Dear Parents and Carers

3 weeks to go! We are on the countdown to the St Patrick's Community Christmas Market Festival and the excitement is building. Thank you for your support in talking about the event, sharing the social media posts, participating in the committees and everything else that is building the excitement in the community. 

Year 5 Leadership Speeches Next Week Students applying for school captain roles will present their speeches to the school community on Wednesday 23rd November at 12.35 in the school hall. Parents are welcome! Students applying for sport captain roles will present their speeches to their sport house in the classrooms on the same day at 2.15pm. Parents generally do not attend these smaller gatherings.

All Year 5 students will have the opportunity to undertake a captain or minister role in Year 6 to develop their leadership and contribute to the life and growth of our school. Students applying for a ministry role will have an interview with myself and another member of the leadership team.

REPORTING SCHEDULE FOR SEMESTER 2

Teachers are now beginning to assess our students in Reading, Writing, Spelling and Maths through the PAT assessment schedule. Students are given the assessment every 12 months and progress is tracked from year to year.  Teachers in Years K- 6 have also assessed students reading via the DIBELs assessment this week. Preliminary results show students have made excellent progress in regard to word reading fluency and passage reading fluency. Teachers are also tracking progress and achievement in Mathematics via the CMC (Connecting Maths Concepts) program introduced this year.

Reports will be prepared for teachers over the coming weeks and parents will be able to access the reports via Compass from Monday December 12th. As reports will contain students grades but no comments there will be an opportunity for every parent/carer to book in for a Parent Teacher Interview during Week 9 (5th December- 9th December). Parents/carers will be able to book in for interviews from 23/11/2021 via the School Interview link which will appear via Skoolbag App.

JUNIOR ATHLETICS DAY

A big thankyou to Mrs Harnett and our Year 6 students for organising and running the Junior Athletics Day. The weather was perfect for a session of physical fun. The activities are a part of our PDHPE curriculum involving;

 1. Students applying and refining movement skills and movement concepts in a range of physical activity contexts.

2. Students demonstrating positive ways to interact and include others.

3. Students developing self-management, interpersonal and movement skills to help them become empowered, self-confident and socially responsible citizens.

Religious Education - Forward Planning 

Parents are invited to attend our upcoming Chapel Masses. Mass begins at 9:15am in the Church on Friday of each week:

Week 7- 4/5Y

Week 8- 5/6G

Week 9- 5/6R

12th December 12:15pm - Thanksgiving Mass

14th December 6pm - Year 6 Graduation Mass

Vinnies Christmas Appeal - Christmas Hampers

A message from Mini Vinnie's:

St Pat's would like to continue to support the St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal.  Families who are able to donate can place an item in the hampers in their classroom or school foyer. Donations can include:

Toothpaste and toothbrushes 

Shampoo and conditioner

Chips

Popcorn

Pasta

Rice

Cake mix

Tinned fruit or vegetables

Tinned soup

Biscuits 

Lollies 

Christmas cake/pudding 

 Please do not include items such as chocolate that could spoil in warm weather.  

My Body, My Life - Puberty and Personal Development Program

The Archdiocesan Relationship Education Team are very excited to be visiting
St Patrick’s Primary School to run the My Body, My Life puberty and personal development program with Grade 5 and 6 early next year.

The team of relationship educators and trained youth ministers will be working in small groups with the year 5 and 6 students on Tuesday, 7^th March 2023.

St Patrick’s has requested early access to the online units for all parents of current Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 students. Parents can access the content, at their discretion, with or without your child.  The videos are available here: https://cgcatholic.org.au/my-body-my-life/st-patricks-primary-school-bega/.

The My Body My Life online parent / child program includes about 60 minutes of video content, plus a few activities.  You can watch all 6 short videos in one sitting, or over a few nights, whichever works best for your family.

 Research shows that despite any awkwardness you and your child might feel, children much prefer to hear this information first from their own parents and carers. We are simply trying to help you with that process and then reinforce the same information at school.

The topics covered in the videos include:

• Changes during puberty: physical, emotional, social
• Personal hygiene: skin, hair, cleanliness
• Reproductive systems: growth, development, changes and experiences
• Human conception
• Mood changes, mental health and wellbeing
• Respecting yourself and others
• Talking to trusted adults

NAPLAN 2023

Students in Years 3 and 5 are expected to sit the NAPLAN tests in Term 1 2023.

There are some instances where students may be exempted from one or more of the NAPLAN tests or marked absent (for the purpose of the tests) or withdrawn from the tests. The NAPLAN national protocols for test administration provide the framework for understanding student participation.

Exemptions 
While a range of adjustments are available for students with disability, exemption may be suitable for some students with disability and for some students with a language background other than English. In both cases, schools need to discuss the proposed exemption with the student’s parent/carer and gain their permission prior to testing.

 
English language proficiency: Students with a language background other than English who arrived from overseas and have been attending school for less than a year before the test may be exempted. However, these students are not automatically exempt and should be given the opportunity to participate in testing. Principals can expect information from test administration authorities on the preferred method for collecting and recording this information. Students may be exempt from one test (e.g. reading) but still be able to participate in another test (e.g. numeracy).

 
Students with disability: Adjustments are provided to students with disability to support access to the tests and encourage maximum participation. Students with significant intellectual disability and/or those with significant co-existing conditions which severely limit their capacity to participate in the tests may be exempted from sitting the national tests. This is determined after consultation has occurred between the principal and the relevant parent/carer, and if it is decided the student is not able to access the tests with adjustments. For more information on the types of adjustments available, see Adjustments for students with disability.

Withdrawals
 
NAPLAN tests are a routine part of the school calendar. However, students may be withdrawn from the testing program by their parent/carer for reasons such as religious beliefs or philosophical objections to testing. This is a matter for consideration by individual parents/carers in consultation with their child’s school. A formal application in the manner specified by the relevant test administration authority must be received by the principal prior to testing.

For more information about adjustments you can follow this link: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/accessibility/adjustments-for-students-with-disability 

Mrs Grant will touch base with parents of students on Personalised Plans in the coming weeks.

If you would like to discuss exemption or withdrawal, please email Mrs Grant @ emma.grant@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Thank you to the families who have finalised their 2022 School Fees. 

Term 4 fees are now overdue, except those with direct debit arrangements. Please finalise 2022 school fees. 

If at any time your family is experiencing financial hardship due to Covid-19 or any other reason or your family is in need of other support, please contact the school to make a time for a confidential meeting with our Principal, Jo Scott-Pegum to discuss how the school can help support your family.

The Compass home screen

The home screen provides you with relevant alerts and news, as well as quick access to your child’s profile.