Principal's Message
Dear Parents, Carers and the St Joseph's Community,
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this Land, the Ngunnawal People and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
National Reconciliation Week begins today, and over the coming days will provide an opportunity for the students and teachers to look into and reflect on ways that we can continue to progress reconciliation as a nation. This can be a difficult concept for children, as the idea of reconciling is based on knowing there has been a wrong. For us as teachers, we simply focus on looking forward, to develop compassion and awareness for needs in all areas of our community. We want out students to be active, empathetic members of society, taking ownership for a positive and inclusive future for all. And what a poignant theme for 2020 – In this together. Never before have these words had such meaning.
Parents, you don’t always need to entertain kids – boredom is good for them
Most Australian children are stuck at home due to the outbreak of COVID-19. They need to find ways to socialise, do their school work, exercise and entertain themselves. It’s not surprising parents may be hearing “I’m bored” a lot more than before. People hate being bored. So much so that in one study, one-quarter of participants said they would rather give themselves a painful shock than be in a room with no external stimulus (music, books, phones) for 15 minutes...
While we have returned to school and perhaps the “I’m bored” comments have subsided a little, I know without weekend sport again this Saturday, the three Tarrant children will no doubt come out with it again. The introduction above is from an article that provides some insight into the benefits of allowing our children a little boredom and gives some good advice for parents.
Semester 1 Reports
In response to the changed learning circumstances in Term 1 and Term 2, the Semester 1 2020 reporting processes for Catholic Education schools have been modified to provide parents with specific information about their child’s achievement and progress.
- The report still appears the same, using the same format
- The reports covers work completed in both Term 1 and Term 2
- Student achievement will be reported as an A-E grade (Years 1 – 6) / three-point scale (Foundation) for Religious Education, English and Maths.
- Other subjects may receive a grade if the teacher/s has sufficient evidence of learning from the work completed throughout the semester. In subjects where a grade is not possible, ‘Not assessed’ will be displayed. This means that, although the learning throughout the semester has been rigorous, it is not possible to make an overall judgement about the student’s achievement in relation to the reporting Outcomes or Achievement Standards against the Garde Descriptors.
- A new section ‘Engagement with Learning’ has been developed to replace the ‘Personal and Social Capabilities’. The new statements are based on the Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities, and target four key areas of learning engagement: Thinking, Communication, Responsibility, Collaboration.
- The inclusion of the ‘Engagement with Learning’ statements means that the General Comment section of the report is no longer required; the statements give detailed information on your child’s approach to learning.
These changes are very welcomed following the transition to remote learning and now back to face to face teaching and learning. Teachers currently are able to focus on supporting the students’ return to school and to prioritising their deep learning in key areas of the curriculum. The timeline for our Semester 1 reporting, therefore, remains the same as previous years:
- Teachers will prepare student reports in the weeks leading up to Week 9
- Parent / Teacher Interview booking system set up and made available from Week 8
- Semester 1 Reports sent home to parents Friday Week 9
- Parent / Teacher Interviews Week 10
School Counsellor
While it has been unfortunate that we have not been able to provide access to a school counsellor to this point this year, Catholic Care has engaged a new counsellor to work at St Joseph’s starting next Friday. This is a valuable and important service that is available to students and their parents, to assist with managing emotions, building social skills or simply discussing concerns. If you have already spoken to your child’s teacher about accessing the school counsellor, please complete a referral form that is available at the Front Office or by contacting the school, and complete and return it as soon as possible.
Enrolment Period
Enrolment applications for the 2021 school year close this Friday, 29 May.
While we are currently unable to offer Open Days, we are always keen to speak with families interested in enrolling at St Joseph’s. Please see our website for more details - https://www.sjo.act.edu.au/for-parents/enrolment
Have a good end to week.
Yours in Christ,
Cameron Tarrant
Principal
cameron.tarrant@cg.catholic.edu.au
Yours in Christ,
Cameron Tarrant
Principal