Principal's Message

Good afternoon parent and carers,

Next week our Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students will commence their annual NAPLAN assessments in the areas of:

Reading (Comprehension)
Writing
Conventions of Language (Grammar & Punctuation)
Numeracy

Much earlier on in the year, our students have been working through a range of preparation strategies in class in preparation for this assessment period. NAPLAN, like all assessments, is an opportunity for students to showcase their skills, knowledge and abilities in these learning areas. Put simply, its a time for our students to "show off" just how clever they are. It should not be a time of stress or anxiety. A good night sleep the night before and a healthy breakfast are also good tips.

Parents (and students) in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 have been asked to ensure they bring headphones for the assessments, as some of the questions require audio. Due to health and hygiene restrictions, the school will not provide headphones.

For students in Years 7 and 9, parents are asked to ensure their children bring to school their iPad fully charged. We are still having a number of student "Not ready to learn" due to their devices having insufficient charge to last the day. Thank you to the many parents that support their child's learning by ensuring charging their device becomes a daily habit.

We wish all our students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 all the very best throughout the NAPLAN Testing Window (Wednesday 15th March - Monday 27th March, 2023). I know they are well prepared and will do extremely well.

St Francis Xavier's Parish, in partnership with St Philomena's Catholic School, will be hosting a Moree Youth Gathering on Sunday 19th March from 5pm - 7pm for our young people in Year 5 through to Year 10. The Youth Gathering will begin with a Youth Mass (including live music) from 5pm, followed by a pizza dinner, games activities and a discussion. This is a wonderful opportunity for our young people to come together to celebrate and give thanks (and eat pizza!). Parents (and or students) you will be required to register for the event using a QR code (See the flyer below) for catering and supervision purposes. Thank you to Father Vic and Father Damian for acknowledging the importance that our young people play in our parish community and for their support in hosting this event. I would encourage our families (and students) in these year groups to support this new initiative in our parish. I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday 19th March!

Happy Friday and have a fabulous weekend.

God Bless

Jamie McDowall

Principal