PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Dear Parents/Carers,

After a short, sharp and jam-packed Term Two, our teaching staff have really been looking forward to a settled and uninterrupted block of teaching in Term Three. As a school, we have clear priorities around improving teaching and learning practices to optimise the outcomes for our students. In the middle of last year, our school started down the path of Structured Literacy. In recent times there has been more and more evidence coming to light around the ‘Science of Learning’ and particularly the ‘Science of Reading’. Led by our Learning and Teaching Leaders Amanda Baker and Louisa Di Pietro, we have made some significant shifts in terms of phonics, spelling and Reading recently. Starting in the Junior School, we have Multi-Sensory Structured Language (MSL) groups operating every day. In these sessions, the children learn the ‘code’ of the English language. The letters and sounds are introduced in a very deliberate and structured manner. In terms of learning to read, there is heavy emphasis placed on Word Recognition, which is a combination of phonological awareness, decoding and sight recognition. As students become increasingly competent decoders, their fluency will increase, as will their capacity to comprehend the language/text. This can be seen below in the ‘Reading Rope’. 

In a staged manner, the school has and will continue to update our ‘home reader’ collection to include decodable readers. These readers align with the MSL approach in terms of the sounds introduced and the children will be accessing the texts appropriate to their level of need. In the Senior School, the evidence-based, direct instruction continues in the form of Spelling Mastery and also around comprehension strategies. In terms of reading and language comprehension, there is more and more evidence being shared in recent times about the importance of building a knowledge-rich-curriculum to enhance student achievement in this area. The evidence indicates that if we build the general knowledge of the children on a variety of key topics, their language and knowledge of vocabulary will be enhanced, enabling them to access a range of increasingly difficult texts. 

We are very fortunate to have incredibly committed teachers and leaders who are always looking to the latest research and evidence to improve themselves as professionals. Much of this isn’t visible to our student or parent community, but the way they engage with improvement is something I for one, am very proud of. This year, we have been involved in the creation of a ‘collective’ of five high-performing Catholic schools from our region to study the Science of Learning and Reading. As part of this collective, the curriculum leaders from each of these schools are meeting termly to collaborate around this key improvement area. It is clear from recent academic data that our students are making strong progress. Our Preps are incredible and are generally ‘ahead of the curve’, with more than half of them already decoding at the level expected for the end of Year 1. Many of our Year 1s and Year 2s are also exceeding expectations in Reading as well. Below are some mean scores from recent adaptive assessments completed in Reading from Year 3-6.

NAPLAN 2023

Yesterday, Year 3 and 5 parents were provided with their child’s report from NAPLAN 2023. This year, the reporting format has changed for parents and for schools making it difficult for us to compare to past achievement. Instead of the previous 10 ‘Bands’, there are now four reporting areas: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support. Schools have received some data from these tests, but at this stage it is incomplete because we do not yet have comparative data from the State or National level. From the limited reports we do have, they are as expected and the children have performed well. As parents and as a school, we should be proud of them. Once we have a more complete data set, I will share further information with the school community. We are always looking to celebrate the successes, but identify the trends for further improvement.

Family Maths Week - Get involved in some Maths!

We are warmly inviting parents to come along to our Family Maths Week, hosted by the children and classroom teachers on Monday 7th August and Thursday 10th August from 2.25-3.25pm. The aim of these sessions is to engage with your child around this key curriculum area. The teachers will set up activities for you to work alongside your child and which will hopefully help build an understanding how we go about teaching and learning in Mathematics at St Agnes’. You are most welcome to attend one or both of the sessions. I’m sure your child would love to see you there!

Madagascar the Musical

Rehearsals are continuing for Madagascar the Musical and the children are very excited to be performing together for you, their families. As has been previously communicated, the production takes place in the Performing Arts Centre of Kilbreda College in Mentone, on the evenings of Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th September. Tickets will go on sale on sale via the newsletter on Wednesday 9th August. As it is a whole school event, it is expected that all students are present at both performances so we can make the show the best it can be! Families will be able to pre-select seating for both nights and we encourage you to invite grandparents, friends and family along for what promises to be a special time for the children. We are on the lookout for anyone in our school community who has skills in photography to take some photos of our students for the production program and also for the pre-show video. We are also looking to put together a make-up team to assist with some simple face-painting in the themes of the characters of Madagascar. If you are able to assist with either of these things, please contact Amanda Baker (bakeram@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) or Anna Gugliucciello (Anna Gugliucciello).The collaboration that this production promotes amongst our staff, students and parents is something to be truly valued. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for the children to express themselves and showcase their talents in the Performing Arts.

St Agnes’ Disco - Get your tickets now! Today! Ticket sales close tonight!

This Friday night we have the St Agnes’ Disco in the school hall! It is usually a massive hit with the children and promises to once again be a really fun evening! By all reports, there are plenty of people who are yet to secure tickets, so please get yourself over to the P&F Page to get this sorted!

Year Six Graduation Meeting - Tuesday 22nd August

It’s hard to believe we are talking about this once more, but we warmly invite all Year Six parents to a planning meeting for Year Six Graduation Celebrations. The meeting will be at school on Tuesday 22nd August at 8am.

St Agnes’ P&F Presents the Great Gatsby Casino Night

A reminder to get your tickets sorted for the highly anticipated 2023 P&F parent event, to be held on Friday 11th August - The Great Gatsby Casino Night! I encourage all families to get a babysitter or grandparent organised so you can get along to enjoy what promises to be a fun-filled evening. The event will commence at 7.30pm in the school hall, with ‘tables’ open from 7.45pm. More information is available on the P&F Page of this newsletter - Get your tickets now!

Fete Committee Meeting - Wednesday 26th July

A reminder that the next Fete Committee meeting is scheduled for tonight, Wednesday 26th July at 7.30pm in the Meeting Room at school. We look forward to the big event on Saturday 16th March 2024. 

Year 5/6 Hooptime - Monday 31st July

All students from Year 5 and 6 will head off to Hooptime Basketball at MSAC on Monday 31st July. Details have been sent out via Operoo.

Year 5/6 Relationships and Sexuality Education Parent/Child Session - Tuesday 8th August at 7pm

We have a parent/child education session focused on development, relationships and sexuality for our Year 5 and 6 students scheduled for Tuesday 8th August. This session will be offered online, so parents and children can join this from the comfort of their living room. It is expected that all families are present to support their children in this important phase of their development. The link for the meeting will be shared closer to the date.

Bullying No Way Day - Wednesday 9th August

Our Year Six Leaders are organising a day of action against bullying on Wednesday 9th August. This will be a casual dress day and more information will be shared with the students at assembly.

Long Service Leave

I will be taking Long Service Leave from Monday 31st July to Friday 4th August (inclusive). My family is heading to the slopes of Mt Buller for the week. Louisa Di Pietro will be Acting Principal in my absence.

School Closure Day - Monday 14th August

A gentle reminder that there is a school closure day on Monday 14th August for staff to undertake professional learning. We will be completing First Aid Training and learning more about Respectful Relationships to enhance implementation in our classrooms. Extend have confirmed there will be care offered at school on this day, provided there is a minimum of 10 students booked in prior to Monday 7th August. I encourage you to get in and book ASAP.

Term Three School Fees

Term Three School Fees Statements have been sent and fees are now payable via EFT, cash or credit card. Please contact Shannon (sshine@sahighett.catholic.edu.au) in the office to organise payment.

Assembly

Assemblies are in the Hall on Wednesday afternoons. Parents are welcome to attend. At assembly, there will be presentations from classes, student awards, birthday acknowledgements and special announcements from student leaders.

Wed 26th July - Year 4

Wed 2nd Aug - Prep (100 Days)

Wed 9th Aug - Year 2

Wed 16th Aug - Year 3

Wed 23rd Aug - Year 1

Wed 30th Aug - Year 6 Leadership

Wed 6th Sept - No Assembly (post-production)

Wed 13th Sept - No class presentation

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Kind regards,

Lachie.