Dear families,
I trust everyone is well. We have settled in well to the rhythm and routines of school life over the past few weeks and the children are all working very purposefully towards their learning goals. During the past week, we have been using the CESA ‘Classroom Pulse Check’ survey to hear directly from the children how they are feeling about learning and school life in general. They have reported strongly to us that they are feeling happy and safe at school, and enjoying their learning!
We are now well into the season of Lent, which commenced with our Carnevale celebrations on Shrove Tuesday, followed by a very moving and significant Liturgy on Ash Wednesday. Children are learning all about the importance of Lent, during their RE lessons and reflecting on their Lenten goals.
NAPLAN preparations have commenced in earnest. From 2023, NAPLAN will be held in the first term. This is designed to allow for a more timely return of results to schools and families. There will also be a new form of NAPLAN reporting from this year, with a move toward 4 proficiency standards, rather than the previous NAPLAN bands. This means that data from 2023 will be considered a new baseline. The 4 standards are: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. I will provide further information around these new procedures in the future. The NAPLAN testing window is from the 15th-27th March.
Families have probably noticed action beginning to happen in the building zone. While this is exciting, unfortunately, things have kicked off a little later than expected because of some challenges around development approval that were beyond our control. We remain hopeful that the project can still be delivered in time for the 2024 school year, however the building industry is still quite volatile and so we do need to be realistic in our expectations. As always, I will keep the community informed.
You may also have noticed the oval not really looking as good as it usually does. This has been a legacy of not being able to properly attend to it late last year, due to the early works program. Hopefully it will begin to regain some of its former glory, very soon. Thankfully, it hasn’t impacted too significantly on the children’s play.
As families would know, we have a Pupil Free day this Friday. Our teaching staff have been working very hard over the beginning of the year to ensure our Literacy program is well aligned and purposeful. On Friday, we will be involved in ‘Word cracker’ training with Hansberry Educational consulting. This Professional learning is centered on Morphology, which relates to the structure and formation of words. Morphology sits alongside Phonology and Phonemic awareness as integral components of a successful reading program. In addition to this training, our staff have been actively engaged in collecting and analysing a range of datasets, and implementing our evidence engagement schedule to ensure our planning, and teaching and learning are providing optimal learning experiences for the children.
Next Wednesday, I will be joining the year 6 children for their annual camp. For the second year, we will be at Finniss, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, as the Murray River remains too high for us to be at our usual campsite. Camps are an excellent way for our children to experience life away from home and to build on their friendships and strengthen their relational skills and resilience. My sincere thanks go to our year 6 teachers Ms Gill and Mrs Stoddart, along with Mr Daley and Mrs Edwards, all of whom will be spending time away from their families while caring for the year 6 classes. This is a significant work commitment and one that I very much appreciate.
Our Sacramental program has commenced in earnest, under the expert guidance of Angela DeNadai. This year, St Francis is working in close partnership with Christ the King parish in the implementation of the program, and we very much value the leadership and support of Fr Michael Trainor and Joan Walsh who is Pastoral Associate.
Our thoughts and prayers go with James Quigley and his family on the death of his mum, Cecilia Quigley. James would still be remembered by some at St Francis from his time as Deputy Principal. I attended the funeral last Friday, which was a very moving experience.
On a final note, there is a P&F meeting next Wednesday 15th March from 6.30pm at school. While a group email has been sent out, in reality, all families are welcome and encouraged to join the P&F!
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