week
Next Week @ St Mary’s!
Reading really is magic. It has amazing power to transport minds.
Book Character Parade
DATE: On Thursday 29th August, all students have the opportunity to wear a book character costume or one based on this year’s theme:
‘Reading is Magic”.
(While we love seeing your creativity, we also encourage costumes that allow students to participate in our usual school activities).
TIME: The book parade commences at approximately 9:30 am.
Parents, friends and family are invited to watch and join in the fun. The students have produced wonderfully creative art responses related to this year’s shortlisted books. After the parade, we invite you to view this display in the library.
Also at this time, from 8.45 am-1.00 pm, the Book Fair will be operated by our local book store, Collins Book Sellers (EFTPOS available).
Book Fair
Students will have the opportunity to purchase a book for themselves and/or donate one to the library.
Students will have the chance to view the titles and record three books on their wish list sheet that they would like to purchase, with parental consent. (You are under no obligation to purchase the books they have listed.) They can then bring the money in on Thursday if you are unable to attend.
If the titles have sold, Mindy from Collins Bookstore will take orders and deliver the book(s) to school when they have arrived.
Titles that we would like to have donated are not available for student take-home purchase.
(When a book is donated it is inscribed with the donators name and they may borrow it first after processing is completed).
Thankyou
Anne Fredericksen
Canteen News
St Marys is a Nut and Egg Free school
Please do not put these in your child's lunch box as we have children at our school with severe reactions to these items. This includes Nutella/hazelnut spread. Thank you for your assistance.
School-Wide Positive Behaviour for Learning (SPB4L)
Positive Levels
This week, we are focusing on Positive Levels. Students are recognised for demonstrating positive behaviours for learning in the classroom, receiving one "dojo" point. When acknowledged for 50 points, students receive an in-class reward. This might be wearing slippers in the classroom or sitting where they like for a day. They receive a Bronze Level certificate at an upcoming assembly. For 150 points, students receive a Silver Level award certificate and an in-class reward, such as a homework free pass for a week. Gold Level awards are given for 250 points and St Mary's Level for 350. We encourage all students and acknowledge them for their positive behaviours.
Digital Technology & Chromebook expectations
We are learning to be safe, respectful and responsible users of digital technology. I will:
- bring my Chromebook to school fully charged (Year 3-6)
- only access sites directed by my teacher
- only use my own/allocated device and only use it for learning
- keep usernames, passwords and personal information private
- only communicate positively and not hurt others’ feelings
- be kind, respectful and thoughtful about what I write or post online
- not access or share inappropriate content
- talk to my parent/carer/teacher if I need help or support
- hand my phone/personal device/smart watch to the office
Publications & Privacy Information
Health Matters
Medication at School- Parental Advice
If your child requires medication that needs to be administered during school hours, please bring the medication to the school office, where it is stored safely. This includes asthma inhalers.
Students can come to the office at an arranged time to have the medication administered by trained First Aid Officers.
The office does not have Panadol, unless parents supply and complete a form for their child only.
Thank you
Student Wellbeing
Children with communication devices such as iPhones and Smart Watches must be handed to the school office in the morning before class and collected at the end of the day. This includes any device capable of taking photos.
Please support your child to meet this school requirement.
If you need to contact your child during school hours please call the school office.
Community News
Dear Parents & Carers
Please label students' clothing , so we can return them from lost property with ease.
Clothes that don't have names will be returned to the clothing pool, if not collected by the end of term.
Thank you
St Mary's Uniform Shop
is run by Parent Volunteers and is open from 8:45 am for an hour on Friday Mornings.
If you have put your order through Flexi schools it will be packed the following Friday and sent home with your child.
