On Wednesday last week we celebrated the commencement of Lent with Ash Wednesday prayer celebrations in all classes.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Church’s season of Lent. The marking of the ashes on our foreheads on this day is a public expression of our faith and humility. It is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Through prayer, we come closer to God so that we are better able to realise the promises made for us at our baptism, to live justly as Jesus teaches us. Fasting joins us in solidarity with people experiencing poverty who often have no choice but to go without the basic human needs. Sharing what we have, or ‘almsgiving’, is a sign of our commitment to justice and our thanks for all that God has given us. 

Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. By praying, fasting and giving alms, we are reminded of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus brought the promise of hope to all people so that we may, “have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). As we live into that fullness, may we also be challenged to act with love and hope, now and for all future generations. 

This year the ashes we blessed were special to our community.  Last year as part of our Easter Prayer Celebration students brought in small branches of leaves to create bunches of leaves that were used in our enactment of Palm Sunday.  These leaves have been carefully dried, stored throughout the year and then recently burnt to create the ashes Fr Jim blessed for us to use this Ash Wednesday. It is special to consider that something gathered from within our extended OLSCC family community created these ashes which symbolize our faith and humility this Lent.   

STAFF at OLSCC 

We are blessed to commence this year fully staffed, there are many schools throughout Queensland still recruiting staff.  Alongside our wonderful continuing staff we welcome seven new teachers to our College this year and they have spent many hours and days over the past six weeks (we start a week before the students) learning all about our College ways of working.  It is great to have them as part of our College Staff team. 

Staffing at our College is a complex task as teaching is one of those jobs where classes continue and must be covered when teachers are absent.  We are reliant on a pool of relief teaching staff who can step in and assist us when our teachers are absent. Teachers can be absent for many reasons throughout the year for example professional learning days, mandatory training, meetings, and illness.  We would love to expand our relief teaching list, if you know of a teacher looking to do a few days here and there, maybe they are semi-retired and looking to return to work in a part time, flexible capacity please encourage them to make contact with myself (Cate Brennan) via the College office to discuss the opportunities for relief at the College.  

NAPLAN Year 3, 5, 7, 9 

NAPLAN is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine how well young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. 

• NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process. NAPLAN does not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. A child’s teacher will have the best insight into the child’s educational progress. NAPLAN results do not measure overall school quality. 
• NAPLAN questions are directly linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics. As such, the best preparation students can do for NAPLAN is to learn what they do in the classroom every day. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so. 
• The assessments allow parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy, and over time. Along with other school assessment reports, NAPLAN supports parents in discussing their child’s strengths and areas for improvement with teachers. 
• NAPLAN results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress. 

• NAPLAN can support school improvement by enabling teachers to monitor their students’ progress over time against the national measure, to identify strengths and areas to improve in teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy. 
• Students and parents wishing to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN can visit the public demonstration site on the NAP website. Some past NAPLAN papers are also available.  

Students will be sitting NAPLAN between 13 and 25 March 2024. 

This is the second year NAPLAN will be held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year, so they can be used to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year. 

Why NAPLAN is conducted online? 

• All schools transitioned to NAPLAN online in 2022, as the online format improves NAPLAN. 
• NAPLAN online provides a better assessment and more precise results. 
• One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do. 
• Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability to access NAPLAN. 
• Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging. 
• For more information about online assessment, visit the ‘Understanding online assessment’ page of the NAP website. 

If you would like to discuss your child’s participation in NAPLAN please contact your child’s core teacher, Learning Support Team or myself.  

Student-Led Conferences 

This week we commence our first round of Student-Led Conferences with our Senior Years, in coming week we will host these for Middle Years and then later this term for Early Years.  All Student-Led Conferences are booked via the Parent Portal under the Interviews widget.  Information regarding conferences will be communicated by Sector Assistant Principals in the lead up to the conferences.  Parents are encouraged to take up this opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher/s and them as the learner to discuss their progress and their next steps in their learning.   

Parents can arrange appointments to meet with their child’s teacher at any stage throughout the year and we encourage you to do so if they have any pressing concerns or updates for the teacher.  These are best coordinated directly with the teacher or through the College office.    

Parent Portal  

All new families should have received their access details for our Parent Portal.  It is important to use the Parent Portal to keep up with notices around the College including information about upcoming activities that may involve your child. It is a useful tool for communicating and the College utilises it for many purposes including the dissemination of letters and information, permission granting, booking conferences.  It also has a widget that enables you to notify the College about student absences.  Student timetables, absences and previous report cards can be viewed on this portal.  I encourage families to set the notifications settings so that you do not miss communication from the College.  Over the coming weeks we will be including short videos and information sheets in our newsletter with tips to help you navigate the Portal – this week’s is to assist with keeping the App installed on your iphone and to activate your account. 

Mrs Cate Brennan

Deputy Principal Religious Education