Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Last week Year 6 led our Primary Assembly and reminded all present that World Environment Day, which is celebrated on June 5 each year and calls all of us to care for our common home. Sometimes the environmental problems that the world is facing may seem completely overwhelming. Taking such a global view can sometimes cause us to lose sight of the simple steps each of us can take to contribute to caring for our own part of the world that is our common home.

At the assembly on Friday, I shared with the students and parents present my disappointment regarding the disrespect currently being shown across the school, especially in the toilets. Our school environment is our common home while we are at school yet we continue to have issues in the school toilets related to respectful behaviour.

Last week we had to remove a school hat that was attempted to be flushed in the toilet, students have been urinating on the back of the toilet doors, on the floors and in the hand towel waste bin. Sanitary bins have been stuffed with hand towels. I am certain this type of behaviour would not be tolerated in our students homes by their parents.

It worries me greatly as we commence the preparation to move into our brand new multimillion dollar building very soon that the students will not appropriately respect the great investment made in our school environment and in their learning.

 As a community our school motto, Christ Our Way and Life  calls each of us to bring our school vision to life by striving to be like Christ in all we say and do, by reaching out to serve others, by being the best learner and person we can be and by showing respect in all areas of our lives to ourself, to others and to all of creation. Our students are called to realise that creation includes everything that is visible and invisible. Creation includes the facilities provided by the hard work of others for their benefit and this includes the toilets. Students found to be responsible for disrespecting or damaging school property will be asked to meet the costs associated with rectification. 

I seek the support of all parents to review the expectations related to respectful relationships with others and the school environment with their children. We very look forward to an improvement in the current situation. We pray. . .

God of creation, 

who loves all he has made and all that has evolved, 

open the eyes of your people, 

that your love might be reflected in our care for the planet and for each other. 

Through Jesus Christ, who walked this earth and calls us by name. 

Amen. 

What do I need to know about Semester One reports?

Semester One reports will be sent to parents on Friday 16 June for students in Years 1 - 6. Reports are written in line with the requirements of the NSW K - 10 syllabuses for the Australian Curriculum in English, Mathematics and Science. Grades are awarded to students following the Common Grade Scale. At the Parent Teacher Conferences in week 9 and 10, your child’s class teacher will be able to explain how the grade awarded reflects the level of work your child is currently achieving.

 Further explanation of the reports is provided with the following:

 It has now been a requirement of national legislation for Primary schools to provide twice-yearly written reports for students in Years 1 - 6 to parents. These reports are to be standards-referenced which in NSW means reporting based on the Common Grade Scale. Standards-referenced reporting requires teachers to consider the performance of each student according to the standard detailed at each level (A - E) of the Common Grade Scale for each Key Learning Area (KLA).  Students are then awarded a grade based on the evidence teachers have of their learning in each particular KLA and the standard it reflects. According to the Common Grade Scale a ‘C’ grade is considered sound. That is, if awarded a C in a particular KLA the student has demonstrated that they have gained the knowledge, skills and understanding expected of them at this point in time.

Some features of the report include:

Overall grades

Each KLA has an overall grade that is determined by the teacher by considering the evidence of each student’s learning and the standard on the Common Grade Scale it reflects. Overall grades are not determined by averaging performance on strands within a KLA. In many cases more time has been dedicated to learning in one strand over others and this contributes significantly to the balanced judgement a teacher is required to make in order to award an overall grade. It is not unusual for a student’s overall grade to change from one reporting period to the next as the knowledge, skills and understanding they encounter in each KLA will vary from one reporting period to the next. The Common Grade Scale is outlined below and is also included on the front of the report.

Common Grade Scale:

Effort Descriptors:

This section of the report captures the student’s attitude to the particular KLA and their skills in managing their work, persisting when challenged and working to their potential. A scale explaining the three standards used to describe student effort is included on the front of the report.

Strands:

The term ‘strands’ refers to the breakdown of learning within each Key Learning Area (KLA) that is presented in a grid with the options Extensive, Thorough, Sound, Limited and Basic for teachers to indicate the performance of the student within each strand. Over a reporting period some strands will have a greater focus than others, which will impact the overall grade for the KLA. In some KLAs not every strand will be covered each reporting period; those that are not covered will not appear on the report.

Comments:

There are three kinds of comments on the report:

Learning Gains – These comments use syllabus text to capture the new learning the student has demonstrated in the reporting period

Areas for Growth – These comments use syllabus text to capture the new learning the student will encounter as the ‘next step’ or ‘targeted area for growth’ on their learning path

Final Comment – The longer, final comment is written by the teacher and may cover a range of academic and non-academic areas

Positive Behaviours for Learning Descriptors:

This section of the report focuses on the student as a community member and as a learner. A scale is included to detail the three standards that are used to report on this aspect of the student’s behaviour.

Absences for the Semester:

This section of the report indicates the whole and partial days absent throughout the semester as recorded in the class rolls. Regular and consistent attendance at school increases the likelihood of academic and social success for children each year. 

NSW K-2 English and Mathematics Syllabuses

As mentioned in previous newsletters, all schools in NSW are implementing the reformed NSW English and Mathematics K - 2 syllabuses. These syllabuses highlight foundational literacy and numeracy skills. Please find below suggestions about what you can do as a parent or carer to support your child in Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 in the area of Statistics and Probability in Mathematics.

Helping your Early Stage 1 child at home with Mathematics

Statistics and Probability

Data

Data focuses on:

• collecting data and making meaning from a data display.

You can help your Kindergarten child at home by:

• collecting data together about something that you both find interesting. For example, what kinds of pets are most popular with your extended family or friends?
• designing a simple data display from blocks, pegs or counters to represent the data gathered. For example, 5 blocks mean there are 5 dogs, 3 blocks for 3 cats, 1 block for a rabbit and 6 blocks for 6 birds

asking questions to understand and make meaning from your data display. For example, What pet was the most popular? and What pet was the least popular?

Helping your Stage 1 child at home with Mathematics

Statistics and Probability

Data

Data focuses on:

• gathering and organising data in tables and picture graphs
• interpreting and describing the results

You can help your Year 1 and Year 2 child at home by:

• assisting them to interview members of your family about a topic of interest. Some examples could be finding what categories of food or television shows family members enjoy the most. Use tally marks to record the answers
• representing this data as a simple graph using pictures to show the largest to smallest values. For example, 5 people like seafood, 9 people like fast food and 3 people like vegetables
• describing the information by comparing the data. For example, 4 more people like fast food than seafood, 6 fewer people like vegetables than fast food.

Chance

Chance focuses on:

• the element of chance in everyday life.

You can help your Year 1 and Year 2 child at home by:

using the language of chance such as certain, impossible, more likely, equally likely and less likely when describing everyday events. For example, I have an equally likely chance of tossing heads or tails on a coin flip.

Mrs Lillian Del Giudice

Assistant Principal

NAIDOC Week Mass 

We would like to invite our school community to celebrate NAIDOC Week with us!

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

Our school community will be celebrating NAIDOC week by attending a special Mass this week based on this year’s theme  ‘For Our Elders’.

This will be held on:

Date: Friday 16 June 2023

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Place: Mary Immaculate Church

Sacred Heart Award

For many years now, we have been celebrating a very special award in our school - The Sacred Heart Award.

Any student in our school may be nominated by a teacher for displaying the school values and living out our vision of:

• Faith (Walking with Christ)
• Respect
• Service
• Lifelong learning

The teachers then vote and ONE child in our entire school is chosen and  presented with this prestigious award. 

This year, we will be holding this liturgy on:

Date: Friday 23 June 2023

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Place: Mary Immaculate Church

All members of our school and parish community are warmly invited to attend and share this celebration with us. 

Mrs Kirsty Simpson

REC