Dear Parents and Carers

Last week, I attended the Principals’ Retreat in Bowral. Over the three days, we looked at Catholic Education system directions and initiatives, including that of the Science of Learning and Reading. We also spent some significant time thinking about and reflecting upon Christian anthropology and what that means for us as leaders in a Catholic school. This was facilitated by a Maronite Nun from Sydney, currently a principal of two schools. I thank Annie McArthur for running the school so capably in my absence.

NAPLAN

This week, our students in Years 3 and 5 have been sitting the NAPLAN tests. As of today, they will have completed writing, reading and grammar/punctuation. Then, on Monday next week, they will complete their numeracy test followed by catch-up sessions for any absent students.

The tests are an important snapshot of the students’ learning as a whole cohort and can be useful for identifying learning trends and areas that may need attention in the future. It is also useful for identifying learning trends over a period of time, and progress that has been made. It is important to remember, for any individual student, that it is one test on one day and many factors can influence their performance. As such, it may not necessarily be indicative of a particular students’ learning or progress. I thank the teachers and Mrs McArthur for supporting and preparing the students and instruments in the lead-up to NAPLAN.

2024 Enrolments

Although still relatively early in the year, we will shortly enter the enrolment period, which will begin early next term. You will shortly see signs in our feeder suburbs advertising Open Day tour dates. We know the best enrolment tool for the school is word of mouth from our parent community. Please consider speaking with friends, neighbours and/or family about the opportunities for their children at St. Francis. In the next Newsletter, we will have key dates related to our enrolment period for ELC-Yr 6.

Staffing News

Mrs Kelly Delaney has taken some leave to care for her elderly parents who are unwell, and will not return this year. We keep Mrs Delaney and her family in our thoughts and prayers. We are currently seeking a full-time classroom teacher, the position has been advertised via online channels.

Mrs Annie McArthur will take some planned leave during the last two weeks of school this term. After a successful EOI process, Mrs Sharee Thomas will be Acting Assistant Principal while Annie is away. Mrs Amanda Stevens will replace Sharee as Religious Education Coordinator for this period.

Fee Help

The current cost of living crisis and rising interest rates are having an impact on many people in our community. If you are experiencing difficulty or need support, please get in touch with me at school for a confidential chat about how we can support you during this period. We have a range of options available to support our community, from Fee Concessions based on an Income test to supporting families with extras such as Camp and Swimming. We all experience periods of financial uncertainty, which are often short but can be very stressful for families. Please reach out if we can support you.

AIP Goals

In the last few newsletters, I have been introducing our Strategic Plan and Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) Goals. This week I will focus on our first AIP goal:

Initiate a culture of excellence in teaching and learning.

After a number of years of implementing pedagogy aligned with the Science of Learning and Cognitive Load theory, we are working to refine and improve our practice with the delivery of programs to our students. These include Initialit (K-2), Spelling Mastery (3-6) and The Writing Revolution K-6).

We are beginning the implementation of scope and sequences in Literacy and Numeracy, which align with Archdiocesan directions and the Catalyst project. These scope and sequences utilise a number of High Impact Teaching Principles such as interleaved and spaced learning to support students in transferring knowledge to long-term memory.

Traditionally we would teach concepts in 2-week blocks where we assess student learning at the end of this time. We find a forgetting curve following this teaching where students forget what they have learnt as it has not been transferred into long-term memory. To support this, the new scope and sequences ensure students are exposed to the explicit teaching of concepts, and they are then revisited multiple times over the ensuing weeks and months to support transfer to long-term memory.

We are looking to support and target our Gifted and High Potential Learners by implementing a strategy and pathway for students identified through in-class testing and teacher observations.

We refine our intervention supports for students by Implementing interventions across the school to target specific students to intensify intervention and support student achievement. This is being delivered by classroom support teachers, Classroom Support Assistants, teachers and members of the Leadership Team.

BYOD Breaches and Consequences

As a staff, we have been looking at applying a consistent approach to the use of ICT equipment within the school and having consistent consequences for breaches of our user agreement. This document has had feedback from the Community Council and Teaching Staff. Next week we will seek input from our Student Representative Council. We hope to go live with this from the beginning of Term 2. The ICT user agreement will be updated to include this document. Students will be taken through the levels and associated consequences for breaches of the ICT user agreement by their classroom teacher.

Blessings and best wishes

Sean Rutledge

Principal