Principal Talk with Mrs Lowe
Engaging Faith, Minds and Community
‘Send Out Your Light and Your Truth, Let Them Lead Me’ Ps 43:3
Our theme for Catholic Schools Week 2019, ‘Engaging Faith, Minds and Community’, best describes the Catholic school experience. It illustrates our holistic approach to educating children to become adults who personify Catholic values and serve their communities.
The theme highlights the faith-based nature of our Catholic schools while emphasising our inclusiveness – that all are welcome. Catholic Schools are places where we strive for all to be engaged in faith, inspire the mind and build strong communities.
The theme explores what makes our schools unique, in particular, the richness of our Catholic school communities.
Faith – placing Christ at the centre.
Minds – inspiring achievement and the fulfilment of each child’s potential.
Community – to become valuable, caring members of the school and extended community.
Our Schools strive to embody these values every day, so it is fitting that they form the theme for celebrating Catholic education in 2019.
Pope Francis at the World Youth Day 2019 final Mass, reflected on the importance of young people for society. He said their gifts are not reserved only for tomorrow. Young people, he said, “are the today for tomorrow. They are not ‘in the meantime’, but are the ‘today’, the ‘now’, of the Church and the world.” To inspire young people of today Catholic Schools are places that embrace their joyful presence and provide a community where young people can personally encounter God through the nurturing words and actions of others.
As part of a Catholic community, our schools are called to celebrate the gifts and diversity of all its members, inspire the minds and spirit of all those in our midst and help shape the young people to care for and serve those most in need.
This week St Mary's students have served our community through visits and hospitality. Year 6 and Kindergarten visited Crookwell Pre-school, Year 4 the Early Learning Centre, Year 1/2 weeded and raked leaves at the Crookwell Community Gardens, Year 3 served tea and biscuits after our Mother Day Mass and Year 5 cleaned up our town. This week we also welcomed perspective families into St Mary's for guided tours. It is wonderful to share with our community our amazing students and their enthusiasm for our school.
School Photos - Change of Date
Please note that our school photos will now be taken during Week 9 on Monday 24 June. Ordering can be done online by inputting the 9 digit code AN3 WE9 3JZ on the Advanced Life website http://www.advancedlife.com.au/ . Envelopes were sent home last term.
Enrolling Now
Enrolments can now be placed online. Go to https://enrolments.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrol/ to enrol now.
Enrolments packs have been sent home with students who have siblings commencing in 2020. If you did not receive your bag please contact Belinda in the School Office.
Information can also be downloaded from our website http://www.stmarysc.nsw.edu.au/enrolment.html
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN
tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process - it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.
NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
The assessment window for NAPLAN Online is extended from three days provided for the paper test to nine days. This is to give schools more flexibility in scheduling and accommodate schools that may have fewer devices.
The NAPLAN Online assessment window starts on Tuesday 14 May and finishes on
Friday 24 May 2019. The online tests must be taken in the following order:
Excerpt from:
https://www.nap.edu.au/resources-new/resources
Student/Parent/Teacher Conversations
Our Three-Way interviews will be held on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 May. These conversations are a chance for your child and their teacher to share with your some their achievements and educational goals. Conversations last for ten minutes and will be held in the Multipurpose Hall. Please be mindful of families waiting after you for their interview. If you feel that your conversation is not finished within the allocated ten minutes please arrange another time to meet with your child's teacher. This year bookings will be done online by using the following link.
Student/Parent/Teacher/Conversation Bookings
Our website also has a link to the Three-Way Interviews booking site on the top navigation menu bar.
