Dear Parents and Carers,

First and foremost I must thank our entire school community for the commitment to learning that was displayed during our remote learning period.  Our parents, students and teachers all played a key role in the last 3 and a half weeks and it appears learning at St Mary’s did not miss a beat.

Return to face-to-face teaching

While the remote learning was successful, it has been wonderful to have our school filled with students again.  In fact, today has been one of the best attended days of the year.  Teachers and students spent most of the day reconnecting and sharing stories from the last 4 weeks.

NAPLAN

2021 NAPLAN results for Year 3 and Year 5 have been given to students to take home today.

It is important to note that the NAPLAN tests are designed to allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community and against national standards. As far as individual results, the tests are a snapshot of one day of a student’s life and results need to be compiled with a vast array of additional assessment data to gain a full understanding of where students truly sit in reference to expected outcomes.

If you have any questions regarding your child’s results please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Term 4

As we look forward to Term 4 there are quite a few things that are unknown at this point in time and other events that are becoming clearer.  Students will return to school on Wednesday 6 October, Monday is a public holiday and Tuesday will be a staff development day.

Unfortunately the Year 5/6 Canberra excursion has been cancelled with the original date being ruled out by restrictions. We are currently working on an alternative day excursion option as was the case last year.

More information on the usual term 4 events will be communicated early in the term when more is known about the restrictions we will be operating under.

As this is the last newsletter of the term, I would like to thank everyone for a huge 10 weeks and wish everyone a safe and restful holiday period.

God Bless

Phil Nielsen