The School Swimming Carnival was a wonderful celebration of what it means to be a member of the St Paul’s Community. Thank you to our students who participated with such enthusiasm and to the staff who made sure the day ran smoothly. We have evaluated the day and will make some modifications moving forward to ensure the day is not quite so rushed. Congratulations to all the swimmers who were successful in making the Team for the Western Region Carnival.

AGE CHAMPION WINNERS:

Junior Girls Age Champion:  Sofia De Michiel Worgan

Junior Boys Age Champion:  Henry Holmes

11 Yr Girls Age Champion:  Tahlia Harris

11 Yr Boys Age Champion:  Matthew Holmes       

Senior Girls Age Champion:  NIL

Senior Boys Age Champion:  Sam Blunt      

Winning House - RED

Sportsmanship Award – Francesca Harcourt

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills. Each year students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

From 2023, NAPLAN is moving to Term 1 and will take place from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March. The reason for this change is so that results can be returned to schools earlier in the year which will support teachers to understand the learning needs of their students and plan accordingly.

NAPLAN tests are just one part of our school learning assessment program and questions are primarily based on knowledge, understanding and skills gained from the prior year of schooling.

In preparation for NAPLAN 2023, our school will undertake activities to help students to become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked.

Students and parents can access the public demonstration site  (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN and the types of questions and tools available. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.

PAT Testing

ACER’s Progressive Achievement approach is used in thousands of schools in Australia and around the world. The approach focuses on assessing and monitoring student growth over time and is underpinned by an understanding that students of the same age and in the same year of school can be at very different points in their learning and development.

 Why do schools use PAT tests?

•  They provide a measure of student achievement in each learning area
• PAT Adaptive uses a sophisticated computer adaptive assessment model to accurately target students’ abilities and to provide richer and more accurate diagnostic information about students’ achievement and needs.
• Entry levels are automatically assigned according to students’ estimated ability and their individualised test pathway is constructed as they progress through a series of ‘testlets’ – small blocks of test items.
• There is a common achievement scale for all tests within a learning area (PAT scale scores allow teachers to compare achievement on the tests within each learning area regardless of year level and the specific test completed and to monitor progress over time)
• They are mapped to the Australian Curriculum
• They provide overall descriptions of the types of skills mastered and those still to be developed based on test performance
• Individual and group reports have automatically calculated scores and sorting functions that allow comparison of scores across students, strands, etc.
• They can be used to inform teaching and learning and to assist in planning effective and targeted learning programs.

Students in Years 2-6 will be engaged in PAT Reading and PAT Mathematics Adaptive tests during Week 5 (February 20th – February 24th). Students will be supported in their classrooms by their teachers to complete these online tests.

Whole school Assembly Procedure

Last week we held our first assembly for the year. It was great to see so many parents and friends attend the assembly. At the end of the assembly we ask for your cooperation in not  leaving before the buses to ensure the safety of everyone. Classes will be dismissed first out of the hall. Children will line up in car lines and bus lines. Parents and carers are asked to wait in the large weather shed until the children are dismissed before leaving via the front of the school. Children who will be going home with their parents or carer can line up on the walkers line and then join their parents as the walkers line leaves through the side gate. Once the initial buses have left then we will dismiss walkers. This is to ensure no one is crossing the road between buses. All community members safety is a priority and therefore we must follow the procedure. We will teach this procedure to the children and practise it with them. If you know you will be attending the assembly and you would like them to come home following the assembly this way then let the office know to send a note to the child to line up in the walkers lines with the buses.

SMART DEVICES

The school will be developing a policy involving all smart devices. We have noticed a big increase in children wearing smart watches and having phones in their bags. Any device that can record, take photos or send and receive messages is not to be used during the school day at school. This is a breach of the social media policy and  privacy of staff and students. Any student who has a phone is required to leave it in their bag for the day and not use it while at school. Any messages that need to be given to children at school must come through the office. This is to ensure there is no confusion or misunderstandings. We will update you as soon as we have the policy.

Shrove Tuesday

Today we celebrated Shrove Tuesday (Pancake day)! We raised $235.00 for Caritas Australia, thank you for all of the donations. Year 5 are the class in charge of organising the special day and they did an outstanding job! A special thank you to Mrs Smith for helping out with the day.

We are very grateful to the parents that helped: Mrs O'Meley, Mrs Holmes, Mrs Bell,   Mrs and Mr Warbutron, Mrs KC, Mrs Canham, without you all days like today wouldn't run as well as they do.  We also thank Mrs M and Mrs Gillespie. 

Here are some comments from Year 5:

"Pancake making is a great teamwork experience. We loved doing all the jobs".

"It was very busy when we got going. But it went well when we got into the routine".

Well done Year 5, you did a really wonderful job with working all of the stations and with the serving. We made about 400 pancakes!

Cartias - Project Compassion Liturgy at St Columbkille's Corrimal

Today we saw the launch of the Caritas Project Compassion.  This involved a special Liturgy that Mrs Browne, Felix and Angel attended at St Columbkille's at Corrimal.  The Liturgy was presented by Bishop Brian Mascord, followed by a short morning tea.

Harmony Day

Harmony Day is Tuesday 21 March. It is a time to celebrate Australian multiculturalism, and the successful integration of migrants into our community.

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world and we should celebrate this and work to maintain it.

Harmony Week is about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.

These values align very closely with our school Vision and Mission. To celebrate Harmony day we invite everyone to come dressed in clothing or colours that represent your family's cultural backgrounds. This will be a P&F fundraiser so children are asked to bring a gold coin donation to participate. Children who do not wish to participate can wear the sports uniform or school uniform.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data

We will be continuing as a staff to prepare and plan for the student's personal plans. We will hold meetings later this term. Parents will be notified if you are required to attend a meeting. Please see the attached fact sheet for further information about this process.