Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to Week 7's Newsletter!

Last week, I attended two separate conferences.

The first was a two-day workshop as part of the Catholic Schools NSW Avila Leadership program I am completing. This is a program offered to new and aspiring Principals from across NSW. We covered topics such as School Governance, Employment Relations, Catholic School Leadership, Faith Formation and Engaging with Parents and Community. We also listened to guest speaker Hon. Jacinta Collins (Executive Director of the National Catholic Education Commission), who spoke about Religious Freedom and Catholic Schools. I will attend four more workshops throughout the remainder of the year before I present a research-based project embedded in our school.

Last Thursday, I attended the Armidale Catholic Schools Inclusion Support Teacher (IST) workshop. During this IST workshop, I had the opportunity to listen to consultants from LAB Learning Clinic discuss Specific Learning Disorders related to Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia. We learnt how to identify the signs of these specific learning disorders and explored some strategies that we can use in the classroom to support students with these learning disorders.

Last Friday, I saw myself wearing my Religious Education Coordinator (REC) hat during the Armidale Catholic Schools REC workshop. I worked with Damian Roff and Darryl Martin from the Armidale Catholic Schools Mission Team and a team of RECs from across the Diocese. We explored Religious Education and the role of the teacher and the student in this subject, and we began the background work to support the re-alignment of our Religious Education programs across the Diocese.

I look forward to sharing what I have learned with the staff at Sacred Heart over the coming weeks.

2025 NAPLAN

Each year, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is sat by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation), and numeracy.

NAPLAN 2025 will begin this week and run from Wednesday, March 12, to Monday, March 24. Our Sacred Heart School timetable can be viewed below. If your child is in Year 3 or Year 5, please ensure they are well-rested before each assessment and arrive on time to school each day.

2025 NAPLAN Timetable

Year 3 & Year 5 Students
Wednesday, 12th March @9:30am	NAPLAN Writing Assessment Year 3 - handwritten Year 5 - typed
Thursday, 13th March @9:30am	NAPLAN Reading Assessment Online
Tuesday, 18th March @9:30am	NAPLAN Conventions of Language Assessment Online
Wednesday, 19th March @9:30am	NAPLAN Numeracy Assessment Online

NAPLAN is just one part of our school’s learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school, so the best preparation is their everyday classroom learning. Our school will also undertake activities to help students become familiar with the types of questions and tools available in the online tests.

The public demonstration site - https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site is available for you to see the format of the online tests.

Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website - https://www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/naplan and the NAP website - https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.

KINDERGARTEN TRANSITION PROGRAM

Our Little Stars Kindergarten Transition Program will begin this Friday, March 14th. We are excited to welcome these children and their families into our school community. Mrs. Herden and I will teach this class each Friday. I know you will join me in welcoming these families to Sacred Heart School.

NEW LOOK WEBSITE

Armidale Catholic Schools has developed a system approach to school websites, and we are pleased to share that our website is the first new site!

Sacred Heart was the first pilot school to collaborate with Pixel Fish web agency to produce a public-facing site that showcases our school's uniqueness. The site's layout is consistent with Armidale Catholic Schools as a system.

Please take some time to enjoy and peruse our new website!

https://sacredheartboggabri.catholic.edu.au/

Wishing everyone a productive and rewarding Week 7!

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or concerns.

Warm regards,

Claire Ryan

Principal

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