Principals' Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

School Leaders

Student Leadership is important and valued at St Edward's School. Leadership allows students to experience opportunities during their schooling, to build relationships within teams, define their own identity and to work collaboratively to achieve tasks effectively. It also provides an opportunity to learn to identify and display effective communication and interpersonal skills. We are pleased to announce our Captains for 2021:

School Captains:  Lara Cartan and Samuel Studte 

Vice Captains:  Georgia Errington and Riley Miller

Sports Captains 

Kennedy:  Halle Swan and Thomas Jefferys

McKillop: Eva Hudson and Logan Petersen

Chisholm:  Abi Smith and Logan Masters 

Therry:  Olivia Murray and Beau Briskey 

Presentation Day

Normally by now we would be in the throes of planning performances and gearing up for Presentation Night. However this year, due to the restrictions still in place regarding mass gatherings, we will be holding our ceremony at school with just staff, students and selected guests on Monday 7th December. The actual ceremony will be very different to the one normally held, however it will still give us the opportunity to gather as a whole school to celebrate the year we have had and to acknowledge the achievements of our staff and students.  We know this is a major disappointment for our parents and carers, however we are planning to film and upload snippets of the ceremony to Compass and Facebook so that you can view them with your child/children from the comfort of your home. Special thanks to Mr O'Toole and Mr Martin for the work they are doing to ensure we can all enjoy this special event.

Year 6 Coffs Harbour Excursion

The Year 6 Excursion to Coffs Harbour was a huge success!  Students were engaged in a range of exciting activities including a 'high ropes course' at Coffs Harbour Treetops and an afternoon of fun and exhilaration at the Big Banana Waterpark. These activities are aimed at pushing boundaries and developing resilience which are skills essential for secondary school. Congratulations and thank you to our wonderful Year 6 students for being outstanding ambassadors for our school. Also, a huge thank you to our fantastic team of Year 6 teachers, Miss Gambrill, Miss Tucker, Mrs Sally Clarke and Mr Darryl Martin for their organisation of this event and also to Mr Andrew Millman and Mr Sam Casson for attending on the day to provide extra support and supervison.

School Advisory Council Nomination

The Catholic School Advisory Council provides the opportunity for members of the school and parish community to support the mission of Catholic education in the school. Working with the Principal and the Parish Priest, the members of the Advisory Council and its committees, provide guidance and support to the wider school community.

We are now calling for nominations for our School Advisory Council. If you would like to nominate yourself, or someone else for our School Advisory Council in 2021, or would like more information, fill in the form attached. Alternately please contact our Office at the Infants or Primary Campus and if you require more information.  Nominations need to be received by Friday 4th December.

Infants Campus Improvements

We are very happy to report that the improvements that have been planned are well underway at our Infants Campus. With the past few days being very hot, the new shade sail has been very well received by the children. We look forward to these improvements continuing over the next few weeks.

End of Semester Reports

Please be advised that parents/carers will receive their child's School Report on Thursday 10th December 2020. Parents/Carers will have access to an electronic copy of their child's via the Compass Portal. As per the NSW Education Standards Authority guidelines, our Semester 2 Reports will continue to use a five point scale in which to attribute grades to students. In the past at St Edward's, this was done using an A - E scale. However, from Semester 2 2020 onwards, the Armidale Catholic Schools Office will use new reporting language for all schools within the diocese. For each Key Learning Area, teachers will now report as to whether students are:

• Working at the expected level of achievement.
• Working beyond the expected level of achievement (this is split into two sections, working beyond and working well beyond the expected level).
• Working towards the expected level of achievement (this is split into two sections, working towards and working well below the expected level).

Parents are also reminded that all absences from school must  be explained within 7 days, otherwise they will automatically move into 'unexplained' and cannot be retrieved. These days will be reflected in the students school reports. It is easy to do via Compass and is best done on the day so the task is not forgotten.

Please make contact with the Primary or Infants Office if you require assistance to log in to Compass or require support to access your child's report once they have been sent out via the portal.

Have a great week everyone!

Alison Hatton and Lisa McSweeney