Dear Families and Friends,

This week we arrived into the second half of the term - I'm not sure whether it has gone fast or slow?  It certainly has been eventful.  Fingers crossed as a State we can keep things under control and continue to ease restrictions or at least keep regional schools operating face-to-face.  This week we have released permission notes via PAM for District Basketball, the rescheduled Division Soccer and also Year 5/6 Camp.  At the moment all three of these events can take place but under different COVID protocols.  We ask for your continued support in meeting these COVID protocols.  My core objective is to prioritise face-to-face learning opportunities and this can only continue if we all commit to working together.  Across these past two years I have been grateful of everyone's support as we deal with the constant challenges and changes forced upon us by COVID - with the greatest struggle being accepting the fact that so little is in our direct control.  Although the staff and students have shown resilience throughout the past few weeks of change, I have really noticed a drop in stamina across the student group.  I think is probably related to interrupted family, school and sleep routines - I know our family rules have been caught out when all of a sudden what we thought was going to be a week of home learning quickly returns to a normal school week.  Also I know plenty of adults and children have had their screen-time rules thrown out the window due to lock-downs during these winter months.  I continue to pray that our school and local community is not confronted directly with the pandemic.

Since our return to face-to-face school we have noticed a drop in uniform compliance and at our virtual Assembly last week I addressed this with students.  Thank you to those students who heeded the message to fall back into uniform expectations.  We generally have minimal issues with uniform and I do not want to hear of teachers having to waste time enforcing uniform guidelines as this only impacts learning and damages the relationships staff have with students.  If you require uniform items the uniform shop has many new and loved items for sale including a large range of school shoes.  I ask parents for their support in this area and remind parents to reach out if you need support (or require me to speak to your child if they are not being cooperative with you!) in regards to uniform.

Last Sunday the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast day of the Assumption of Mary.  We give thanks for this beautiful role model and acknowledge her rightful place in the glory of heaven.  It is hard to imagine what this young lady encountered over 2000 years ago as she nurtured Jesus and lived alongside him as he grew into the person we read about in the scripture.  I am always interested in the way different cultures and generations depict historical characters in art.  In this newsletter I have included a prayer from St.Francis and alongside it I have added an image of a painting of Mary and the infant Jesus that hangs in St.Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.  It deliberately is an Aussie Mary - and to this Mary we all join together to offer prayers for our families, school and nation.  We also pray for our global community as we face the continued hardships of COVID and we also pray for those people facing the current trauma in Afghanistan. 

PAM: Thanks to those families who have recently completed or updated their child's PAM profile.  This system allows for a much more streamlined process for permission notes and notifying the school when you child is absent.  All Year 3-6 parents would have received a PAM message about camps so that is the perfect opportunity to get your PAM accounts updated so your child can participate.

Finally, at the end of next week I have scheduled a block of Long-Service Leave.  During this time DOSCEL have appointed Mr.Redi into the role Acting Principal.

Have a terrific end to the week - fingers crossed regional schools see out the full five days!

Dave

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendour of true love;
to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again experience
violence, rejection and division;
may all who have been hurt or scandalized
find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9
students is held in May each year. NAPLAN tests assess student knowledge and skills in Writing,
Reading, Conventions of Language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. The
results of the tests provide information for students, parents, teachers and principals which can be
used to improve student achievement.

In 2018, the NAPLAN tests began transitioning from a paper based test to an online assessment (i.e.,
students complete the tests utilising a computer or tablet). It is anticipated that from 2022, all schools in
Australia will deliver the tests online. NAPLAN Online delivers numerous benefits including:

• a ‘tailored test’ design that adapts to correct and incorrect student responses providing a moreprecise understanding
of student achievement;

• innovative use of technology, including a more engaging test design and a wider range of item
types;

• the extension of the ‘test window’ to two weeks, allowing schools greater opportunity to schedule
the tests at times that suit them best and increasing student participation.

Our school will be transitioning to NAPLAN Online in 2022. As part of this transition, we will be
administering a NAPLAN Online School Readiness Test (SRT). The SRT is intended to enable
us to confirm our technical capacity and to assist in determining the most effective way to deliver
NAPLAN Online in our school next year. Testing will be conducted on a single day at our school
between 23 August – 1 November 2021. The SRT contains the following sample online tests:

• Omnibus test – this includes questions from the reading, conventions of language and numeracy
domains.

• Writing test – for Years 5, 7, and 9.

Please note that Year 3 students are only able to complete the omnibus test, as the Year 3 writing test
will continue to be a pen and paper assessment in 2022.

Support can be arranged for students with disabilities, if the student regularly uses similar support for
classroom assessment tasks.

It is important to remember that the SRT is not a formal assessment and students will not be graded for
any of the tests. However, student participation will assist in our school confirming that we are ready for
NAPLAN Online. If you have any concerns about your child participating in the SRT, please discuss
these with his/her classroom teacher.

For more information about NAPLAN Online, please visit the NAP website at www.nap.edu.au/online-
assessment

Please take note of these dates for your family calendar

Parents can look on the PAM page for a school calendar.  Please have a look around the calendar and see the different settings/options available to view dates.

CURRENT ADVICE FROM DET/DHHS REQUIRES US TO POSTPONE SCHOOL EVENTS  - THIS ADVICE IS VERY FLUID AND THEREFORE ACTIVITIES MAY NEED TO BE RE-SCHEDULED

TERM 3 DATES:

Thu 19th August - DISTRICT BASKETBALL

Mon 23rd August - DIVISION SOCCER (Take #4!!)

Fri 27th August- Book Week Celebrations and Dress Up Day

Wed 1st Sept - Father's Day Stall

Thu 2nd Sept - Fri 3rd Sept: YEAR 3/4 Camp

Friday 17th Sept: End of Term 3 (12.30pm finish)

Each year since 1945 the CBCA has brought children and books together across Australia through CBCA Book Week. During this time schools and public libraries spend one glorious week celebrating books and Australian children's authors and illustrators.

This year Lumen Christi will again be having its own Book Week celebrations full of fun activities! Our Book Week day will take place on FRIDAY 27th of August Students are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character or as something in line with this years Book Week theme "Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds."