Dear Parents/Carers,

This weekend our Church celebrates the ascension of Jesus, an indication that we are beginning to move out of the season of Easter. Remembering his ascension reminds us that we cannot limit God. While he came to us in the flesh of the person of Jesus, we cannot limit God to any one place. His ascension is not about His leaving, rather that He is within us and in all that we do.

NAPLAN

Our Year 3 and Year 5 students are participating in the NAPLAN tests this week. It seems that many educators and commentators have various opinions about these tests with regard to their effectiveness. 

In their current format, NAPLAN provides parents with a snapshot of how their child is performing in some areas of literacy and numeracy. Once they complete them up to Year 9, the results can provide an indication of their progress over time. The results also provide schools with data which can be useful in determining some overall strengths and areas for improvement. State and Federal governments also use the NAPLAN results to assist them with policy development and planning for education.

Some important things to be aware of with NAPLAN:

• It is only one form of assessment done on one day
• It does not assess all aspects of literacy and numeracy
• Its intention was never to rank schools
• it does not measure so much more about children - creativity, motivation, leadership, curiosity, reliability etc.
• Teachers gather a range of other assessment data during the course of the year

Vegetable gardens

I would like to pass on my thanks to the P & F who, at their meeting yesterday, agreed to pay for the recent upgrade to the vegetable gardens. This support by the P & F is very much appreciated.

Before and After School Procedures

Today on Compass we distributed a clear outline of our procedures for dropping off and picking up children each day. The procedures aim to keep the carpark area as safe as possible because it is the main location for the children walking into and out of school. Thank you to the many parents who comply with our procedures. 

Wishing you a safe week, 

Paul Moroney
Principal