Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of Nativity School,
A very warm welcome to our new Reception students, Nora, John, Zac and Marni. Also, to Abbygale who is starting tomorrow in Year 3B. We look forward to sharing your learning journey with you and having you as part of our community.
Our students and teachers are settling into the Bartram Building and enjoying their new learning spaces. As we received a Commonwealth Government grant for the project there will be an official opening which we will organise with the Catholic Education Office in the coming terms. As Catholic Education SA are currently involved in a number of building projects, there may be a waiting time.
This week we have received the Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN results. This year the reporting of NAPLAN has changed from bands to proficiency strands. There are 4 Proficiency Strands; Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs Additional Support. School of the Nativity Year 3 students Proficiency levels were strong in all 5 areas tested. School of the Nativity Year 5 students Proficiency Levels were strong in all areas except writing, which was developing. Writing has already been identified by our staff as an area of development for our students which is why we have embarked upon our work with the Writing Revolution this year. We look forward to seeing the impact of this work in future NAPLAN tests.
Each Year our community completes the Living Learning Leading surveys, students in year 2-6, staff and Parents. These surveys help us to capture a community snapshot of our school’s performance which is then used to inform our school improvement plan and processes. This week you will be emailed a link to this year’s survey, and we ask that you take a few minutes to complete it.
In 2016 the Federal Government implemented the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with a Disability. This is an annual, national collection of data that anonymously counts the number of school students with a disability and the level of educational adjustments they are provided with. The Disability Discrimination Act and Disability Standards use a very broad and inclusive definition of what constitutes a disability, it does not necessarily require a medical or professional diagnosis. The decision as to whether a particular child falls within this definition for this data collection relies on the professional judgment of school staff about each child’s additional educational needs. Throughout the year, parents of students who are counted on this list, are consulted with and provided with information about the adjustments occurring for their child through the creation of a Personalised Plan for Learning. If you have any questions about this data collection, please make contact with Melinda James. This data will be submitted as part of the Commonwealth Census in August.
In the coming weeks we have two whole school masses for The Feast of Mary MacKillop, Tuesday 8th August at 12pm and The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Tuesday 15th August at 12pm. This celebration is a Holy day of obligation, a special occasion on which Catholics are obliged to attend Mass. We invite you to join with us to celebrate these masses if you can.
Finally, just a reminder that the Nativity Nest Playgroup is now in the Bartram building on Tuesday mornings, please come and join the fun or let others know about this opportunity.
I look forward to seeing you at the 1 / 2 D assembly next Friday.
God Bless,
Erika