Out and About the School
Debating
A handful of Year 6 students have put themselves forward to be part of our debating team. This is a great opportunity for students to practice their speaking and listening skills, speech writing and to build on their vocabulary. They participated in their first debate last Thursday all via zoom. The topic was 'Technology Makes You Smarter'.
We were on the negative side arguing against Holy Trinity Inverell. Sadly we lost, however, it was a great learning experience, and we will go into our next debate with more confidence.
Real Talk Parent Sessions
Canteen
The canteen still needs helpers on the following days: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
ICAS Assessments
We are delighted to inform you that St Xavier's will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS competitions in August this year (dates to be confirmed). The tests are for students in Years 3- 6.
What is ICAS?
ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.
Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.
We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year.
Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas)
How to participate in ICAS
If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:
read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas)
go to Parent Portal here: (https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps)
enter our school’s access code – GAA680
enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.
School Hats
There has been an increasing number of students coming to school without their school hat. Even though the weather is getting cooler, it is still compulsory for the children to wear a hat for outdoor play.
Also, please have a look at the state of your child's hat, some are looking very scruffy. We take pride in our uniform and the hat is a part of that. New hats can be ordered on Qkr.
School Photos
School photos will be taken on Monday and Tuesday, 20th and 21st June. The preferred method of ordering and payment is online. Orders must be in by Friday 17 June. Please use the following unique link to order and pay online for your photos.
Please note, each student will need a separate transaction, order and envelope.
School Fees
School fees were due on 9th June. Please contact Jeni Muller in the office if there are any concerns with the payment of your fees.
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
This information assists schools to:
- formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
- consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
- develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disabilities.
The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.dese.gov.au/about-us/resources/department-education-skills-and-employment-complete-privacy-policy-0).
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.
Kind regards
Jen Honner