Dear Parents and carers,

At our last P & F meeting, I was asked if I could clarify a few items including morning bell times, dogs in the school grounds and morning drop off. Additionally, our new buzzer and gate locking times have been amended starting tomorrow so please see information below.  

Bell times

The morning bell music starts at 8:37 am. This is to allow time for students to use the toilets and line up ready for assembly at 8:40 am.  You might notice that some children line up before this time, especially the younger students.  This is their choice as they like to be at the front of the line and even with teacher reminders that they still have time to play, they prefer to sit and wait. School starts at 8:40 am and we allow 5 minutes for late arrivals, before locking the gate at 8:45 am.  Please note it is an attendance requirement that if students arrive after this time, they are accompanied to the office by a parent or carer to sign them in.  

Morning Drop-Off

After the P & F meeting, I spoke with the Council Parking officer who advised that parents should use the three available drop-off areas in the morning.  One is as you turn from Military Road into Cardinal Street on the Church side (2 car spaces) and the other two are on the school side of Cardinal Street (3-4 spaces each).  These are the areas marked with the yellow ‘School Drop-off Zone’ - white/red ‘No Parking’.  There is one as you turn the bend and the other in front of the main school gate.  The council officer advised that parents should remain in the car whenever possible and depart the ‘No Parking’, drop-off area within two minutes, as any longer can result in a fine.  Drivers should be aware that their whole car should be within the ‘No Parking’ zone when dropping off as if even some of the car is in the ‘No Stopping’ section, then fines can be issued.  

To be considerate of all who use the drop off, we ask that parents, grandparents, carers or any drivers, do not get out of the car.  If your child needs assistance with their bag or uniform then you should park your car and allow them to walk, or walk with them.  The drop-off is just that, for dropping off only.  Students should have their school bag on the seat next to them or in front as this saves drivers getting out of the car to access the boot. 

If you are using the drop zone near the bend, please note there will be no change to the back gate access to the school.  The back gate will remain locked as this area is unsupervised in the mornings.  Students should just walk carefully up the street, like the children who walk to school do, and then enter the front gates.

Please give way to cars exiting the drop-off area and let them back in the line.  Once they have cleared the crossing they will be able to drive past those dropping in front of the school gate. Drivers should also be aware when pulling out from the front of the school, that some cars may have already dropped off and will now be driving up the street.  

No Dogs on school grounds

Just a reminder that parents and carers are not able to bring dogs onto the school grounds in the mornings or afternoons.  As much as we understand that dogs are an important part of family life, the ‘Companion Animals Act 1998 No 87’, prohibits dogs in some public places including school grounds.  This applies to whether or not dogs are on a leash or being held.    

If you are bringing a dog on your walk, please tie the dog safely outside the school gate whilst you collect your child.  

Security 

As mentioned previously, a security audit from our facilities representative at Sydney Catholic Schools raised concerns about our front gate being opened at all times before and after school.  This meant that anyone could walk into the school grounds and also that children were arriving at school before the supervised time of 8:10 am. 

I am pleased to say that we now have a new operational security buzzer on the gate (the gate adjacent to the glass doors) and a camera/ buzzer installed in the hall for SCECS.  

This means changes to the gate opening times.  Mrs Carvalho and I have looked at all the times that we have sport and extra curricular activities including sports club, tennis, chess, iScience, Soccer, Music mates etc before or after school care and we have programmed the gate to open for a short time to allow entry and exit of students participating in these activities at the times needed.  It is important that your child arrives for their training or activity on time.  Siblings should remain in your care.  

For students participating in our Arrowsmith and morning mathematics programs, the teacher running the program will meet your child at the gate at the allocated start time.  

Importantly, no child should be on the school premises unsupervised.  Please do not drop your child for school before 8:10 am, as they will not be able to enter the school grounds.  No students should use the buzzer as SCECS will only operate the buzzer for parents.

For parents using SCECS before and after school care, please use the buzzer on the entry gate and staff from SCECS will buzz you in and out of the school.  

NAPLAN

Congratulations to our teachers and Year 3 and Year 5 students on their NAPLAN results.  NAPLAN complements the wide range of formal and informal assessments used by schools. It provides additional information to support teacher judgement about a child’s level of literacy and numeracy attainment.  Starting in 2023, NAPLAN results are reported against a new measurement scale of 4 proficiency standards:  They tell us whether a student: 

1. Needs additional support: The student’s result indicated that they did not achieve the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing and are likely to need additional support to progress.
2. Is Developing: The student’s result indicated that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
3. Is Strong: The student’s result met challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
4. Is Exceeding: The student’s result exceeded expectations at the time of testing.

Please see the following graphs that summarise the results for each of the tests - Numeracy, Reading, Writing, Grammar & Punctuation and Spelling. Our schools overall results are very high and are affirming for teachers as they reflect what teachers already know about each student in their class and the differentiated teaching and learning that they and our Diverse Learning Coordinator and team provide.    

Staff Professional Learning 

To maintain teacher accreditation, our teachers are required to participate in professional learning which builds and improves their professional knowledge, practice and engagement across priority areas.  The priority areas identified by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) are:

• delivery and assessment of the NSW Curriculum/Early Years Learning Framework 
• student/child mental health
• students/children with disability
• Aboriginal education and supporting Aboriginal students/children

Our teachers ended Term 2 and started Term 3 with professional learning on student/child mental health with a focus on wellbeing. The first day involved collaboration with staff from Blessed Sacrament and was presented by a wellbeing facilitator, Jacqui Jones, to identify practical strategies that teachers can do with their students to promote student wellbeing.  The second day was an introductory course for ‘Rock and Water’, a program - which provides students with ‘a pathway to self-awareness, increased self-confidence and social functioning’.  You may have seen some of the photos of our teachers participating in ‘Rock and Water’ on our Facebook page. 

Go Matilda’s 

Thank you for your support with our green and gold day.  The students look amazing in their supporter gear and are really in the spirit of cheering on the Matilda’s.  Qkr app remains open until Monday morning at 9am for your donation toward our Catholic Charitable Works Fund.