Principal's Report
Dear Parents,
As we approach the end of our third week of this term, our Year 4 students have just returned from their camp and our Year 6 students have celebrated their sacrament of Confirmation. Both Confirmation ceremonies were reverent, special occasions and it was a privilege to witness the next step in the faith journey of these young people.
NAPLAN
ACARA has finally released the 2023 State and National NAPLAN results, which now allows us to gauge how we are tracking as a school in comparison with students in Victoria and Australia. There were many changes to NAPLAN this year; all students in Australia completed the tests online for the first time (except for Year 3 Writing) and adaptive testing ensured that each student was tested at the appropriate level. Four levels of achievement for each year level have now replaced the previous 10-band structure.
In the below images, National results are represented in blue, Victorian results in green and St Finbar's in orange. As you can see, our St Finbar's students are performing well above the state in virtually all areas. There is so much to celebrate in our results - Year 3 Reading, Year 3 Writing and Year 5 Numeracy in particular deserve a mention. As the Leadership team begins work on the 2024 Annual Action Plan we will be analysing the results closely and using the data to guide our planning.
Prep 2024 Orientation
Our first Prep 2024 session begins on Monday, and we look forward to welcoming our newest members of the St Finbar's community. I am very pleased to announce that the Prep teachers for 2024 will be Mrs Fiona Byrne and Mrs Louise Pickering, and they will be leading the orientation sessions over the coming weeks. Staffing for other year levels is still being finalised and will be made public in the coming weeks.
Farewell
We say goodbye to Alissia from 1D this week, as the Demetlica family is relocating to the UK. We wish Alissia and her family well for their big move.
Principal Appointment Process
The selection panel has now met twice as they work towards making an appointment for the new principal of our school. The panel has developed selection criteria and questions for the following areas:
- Leading the faith community
- Leading teaching and learning
- Developing self and others
- Leading improvement, innovation and change
- Leading the management of the school
- Engaging and working with the community
Applications close on Monday, October 23. It is important that we respect the confidentiality of the process.
Farewell to Pat
Don't forget that we are having a final farewell for Pat on Thursday 2nd November at 2:30pm. There will be a formal farewell to thank Pat for his dedication to St Finbar's over the past eight years, followed by the chance to chat with Pat and wish him well for the future.
Christmas Carols
It's still a while away but it will be here before we know it. Our annual Christmas Carols will take place out on the Mary Clare playground (weather-dependent) on November 29th at 5pm. Anna is planning on preparing picnic boxes again so keep an eye on the Healthy Hut ordering platform for these.
God bless,
Michelle Hill,
Acting Principal