Term 3 Week 7 Newsletter - 1.9.23
Principal News
School Improvement Review
Last week we completed our School Review. It was an extremely robust process conducted by the Catholic Schools Office and led by an accredited school reviewer from ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) the Regional Service Leader from our Clarence Catholic Schools and a Principal from another school. Our school was been critiqued against 9 Domains and practices of highly effective schools. This process has seen all school documentation, structures and processes analysed and evaluated for effectiveness, staff interviewed and classrooms observed, students interviewed, learning outcomes analysed and input from the Parent Forum.
The 9 Domains that we have been critiqued against are listed below.
- Driving and explicit improvement agenda
- Analysing and discussing data
- Promoting a culture of learning
- Targeting school resources
- Building an expert teaching team
- Leading systematic curriculum design
- Differentiating teaching and learning
- Implementing effective pedagogical practices
- Building school-community partnerships
A key feature of the school improvement process is the set of performance indicators that our school has been assessed against in each of the 9 domains. The performance levels make judgements about how a school is going on their improvement journey and what they can focus on next to keep improving.
The performance levels include, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH and OUTSTANDING. Only 3-7% of schools nationally achieve results in the OUTSTANDING level. I am extremely proud of our school community and our relentless efforts to keep improving for our children. I am very excited to be able to let you know that we have achieved either HIGH or OUTSTANDING in all domains. This is a wonderful achievement for our school and a reflection of the dedication of our staff, our commitment to work with families and belief that all children are loved, belong and can learn successfully in our school.
This process also provided us with commendations for the work we are doing extremely well, affirmations for the new things we have started and need to keep focusing on and recommendations for things we may decide to focus on as we move forward on our improvement journey.
Father's Day
My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could ever give another person. He believed in me.
Fathers and father figures play an important role in all our lives. Their example of love and faith shines brightly as they watch over us, guide us and protect us.
A big thank you to our Year 3 students for leading a beautiful Father's Day Liturgy and to all our fathers who were able to attend, share a beverage and food platter and enjoy having some fun games and activities.
We hope that all father figures will enjoy a special day on Sunday and find time to spend it with those they cherish.
Mission News
Gotchyas
Brayden in Year 4 - someone Gotchya being a good friend.
Lennox in Year 2 - for always being my friend
Elle in Year 1 - you are a great friend to Wyatt
Bailey in Year 5 - thank you for being funny
Isla in Year 3 - thank you for always including me
Maggie in Year 6 - someone gotcha being kind to them
Willow in Kinder - for playing with someone.
Making Jesus Real Awards
KP
Thea B - For being a responsible and respectful member of our class - thank you for treating everyone with kindness and respect Thea.
1L
Raife Mc - For his consistent engagement and dedication during InitiaLit. Keep up the great work Raife!
2L
Jacob P - for demonstrating resilience and still being a kind and inclusive classmate. You're setting a great example of being a good friend.
2P
Jack C - For being a kind and generous classmate, who does everything with a smile on his face.
3L
Isla D - For your radiant smile you grace our classroom with each morning! Also, your continuous positive can do attitude. Thank you for simply being yourself
3P
Lily B - For how loving you are toward your friends, classmates and teacher. 3P is so lucky to have you.
4L
Sierra S - for being a kind and empathetic friend. Keep being the face of Jesus.
4P
Max G - for being a good friend. You have been very patient, supportive and understanding, Max. Keep shining!
5L
Holly C - For making Jesus real in our classroom and on the playground by including others and being a good teammate. Thank you Holly for your smiles!
6P
Riley C - For the gentle way you lead the way in behaviour and learning. Keep shining your light , Riley!
Learning & Teaching
Kindergarten have been writing some amazing simple sentences.
Year 1 were playing Snakes and Ladders to help develop their number skills.
Year 2 have been learning about colour and number patterns.
3L Publishing writing
3P Publishing writing
Year 4L students enjoyed serenading on their ukulele.
4P Planning a hybrid text in writing
5L Creating Digital Soundscapes and artworks
6P PE and using the BIU wall to self-assess writing
OLHC Achievement Awards
KP
Ava H - For your hard work practising tricky words and applying your sound knowledge to your writing - well done Ava keep it up!
Dustin J - For your focus on applying your sound knowledge to reading and writing - keep up the great work Dustin!
Evie F - For being a great learner and giving 100% towards all learning task, and striving to achieve your best- you are a star Evie!
1L
Darcy C - For his hard work and commitment with improving his compound sentences. Well done, Darcy.
Patrick P: For his engaging and well written compound sentences that are displayed throughout his writing. Keep up the great work Patrick!
Cooper E - For his kind and helpful nature during classroom routines. He is always happy to be the first person to put his hand up to help. Thank you, Cooper. You are a star!
2L
Mae E - for exceptional growth in reading comprehension skills and strategies.
Nash H - for showing critical thinking skills in identifying our Mystery History objects.
2P
Riley Mc - For showing a huge improvement in your attitude towards writing. Keep up the amazing work Riley!
Ned M - For showing interest and enthusiasm in all aspects of learning. Keep up the fantastic work Ned!
3L
Rhett P - For his impressive utilization of imagery and figurative language that captivated the audience, congratulations! Well done!
Taze P - for his exceptional contributions and active participation in classroom discussions, as well as his enhanced dedication to independent tasks.
3P
Evan S - For showing your working out in maths clearly and in the most efficient ways. Well done!
Dominic R - For the very clever use of figurative language in your writing. You did a fantastic job engaging your audience with your narrative. Well done
4L
Mason B - For challenging yourself and presenting your scientific knowledge to the class. Well done Mason.
Brody C - For being a focused and independent learner.
4P
Harper S - For the constant effort you put into your work each day. Thank you for the positive attitude you bring to our classroom, Harper!
Milani H - For your increased focus this term. Congratulations Milani, it is showing through in all areas of your classroom work. Amazing!
5L
Jack De G - For creating imagery in your writing using Tier 2 language and for using a range of sentence structures. Well done Jack!
Holly W - For using Tier 3 language to compare and contrast the planets in our solar system during Science lessons. Great work Holly!
6P
Harrison N - For being focused on your learning and completing your work with your best efforts. Keep up the excellent work Harrison!
Sports News
Polding Athletics
Congratulations to Harper Jasmin for progressing onto Polding Athletics. She will travel to Glendale on Friday the 8th of September. As a school, we wish you all the best Harper.
Matty King Cup - Rugby League Gala Day
The Matty King Cup will take place on Thursday the 21st of September in Casino. Notes went out on Wednesday the 30th of August. Please ensure all notes are returned by the 10th of September. There will also be a training on Friday the 15th of September at Neilson Park, so the children will need to have their football equipment on that day.
Term Three - Events
- Thursday the 21st of September - Matty King Cup, Rugby League, Casino
Term Four - Events
- Thursday the 2nd of November - Richmond Zone Summer Sports Trials (Year 5 and 6 ONLY)
- Friday the 24th of November - DIO Summer Sports Trials
- Our Lady Help of Christians Swimming Carnival - Date to be confirmed
School News
Poetry and Public Speaking
Congratulations to all of the students who participated in our school Poetry and Public Speaking competition. Everyone did an amazing job and we wish we could send all of our students through to the zone competition!
Congratulations to our finalists who will represent our school at St Carthages in Week 9 for the Zone competition:
Stage 1- Cody S and Mae E (Poetry)
Stage 2- Charlotte F and Wyatt E (Poetry)
Stage 3- Matilda J and Zoe B (Public Speaking)
Community News
