Dear Parents and Carers,

This is my last newsletter in my role as Acting Principal. From the next time our newsletter is published Nick will be back at school after his relaxing time away.

It has been wonderful to see and hear the support from families as we have held the reins while Nick has been on holidays and I thank you all for your continued support.

In the school at the moment there is a hive of busyness and excitement as the roles for our upcoming Production "SHREK Jnr" have been announced. Rebecca Beveridge and I were privileged enough to be able to assist with the auditioning process and we were blown away by the voices, enthusiasm and general excitement about being allocated a role. Each student had practised lines and should be commended on their bravery. As it is with all performances, jobs etc there comes disappointment when we do not get the role that we have desperately tried out for and the resilience demonstrated by our senior school students has been wonderful. There were excited congratulatory exchanges and chins held high. We cannot wait to see how the practising and preparation for the roles unfolds over the next few months.

Cyber Safety

On a more disappointing note, this week it has come to our attention about the creation of Tik Tok accounts and Instagram accounts being made by we believe, students at our school. This is disappointing on many levels as the logos, photos of students etc have been used to create these accounts. As you may be aware this is serious on many levels and the students concerned have all been notified about using images without permission. Tik Tok and Instagram, along with other social media platforms have a way of reaching huge audiences. We can assure you that with investigation, and discussions about the seriousness of these events, these accounts have all been deleted.

As is the policy of all schools, cyberbullying and inappropriate use of technology will not be tolerated. Each student at our school and families have been asked to complete the ICT Acceptable Use Policy in regards to the use of ICT / technology at school and importantly respectful and responsible use of technology, apps and internet usage. I have once again attached it for your reference and kindly ask that you have discussions with your children about the seriousness about the misuse of social media and internet use.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/kids

We are hoping to deliver some programs run by Victoria Police and the Federal Police for Adults and students around online safety. We are hoping to secure some dates early in Term 4.

E-Safety Commissioner

In recent months I have been placing information about internet safety and cyberbullying in the newsletter. The images below contain links to short videos which communicate information for children about internet and social media use. Please click the images to be taken to the appropriate page. I have also added to our ICT News page information regarding social media and app usage.

Whole school Assembly

This Monday afternoon from 2:15pm, the year 3/4 class will be hosting this weeks assemsbly. We would love parents to attend and support the wonderful learning that they are doing.

Opening the Doors Walk-a-Thon

Next week from Tuesday to Friday the students will be participating in the Walk-a-thon to support Opening the Doors foundation. Please see additional information for this on the Indigenous page of this newsletter.

St Joseph's School Disco

This event has been missing since covid and this year, it is back! The event is run by St Joseph's Parents and Friends in conjunction with St Joseph's School staff as a fundraiser for P&F. The disco is open to St Joseph's School students only and will be held in the SPA centre on Friday 11th August from 6:00pm - 7:30pm. Glow products will be available for sale from the P and F on the night. An email will be sent out on Monday with a Google form to be completed by attending families. Students will receive water and a snack upon entry.

School Crossings

Once again I write to notify you of the continued shortfall of crossing supervisors for our local crossings. Please keep an eye out for any emails which may notify you of these crossings being unsupervised.

Interviews for LSO

This week we have been interviewing for the Learning Support Officer position to replace Rebecca Spencer. We are pleased to announce that Sharon Cosham will be joining the St Joseph's team on the 7th August. Sharon will be onsite next week to meet the students and have a handover session prior to Bek finishing her role. I know that you will make Sharon feel very welcome.

PSG - upcoming meetings

Due to my upcoming Long Service Leave, PSG meetings for students on NCCD will need to commence in week 7 and will be held on Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd August. This will be for any student who has recently come on to NCCD and those who are invited to attend. All other PSG meetings will be scheduled for Term 4 where we will sign off on goals. If you would like to have a discussion about the current goals for your child, please contact your child's teacher if you are not scheduled for a PSG meeting.

NAPLAN

As many families will know this year we participated in an overhauled NAPLAN assessment. The assessment this year was predominantly online for our year 3 and 5 students. This year the way in which we read the NAPLAN report has changed significantly. Previously, there were bands that demonstrated the level of your child's achievement against school, state, and national benchmarks. These benchmarks still exist and the data is still compared against like schools, state, and national achievements. The old bands have been replaced with 4 proficiency levels; exceeding, strong, developing, and needing additional support. Please see the link below for a more detailed explanation of the proficiency levels and changes to Naplan.

Reports will be ready for collection from the office in coming weeks.

I wish you a wonderful next fortnight. If you would like to discuss any information in this current newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

Katie Vranken