Welcome to the last newsletter of our first 'as normal' Term 1 for the last few years.  Its strange that I was going to write 'uninterrupted Term 1', though upon reflection, the years we had COVID actually had far less interruptions than the status quo.  In saying that, it has been wonderful to see so many students so heavily involved in all the opportunities that have been available to them already this year.  I am so grateful for the amazing community in which I work and live everyday! 

NAPLAN

Our students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 have completed their NAPLAN testing this week.  Mrs Brennan and her team of teachers and school officers run a well-oiled machine regarding NAPLAN, and our classroom teachers allow our students to approach NAPLAN as a low-pressure experience.  While there is much bad press regarding NAPLAN, I continue to value and support the current testing opportunity as it clearly allows us to determine areas where we are progressing at better rate than the nation and state, as well as which areas require more work.  It is also an opportunity to verify the school-based student learning data we have at the College, and for students and families to celebrate individual successes too.   The below data is an example of this value:

Our current Year 8 students ended NAPLAN in 2018 behind the state mean in all areas of testing.  Through the hard work of the students and their teachers, this same cohort has progressed at a significant rate to now exceed the State Mean Scale Score in all areas of the test.  The last column shows us that the average OLSCC student progressed significantly more than their average state counterpart over the 4 year period between NAPLAN tests (2020 was cancelled due to COVID).  Please take the time to have a chat with your child when you get the results a little further down the track, no matter how well they achieved.  It is a very important opportunity to talk to your child about learning dispositions, what they want to be, and what they are going to work towards into the future.  I was especially pleased with the way our students approached the writing task this year and greatly look forward to seeing the results! 

FACE – Family and Community Engagement

On Monday evening we had our first gathering of our new parent engagement model – FACE.  FACE replaces the outgoing P&F model as a more contemporary way for us to engage parents and also provides opportunities for parents to access the information or people they need through termly Parent Forums. Thank you to everyone who came along on the night and gave their insight into how this model can come to life at OLSCC in 2023.  Keep an eye on Facebook for updates regarding the work of FACE.

I would also like to acknowledge the amazing service that the OLSCC P&F has provided to the College over many generations.  We are blessed with the facilities and environment we have here due to this committee and their work should not go unnoticed. I would like to reiterate to the College community that any time they engage in the following, the P&F has made possible these opportunities for our students and community:

• The College Coach
• Middle Years Plaza
• Fridges in classrooms
• The Coffee Shop
• The entire College PA System
• The vast library collection
• Air-conditioned classrooms
• Playgrounds
• Saints Race Day
• “Spring Fair”
• And much much more.

Thanks to everyone who has made such a significant contribution to our P&F throughout the years.  We look forward to engaging with the FACE Committee, Mrs Kaitlin Machin (President), Mrs Kate Cullen (Secretary), the Working Parties, and all parents who are welcome and invited to our Parent Forums, soon to be announced for Term 2.

Have a wonderful Start to Term 2!

As mentioned previously, I am departing to undertake the traditional French Camino pilgrimage from St Jean Pied de Port in France all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  This pilgrimage will take 40 days in total, and I eagerly look forward to the experience and coming back to this great College in Week 7 of next term.  I intend to send a few updates from picturesque locations to share both at assembly and on Facebook, although I won’t be wearing my usual Principal attire for these!

I wish everyone a Holy Easter, restful holiday, and an outstanding start to Term 2.  Ms Collins visited on Tuesday and she is very excited to spend 6 weeks working at our amazing College – especially working with the little people who she doesn’t have the chance to work with at St Saviour’s College.