A Message from the 

Assistant Principal

Amadeus Music Program

Our Amadeus Music Program will commence in part this week. The tutors are looking forward to meeting as many of their tutorial groups as possible this week, working around our swimming timetable, before launching into the full timetable of tutorials and ensembles next week. 

This year, we welcome back our Amadeus staff: Annette Christensen, Kim Wan, Brian Sim, Roy Li, Jack Lincoln and Catherine Fluke

NAPLAN 2024

This year, our Year 3 and Year 5 students will sit NAPLAN beginning Wednesday 13th March. 

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

This testing assesses key components of the Australian Curriculum; however it is important to be mindful that many parts of the curriculum are not assessed in NAPLAN. Furthermore, this testing only assesses individual student achievement in a given area, on a given day. NAPLAN is often described as only providing a snapshot of student achievement.

The ongoing teaching, assessment and evaluation of student achievement undertaken by our classroom teachers, and their intimate knowledge of each student, should never be overlooked or undervalued.

If you have any questions, please contact your child's class teacher or myself. 

Pre Service Teacher

We welcome Mr Nick Baratsas, a student from the University of New South Wales who will be working with 4 Blue for the term. Nick has spent the last few weeks getting to know the students and curriculum content that he will be teaching, as well as the routines of the school and the class before beginning his internship for the remainder of the term. We welcome Nick and hope that he learns much from his time with us at St. Martha's. 

Stage 3 Camp 

Next week our Stage 3 (Year 5 & 6) students will be attending a 3 day camp to Milson Island Sports and Recreation Centre. During their stay, the students will be involved in a number of activities aimed at promoting problem solving skills, team building, and resilience. This is a wonderful chance for our students to develop leadership skills and independence as well as an opportunity for team building amongst new class groups.

2024 Staff Development Days

Staff development days are used by schools to build on the knowledge and skills of our teachers, school leaders and support staff through a targeted professional learning program. This year, curriculum reform is of focus for all Sydney Catholic Schools. Please find the planned dates below:

• Friday 12 April (Staff Faith Formation Day)
• Monday 13 May
• Monday 5 August
• Monday 14 October
• Monday 18 November
• Thursday 19 December
• Friday 20 December

Steven Belcastro

Assistant Principal