Aboriginal Acknowledgement

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We commit ourselves to actively working alongside Aboriginal people for reconciliation and justice.

Dear Families,

We have had a very busy couple of weeks, with Confirmation, our school Athletics Carnival, AFL Gala Day and Diocesan Cross Country to name but a few.

At this time of the year, teachers are also very busy finalising students’ assessments and Semester One reports. I frequently hear them talking and discussing work covered, results gained and effort applied, in order to decide on a final grade. Reporting is not an easy process and there is much time, thought and deliberation put into the final result. I congratulate all staff on their commitment in ensuring that students’ reports are a true and accurate reflection of their progress and effort. School Reports will be sent home on Friday, 18th June.

I share the following reflection, Beatitudes for Teachers, as they prepare these reports for their students:

Blessed are you who are called to teach, for you walk in the footsteps of the Master.

Blessed are you who sow peace and harmony in your school, for yours will be the joy of the Lord.

Blessed are you when you share your faith with others, for your name will be written in their hearts.

Blessed are you who plant seeds of hope in youthful hearts, for your legacy will be the harvest.

Blessed are you who are sensitive to the cries of youth, for you will become their voice.

Blessed are you who anguish now when your students are difficult, for your effort will be their light.

Blessed are you when you leaven your teaching with patience and empathy, for this is to teach as Jesus did.

Blessed are you when you reach out for your students, for you will find God and rejoice.

Blessed are you who lead your students in the ways of all virtue and love, for yours is the Kingdom of God.

HOW DO TEACHERS GIVE A TO E GRADES?

Teachers use their professional judgement to determine a student’s grade. Both formal and informal assessments are undertaken throughout the reporting period. An overall achievement judgement call is made by the teacher, based on data and evidence of what the student has demonstrated, the standards described in the A-E grade scale and the NSW Syllabus documents.

Your Child’s Report

All schools in NSW are required to use the A-E (the Common Grade Scale) reporting system for students from Year 1 onward. What does this mean? The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of five grade levels as set out below.

A	The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.
B	The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.
C	The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.
D	The student has a basic knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.
E	The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.

Parent Teacher Interviews Reminder

These interviews are on Monday 21st – Thursday, 24th June. Our Online Booking site is now open to enable parents to book interviews for your child/children at a time which is suitable for you. At our interviews, parents and teachers have the opportunity to celebrate successes and also to work through any recommendations and goals to improve learning outcomes for the remainder of the year. As you know, Legislative requirements mandate that students are assessed using an A-E grade scale and this can cause some anxiety for parents. These interviews can allay any of these anxieties by discussing and supporting grades which have been given by teachers.

Enrolling for Kindergarten 2022

If you have a child beginning school next year, or know of anyone who does, would you please advise them to go onto our school website and complete the Online Application form. of this.

School Uniform

Thank you for the great job that you do in ensuring your children are dressed in the correct school uniform each day. Lately we are noticing however, that some students are choosing to wear the wrong uniform, particularly the wrong sports shoes and socks. As it is the end of term we have been a little lenient, however the expectation is that all students will return from the holidays in the correct uniform. Wearing our uniform correctly promotes a sense of belonging and pride in our school. If your child is not in the correct uniform I ask that parents/carers provide a note explaining why they are out of uniform.

Christmas in June?

Does anyone know how this snowman appeared on the Cathedral steps this morning and another one in our playground?

     

Parent/Teacher Interviews

Our Parent/Teacher Interview bookings have opened up so that you can make a appointment to see your child/ren's teacher. These interviews are being held in Week 10 (Monday 21st to Thursday 24th June) for all classes except 1TS. Mrs Shea will have her interviews Week One of Term 3 (Monday 12th to Thursday 15th July). Interviews will be for 15 minutes and will be in your child's classroom. 

If you child takes part in an Intervention group with Mrs Biersteker, Mrs Mumford or Mrs Taylor bookings will be available to see these teachers as well.

Parent-teacher interviews give you a great opportunity to:

• learn more about your child’s academic, emotional and social development
• meet and get to know your child’s teacher
• help your child’s teacher understand more about your child
• make plans with the teacher about how you can both support your child
• build a relationship with your child's school.

To make a Parent/Teacher interview booking please go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and click on the "MAKE A BOOKING" tab at the top of the page.

The event code is: 6uweh

Bookings will close on Friday 18th June at 2pm. If you have any issues with booking interviews please contact the school office.

International Competitions and Assessments for School (ICAS)

St Carthage's Primary School will be giving the opportunity students in Years 3-6 to participate in the ICAS Assessments^TM again this year.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies.

ICAS Assessments are now online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to online assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results.

Learn more about ICAS here: https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas

Our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) for all tests. Through this system parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child no later than 24th June 2021. Also, complete and return the permission slip to school by the 24th June 2021.

Access details for parents

Dates and Prices

If you have any questions with regards to the ICAS assessments please contact me.

Sound Waves Spelling

The focus sound for the following two weeks are:

Focus	Week  9	Week 10

Spotlight on ....... Music, Drama and Physical Education!

Every week, students from K-6 take part in Music, Drama and PE lessons. These subjects are taught while the classroom teacher is released from face-to-face teaching to plan, prepare and engage in team meetings about student learning.

Music

Mrs Craig has a passion and natural talent in Music. Throughout the year, students explore musical elements, sing, compose and play a variety of instruments and learn about connections between music and the world. Students develop their confidence and skills within music whilst having fun. 

Drama and Dance

Mrs Allen has been teaching Drama and Dance for many years and enjoys the creative nature of this subject. Students in Drama and Dance engage in activities based on composing, performing and appreciating a variety of dramatic and dance elements. Students learn about dramatic and dance forms such as improvisation, reader's theatre, puppetry, storytelling, mime and movement. 

Physical Education (PE)

Mr Camilleri currently teaches our students PE. He is enthusiastic and has lots of energy. The PE program is designed to prepare students for a healthy and active lifestyle. Students are engaged in a wide range of physical and sporting experiences focusing on the sequential development of fundamental and locomotion skills, gymnastics, dance, athletics, fitness and sport education.

Upcoming Dates

All Schools Rugby League Day (Casino) - Tuesday, 22nd of June, Week 10, Term 2

Richmond Zone Athletics Carnival - Wednesday, 21st of July Week 2, Term 3

Netball - Far North Coast Regional Finals (Casino) – Wednesday, 21st of July Week 2, Term 3

Polding Cross Country

On Tuesday, 6 of our talented runners travelled all the way to Eastern Creek to compete in the Polding Cross Country Carnival. By all reports, it was a cold and challenging track, but our athletes handled the conditions very well! Congratulations to Archie Sauer (9th - 8:38 2km), Bryce Roberts (16th - 13:09), Zara Hellyar (12th - 14:59), Amirah Shah (5th - 14:18), Sammie Jones (33rd - 16:48 *see below) and Elissa Hills (21st - 14:58) for representing both our school and the Lismore Diocese. A special mention to Amirah Shah who has qualified to represent Polding at the upcoming State Championships! 

*Special mention

This story demands to be told. Sammie Jones, a very talented cross country runner had worked hard to qualify for the above mentioned event. During her race she came across a competitor who had fallen and injured her leg. Rather than focus on her own race, Sammie stopped and aided the girl to the First Aid tent, disregarding her own position in the race. What Sammie has done is a remarkable thing and shows the qualities that we all should be striving to include in our lives.

‘Never see a need without doing something about it.’ Mark MacKillop

Rugby Union

Our rugby team travelled to Coffs Harbour in Week 7 for their Gala Day. The boys had worked very hard in the lead up to this event and did well to finish 2nd in their pool and 4th overall. A big thank you to Mr Sheridan, Mr Gordon and Mr Bailey for their hard work and expertise in getting the boys ready for this day. Please see Mr Sheridan's Rugby report below.

Thank you to Donna Bashforth for the detailed photo gallery of this day. These shots can be viewed on this link.

Coffs Harbour Rugby Report 2021

St Carthage’s Primary School fielded 1 team in the Gala Rugby Day at Coffs Harbour last Thursday. Our Rugby team came up against some very competitive teams in each of our games. We qualified for the semi-final with only one loss against St Peters, Port Macquarie. In the semi- final against Sawtell we lost a close game 19-5. The Sawtell side went on to win the carnival. This team were worthy winners and now progress to the State Finals of this Rugby 10’s competition. The finals will be held in Sydney at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill. In the Semi-Final play-off we lost again to St Peters Port Macquarie and came 4^th in this carnival. We are fortunate to have such a great supporter base of parents and I thank them all for their encouragement and support of our team. Thank you to Tate Bailey and John Gordon in helping coach the team. We would also like to thank Greg Clarke Building for their generous donations towards the Gala Day.

Mr Jack Sheridan

AFLQ Schools Cup

We sent 3 AFL teams to Byron Bay in Week 7 for the AFLQ Schools Cup. AFL was a brand new game for most of our students, so a steep learning curve was experienced. This said, all teams showed vast improvements across the day and all came away with a well-deserved win in their last game. Most importantly, a lot of fun was had!

Netball NSW Schools Cup

St Carthage’s sent 4 talented and enthusiastic netball teams to the Netball NSW Schools Cup on Tuesday. They all braved the very cold and wet conditions to enjoy a great day of netball. Congratulations to The Giants who have qualified to compete in the regional finals in Term 3! Thank you to Mrs McRae, Mrs Sudiro, Miss Mac, Miss Nichols, Mrs Smith, Miss Kearney and the parents helpers who rugged up and supported the girls across the day! 

Weekly Sporting Reflection

Jan's Bucket Club