Filter Content
Dear Parents and Carers,
Yesterday was a significant day in our Australian Catholic calendar when we joyfully celebrated the feast day of St Mary MacKillop. St Mary MacKillop, also known as St Mary of the Cross, holds a special place in our hearts as Australia’s first canonised saint, and her legacy of dedication to education and care for the marginalised continues to inspire us all.
We extend our heartfelt wishes to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop College as they celebrate their patroness's feast day. We hope this day was filled with blessings, joy, and a renewed commitment to following in St Mary MacKillop’s footsteps, embracing her values of compassion, perseverance, and faith.
We held our first Open Community Council Meeting of the year on Monday night, with good representation from the school community. Several parents were present at the meeting, and I thank them for their ongoing commitment to the school community. Our next Open Council meeting will be held on the 28th of October at 6 p.m.
Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Survey
The Tell Them From Me (TTFM) survey tool went live to our families on Monday via Compass. You would have received a Compass message from me inviting you to please take some time to complete the survey. The survey is the same tool used last year and is an opportunity for the school to gather valuable data about our core business as a school, the Teaching and Learning of children. The survey is completed by teachers, parents, and students in Yrs. 4-6. The data gathered from this survey is used to inform our school improvement agenda and evaluate progress on our strategic goals. Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. The survey is open until 29th August.
NAPLAN- Yr 3
In week 1, parents of Year 3 students received their NAPLAN reports. Student achievement in NAPLAN is reported using proficiency standards for each assessment area Numeracy, Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar/Punctuation. The standards are set at a challenging but reasonable expectation of what students know and can do at the time of testing. There are 4 proficiency levels:
- Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing.
- Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
- Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
- Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.
As a school we have begun our analysis of this cohort data and I am happy to report the following initial observations of data trends in our 2024 Yr 3 cohort:
- Our students exhibited extremely high levels of Proficiency in Writing, with 97% of our students in the strong and exceeding proficiency bands and having the lowest percentage needing additional support.
- We have continued our trend of reading excellence, with 28% of our students in the exceeding proficiency band.
- Our numeracy results showcase a well-distributed performance with a significant portion exceeding expectations and a majority (63 %) at strong proficiency.
- Areas of continued focus include Grammar and punctuation, and Spelling which shows higher percentages of students in the developing stage (28% and 31%, respectively).
These results are an aggregate of our school’s Yr 3 cohort data, and we will await further analysis of how they compare to the ACT and national mean. I will provide more observations from the Yr 5 data set in the Week 5 Newsletter.
A note that NAPLAN is a snapshot of one day in your child's life and is not the be-all and end-all of educational performance. At SFA, we utilise various assessment processes and procedures to measure academic achievement and growth. These are triangulated and cross-referenced to give a more accurate picture of a student's progress. Please celebrate this report with your child and be proud of their achievements.
Key Leaders’ Day
Today, parish priests, school principals and Religious Education Coordinators are gathering for our annual Key Leaders in Religious Education Day. Our keynote speaker is the journalist Greg Sheridan, a frequent contributor to The Australian newspaper.
Blessings and best wishes
Sean Rutledge
Principal
Yesterday I attended an REC network day. An opportunity for all REC leaders across the archdiocese to receive input from our curriculum leaders. During the day, we went through the process of registration. Every five years we are required to show that we are meet the targets for the government on how we teach, what we teach, how long we teach each subject area for, how we assess what we teach and then ultimately report this back to the parents and community. We need to be able to show that there is a clear connection between what is in the curriculum and what is happening in each classroom.
This is also relevant for Religious Education. As a catholic school, we live out what is known as the Moran Model. The model shows the relationship between teaching people religion and teaching people to be religious which draws upon the Catholic Christian tradition in ways that are mindful of local contexts and the ecumenical and multi-faith realities of contemporary culture.
Our school seeks to understand and utilise the distinctiveness and complementarity of these two dimensions of religious education in the holistic education and the formation of students. Our programs, activities and experiences for the classroom learning and teaching of religion and the religious life of the school are responsive to religious diversity, while being faithful to the Catholic Christian identity of the school.
In order to share how these two facets of the model are being taught and lived out at St Francis of Assisi, I am going to start placing in the newsletter a little snippet of what the students across the school are learning in the academic subject of Religious Education as well as how we are currently living our our faith.
What students are learning about
In Year 3 the students have been introduced to initiation rites of the Catholic Church and specifically the subject of Baptism. They have been looking at how this Sacrament is the first visible symbol of God's love and how we are welcomed into the Catholic community.
Sunday Gospel Reflection - John 6:41-51
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Jesus is the living bread.
The murmuring of Jesus' Jewish opponents, prompted by his claim to be bread from heaven, is reminiscent of the murmuring of the Israelites in the wilderness, to which God responded with manna from heaven. The exchange between Jesus and his opponents was a kind of social sparring meant to enhance the status of one as it diminished the status of the other. In a clever turn of phrase, Jesus declares that only those drawn by God will be drawn to the one who was sent by God. Jesus makes two self-revelatory proclamations: I am the bread of life; I am the living bread from heaven. Unlike the manna that provided sustenance for a short time, Jesus is the source of life eternal.
Adapted from Dianne Bergant CSA
Eucharist Commitment Masses
A reminder to our families of children who wish to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist who have not yet made their commitment that you will have the opportunity this weekend at any of the masses. Please remember to bring your commitment form as well as the prayer cards you were given at the formation evening. Please ensure your child has written their name on the bottom of the prayer card.
A reminder also that the First Eucharist Mass bookings are open through the parish Qkr! app.
The Mass bookings will close next Friday, 16 August.
Have a great week!
Sharee Thomas
REC
Book Week is nearly here! This year's theme is 'Reading is Magic'. Students have started handing in entries for the 'magical' activities and competitions that build excitement about this week. Next Friday kicks off our in-school activities with a visit from author Jack Heath for Year 5 and 6 students. Please see the flyer below with important dates and information.
This year we have a Scholastic Book Fair that will be held in the library from Tuesday 20th - Thursday 22nd August. This is taking the place of Scholastic Book Club this term. Every dollar spent earns money for the school. Please come and visit and while you are visiting, have a look at the entries for the Book Week competitions on display and ask your children to share with you their favourite short-listed books. If you don't want to buy a book, you can borrow some extra books to read at home, in celebration of books and the people that create them!
Alison Bond
St Francis of Assisi Primary School
Teacher Librarian
The 5/6 girls had a great time at the Southside Sue Geh Basketball Gala Day on Tuesday, 6th August at Tuggeranong stadium. SFA entered two teams: a Year 6 team (Red) and a Year 5 team with some Yr 6s (Blue). Both teams did very well, enjoyed the experience, learnt new skills and played very well as a team. Red team were undefeated in their first 3 games until they lost in the fourth, knocking them out of a semi final spot. Blue team won 1 and lost 2. Both teams had girls who had never played basketball before. We are very proud of the girls for putting in their best effort, encouraging and supporting each other, and showing great sportsmanship. Well done girls!
A huge thank you to Mrs McArthur and Mrs Steele for organising the teams and admin, Mrs Steele and Mrs Way for training the girls, and Mrs Way and Miss Archie for coaching and supporting the girls on the day. Thanks to the parents who were able to watch and support the girls play, and do bench duty.
Watch this space for the results of the boys’ gala day next Thursday!
The Tharwa Bush Fair is back for 2024! Mark your calendars for Sunday 8 September, from 10am to 2pm, and join us for a day of fun activities and entertainment.
To make the fair a success, we need your help! We're looking for volunteers for various tasks, including:
- Cake stall sales
- Raffle sales
- Face painting and glitter tattoos (no prior experience necessary)
- Hook-a-duck stall
- Set up and pack down.
If you’re available to assist, please email tharwapreschoolbushfair@outlook.com.au with your availability as soon as you can. Feel free to include any family members or friends who may also be interested in volunteering.
The Tharwa Preschool P&C and Tharwa Community greatly appreciate any time you can offer.
Thank you for your support!