From the Deputy Principal 

Assembly update

Please note that due to our school closure this week and Drew Lane's full day rehearsals for the school musical next Friday (14/3) there will be no school assembly. The next assembly will be on Friday 21st March. 

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy)

for Year 3 and Year 5

Coming up in March the annual NAPLAN national assessment that tests students' ability in three domains of literacy - reading, writing and language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and in numeracy takes place. There are a variety of tests that the school will schedule between the testing window of Wednesday 12th March and Tuesday 24th March. If your child is absent on a particular day of a scheduled assessment, the school does have the ability to allow the student to complete a “catch-up” assessment. The school’s NAPLAN assessment schedule is below:

      Wednesday 12th March: 9.15am Writing (Y5 online test, Y3 paper test)

      Thursday 13th March: 9.15am Reading and 11.30am Conventions of Language

       Monday 17th March: 9.15am Numeracy

Prayers in Pyjamas - Wednesday 12th March (6-7pm)

A reminder that our annual Prayers in Pyjamas (Preps, Ones and Twos) is taking place next Wednesday 12th March from 6-7pm. We ask that you arrive with your child and meet in the Prep classroom just before 6pm. The children can wear either pyjamas or relaxed casual attire. More details can be found in the RE news section of this week’s newsletter!

Junior School Mass  - Sunday 16th March

A warm invitation to all families, particularly those with students in Prep, One and Two, to attend the Junior School Mass at 5.30pm on Sunday 16th March. It will be another lovely opportunity to gather together as a faith community.

Drew Lane Imaginarium - Friday 14th March

We are excited to welcome back Drew Lane for our first whole school rehearsal of his original musical “Ïmaginarium”. Drew will work with each year level on class numbers, whole school pieces as well as with the main cast.

Ride To School Day - Friday 14th March

This year we are acknowledging National Ride2School Day on Friday 14th of March and it is a great opportunity to ride, walk or scoot to school. Part of the way is also ok! Students wear school uniform on this day however are encouraged to decorate their helmet, wear a fun accessory or bring a colourful item of clothing. On this morning we will be having (in conjunction with our wonderful P&F:

• A class parade with prizes
• Free healthy snack for students
• A coffee van onsite
• Other fun games and activities.

Gates open at 8:20am and the parade commences at 8:50am

Volunteers Needed - Interschool Athletics Carnival - Wednesday 19th March

We are looking forward to the upcoming Whole School Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 19th March which will again be held at the GR Bricker Reserve.  If you are able to volunteer to help run the day by officiating or timekeeping please look out for the upcoming Operoo Form.

St Patrick’s Day (Monday 17th March)  and Harmony Day (Friday 21st March)

Both these important days fall in Week 8 this year. We will acknowledge these days with some activities at school but also by encouraging students to wear a “touch of green" for St Patrick’s Day and a “touch of orange” on Harmony Day. 

We would ask that students bring in a gold coin donation on one or both days - which will support Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion. 

Raising Kids In A Digital World 2025 Webinar (for parents)

The webinar is simply a must for all parents to be informed about the impact of the digital world on their children. 

Here is the link for your parents to register for the webinar :

bit.ly/parents20march

Check out the video below for some more information about the  parent seminar/webinar:

Inform & Empower Student Webinars

Over the last fortnight the students from Foundation to Year 6 have also been participating in webinars hosted by presenters from the Inform and Empower Platform, but developed specifically with children in mind. You can find the tip sheets relevant to each year level below. Parents may wish to use these as conversation starters with their children.

A reminder that our annual ICT Policy and User Agreement has been available to complete on Operoo - thank you to all the families who have completed this. Next week, I will be following up families who are yet to digitally sign this important agreement. . 

Inform and Empower Student Learnings in Term 1

Prep

Learning for Preps this Term will focus on making clever screen time choices, such as identifying appropriate times and places to use devices. They will also discuss how to take care of devices and strategies for sharing.

Years 1 and 2

Learning in Years 1 and 2 this Term will focus on what the internet is, how listening to our body can help us recognise early warning signs and how trusted adults can help us stay safe online.

Years 3 and 4

Learning in Years 3 and 4 this Term will focus on what the internet is and how it works. They will also explore the rights and responsibilities of digital citizens.

Years 5 and 6

Learning in Years 5 and 6 this Term will focus on online rights and responsibilities and how the law can help keep us safe. They will also explore how positive online experiences can support our digital wellbeing.

Jubilee Ambassadors Announced!

We are excited and pleased to announce that our Faith and Social Justice Leaders (Isaac, Zoey, Anna and Olivia) have been selected to be official Jubilee Year School Ambassadors. The students  had to submit applications as to their suitability for the role and I’m pleased to announce that all four have been appointed for the 2025 year. They will be commissioned and blessed at the St Patrick’s Day Mass(alongside the other successful applicants from Catholic primary and secondary schools across Melbourne) at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday 21st March. They are excited to tell us more about their new responsibilities at an upcoming assembly. 

Community Calendar

The 2025 community calendar can be found on the Calendar page but we encourage all families to connect to the School’s Google Community Calendar.

Please also see link to our Google Calendar. 

If you wish to add this calendar to your personal device, you can use the following ical link:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/c_c8el163bek1cvane44i0pm23eo%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics