From the Assistant Principal.

Dear Families, 

It is really hard to believe we are already into term 3. The year seems to be flying by so quickly. Students at St Patrick's have made a great start to the term and during my classroom visits over the past week, have been eagerly engaged in the learning process.  

NAPLAN

NAPLAN results went home this week. As you may have heard in recent reports, results look different this year in the way the tests are scored and students are graded. This year, results are reported against proficiency standards with 4 levels of achievement to give teachers, parents and carers clearer information on how students are performing.

There are 4 proficiency levels: 

• Exceeding: the student’s result exceeds expectations at the time of testing. 
• Strong: the student’s result meets challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing. 
• Developing: the student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
• Needs additional support: the student’s result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes that are expected at the time of testing. They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

The following clip might be helpful for you in coming to a clearer understanding the report.

ATTENDANCE

Sydney Catholic Schools have updated their policy around attendance. This policy is available on the Sydney Catholic Schools public website. 

Part of the policy outlines the roles and responsibilities of parents regarding attendance. These are outlined below:

Parents/carers of students enrolled at an SCS school are required to:

•  Ensure their child attends school each day unless exempt or absent for an approved reason.
•  Explain the absence of a student as soon as possible and within 7 school days from the first day of absence, otherwise the school will record the absence as an unexplained absence.
•  Provide a medical certificate where a student’s frequent, recurring or long term absence is explained as being due to illness.
• Apply in advance for planned student leave using the SCS electronic attendance system.
•  Work in partnership with the school and SCS to address any issues impacting on a student’s attendance.

Planned leave of any longer than 5 days must get approval from the principal prior to taking the leave. Please contact the office for application form and to discuss this further. 

Jim Heelis

Assistant Principal