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Dear Parents & Carers of Good Samaritan,
This week we are celebrating Book Week. Book Week has been recognised around Australia since 1945 and is our opportunity to celebrate books and Australian authors and illustrators.
Reading can take a child into a different world. A world of imagination and possibilities. Developing a love of reading starts very early in life. Being read to as a baby and toddler develops the cognitive skills of children as they mature and grow into school age and adolescent people.
Back in the late nineteenth century, Lewis Carroll prepared his famous nursery version of Alice in Wonderland. Carroll’s work prodded the curiosity of children for generations. It also developed habits of observation through the illustrations and suggested some truths about human and animal nature - all the while making it fun and entertaining.
As parents, reading with children develops not only the close relationship between parent and child but also what psychologists call functioning in the child’s zone of ‘proximal development’ - stretching what a child can do with a little support and assistance along the way.
Reading leads to developing storytelling skills. I am sure you would have come across people who capture the attention of others with the stories they are able to recount about their own lives and experiences. Storytelling is a powerful way to organise lived and listened to experiences and it provides an entry into developing relationships with others, even those we have only just met.
One of the greatest storytellers of our Catholic tradition was Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus was able to capture the imagination and attention of the people he met through stories - parables. Those who listened to Jesus became so great in number that he used the hills of Israel to form a natural amphitheatre so that he could be heard amongst the crowds.
So, 76 years after the introduction of Book Week in Australia, reading to and with children is one of the greatest gifts a child can receive. In this time of lockdown and remote learning, I encourage you to read with your child for complete enjoyment. It will give you positive moments that you will treasure, a relationship that is forged in imagination and a child who can tell a story that is filled with observations, experiences and emotion.
Until next week, we journey together, with Jesus,
Toni Sillis
Principal
Thank you to all our parents who have asked the question: Is it essential? when deciding to send children to school throughout the lockdown. We have noticed a decrease in student numbers onsite. This has allowed us to continue to function and deliver remote learning with a skeleton staff actually onsite. It has also worked to ensure we are doing what we can to protect the health and safety of all students and staff.
Bishop Brian Mascord has asked Sr Monica Barlow ssj, to develop a discussion paper in the lead up to the development of a Diocesan Sacraments of Initiation policy.
As part of this process, Bishop Brian would like to invite you, as parents and caregivers, to participate in a survey that seeks to collect information regarding "what you believe to be important for your children in presenting them for the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist”.
Below is a link to a letter from Bishop Brian inviting you to take part in this consultation process and providing a link to the survey.
Whilst lockdown and remote learning has made it difficult to maintain a sense of school community face to face the themes we have presented over the last 3 weeks have enabled us to communicate with a purpose. With this in mind, we will continue to promote a theme each week until the end of the term.
This theme will be reflected in the children’s learning plans, additional family activities, within our assemblies, with the School Captains & Vice Captains interactions and on social media.
Week 7: Book Week
Week 8: Paralympics
Week 9: Gratitude Week
Week 10: Caring for Ourselves & Others (Social Emotional Learning focus)
All parents and families are invited to join wherever & whenever they can.
Memo to Parents & Carers: Don’t feel guilty & don’t panic about remote learning!
Education researchers and directors including Pasi Sahlberg (UNSW Gonski Institute for Education) & Professor Jenny Gore (University of Newcastle, Teachers and Teaching Research Centre) are making a call out to parents across NSW not to panic and certainly not to feel guilty about what you can’t seem to get done in remote learning.
This echoes Good Samaritan’s message to make the learning plan work for you. Sahlberg admits that children just can’t do this every day. He is also the father of school aged children and is managing learning remotely as well.
When school does return as full cohorts face to face our focus will remain on what children can do, what they have achieved rather than a deficit model of learning loss. Researchers are already communicating that the idea of learning loss can become exaggerated. Perhaps the loss comes more from the ‘schooling loss’ - that is the loss of carnivals, camps, assemblies, plays, band, parent helpers, parent workshops, P&F functions - the things that can’t be translated in a home or remote environment.
What’s the most important thing for parents to focus on right now? Wellbeing - it’s the number one thing. The mental health and wellbeing of students, parents and families is paramount. Sahlberg emphasises that play is a ‘powerful means of learning’. Play is fun and empowering for all involved.
Remember: Don’t panic, take it all in your stride, make the learning plan work for you & play with your children!
As you may have read or heard in media reports, NAPLAN results have been released today. As a school we are yet to receive our comprehensive set of results and parents of Years 3&5 will receive their child’s report as soon as these are made available for distribution. Below is the Catholic Education Commission’s media release which reinforces the message above about remote learning.
Latest NAPLAN results reflect the persistence of educators and families
Catholic education acknowledges the hard work and persistence of school leaders, teachers and families on the release of NAPLAN 2021 results showing no significant impact on student literacy and numeracy achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said the summary results also demonstrate an upward trend across most literacy and numeracy domains.
“Given the significant disruption for students during this period it’s encouraging to see improvement in literacy and numeracy achievement, particularly the steady upward trend in reading and signs of improvement in writing,” Ms Collins said.
“Not only have many school communities had to contend with long periods of lockdown and home learning, the impact of the pandemic on student and staff wellbeing and the economic and social impact on families has been felt right across Australia.
“It’s been through a concerted focus on literacy and numeracy, the agility and persistence of leaders and teachers to respond to this crisis, and the willingness and commitment of families to support their children and school communities that these early results show a good news story.
“There is still a way to go to lift standards for all students, particularly those experiencing educational disadvantage, and a detailed analysis of NAPLAN data will provide a clearer picture of the impact on vulnerable students,” Ms Collins said.
The Australian Government’s support of emerging priorities, such as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning, mental health and wellbeing and professional learning for teachers and leaders, is a welcomed approach in line with the focus on improvement across Catholic education.
The Catholic sector is undertaking ongoing research into approaches used during the pandemic to support online learning including literacy and numeracy. In order to build on the positive lessons learned, this work seeks to determine which strategies are most effective to improve learning and wellbeing outcomes for students.
There are 1,755 Catholic schools, educating 777,000+ students – or one in five Australian students and employing 100,000+ staff across Australia.
Background:
NAPLAN provides a national evidence base consistent across states and territories, contributing to the monitoring and evaluation of student progress and outcomes. The data from the assessments helps to inform teaching and learning programs. This information complements teacher judgement and the wide range of formal and informal assessments that are used in each school. Catholic education supports the importance of the National Assessment Program and its continual refinement.
During the 2020 remote learning period our school newsletter highlighted some terrific podcasts and news apps for children. These have the potential to act as a great support for children as they develop the important skill of listening. I’ve repeated this again for you consider exploring.
The Squiz Kids is a news podcast for 8-12 year olds. It gives a daily run down in a few minutes of news around the world. It is an easy one to put on in the car on the way to school so that you can spark a conversation with your child in a safe space and time. It also works to build childrens’ confidence to discern between real and fake news.
From the School Handbook:
Being Considerate of Confidentiality
At times there may be incidents within the school that involve certain students and you may hear about them through other parents. These may relate to another child’s progress and learning or their behaviour. It is most important that the confidentiality of that student, and of his or her family, is protected. Always treat such incidents with empathy – no one would like their own child to be the topic of discussion amongst parents. If you have some specific concerns that relate to your own child please do not hesitate to address these through the classroom teacher, Stage Middle Leader, Mrs Smithers or Mrs Sillis.
Since Jump Rope for Heart started in 1983, schools like ours have raised more than $104 million for the Heart Foundation’s lifesaving work.
It’s important you register your child online, so they can receive the full benefits of the program and participate in online fundraising, simply follow the link below to get started. www.jumprope.org.au/parents
Students will be skipping as part of remote learning and when they return to school, during this time you can share their online fundraising page with family and friends to help raise money for this great cause.
We will hold our school Jump Off Day on Friday 17 September, this will mark the end of the program and is a chance for everyone to come together to skip and show off their newly learned skills.
Thank you for supporting the Jump Rope for Heart program!
Canteen News:
Canteen is currently closed until further notice
The Uniform Shop will be Closed for Appointminents until further notice
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.
Tuesday mornings 8.30am to 9.30am
Thursday afternoons 2pm to 3.15pm
Love of Learning
How Can We Build & Maintain Esteem in Our Community?
- Showing care for myself like wearing my uniform correctly
- Showing an in interest in what others are thinking and doing
- Using positive and encouraging words towards everyone I meet
- Using positive self talk like - ‘I can do this!’
- Performing random acts of kindness - like carrying someone’s telling someone how good their work is
- use a growth mindset and just giving new things a go
- looking, smiling and saying hello
These are just some of the ways that we can build and maintain esteem while developing a Love of Learning.
TERM 3 DATES:
AUGUST:
- Monday 23- Friday 27 August Book Week
- Monday 30 August - Friday 3 September -School Focus - Paralmpics
SEPTEMBER:
- Sunday 5 September - Happy Father's Day
- Monday 6 september - Friday 10 September-School Focus - Gratitude
- Monday 6 September Students return to wearing Summer Uniforms
- Monday 13 September- Friday 17 September- School Focus - Caring for Myself & Others (Social Emotional Learning)
- Friday 17 September Jump Rope for Heart Day
- Friday 17 September Term 3 Concludes
October:
- Friday 15 October Grandparents Day -TBC