“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.”

St Paul

Dear Families,

This week we celebrate our school’s feast day. June 29 is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. On Wednesday we invite you to join us as we celebrate with mass at 12 noon followed by open classrooms.  This feast day is one of the longest running feast days celebrated in the Church’s history. St Peter is known as the founding father of the Church. Jesus said “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Paul was a writer and he is known for his writings in the New testament. Paul believed that it is through the Holy Spirit that we are connected to God. Prior to his conversion he was known as Saul who persecuted Christians. It was his encounters with the risen Jesus that made him realise he needed to change his ways and make things right. As a result he became known as Paul, travelled as a missionary and wrote, working to inspire others to follow Christ and embrace the Holy Spirit. This is why aligning our school value of Respect to St Paul is so relevant. Respect is about how we treat others, standing up to others when we see disrespect, calling it out and making things right when we fall short. 

We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we navigate our way each and every day ensuring we continually strive to show respect in our interactions ultimately revealing the face of God. Amen.

It is hard to believe that Term 2 is nearly over, however it demonstrates the commitment and hard work that staff and students have undertaken to ensure we continue to strive for growth in faith, learning and wellbeing. Everyone has been so studious that we have not realised time passing by so quickly. This term has seen a great deal of professional learning for staff as we continue to work toward our annual improvement goal; Students will demonstrate continuous improvement in Mathematics as a result of explicit instruction at their point of need, informed by ongoing quality assessment. In Term 3 week 3 we will showcase some of this work through our St Mary MacKillop STEAM day. Look out for the invitation and mark it in your diaries. Thank you to the P&F who recently approved funds to purchase the next part of the VEX robotics program for our younger students. This program is enabling us to ensure we are working at the cutting edge of technology development and teaching our students skills that will be considered essential for future employment.

Wishing you and your family all the best for the student break. 

God Bless,

Social Media Presentation

Last week we had the privilege of listening to Senior Constable Rachel Kennedy speak about social media and gaming to the Year 3 - 6 students and some parents. Senior Constable Kennedy presented the ThinkUKnow program developed by the Australian Federal Police. The children found the sessions very informative and took away a number of things to think about. The parent session was very clear in the challenges social media and gaming presents for our young people.  Social media does have its benefits however it is much like driving. It can come at a huge cost if not undertaken with caution, training and at the right age. In terms of gaming the concerns are even greater. Children are connecting with people in chat rooms during the games. They will tell you that these people are their friends because the other people tell them they are and say what they want to hear. Your child may not know who they are, what age they are and where they are. Gaming online is akin to letting your child go, unaccompanied, into a new city where everyone wears a mask and hides their identity. These people will approach your child and tell them how much they like them establishing a trusting relationship. Eventually they will want to meet up away from everyone else and start asking them for photos of themselves without clothing or large sums of money all while recording their voice and image so they can use AI to generate a copy. Your children will not know where to go or who to go to for help. It is essential as parents you place clear boundaries about online use with your children and establish a relationship where they will feel comfortable telling you if something does go wrong. Senior Constable Kennedy was clear that boundaries must be set from an early age. If you wait until they are teenagers and then try to set them up because they have really got themselves into trouble you will have greater difficulty. Children need to hear the word no and no that the reason you set these boundaries is to keep them safe.

We have seen a spike in inappropriate behaviour, over the weekend between children online,  bringing these issues and terminology to school. Explicit terms of a sexual nature are being used. Children don’t know what these terms mean so they look them up. This then means more of the topic comes through the feed in YouTube and search engines. Children are too young to understand these terms and comprehend them and it is normalising things they are not ready for.

It is essential that parents supervise their children's online activity and regularly check what they are searching for and looking at. If you need help in setting boundaries around what they can view, the eSafety commissioner has great facts sheets to support you. The Carly Ryan foundation also has another great set of facts sheets on common apps.

eSafety.gov.au  

carlyryanfoundation.com

Scam Awareness by BDCU

Following the Social Media Presentation we had BDCU present a Scam Awareness session. They provided great tips and advice on what to do if you are scammed and how to spot a scam.

The basics are:

• Don’t answer the phone to a number that you do not know. If it is important they will leave a message.
• Do not deposit money into an account that has been sent to you by email or text by your bank or another organisation without checking first.
• Don’t engage with the scammers on the phone. They only need to record a minute and half of your voice to be able to use AI to replicate it.
• Check your accounts regularly.
• Be mindful of what you are sharing on social media.

A big thank you to Senior Constable Rachel Kennedy from NSW Police, BDCU and the small number of staff and families who came out on a cold winter's night to present and learn about these topics. Thank you to Ayesha Barton for setting up tea, coffee and biscuits on behalf of the P&F.

Semester 1 Reports

Semester 1 Reports will be available on Compass from 3:30 pm Friday 28 June. If you require a login for compass or are having difficulty using compass please contact the school office. Any parent/carer wishing to discuss your child’s report with the class teacher/s may do so by making a mutually agreeable time through the school office.

Staff Development Day

Monday July 22 is a staff development day. On this day staff will be engaging in professional learning regarding Mathematics, programming and assessment.

Student first day back is Tuesday 23 July.

NAPLAN Student Reports

Students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participated in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) during Term 1. A NAPLAN individual student report will be provided for your child early in Term 3. The same report format is used for every student in Australia. 

NAPLAN results are reported against proficiency standards. There is a standard for each assessment area at each year level. Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement. Student achievement is shown against 4 levels of proficiency:

• Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 
• Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing. 
• Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

If your child participated in 2024 and does not receive a report by Friday 2 August, contact the school office.

NAIDOC Week

The celebration of NAIDOC Week 2024 is from 7-14 July 2024 and is an opportunity for all Australians to come together to celebrate and recognise the contributions and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

This year’s NAIDOC Week theme of Keep the Fire Burning: Blak, Loud and Proud points us to the important opportunity to reflect on the strength of First Nations’ leadership and ways we can all be involved in keeping the fire burning for justice, truth and hope.

During NAIDOC, we remember the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of our country and celebrate their rich cultures and inspiring contributions to Australia.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) have produced an artwork that inspires us to be Strong in Faith. This day will be celebrated on Sunday 7 July. On this day, we gather as one community to honour and celebrate the rich cultural heritage and contributions of our First Nations Peoples to our Australian Catholic Church.

Students will be participating in rotational activities at school on Wednesday Week 10.

Catholic Schools Parents Australia’s Free Family Engagement Resources

Catholic School Parents Australia has developed free resources to strengthen the home-school partnership. The new video workshops help guide primary and secondary parents, principals, and school staff to take a holistic approach to their children’s well-being and educational experience.

The resources also include guides for local facilitators to run through the video workshops in collaborative sessions with principals, staff and families. Insights from experts like Andrew Fuller, John Hattie and Donna Cross inform the workshop’s research-backed strategies.

The resources can be found on the Gearing Up for Parent Engagement website.

Internship for Ms Bayot

Ms Bayot will be completing her internship in Term 3 with Year 3/4 Blue. This is her final practical experience as a preservice teacher and we wish her well as she prepares for this final experience which will then mean Ms Bayot will be recognised as a New Scheme Teacher. Ms Bayot has completed her studies in the Bachelor of Education through Notre Dame university. She is to be congratulated for her commitment to her studies and is warmly welcomed into such a rewarding profession as a Catholic primary school teacher. Ms duBois and Mr Farrugia will be Ms Bayot’s supervisors during this time. After three years of study and practical experience students are able to apply for NESA registration and begin teaching while they complete their final year.