Principal's Report
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
This weekend we pray for all the children of the Parish making their First Eucharist over the next two Sundays. Father Benneth has instituted two special Masses on Sunday 16th and Sunday 23rd June so that the focus can be on our First Communicants and their families sharing this important Sacramental time together. In particular we pray for our St Anne's students- Alexander, Elijah, Kassandra, Maryhanna, Mason, Oscar and Zaira. I would also like to say thank you to 5/6 O for their beautiful Mass this morning celebrating the Holy Trinity.
This week was a slightly shorter one due to last week's extended weekend. I trust everyone had the opportunity to 'recharge their batteries' as we race towards the end of the term. No doubt the highlight of the week here at school was our annual Italian Day. What a great celebration it was of our language study . Well done to Signora Morina for her organisation and the staff and P & F for their support of the day. It was a whole lot of fun!
Next week highlights include the Track Athletics which have been re-scheduled now for the third time. They are on Tuesday though it is the only day next week with a forecast of rain! On Friday next week our 3/ 4 students commence their swimming block of lessons. They will have 5 lessons across the six days with the final Wednesday of the term excluded.
Wednesday 26 June are our second session of school interviews and will follow up the half yearly reports which we hope to have out on Monday 24th June. For newcomers to our interview systems we use an on-line booking system. Instructions are to log in to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and the entry code is dkswk (all lower case). It is fairly simple to use but if you have any difficulty please ring the office for support. We will also have an early school closure on the day with students being dismissed at 1.30pm.
In staffing news Mrs Di Paolo commences Long Service Leave for the final two week's of term and we wish her well as she finds somewhere sunny to be! In not so happy news, Mrs Rikki Winduss is on leave for the rest of the year. She has breast cancer and as such needs her energies and efforts for herself and her family. Rikki is in good spirits, will obviously be present around school as she drops off and picks up her own children and is looking forward to re-joining the staff in 2020 fit and well. Please keep Rikki in your prayers. We have recently interviewed potential staff for the 2 days that Rikki taught in the 1/2 LW classroom and will let families know as soon as something concrete is in place.
Rod Shaw,
Principal
School Attendance and Unexplained Absence
Please ensure you contact the school if your child is going to be absent by leaving a message on 9786 4736 and press 1.
If you are running late, (after 9:00 am ) please attend the office to sign your child into school.
As per our policy this will be our morning routine for absences will be:
Parents will be contacted as soon as practicable on the morning a student is absent via a phone call or text message.
If parent does not reply or is unreachable the emergency contacts will be contacted by the school.
If there is still no response, and the school feels that the child is in danger, the police will be contacted.
Ongoing unexplained absences or lack of cooperation regarding student attendance will result in
a formal conference being organized. Unresolved attendance issues will be referred to D.H.H.S.
This is a legal requirement.
NCCD FUNDING FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School Students with Disability
What is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data? Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of students with disability.
Who is counted in the data collection? To count a student in the NCCD, schools must think through some key questions:
1. Is the student getting help at school so that they can take part in education on the same
basis as other students? 2. Is the help given because of a disability? The word ‘disability’ comes from the Disability
Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and it can include many students? 3. Has the school talked to you or your child about the help that they provide? 4. Has the school kept records about the help they provide, the student needs and the reasons
that the student needs this help? The school will need to keep copies of tests, student work, assessments, records of meetings, medical reports or other paperwork and information about how the student’s learning is moving along over time?
Once the school decides that the student should be counted in the NCCD, they then choose a disability group and one of four levels of help that has been given to the student.
What does word ‘disability’ mean in the NCCD? In the NCCD the word ‘disability’ comes from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). There are four types of disability that the school can choose from; sensory, cognitive, social-emotional and physical.
Many students that need help at school can be counted in the NCCD. For example, students with learning problems, e.g. specific learning disability or reading difficulty (sometimes called dyslexia), health problems (e.g. epilepsy or diabetes), physical disability (e.g. cerebral palsy), vision/hearing loss and social-emotional problems (e.g. selective mutism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety).
Letters from doctors or specialists can be very helpful for schools as they plan how to support students with their learning. Schools do not need to have these letters before they can count a
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student in NCCD. Teachers can use all that they know about the child’s learning and the records that they have collected over time to decide if a student can be counted in the NCCD.
What sort of help does the school give students? Students need different types of help at school. Some students need a little help sometimes while other students need a lot of help nearly all the time. The type of help given depends on the needs of the student. The help can include changes to the school buildings or grounds (e.g. ramps or things like special desks or chairs), extra teacher help in classes, special learning programs, changes to the work they give the student or extra adult help.
How will the NCCD be different this year? All schools have been counting students in the NCCD since 2015. The government will use the NCCD data as part of the funding to schools.
What will the school need to know about my child for the NCCD? Schools work together with families to understand the needs of each child. It is helpful if families give their child’s teacher a copy of any letters or reports they have. The letters or reports will help the school understand the child and the help that they might need. Letters from doctors, psychologists, speech pathologists, doctor, and occupational therapists etc. can be very helpful for schools. These reports along with information that the teacher has (i.e. school based tests, your child’s work and learning plans) helps the school to understand and meet the student’s needs.
What happens to the NCCD data? Who will have the NCCD information? Each school principal must check the NCCD data in August of each year. The school will give the information to the Catholic Education Office. The school will work with the Catholic Education Office to make sure that the NCCD data is OK before they give the data to the government. The government will not be given the names of any students or any letters or records. Please ask your school for their privacy policy if you need to know more.
Does the school need me to agree with them about counting my child in the NCCD? Amendments were made to the Australian Education Act 2013 and Australian Education Regulation 2013). Schools do not need you to agree to let them count a child in the NCCD. You cannot ask the school not to count your child.
Where can I find out more? Please contact your child’s school if you have further questions about the NCCD and/or refer to the national NCCD Portal.
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