A big Welcome Back to our students, families and community for Term 2.

We hope you all managed to relax and recharge over the holidays. We all enjoy watching the students reconnect with each other, share their highlights and make plans for the coming term. The staffroom is a bit the same! Teachers returned on Monday to participate in professional learning around Cognitive Verbs – what they are, why they are important and how we explicitly teach them to students. We focused on Identify, Analyse and Justify. These verbs are repeated throughout the Curriculum across all Key Learning Areas. It is how student demonstrate their knowledge. On Tuesday, our Infant Teachers spent time with a Literacy consultant from Catholic Education to fine tune their morning sessions. Many thanks to Lisa, Anne and Gillian for providing the opportunity for us to further our knowledge and understanding!

Many thanks to the students and families who were able to join with us to observe ANZAC Day. It continues to be my favourite community gathering. The commitment of the teachers and students to represent their schools in the holidays demonstrate the ongoing importance of this day. The preschoolers and boarding students in our community get an extra shout out! This year was extra special for our school community with Mrs Carter delivering the address. Mrs Carter’s address is included below.

We have several events happening this term that we hope families will be involved in – School Masses, Mother’s Day morning tea, Small Schools Carnival, Assemblies, Reconciliation Week, Biggest Morning Tea and Do it For Dolly Day, CAPA Day at NPS. Please check the What’s On for dates. We make every effort to stick with the dates set, however there are occasions, that there will be changes. Additional information for events is provided closer to each date.

Students in Stages 2 and 3 will participate in the Sacramental program this year. This begins with the Sacrament of Reconciliation next week. Please keep Macayla and Elwina Wu in your prayers as they join our parish family this week through the Sacrament of Baptism. Many thanks to Mrs Golding for preparing the students for these special celebrations.

There will be an increased focus on School Attendance this term.

Term 1 attendance was:

Kinder       96.60%

Year 1       64.60%

Year 2       89.10%

Year 3       81.90%

Year 4       75.70%

Year 5       97.80%

Year 6       80.40%

The aim is to have all classes with an attendance rate of 90% plus. Students who fall below 80% will receive a letter requesting a planning meeting to discuss concerns.

Our school will participate in a Registration visit later this term. Part of the visit is ensuring all Policies and Statements of Practice required to operate a school are in place. As we review these Statements of Practice, we invite families to review and comment on the drafts. If you are able to support us with this please contact Rachael.

We look forward to sharing some photos of our Cross Country representatives who compete in Batlow tomorrow. Big shoutout to Mrs Elwin and Mrs Carter for organising transport and accommodation and to the parents providing additional support and supervision. Our students would not have these opportunities without the commitment and dedication of these amazing teachers. Safe travels and good luck!

Mrs Morris