Welcome back everyone for 2021, especially all our new children and their families. Normally we would have a celebration to mark the start of the year but at this stage we are restricted as to what we can do.

COVID-19 restrictions

We still have COVID restrictions and are being very careful with hand sanitising. Any staff or children who display any COVID symptoms need to stay home until they have been tested and receive a negative test.

Following the Government’s announcements regarding new statewide restrictions that came into effect at 11:59pm on Wednesday 3 February, there is new guidance for schools regarding the wearing of masks. Students attending a primary school are not required to wear face masks, but can chose to if they wish. School staff are not required to wear face masks while teaching or caring, but those who wish todo so, can. Staff must wear face masks in indoor areas of the school when not teaching or caring. Parents must wear a face mask when entering the school. Parents will only be able to visit the front office unless prior arrangements have been made.

Lexplore

This year we are going to be part of a pilot study for a platform called Lexplore. We will be the first Catholic School in Australia to use this technology which is currently used in Europe and North America. The platform has been developed using 30 years of research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and uses the latest in machine learning and eye tracking technology to give schools an in-depth overview of each student’s reading attainment. The assessment process takes only a few minutes per child and easily identifies any students who may require extra support or further enrichment.

The information it gives you about a child's reading and their eye movement is very impressive. When we met with Lexplore during the school holidays I did the test so that we could see it in action. It is quick to do and instantly analyses your test.

Our part in the pilot is to use the technology to test children's reading and then feedback to Lexplore on how to adapt it for Australian schools. It is expected that long term the use of this platform will spread across Australia and benefit a large number of children.

Community Hub

This year we are going to get our school Hub up and running. The Hub will be a very good thing for the school and our local community. The first stage of the process is to hire a Hub leader. The plan is to have the job advertised before the end of February. The Hub leader position will be a part-time job and with support from the school, their focus will be for the Hub to become a meeting place for local people and offer what the community needs.

We congratulate Marnie Newbound who got engaged to be married over the holidays. Our thoughts and prayers are with Susan Iob and Elke Hayen who both lost much loved family members over the holiday period.

Regards,

Steve Twomey

Principal

Awards and Birthdays

Stars of the Week