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Dear Parents and Carers of Good Samaritan,
It’s that time of the year again when you will receive your child’s Semester One report on Friday. It is really important that parents have an understanding of how the reports are written and how teachers make judgements to award grades to the students.
In NSW, schools are required to report to parents using a 5 point achievement A-E grading scale. This requirement comes from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) who also direct the syllabus to which teachers plan, program, teach and assess.
Let’s take a look at what the grading system means in reality.
The A-E grading scale is for use within a stage of learning; for example, in Stage 2 (Years 3&4), teachers can award grades to students based on their achievement of stage 2 outcomes. This is because the assessment information teachers have collected for each student is up to that point in time. The grade is based on the content students have been exposed to - judgements are not made against end-of-stage standards. NESA directs teachers to give the grade that best matches the standard achieved so far.
Grades are awarded against the standards, that is, the NSW K-6 syllabus outcomes, not compared with, or to, other students. This means that a class may have many students receive As and Bs or where all students receive Cs. The intent is not to grade classes on a bell curve where there is a certain percentage of each grade given.
Judgements about grades form one part of reporting to parents. Teachers make decisions about grades by making ‘on-balance judgements’ about students' work. This means that assessment data is gathered across numerous work and assessment samples not based on single tests.
An on-balance judgement does not focus on one single piece of work. Hence, the importance of students being Ready to Learn each and every day. Assessment data used for reporting needs to be built up over time and come from different situations.
NESA encourages teachers to use a wide range of assessment practices. By doing this it means that teachers are able to assess before, during and after learning sequences therefore allowing for valid judgements. This limits the need for ‘one-off’ tests that can be very shallow and often do not reflect what the students actually know and are able to do.
Now that you are thinking about reports, take a couple of minutes to watch the clip below from Michael Grose who is founder of Parenting Ideas and one of Australia’s leading parenting educators.
Michael says that the last report may be used as a benchmark. This is true not necessarily to compare the grades from previous reports (remember they are a point in time report) but rather the broad view of the report - specifically: socially, attitudes to learning and behaviour.
Be mindful that your child will operate differently to his/her siblings or friends. It is important to take a broad view of learning - not all learning is academic and your child’s commitment to their learning is extremely important to their success.
When giving feedback to your child try to ensure that they take on some of the responsibility of learning. You can’t learn for them and neither can their teacher/s.
So:
- Be mindful of their confidence levels
- Be honest with them and positive about what they have achieved
- Be constructive - make plans with them about their improvement. Ask them where they feel they need to improve. They will surprise you!
- Be inclusive: make sure they are involved in the conversation. Children need to be challenged in their learning but with high support.
Lastly, use the Parent Teacher interview next week as an opportunity to hear more about your child and their learning. If you wish your child to be involved in the interview, bring them along and involve them in the discussion.
As we journey through the week, with Jesus,
Toni Sillis
Principal
Our Captains & Vice Captains invite you to:
GSFM Teddy Bear’s Picnic
The picnic will be held following the postponed Mother’s Day Liturgy as a celebration of the end of Term 2 on Friday 25 June.
The Liturgy will begin at 12noon.
Year 6 will be living the Benedictan value of HOSPITALITY with a selection of cakes and slices to share with you on the day.
Is YouTube social media?
YouTube is a social media platform. It is a user-generated video sharing platform that allows people to discover, watch and share videos. As a social media platform the recommended minimum age for using YouTube is 13+.
At Good Samaritan students are not encouraged to use YouTube to upload videos, to like or subscribe to videos. School managed iPads no longer have access to YouTube. At school students use iMovie, clips and Stop Motion. Teachers do use Youtube videos for discussion, making teaching points and for stimulus in lessons. The school’s process is that all videos, including YouTube clips are watched and go for no longer than necessary within the lesson.
At Good Samaritan students are not encouraged to use YouTube to upload videos, to like or subscribe to videos. School managed iPads no longer have access to YouTube. At school students use iMovie, clips and Stop Motion.
You can read more about YouTube in the eSafety Commissioner eSafety Guide.Thank You:
to Mrs Mewett and Mrs Gray for organising the Netball Gala Day. Our thanks is also extended to all the parents and grandparents who were able to assist on the day or who made alternate arrangements so that their child could play. It is very much appreciated and a great day was had by all!
First Holy Communion Parent Meeting:
Wednesday 30 June and Thursday 1 July, 2021 at 6.30pm SJV Co-Cathedral.
Congratulations to:
Hannah Barnes, Ava Harwood, Talia Franklin, Callum Cajar and Luke Green who represented Good Samaritan in the MacKillop Cross Country Team at Eastern Creek last week.
Our best wishes are extended to Callum and Luke who will represent the Wollongong Diocese within the MacKillop Team Cross Country.
GSFM Athletics Champions:
Congratulations to the following students who received their medals and trophies for Athletics Age Champions 2021.
Athletics Age Champions
|
Junior Girls 1. Lucia I 2. Aaliah G 3. Macy E |
Junior Boys 1. Callum C 2. Madix B 3. Edward P |
|
11 years Girls 1. Sarah C 2. Shaye W 3. Calli F 3. Lillia K
|
11 years Boys 1. Joshua T 2. Lucas C 3. Max S |
|
Senior Girls 1. Talia F 2. Gemma H 3. Matisse S |
Senior Boys 1. Hamish G 2. Luke G 3. Kobi T |
Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School will be providing students in Years 3-6 the opportunity to participate in the ICAS external curriculum assessments.
ICAS Assessments are now online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to online assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results.
Learn more about ICAS here: https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas
2021 Participation
This year our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) for English, Mathematics and Writing. Through this system parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child no later than 21 June, 2021. Students will require iPad devices and headphones on the day of the tests.Please be aware that these assessments are external assessments and not mandatory assessments. They are targeted at students who demonstrate a particular strength in the given area outlined above. As these assessments are up to parent discretion, teachers will not be able to work through results with your child.
As per the ICAS requirements each assessment needs to be sat during a particular test window. Therefore, the following are scheduled for the administration of assessments at Good Samaritan:
|
Subject/Paper |
Official Sitting Date |
|
Writing Years 3-6 only |
Thursday, 12 August 2021 |
|
English Years 3-6 only |
Thursday, 19 August 2021 |
|
Mathematics Year 3-6 only |
Wednesday 1 September 2021 |
Year 1
Year One has continued to develop their Love of Learning in Term Two.
We had a great time at our first athletics carnival, running in our races, participating in a variety of activities and cheering on our friends and team.
In English and Science and Technology, we continue to learn a lot about a variety of animals including their life cycles, classifying them into groups, labeling diagrams and writing information reports about them. We plan and edit our information reports.
On the PB4L day some of the things that the students in Year One thought were going well were:
- that the teachers and the students listen to each other
- that we are compassionate, kind, respectful and helpful
- that everyone are friends
Somethings Year One found frustrastrating were:
- some children not packing up the games they played with at the end of lunch
- some children not using the buddy bench properly
- people talking in class when it wasn’t their turn
- not being able to play with Year 5 buddies at recess and lunch.
Year 2 Blue
On Friday the 14th of May, Year 2 went on an excursion to the Science Space in Wollongong. It was a fantastic experience, learning about many different things including STEM, the science of bubbles and exploration through space!
When we went to the Science Space we had munch and crunch. We were introduced to the people that were going to tour us for the rest of the day. Then we went to the Making and Testing Room, they had actual scientists in there. We made towers out of what we had. It was so fun! Our tower held up for 140 seconds and it was still standing when we took the weights off. Then we played upstairs. After that we watched a bubble show and the instructor made really big bubbles. Then we played downstairs and watched a planetarium show. It was like we were moving. Then we went back to school.
Madeleine Salvatico
It happened on Friday the 14th of May. The year 2 Grade and teachers went to the Science Space. We played games and we saw space. We went there to learn new stuff. All of Grade 2 had an excellent day.
Aderyn Paul
On Friday the 14th of May, me and the whole of year 2 went to the… Science Space for an excursion!! It was really fun. We went to the planetarium and the upstairs and downstairs part of the centre. The planetarium was where you look up and see planets. We had recess and lunch outside and we played. Upstairs there was a room called the STEM Room where we made things. We made a tower that had to stand up when we put weight on it. We then had to see which tower could stay up for 30 seconds. Our tower didn’t win but ours was the tallest. I get it because we only had newspaper, a tin, some cardboard, pencils, scissors and textas.
Aaliah Gaudiosi
On the 14th of May, 2 Blue went on an excursion. We went on a bus. When we got there we ate munch and crunch. When we got inside we did our first activity. It was really fun. After that we ate our recess. Then when we finished we put our bags in the locker. We did two activities. Then we ate lunch. Then we got back on the bus and went back to school.
Liam Sweeny
Science and Technology in
2Gold
In Science and Technology we have also been focusing on learning about the phases of the moon. We explored the moon's phases doing a fun experiment with Oreos.
This lesson was fun as we got to experiment with Oreos! I also liked how we got to do it in little groups. I learnt that anything can make phases of the moon and it was so fun!
Indie Martin
It was fun because we learnt that if you take a certain shape away from a circle, it can look like the phase of the moon. It was fun because we got to use Oreos to experiment. I learnt that waxing means getting bigger and waning means getting smaller until there is a new and full moon.
Flynn Courtney
I learnt how to be cooperative and I liked it because we got to make all different types of phases and it was lots of fun! My favourite was the full moon and the new moon. They were my favourite because for the new moon we had to scrape off all the white and for the full moon we didn't have to scrape any way.
Amelie Best
I liked doing the Oreo phases experiment because when we did it we had partners and everyone was sensible in our group. My favourite part was eating the Oreo at the end, after our learning. I learnt that waxing means getting bigger and waning means getting smaller.
Jacob Dowler
Library News:
National Simultanious Storytime.
Canteen News:
Canteen is only open Wednesday to Friday
The Uniform Shop is now open on
Tuesday mornings 8.30am to 9.30am
Thursday afternoons 2pm to 3.15pm
Appointments Only
Winter Uniforms are now available
In order to manage the physical distancing requirements, parents will continue to make appointments at the uniform shop to purchase uniforms.
This can be done through the Compass Portal.
If you would like to place an order with the uniform shop an order form has been added to the school website under parents/uniform.
Please complete the form and return with the correct money to the school office.
These orders will be filled on uniform shop days.
Good Samaritan students are showing that they can identify the mission behaviours in every day interactions with one another. We are very proud of our students who demonstrate a Love of Learning every day at school.
From the School Handbook:
Why have a School Newsletter?
The school newsletter/bulletin is the major form of consistent communication between the school and parents/carers. The newsletter is the means by which the school acknowledges all that is done within classrooms at the grade, class or individual level, on playgrounds and within the community.
It is also an opportunity for me, as Principal, to reflect on our community and how we can work toward further improving all that we do. As a Catholic school principal it is most important that this is done within the context of our faith, hence the references that are written to the Sunday Mass readings, theological reflections or information about spirituality. This is one aspect that works toward keeping the Catholicity of our school at the front of our minds.
The newsletter is the place from which the school is able to ensure that parents, and the community, have a good understanding of the processes and procedures of the school. This is done through reminders, excerpts from the School Handbook, publication of School Policies etc. Some may feel that this is unnecessary but in any school it is most important that we maintain as much consistency as possible. This helps to ensure a safe and supportive environment for all within the school.
For some parents the newsletter is the only contact that they have with the school. This may be due to work commitments or to family/personal circumstances so the newsletter has to cover a wide audience hence, some parents may feel that certain aspects of the newsletter may not be needed or be relevant. However, they may just be aspects that are of great relevance to another parent or family.
I continue to encourage parents to read the newsletter regularly to know what is happening within the school.
June
- Friday 18 June Semester One Reports distributed to Parents
- Monday-Friday 21-25 June Parent Teacher Interview Week
- Friday 25 June Mother's Day Liturgy and Picnic
- Friday 25 June Last Day Term 2
- Wednesday 30 June First Holy Communion Parent Meeting 6.30pm SJV Co-Cathedral
TERM 3 DATES:
JULY:
- Thursday 1 July First Holy Communion Parent Meeting 6.30pm SJV Co-Cathedral
- Wednesday 12 July Feast of St Benedict
- Friday 16 July Grandparent’s Day
AUGUST:
- Tuesday 3 August Sth Coast Region Athletics
- Thursday -Friday 5-6 August Year 6 Camp
- Monday 8 August Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
SEPTEMBER:
- Friday 3 september - Father’s Day Breakfast/Prayer & Stall
- Monday 6 September Students return to wearing Summer Uniforms
- Wednesday-Thursday 8-9 September Assistant Principal Overnight Retreat
- Thursday-Friday 9-10 September Basketball Gala Days (Junior & Senior)
- Monday 13 September MacKillop Athletics Carnival
- Friday 17 September Term 3 Concludes
GSFM OSHC
Coomaditchie NAIDOC apparel order form
Please find attached our NAIDOC gear & order form for this year.
We have done a bulk order and hope to be able to fill everyone’s orders. The polo & singlets will arrive for NAIDOC week but the other items will be about 2 weeks later, due to an issue with the supplier.
If this isn’t possible we will do another order – which will take 6 weeks from the date the order is submitted to the supplier.
Our zip jackets are fleecy lined hence the reason for the price jump. There is a mesh option which slightly cheaper, if you would like the mesh option please indicate on the order form.
Products come in sizes – Kids 4 – 14 & XS-7XL
Hoody - $75
Polo - $45
Singlet - $40
Compression pants - $95
Zip jacket – fleece option - $95
Zip Jacket – mesh option - $85
