From the Principal

Welcome to Week 6!

We have now passed the halfway point of Term 2.  What a busy term it has been so far with Eisteddfod and lots of sporting events. The remainder of the term will pass by very quickly.

Athletics Carnival

A big thank you to the wonderful participation of the students and the staff for a smoothly run carnival. A very big thank you to the parents for your amazing support with the carnival and canteen. 

Eisteddfod 

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to every child for participating in the Choirs at the Eisteddfod. Also to the String & Percussion groups for your work before and at the Eisteddfod. And to every St Mary's student who performed at the Eisteddfod this year. What outstanding recognition and achievement of your talents. 

Catholic Schools Week

It was lovely to celebrate Catholic Schools Week: Pray with Hope with our students and the Northern Deanery schools at the Mass last Thursday.  Also thank you to our families who were able to attend our School Assembly on Friday. 

Polding Cross Country

Congratulations to Molly Kelly and David Valente who participated in the Polding Cross Country on Wednesday in Sydney.  

Polding Hockey 

Congratulations Molly & Sophie Schmude who played for Polding at the NSW PSSA Hockey Carnival in Newcastle last week. Congratulations to Molly Schmude for being selected in the NSW state team to compete at Nationals in Cairns. 

Chess - Interschool competition

Congratulations to the children who played Chess against other local schools this week at Armidale City Public School.  Congratulations to Lex Cabang, Dean Repp, Isaac Riches and Darcy Stibbard who came 3rd in the teams competition. Thank you Mr Lester for organising the Chess. 

Annabelle to Dance at the World Titles

Annabelle Arkit in Year 5 will soon be travelling to the World Dance Titles in Prague.

Annabelle has been selected in the 10/11-year-old division to perform routines in lyrical, jazz and acrobatics. We wish Annabelle all the very best for her wonderful achievement in the World Titles. 

Next P & F Meeting

Week 7 Wednesday 12th  June  5:30 pm Library. Come along & see the new furniture that the P & F purchased for the Library. 

Message Stick Arrives Monday 17th June

The Message Stick for the Catholic School NSW Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education conference will be coming to our parish and school on Monday 17th June. It will travel to each parish and school community from Term 1 to Term 4, concluding its journey at the Tamworth Regional Entertainment & Conference Centre for the conference in October. 

The message stick will be handed over to the host of the Catholic Schools NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference, with the Armidale Diocese set to host the significant educational gathering from October 22nd to October 24th, 2024.

The Message Stick will travel across the diocese spreading the message of this year's conference theme: “Spirit on Country: Learning Together, then, now & always”.

Our school will be holding an Assembly at 8:50 am on the 17th June in the School Hall. All Parents & Friends are welcome to attend this special assembly.  

Monday 10th June - Public Holiday

I hope all of our families can enjoy some family time on Monday 10th June.

Staff Development Days Coming Up Soon...

A reminder to families that Friday 5th July and Monday 22nd July are both Staff Development Days.  Students do not attend school on these days.

New 3-6 Syllabus and Semester 1 Reports

As part of the NSW Curriculum Reform, a new English and Mathematics Syllabus was introduced last year for Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2, and this year the new syllabus has been implemented in Years 3-6. 

The new syllabuses emphasise key concepts, identify essential knowledge and skills and include new outcomes to clearly show what is essential. To reflect the outcomes of the new English and Mathematics syllabuses, the language of the Semester 1 reports for Years 3-6 will change, just like it did for K-2 last year. Please see the tables below which compare the outcomes and language of the old and new syllabuses. If you have a child in Year 3, 4, 5 or 6, these are the areas you will see on the Semester 1 report. 

NCCD -Information for Families regarding the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data -NCCD

Dear parents, guardians and carers

Re: Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019). 

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools 
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school. 

Kind regards

Mrs Belinda Burton

KINDERGARTEN ENROLMENTS FOR 2025 ARE OPEN

If you know anyone who has a son/daughter ready to start school next year please let them know that enrolments are now open. Enrolment forms can be obtained from the School Office. 

Attendance Matters Every Day Counts

We have set a long term goal of having a high attendance level of 90% of students at school 80% to 90% of the time. 

Education is important and regular attendance at school is essential for your child to achieve their educational best and increase their career and life options. 

When your child attends school every day, learning becomes easier as they are able to build on what was learnt the day before. 

Just one day missed per fortnight equates to one whole year over a child's school life! 

Arriving at school on time is also important. Classes start at 8:50am, students should arrive at least ten minutes prior to this to ensure they have time to put their bags away and greet their friends. 

Schools, in partnerships with families, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students and for ensuring that non-attendance is addressed effectively.                                    Thank you for prioritising your children’s attendance at school.  

A reminder that when a student is absent because they are sick for more than 3 days we require a medical certificate to support this absence.