Centred in Faith Gatherings

We look forward to our Centred in Faith Gathering this Friday at 8:50am led by Kindergarten. At the beginning of the term, the staff finalised Centred in Faith Gatherings for the remainder of the year. These gatherings are now on the school calendar for families to plan when their child's class will be leading. The calendar is located on the school website and the Compass App. 

NAPLAN - Parent Reports

Today the parent reports for NAPLAN have been sent home with Years 3 and 5 in their school bag. The teachers and leadership team have spent time analysing initial data from NAPLAN and comparing individual student performance to other data sets that inform achievement at school. We are pleased with the initial data as it is suggesting the gains of last year have been maintained whilst taking into account differences in the ability of cohorts within a small school. 2023 represents a new set of data for NAPLAN with the move of testing to occur in March and the removal of the previous band system and the introduction of proficiency standards. The proficiency standards are: exceeding, strong, developing and needs additional support. We would ask families to particularly note that the standard strong can encompass students who have achieved above and below the national average and therefore is not necessarily an accurate description of a child's academic ability in comparison to their grades. If you have any questions or would like further clarity around interpreting the report we would ask you to contact your child's teacher. 

Homework Review

Following on from our feedback on the Tell Them From Me survey results last week, the staff gathered on Tuesday to focus on the perceptual data received on Homework.

You may note that we are referring to this as Homework as it was evident from survey respondents and conversations around the school that whilst the term Home Learning was aspirational in shifting our thinking from the difference between work and learning, the culturally engrained term 'Homework' would be difficult to replace and confusing for new families. 49 parents in our survey provided their opinion of the value and quantity of homework in addition to all of our Years 4 - 6 students and teaching staff. The students and staff overwhelmingly agreed that Homework is a necessary component of school to review knowledge. In next week's newsletter, Ms Mikkonen will present a summary of our findings and a proposed framework for moving forward. The framework will be open to consultation from families for one week before being discussed at the next Community Council meeting. We would encourage any families who would like to contribute their voice to contact Ms Mikkonen or a member of the Community Council.  

Rostrum Quarter Finals

Last night, Cillian from 5/6W represented St Thomas More's at the Rostrum Quarter Finals for our region. The quarter-final was held in the library of Ainslie School and Cillian was randomly chosen to present first. After the 8 speeches, the judges gave their feedback, preferencing multiple gesturing, and announced the two competitors to move to the next round, unfortunately Cillian was not selected. We are so proud of Cillian and the way he delivered his speech. 

Think you Know Workshop

We will be hosting a ThinkUKnow presentation on Wednesday 9 of August at 6:00 pm in the library and all parents, carers and teachers are encouraged to attend. ThinkUKnow Australia is an evidence-based education program delivered nationally to prevent online child sexual exploitation. ThinkUKnow Australia is a partnership between the Australian Federal Police, Microsoft Australia, Datacom and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The presentation will be delivered by a local law enforcement member and an industry volunteer. The presentation is pro-technology and addresses topics including self-generated child abuse material, online grooming, sexual extortion, and importantly encourages help seeking behaviour.

We see this workshop as an important conversation to have in our community and encourage a representative from each family to attend. We also understand that family life can be challenging and will therefore offer the option of joining the meeting virtually over MS Teams. Please complete THIS RSVP to confirm your attendance in person or online. 

Think You Know Workshop RSVP for the Think You Know Workshop at St Thomas More's on Wednesday 9 August at 6:00 pm in the Library. forms.gle

Luke Donnelly
Principal

Book Week Schedule

This year, St Thomas More’s will celebrate Numeracy Week next week in Week 3. The school will compete in the Matific Maths Olympiad. They will receive stars for completing activities on the online platform. This will occur in your child’s normal numeracy class time. Some classes have already completed their placement test, and are ready to go next week!