Welcome to Term 2!

Welcome to the commencement of Term 2 and I trust everyone has enjoyed a wonderful Easter holiday. From speaking with the girls this week, their joy of Easter with family members was clearly evident as they shared with me stories of the generosity of the Easter Bunny this year. Pleasingly, the girls also shared that they were eager to return to School to see friends and teachers.

Undoubtedly, Term 2 has a hectic schedule with the return to their learning programs and many co-curricular activities to strengthen the girls’ engagement in the life of the School. Needless to say, every week will be filled with new learning, activities, events and much enjoyment that comes with being a Barbreck girl.

National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

The Year 3 and 5 students will also undertake the annual National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing in May. It is important for parents to understand that NAPLAN is a ‘point-in-time assessment’ that enables Schools across Australia to understand how different cohorts are academically tracking through their primary and senior years. In addition to this, parents receive information that details how their daughter is progressing in literacy and numeracy skills compared with the National Standards and with peers across Australia.

Owing to COVID, NAPLAN was not completed across Australia in 2020, so this information will provide interesting data given the changes to the learning environments last year. I am happy to report, the Barbreck NAPLAN results in the previous year, 2019, were considerably high with the School achieving the highest ranking in our region across a number of literacy and numeracy components, thus reflecting the strong programs embedded in each classroom.

NAPLAN will be held over Tuesday 11 May, Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 May. I ask parents to please note these dates in your home calendar. There is a very small window for students to complete the assessment on Friday 14 May, if your daughter happens to be unwell on one of the scheduled days.

In readiness for NAPLAN, our Year 3 and 5 teachers will provide students in the coming weeks some past test papers to familiarise themselves with the format and types of questions that are asked. As such, we aim to ensure the girls have confidence and knowledge and an understanding of what they can expect on the assessment days. This is particularly important for our Year 3 students who are undertaking the tests for the first time. This practice includes knowledge of the test layout, the correct method to record a response, the standard of difficulty of the questions, the types of questions asked and, importantly, the pace at which they must work to complete the tests in the allotted time.

In the coming weeks, teachers will also guide the girls with some strategies to employ with writing one of the two possible essay genres: Persuasive or Narrative Writing. I am confident the teachers, with their experience and expertise, will strike the correct balance of preparation without increasing the nerves. Please do not hesitate to talk further with your daughter’s classroom teacher if you would like more information.

Schools will receive students’ results in September of this year with the reports also posted home to families. For more information on NAPLAN and reports, please go to the site below.
https://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/student-reports

Winter Uniforms from Monday 3 May

With the weather presenting us cooler days, the girls are encouraged to wear their Winter uniform. For many, the excitement of changing uniforms is quite a special time and I see many of the girls proudly wearing their tights, pinafores and blazers.

From Monday 3 May, all girls are required to be in full Winter Uniform.

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Out of School Hours Care

St Catherine’s School offers an Out of School Hours Care program to all ELC and Junior School families. The program is implemented by our provider ‘After the Bell’, and operates within the ELC building. Parents are reminded that if you need to use the Before School Care or After School Care service, registrations need to be made in advance with ‘After the Bell’. Please allow up to five business days for your registration to be processed before your child can begin attending the program. Registration is free. All families are encouraged to register so that you can use this service in the event that you are unable to pick up your child.

Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.45am

After School Care – 3.00pm to 6.00pm

Registrations can be completed via the ‘After the Bell’ website https://afterthebell.com.au/register-now/

Please phone 9758 6744 for all enquiries.