Dear Parents and Guardians,  

Welcome to Week 6. What a busy couple of weeks it has been with Assessment, Year 6 Tranistion Days and Swimming Carnival. In the next 2 weeks there are many exciting events yet to happen - Bump Up Day, Starry, Starry Night, Final School Mass, St. Joseph’s Annual Awards Night and the Year 6 Graduation. 

Year 6 - 7 Transition 

Year 6 attended the  Year 6 - 7 Transition Days at WCC in Week 2, 3 and 4  (13th, 20th and 27th of October) of this Term. 

The children thoroughly enjoyed the Transition days and got to experience some of the acitviites that they will participate in 2023. 

Taking the stress out of going to high school 

The Hon Jason Clare MP launched new resources developed by Life Ed to help take the stress out of transitioning to high school for year six students.The transition from primary school to high school is a critical time in the life of a child and like any change it can also be scary. 

Almost half of year six students experience stress and anxiety about going to high school according to a study commissioned by Life Ed and undertaken by the Australian Council for Education Research. The Productivity Commission’s Interim Report into the current National Schools Reform Agreement says that there is clear evidence between wellbeing and student engagement at school. If students are experiencing poor wellbeing it makes it harder to learn. That’s why the Guide to Thrive developed by Life Ed is important. These new resources are aimed at helping parents, teachers and carers of students about to make the switch from primary school to high school do what they can to make the transition easier.’ 

The tools are free to download and include: 

• modules for teachers mapped to Australian Institute for Teaching and Learning Standards 
• practical classroom activities based on research 

• resources for parents and carers to support their conversations with students and help to get the right information. 

 Topics covered include: 

• dealing with fears about meeting new people and learning new things in a new environment 
• learning how to navigate to and around a new school 
• creating productive communication between parents, teachers and schools 

• tailoring support for students with special needs. 

https://ministers.education.gov.au/clare/taking-stress-out-going-high-school 

 Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs)   

The teachers have now completed the process of writing Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs) and have met with Parents over the last few weeks. Personalised learning is a process that supports a wide range of students with additional learning and support needs. This includes students who may require support in one or more of the following areas: learning (including high potential learners), behaviour, social/emotional, cultural/language (including international students, boarders and learners of English as an Additional Language or Dialect) and those who have educational support needs arising from disability.   

If you have any questions please feel free to make contact with myself at a convenient time that suits. My email address is  mturner@cns.catholic.edu.au     

Kind Regards,     

Melanie Turner