Principal's Message
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope you are all keeping well and managing this extended lockdown to the best of your capabilities. I must thank and applaud each and everyone of you for the amazing job you are doing to support your child/ children throughout this home learning period.
As you would have heard by now, we will be continuing with home learning for the remainder of term. As for next term....... who knows?
Please know that the staff at COHR are here to assist where and when possible. Please contact your child's classroom teacher should you require support and/or clarification around the workload.
Next Friday we will be having tech-free day and students will be offered a wide range of activities for children to do independently, inside, outside, or with other family members. Further information will be circulated along with the weekly grid on Sunday.
NAPLAN
NAPLAN data and individual student reports were delivered to schools for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 this week. Before we even see our school data it is important to remember that this is good data for schools and student learning but it is only one form of data used at school. NAPLAN places children in unnatural test conditions especially for the younger children. All children learn differently and all children respond differently to learning settings, some better than others. Today, individual reports will be mailed home to families in Year 3 and Year 5.
For families in Year 5, pop these in a very safe place as they are likely to be requested as part of the enrolment process for secondary school.
Next term the NAPLAN data will be analysed by school staff and used to inform our teaching practice. It tells us what we are doing well and areas that need further development.
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent Teacher Interviews will take place next Tuesday 7th September and Wednesday 8th September. These will be held via a Google Meet and classroom teachers will share a link with parents prior to the meeting, using the usual home school communication platform used by the class eg, email, See Saw etc. Please refer to the School Interview page for further details.
Condolences
Our condolences to the Da Campo family on the passing of Alba and Max's grandfather.
Our thoughts are also with the Pio family on the passing of Amelia's grandmother. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Year 4 Camp
This week we were fortunate to be able to make another camp booking for our Year 4 students for the 3-5 November at Anglesea Valley Lodge. Year 4 parents were notified of this through the week and more communication will follow next term.
In the meantime our Year 3/4's have had a virtual camp experience week with a variety of camping-related activities in their grid of learning activities. Some children even had a sleep-out in tents in the backyard. Now, that sounds like fun!
Footy Colours Day
Thursday 16th September - Yes, we will still be under restrictions but we still want students to
get into the spirit of the day by dressing in their team's favourite colours. Remember, it doesn't just have to be AFL colours. It can be NRL, soccer or another favourite sporting code.
Go the Dees!
National Child Protection Week
This year’s National Child Protection Week will take place from Sunday 5 September to Saturday 11 September. National Child Protection Week raises awareness about the community’s collective responsibility for the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people. For Catholic schools, this provides an opportunity to emphasise our strong commitment to the safety and wellbeing of young people in their care, and the important role they play in creating nurturing environments at school, online, at home and in the community. The following resources may be helpful to families;
Children Health Starts with Healthy Communities
Being Neighbourly is Good for Children and Young People
Tips for Talking to your Children about Personal Safety
More information can support can be found on the NAPCAN website.
In this fortnight's newsletter we have also included a page of Cyber safety tips for keeping children safe online.
School Closure Day
Friday 17th September will be a school closure day. There will be no home learning or onsite supervision on this day.
Staff will be participating in professional learning on Restorative Practices.
Restorative practice seeks to repair relationships. It is a strategy that seeks to repair relationships that have been damaged, including those damaged through bullying. It does this by bringing about a sense of remorse and restorative action on the part of the offender and forgiveness by the victim.
The rationale behind this approach is that when offenders reflect upon their harm to victims:
- They become remorseful and act restoratively.
- Practitioners can focus on the unacceptable behaviour of offenders rather than their moral character.
- This can lead to healthier interpersonal relations among members of the school community and more effective learning.
Father's Day
We will be thinking of all the dad's, grandfathers, uncles and positive male role models who play an important role in the lives of our children here at COHR.
Keep an eye our for the 'COHR Father's Day' which will be sent out tomorrow.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Take care and keep safe everyone
Brendan Welsford
Principal