Dear Parent and Guardians,
This year, for the first time St Joseph’s students completed Online NAPLAN. The only exception to this was Year 3, which remained paper based for Writing only, so as not to disadvantage students who had not yet developed typing skills.
Around this time of year, there is always hype in the media and around learning communities about NAPLAN. Whilst we want students to achieve their best, we encouraged students to simply try their best with testing and not to feel anxious around results. At the end of the day, our students’ education is going to be shaped by many influences, and this outcome won’t influence their success in life.
It is important to understand that, in terms of individual student performances, NAPLAN is a 'snapshot' of performance. However whole school, long term data can be used very effectively to support planning processes. At St Joseph’s, teachers analyse each year's NAPLAN data and use this data to plan programs to support student learning.
There are many areas that NAPLAN does not, and cannot, assess such as character strengths or individual attributes. For example, the tests don’t provide any information about musical talents, confidence in public speaking, kindness to others, sporting ability, resilience or how positively students are embracing the learning of a second language. Each of us in unique and at St Joseph’s we strive to celebrate these individual gifts and strengths, which add to the rich diversity of our community.
An advantage to Online NAPLAN is that student results are expected to come back within weeks rather than months. However, this won’t come into effect until all schools go online which is due to happen next year. While NAPLAN is just one of many assessment methods to track your child’s progress, this quick turnaround will mean the results can better inform classroom practice and help advance your child’s learning.
Later in the year you will receive your child’s personal NAPLAN report. The report will describe your child’s particular skills in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. The report will also show how your child performed in relation to national minimum standards. These describe the minimum acceptable standards for students across Australia.
Mother’s Day Stall A big thank-you to the Parents and Friends Committee and all their parent helpers for organising and running the Mother’s Day Stall on Friday. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated.
Movie Night The popularity of our movie night exceeded our expectations with more than 100 people attending. Overall things went well for our first movie night and the kids had a great time. Thanks to Stacey Edmonds and Amanda Saunders for organizing such a fun event.
Athletics Carnival
Our 2019 Athletics Carnival is being held next week.
- Field Events on Monday 20th May (Year 3-6) 45 to 1.10pm
- Tuesday 21st May (P-6) 45 to 1.10pm.
- Wednesday 22nd the 200m will be run at the Andoom Oval 4.30pm (Yrs 3-6)
Please note the following reminders:
- If you are taking your child home directly from the carnival, please do not forget to sign out at the red scoring tent.
- Students are allowed to wear their sports house coloured shirt and reminded to bring sunscreen.
- Children should bring plenty of water, their school hat and morning tea and lunch (school canteen will also be operating). Please make sure all items of clothing are clearly named.
- The carnival program is included with this newsletter. Starting times for events may vary from those listed in the program, depending on the flow of the day’s events.
- It is recommended that spectators bring their own seating.
Attendance
We have high expectations regarding attendance and punctuality. We want the best education for our children and expect all children to be at school on time, ready to learn, and have attendance above 92%. Attendance which is lower than 92% can significantly impact upon your child’s learning.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to those families who have been working hard to ensure your child’s punctuality and attendance is high.
THANK YOU for getting these important habits established early on in your child’s life as it will make a difference in their futures.
We are continuing to focus on attendance and punctuality and are wanting to remind all families of the importance of attendance. Last term we have made an improvement in our attendance rates from 3rd bottom to being in the top 10, compared to other schools in the Cairns Diocese. This term our attendance in the older grades has slipped down again.
Why is attendance important?
Regular and punctual attendance at school is key to both academic and social development, therefore it is very important that your child attends school every day unless there are exceptional circumstances.
There is no safe number of days for missing school – each day a student misses puts them behind and can affect their educational outcomes. Each missed day is associated with progressively lower achievement in numeracy, writing and reading.
Since the beginning of the year, 58 of our students have missed between two and six weeks of school. A day here and there quickly adds up. To ensure you have accurate information about how many days your child has missed, we will be sending out emails to notify families if your child has been absent for more than 5 days.
What we can do:
Sickness – There are always times when students need to miss school, such as when they’re ill. It’s vital that they’re only away on the days they are genuinely sick, and setting good sleep patterns, eating well and exercising regularly can make a big difference.
“Day off” – Think twice before letting your child have a “day off” as they could fall behind their classmates – “everyday counts. “
Holidays - It's vital that holidays are planned during school holidays where possible, and not during the term if it can be avoided.
If for any reason your child must miss school, there are things you can do with your school to ensure they don’t fall behind:
- Speak with your classroom teacher and find out what work your child needs to do to keep up.
- Develop an absence learning plan with your teacher and ensure your child completes the plan.
Remember, everyday counts. If your child must miss school, speak with your classroom teacher as early as possible.
God Bless
Megan
