Principal's Message
PARENT /TEACHER / STUDENT INTERVIEWS
Dear Parents / Carers,
This year we are making a change to the way that we do our Mid-Year interviews.
We will now be inviting the students to come along to these interviews and be a part of the discussion.
WHY MAKE THIS CHANGE?
One of the major reasons for introducing this initiative is to build an understanding in our students that education / learning is not something DONE to them, but a process that they engage in and control.
Educational research indicates that students who were accurately able to gauge where they were at in their learning were more likely to succeed.
“Having and sharing challenging goals/learning intentions with students is a major condition of successful learning, but on top of this it helps considerably if students share a commitment and sense of engagement to these goals.” (John Hattie)
As a school we have already begun this process with the use of Learning Intentions and success criteria in lessons from K - 6.
This change in practice is also related to one of the key recommendations from the 2025 School Inquiry And Review process, which encouraged enhanced student learning and engagement.
WHAT WILL THIS LOOK LIKE?
Before the School Report is sent home our teachers will give every child an opportunity to reflect upon what they have done well so far this year and what areas they believe they could improve in. The teacher will then meet with each child and work with them to create ONE goal for the rest of 2026. This goal will be displayed in the classroom and reported against, at the end of Term 4 in the yearly Report. You might like to also have this goal on the fridge, kitchen noticeboard etc at home.
Later this Term you will be asked to choose a time to meet with your child's teacher to discuss the half-yearly report. YOUR CHILD WILL ACCOMPANY YOU TO THIS INTERVIEW.
HOW DO I, AS A PARENT / CARER, GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS NEW PROCESS?
There are a number of things that you can do to make the Parent / Teacher / Student interview a highly beneficial process. Attached here is a document that provides some tips about what you can do BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the interview.
WHAT IF I NEED TO TELL THE TEACHER SOMETHING THAT I DON'T WANT MY CHILD TO HEAR?
That is fine. Your child can be invited to wait outside while this discussion takes place.
While I understand that any change of practice does take some getting used to, our School is excited to see our students take more responsibility for their own learning and be able to talk with you about what they are working to improve in.
You will be given the chance to provide some feedback at the end of these interviews about how you found this new format.
WINTER UNIFORM
Just a reminder that the students begin wearing their winter uniform on the MONDAY AFTER MOTHER'S DAY (11 May).
ANZAC DAY
Thank you to all the students, and their families, who came along last Saturday to commemorate ANZAC Day at Sutherland. It was great to see so many students not only there to represent our School, but also local sporting associations as well.
My thanks to Mrs Maguire and Mr Heelis for also coming along to support our involvement.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
Our School Uniform is now available at the Yeronga store Shop 1 23- 29 Gray Street (Cnr Park & Gray Street).
Online orders can be made by using the link below:
https://www.yerongauniforms.com/product-category/schools/st-patricks-catholic-primary-sutherland/
The second-hand uniform shop will be having at sale on FRIDAY 8 May. Straight after the morning Mothers' Day liturgy / Award Assembly at 8:55.
LANGUAGE CLASSES
Bookings for Term 2 Inter Flow Languages classes are now open!
Spanish and Italian classes will continue, however there will be NO French classes due to the departure of the teacher at the end of Term 1.
More information, including how to book a place, can be found on COMPASS.
PARENT GROUP MEETING
Our Term 2 meeting will take place on MONDAY 11 May beginning at 6:00pm. This will take place in the Staffroom OR you can join the meeting via zoom. The link to join the meeting at that time is here.
ALL parents / carers are welcome to attend. More information, including the agenda for the meeting, will be sent home next week.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS
During the recent vacation period some work was done to improve our facilities.
The Stage 3 playground was resurfaced and line marking for soccer and handball were added.
Our thanks to Sydney Catholic School for significantly contributing to the cost of this project.
A new shade structure was also installed over the steps on the quad, which will provide cover for our students during award assemblies, liturgies, presntations etc.
My thanks to our Parent Group (and to all the parents / carers who have contributed to the fundraising efforts) for making this possible.
Kind regards,
Steve Darcy (Principal)