Principal's Panorama

Welcome to Week Three, 

Congratulations!

Huge congratulations to Miss Camilleri on conferring her degree today! 

Balancing the demands of teaching is no small feat. Your dedication to lifelong learning, whether it is the students you teach, or your own...is an inspiration. 

"Enjoy celebrating this incredibly well-deserved milestone!"

HALOs and Leadership

Living the values of St Mary of the Angels has certainly been a highlight in Early Stage One with three of our young people being awarded ZINC Halos at assembly yesterday. Congratulations to Huxton, Leila, Harper and Bryce!!!!

Mother's Day

It was wonderful to see all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunts and special friends share our breakfast this morning. 

As we approach Mother’s Day on Sunday it led me to think about the significant women in my life and the 'life' of the Catholic Church.

In the Catholic teachings, we look to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the ultimate model of love, sacrifice, and strength. Her journey provides a beautiful roadmap for the joys and challenges of raising children in our modern world.

The Courage to Say "Yes": Motherhood begins with a leap of faith, sometimes one that was thrust upon us. Just as Mary accepted God’s call to enter a completely new life, our mothers constantly say "yes" to new sacrifices. Whether it is giving up personal time for weekend sport or working hard to support the family, mothers model Mary’s selfless devotion.

Finding the Balance: Protection and Freedom:

Mary teaches us the delicate balance of parenting. In the Temple of Jerusalem, we see her fierce protection as she searched for the young Jesus. Later, at the Wedding at Cana, she provides freedom, nudging him to use his gifts to help others. Like Mary, our mothers work to keep us safe while encouraging us to share our talents with the world.

The Strength of Letting Go:

Mary highlights the grace of "letting go." From Jesus leaving home to his ultimate sacrifice on the Cross, Mary stood by him with unwavering faith. Whilst every family has different markers or milestones (for example some families are at the first day of school stage or like a big one in our house atm; learning to drive), mothers reflect Mary’s strength every time they trust their children to grow into the people God called them to be.

Honouring the Heart: The Importance of Self-Care

While Mary’s life was one of service, we also remember that she was "full of grace" and supported by a community of faith. To care for others effectively, mothers must also care for themselves.

• Just as Mary "pondered these things in her heart," mothers need quiet moments to recharge their own spirits.
• Motherhood was never meant to be a solo journey. Taking time for friendships and personal well-being isn't selfish; it ensures that the "well" of love and patience doesn't run dry.
• Looking after one’s physical and mental health is a way of honouring the life God gave you.

Please remember... nobody can pour from an empty cup. This Mother’s Day, when we honour the "Mary-like" heart in every mother, grandmother, and carer in our school community, we encourage you to take a moment for yourself, knowing that your well-being is a gift to your family.

Thank you for being 'you' and for your "yes" as a mother.

NCCD Moderation

Did you know that NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data) moderation is occurring across all schools in Australia over the next few months?

The NCCD stands for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability. 

It is an annual, mandatory collection of information across all Australian schools, which helps the government (State and Federal) to identify students with disabilities/learning challenges or chronic health conditions in schools who receive adjustments in the classroom to access education.

This census of information helps governments and schools understand support needs and allocate funding to areas of most need. 

"NCCD moderation" is a quality assurance process where our skilled helpful adults meet to review and confirm the evidence supporting the adjustments provided to students with learning needs and/or disabilities. 

This process ensures that the data reported annually by schools is accurate, consistent, and complies with national guidelines, rather than being a "testing" process for students and parents.

We use the internal moderation process here at SMOTA to increase the reliability of teacher judgments regarding which young people are included in the NCCD process, the level of support (adjustments) they receive and what are appropriate for our school context.

During our moderation process, Mrs Phelps and I examine evidence of adjustments—such as Personal Learning Plans, Third Party Specialist Reports, classroom modifications, and support meeting minutes (parents or 3rd Party Professionals)—to ensure that the adjustments that a young person (included in NCCD), have been provided.  In Term Two, our schools have a second moderation, conducted at the system level to reconfirm NCCD data before it is submitted to the government at the August census date.

NCCD Process HERE

Community Pulse:

School Pick Up Safety:

As many of you will have noticed, there are safety bollards being installed along our pick up entry.  Due to WHS concerns of young people exiting into their parents/carers vehicles in a manner that may see them injured by other vehicles, we have been instructed to install bollards and safety chain along the collection zone and implement a collection procedure where;

The vehicle that is at the front of the line collects first and as they leave, the second 'set' of young people are to be released.

I understand this will pose some teething challenges at the start, yet I know you all care deeply about our young people and your community.  I am sure with everyone's cooperation we will master the change quickly.

Parent Engagement Network: Parent Liaison Officers

The Parent Engagement Network (PEN) supports communication, engagement and community-building while remaining fully aligned with the Armidale Catholic Schools Parents & Friends Constitution.

The goal of our introducing the Parent Engagement Network is to ensure St Mary of the Angels builds a welcoming, sustainable and faith‑filled parent engagement model that strengthens partnership between families, school and parish.

The PEN is a continuation of the way that, St Mary of the Angels, recognises that parents play a vital role in the faith formation, wellbeing and education of their children. 

The PEN structure allows for broader representation across the school community while maintaining strong governance and clear alignment with the system and school’s strategic priorities.

The PEN, will be made up of Parent Liaisons (one per stage), known as a Class Angel, who will meet with the Principal so that the school can;

• share school priorities
• hear parent/carer voice
• discuss opportunities and identify challenges in each Stage context
• and to coordinate engagement in each Stage of the school

Our Class Angels will support the school by

• Encouraging positive engagement with skilled helpful adults, the school and its community
• Promoting community events and engagement opportunities within the SMOTA Parent/carer community
• and by sharing general parent feedback with the PEN.

What is is not:

A reminder, Class Angels

• do not handle complaints
• do not speak on behalf of the school
• do not become involved in student discipline or learning matters
• do not replace communication between parents and teachers

Our Class Angels will be able to share general information and logistics with parents/carers in the stage using a Whatsapp group which school leadership and admin are also members of. If you would like to become a member of the Whatsapp Group for your child/rens stage, please complete the following form. HERE

Thank you, as always, for your continued support of our school and its mission.

Blessings until next time!

Zoe Nugent

Principal