Welcome to Term 4!

Dear Families,

I sincerely hope you have all managed a restful and relaxing two-week break. I cannot believe we are already one week into the final term of the school year, and ‘what a year’ it continues to be, testing our resilience, patience and perseverance every step of the way.

Over the past few months the students, families and staff have once again risen to the extraordinary challenges of remote learning, and during the holidays the Victorian Government thankfully released their roadmap for schools re-opening. Whilst it is not the ‘full’ return to onsite learning for all students at the beginning of term, we will once again continue to provide quality remote learning content for our students whenever they are based at home. I am sure there will be some challenges with this staggered return and for our younger children, I predict some tiredness as they alternate between remote and in school learning. We will keep a watchful eye on their wellbeing as I am sure you will at home.

During the early part of this term, we will be busy in the background preparing for the staggered return of our students to return to onsite learning in week 3. Isabelle has outlined all information in this newsletter and hopefully, this will answer any questions about weeks 3 and 4.

News just in today regarding mask-wearing by students: Victorian children in grade 3 and up will be required to wear a mask while at school, after a new ruling from the state’s Chief Health Officer. Professor Brett Sutton said while pupils in prep to grade 2 are not mandated to wear a mask while in the classroom, it would be “strongly recommended”.

As always, I will keep you informed of any additional recommendations and guidelines, and please know that we are being extremely diligent with our return to school covid plan.

World Teachers’ Day

The theme of World Teachers' Day 2021 is 'Teachers at the heart of education recovery'. It aims to recognise the tireless efforts of teachers to keep lessons going and ensure minimal disruption to pupils' learning over the course of the pandemic. Teachers (with support from parents and carers) have ensured education continues across the country this year, despite major challenges. It’s reinforced the significant role teachers play in the lives of children and students, their families, and communities.

The date of October 5th was chosen as the international day to honour teachers since it was on that date in 1966 that a special intergovernmental meeting accepted the UNESCO Recommendation on the Status of Teachers. World Teachers’ Day will be celebrated across Australia on Friday 29 October 2021, a bit later than the international day due to our school holidays.

It’s a chance to celebrate teaching and for communities to thank teachers.

I am fortunate enough to work with an exceptional team of educators at St Joseph’s and I know their work is valued greatly by families; I regularly receive emails of thanks to pass onto teachers and today is no exception.

This popped into my inbox this morning:

I feel the need to express my thanks, as a grandmother of a prep student.

I have had the thrill of sitting by my grandaughter in Prep M during some Online Learning sessions and have been so impressed with the quality of teaching, the preparation of home resources by the teachers and the efficient communication during these sessions.

The amount of preparation has been enormous, but it has meant an easier transition to a temporary method of learning. Every aspect seems to have been covered, every day, what a task!

Please pass on our thanks to Miss M and to you for the excellent work that you have all done.

Next year will see some changes to our teaching staff and we are currently interviewing suitable candidates to join our school. We have been so very impressed with the calibre of candidates, with approximately 30 applicants. I am so excited to share the news of these appointments with you in the coming weeks. Watch this space!

Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools- School Improvement Surveys (MACSSIS for short!)

7 October – 28 October 2021

Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.

A significant and formal way in which we engage and gather data is through MACSSIS, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools – School Improvement Surveys.

MACSSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic schools in Melbourne by the Learning Services team at MACS, in partnership with researchers at Learning First and in wide consultation with principals in our schools.

In 2021, students, families and staff are invited to participate in MACSSIS via our secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where our school leaders will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.

The MACSSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data. Participating schools are in the process of updating their privacy policy to ensure school communities are fully informed and protected.

Students at our school will be provided with supervised sessions, where teachers are on hand to help and answer any questions. Families and staff can complete the survey anytime over the three-week window via an emailed link and password. Feedback has indicated that previous surveys were completed across a range of mobile devices and different web browsers. Our community’s opinions are critical to understanding how our school is performing – MACSSIS is a key data source for guiding the ongoing work to improve our school.

All participation is invited, welcomed and 100 per cent voluntary. The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to support the work we are already doing to improve our school. Everyone has the right to refuse to participate, or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during or after completion of the survey. Please notify the school if your child does not wish to participate.

Please keep an eye out for the survey link which will be emailed to you in the coming days and we are very grateful (in advance) for your participation.

Request for onsite attendance, Week 2

Please complete the request form by 5pm on Sunday, so we can ensure adequate staffing for onsite supervision:

https://forms.gle/SUhF8d67csEppC8FA

Finally…

Be sure to take the time to read news from the teachers in this week’s newsletter- maybe pour yourself a cuppa or cold drink and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

Take care and stay safe!

Michelle

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