In Touch @ St Aidan's

From the Assistant Principal's Desk

Fenna Di Maggio | Acting Assistant Principal

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Congratulations to the Year 5 and Year 6 students who participated and presented a speech last week for the Public Speaking competition. It was impressive to see the skills shown with the delivery of the speeches as well as the content that students included in their speech.

 

Congratulations to Annam Albertella and Sebastian Portus who were the students chosen to represent St. Aidan’s at the SCS Public Speaking Semi Finals which will be held at St. Andrew’s Malabar on 30 May. We wish them the best of luck!

PEER SUPPORT

This term, students will be participating in Peer Support Lessons each Monday. This is a great opportunity for students to build relationships with students from across the school. Students have enjoyed the lessons so far - here are a few snapshots!

2024 AUSTRALIAN EARLY DEVELOPMENT CENSUS

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) is a national data collection of early childhood development at the time children commence their first year of full-time school. The data collected will cover the following domains:

  • physical health and wellbeing
  • social competence
  • emotional maturity
  • language and cognitive skills (school based)
  • communication skills and general knowledge

Since 2009, communities, schools and governments across Australia have used results from the AEDC to help provide the right kind of services, resources and support for children and families.

 

Teachers of children in their first year of full-time school will complete online training prior to completing the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument (AvEDI) for children in their class. Data collection will take place from May 2024 and school results will be available from late 2024. Individual children are not identifiable in the results.

 

Teachers complete the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument (similar to a questionnaire) using a secure data entry system. The Instrument is completed based on the teacher’s knowledge and observations of the children in their class. Children are not required to be present while teachers complete the Instrument.

 

To find out more about the AEDC and how schools and communities are using the data to help children and families, visit www.aedc.gov.au. Please notify the school if you wish to opt-out of this census.

ICAS ASSESSMENTS - TERM 3

Students in Years 2-6 have the opportunity to showcase and celebrate their talents in the world-renowned ICAS competition this year.

  

What is ICAS?  

ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee, and Digital Technologies.

  

To learn more about this year’s exciting ICAS competition, visit: icasassessments.com/products-icas/ 

  

How to participate in ICAS  

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please follow the instructions in the image below to order and pay for your child’s ICAS tests online.

  1. To enter your child, visit https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
  2. Enter the school’s unique access code: EXN492
  3. Add your child’s details.
  4. Choose the assessments you wish for your child to participate in and make a direct payment. 
  5. You will receive a confirmation email.
  6. All assessments will be conducted online, at school. You will be notified of the dates that the ICAS assessments will be completed and when the results are ready.

 

Warm regards,

Fenna Di Maggio