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Dear Parents and Friends of St Kevin’s
Welcome to Term 2! We are off to a great start with lots of learning and fun activities planned for this term. Please check the school calendar for what is coming up so you are well prepared for any changes to routine.
Our first big event this term is NAPLAN. Year 3 and 5 engage in this National Assessment in the areas of writing, reading, language conventions and numeracy. Year 3 and 5 have been busy revising and refining their knowledge in these areas. NAPLAN is an opportunity to see how our students are doing at this particular point in time, regarding their educational journey. Trend data over the years provides the teaching staff with areas of strength, and areas of need that we can work on. Current trend data indicates the emphasis we have placed on writing through Professional Development to improve teacher practice and student outcomes, is having a very positive outcome. Work done in K-2 is vital for Year 3 NAPLAN, and then this continues to build through the years for NAPLAN in Years 5 and 7. No one class can take all the credit or all the blame for NAPLAN results. For us as teachers NAPLAN results are a shared responsibility and accountability of all involved in the education of all students no matter what year we teach. What we ask of students is to always try their best in all aspects of learning and assessment opportunities. This way the students themselves demonstrate that they too are responsible and accountable for their learning and assessment results. Good luck to all our students sitting NAPLAN next week.
Another big celebration this week is Mother’s Day. Our new P&F have been busy organising the Mother's Day stall and it is hoped you enjoy the gift your child has purchased for you. Mother’s Day High Tea and Liturgy on Friday from 1pm is our way of saying thank you to all the mums and grandmas who make their children’s lives so special. To all our amazing mums and grandmas, we say “Happy Mother’s Day” for Sunday.
Have a great weekend with family.
Mary-Anne Jennings
Principal
Catholic Schools Week
May 22 – May 27 2022
We have a tradition here at St Kevin’s where we celebrate Catholic Education with our parishioners at the Sunday Mass. Many of our elderly parishioners have actively supported Catholic schools financially and in many other ways over the years, and love to re-engage with us during Catholic Schools Week. So, on Sunday May 22 at 9:30 Mass we invite all our families to come along and celebrate what is so amazing about not only St Kevin’s but Catholic Education too. We will present our brand-new kindergarten students to the congregation and ask Father Joeseph to bless them as they start their educational journey here at St Kevin’s. We will also have our 2 school captains speak to the parishioners about why St Kevin’s is such a great school. At the conclusion of Mass, we have a morning tea outside the Church where everyone brings a plate of food to share, and we catch up with old friends and make new ones too. We look forward to seeing as many families as possible there at Mass on Sunday May 22 at 9:30.
Winter Uniforms
Winter uniforms must be worn from May 23, 2022. Winter uniforms include that all students wear a tie – yes both girls and boys, with their long-sleeved shirts. Girls can wear either the navy tunic or navy-blue trousers. The jumper worn Monday – Thursday is the navy-blue fleecy jumper. Sports jackets are only to be worn on sports days – Friday.
We are still waiting for some items from our supplier, but these should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Mrs Ragen will put out a COMPASS alert when new stock arrives.
Uniforms are now paid for using the QKR app. Details on how to access the app are included in this newsletter.
The uniform shop is now open on a Monday morning from 8:30 – 9:30. It is run by our amazing volunteers to whom we say THANKYOU!
Wrong shoes
Some students are coming to school wearing incorrect footwear. Mondays – Thursdays students are required to wear black, polishable shoes (lace up or Velcro or buckle). Sports shoes are to be white joggers only.
Kinder Interviews
2023 kinder interviews are currently being scheduled. The school secretaries will be contacting you to make an appointment to come and chat with Mrs Jennings about enrolling your child at St Kevin’s in 2023.
Parent/Teacher/Student Semester 1 interviews.
Please put Wednesday June 29 in your diary for the Semester 1 Parent/Teacher interviews. Students in Years 2 –6 are asked to accompany their parents to these interviews. Interviews will be of 10 minutes duration and held from 3:20 till 7 pm in the school library. A booking sheet will be put up on COMPASS on June 17 whereby you can electronically log on and make your booking to see your child’s teacher.
RAHT Tests – changes to close contact rules and isolation requirements.
Close contacts are no longer required to isolate for 7 days if they are symptom free. There are, however, rules that must still be followed.
- Non symptomatic close contacts must provide a negative RAHT test every day for 5 consecutive days. For students this must be done each morning before coming to school.
- School must be notified if students are a close contact.
- School must be notified if a student tests positive to COVID.
St Kevin’s will provide parents with RAHT tests if your child/children are close contacts and have no symptoms so that they may attend school.
News from the Assistant Principal
Welcome back everyone! I hope you had the opportunity to kick back and relax over the Easter break at some point with family and friends.
On our Pupil Free Day last week staff participated in professional development In Data Literacy. As staff changes, over a period of time and responding to researched best practices, it is important to evaluate our practices, common understandings and agreed expectations. This is to ensure consistency of assessment and data literacy across the school. Our goal is to ensure that assessment is used flexibly and responsively as an integral part of daily classroom instruction. Additionally, that Formative Assessment is practiced expertly by teachers.
This semester we have our formal reports K- 6. These reports are an assessment of your child’s progress over Terms 1 and 2. Teachers are constantly making judgements about student’s understanding of concepts and helping them to make learning goals. Unlike NAPLAN, our Semester reports are not based on a point in time test. Reports will be live in Compass from Monday 27th June. The opportunity for an interview with classroom teachers will be on Wednesday 29th June. This year we are asking parents to bring their child to the meeting.
God Bless
Kim Hogan
Assistant Principal
Welcome back to term 2!
Those of you who have been able to join us for liturgies or assemblies this year may have noticed that we have added an important element to the beginning of each gathering – we recite our Vision Statement together
A Catholic Community nurturing mind, heart and spirit – following the light of Christ
The staff and children are actively embedding this Vision Statement into our daily school lives, joyfully making it part of all we do and say in our wonderful school. This Vision Statement encompasses our beliefs and acts as a guide for how we wish the children of St. Kevin’s to experience their primary school years of learning. I would love you to reflect on our Vision Statement. What does it mean and say to you? We look forward to the official launch of our Vision and Mission Statement in coming weeks – details in the next newsletter!
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM
The dates and details are currently being organised and finalised with Fr Joseph for the children in years 4, 5 and 6 who would like to participate in the sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. I will be in touch via Compass as soon as possible.
ANZAC Day
Thank you to Mr Vaughan our fabulous Year Three children for leading us in a heartfelt ANZAC day liturgy on our first day back last week. The children showed great maturity and reverence and made us all very proud.
EASTER SUNDAY LITURGY
Thank you to our Mrs Stretton, Mrs Keating, Miss Watson and Year 5/6 for leading us in our Easter Sunday Liturgy where we remember the final event in the Easter Triduum – Jesus Resurrection.
MOTHER’S DAY
We eagerly look forward to our Mother’s Day celebrations this Friday. We warmly welcome all our wonderful mums, grandmothers, aunties and all special women in the lives of our St. Kevin’s children to join us for a moment of prayer lead by Kindergarten. I recommend bringing a tissue or two … you may need it for when they start singing! Following the liturgy we invite you to order a coffee, pick up a cake and head down to the bottom playground to have a picnic afternoon tea with your children. Please feel free to bring a picnic blanket if you wish.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
I’ll share more information on Catholic Schools Week in our next newsletter but in the meantime, please pop these dates in your calendar:
* Sunday 22nd May - Catholic Schools Week Mass and morning tea.
* Friday 27th May - Open Classrooms from 2pm
May God’s Spirit be with you all each day.
Mrs Jasmina Boudan
Religious Education Coordinator
Yaama Ngindaay
Welcome to Term 2. The months of May, June and July hold very significant dates and events to observe for all Australians in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and the shared history of our country.
National Sorry Day: 26 May
Observed annually on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
National Reconciliation Week: 27 May to 3 June
These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey — the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively. The theme for 2022 is Be Brave. Make Change.
Information on National Reconciliation Week from Reconciliation Australia website.
Mabo Day: 3 June
Mabo Day is marked annually on 3 June. It commemorates Mer Island man Eddie Koiki Mabo and his successful efforts to overturn the legal fiction of terra nullius, or ‘land belonging to no-one’.
NAIDOC Week: 3 – 10 July
National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
Premier’s Reading Challenge
Wow, 18 students from St. Kevin’s have completed PRC
Congratulations to the following students for completing PRC during the holidays.
Kinder – Veronique
Year 1 – Joseph M
Year 3 – Erika, Lukas, Louis
Year 5 – Harper
Keep up the fantastic reading.
Please encourage your child to borrow PRC books and enter them online.
Veronique was very excited to be the first Kinder to finish PRC, congratulations. Her favourite book in our Library is, “The Cow Tripped Over The Moon”
Happy Mother’s Day
Kinder and Year 1 enjoyed listening to the book “ Happy Mother’s Day. Enjoy the special hugs from you children on Sunday.
Standing Orders
A huge thank you to the P & F for renewing the subscription for Standing Orders through Scholastic. Each month we receive exciting Fiction titles for your children to borrow and read at home. Below are some of our new titles.
St Kevin’s has also paid for a subscription of Non Fiction titles and the children have been enjoying reading them. Below are some beautiful Non Fiction books that are now in our St. Kevin’s Library.
Book Club
Loop orders online for Issue 3 Book Club close on Friday 13th May, 2022. Thank you for your continued support of Book Club.
If you need help with anything or have misplaced a password please contact me.
Many thanks
Dianne Binkin
Teacher Librarian
A reminder for our first P&F meeting for Term 2. The meeting will be held in the school library on the 11th May at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to join. If you are planning on attending please email stkevinspandf@outlook.com to confirm your attendance and to receive a copy of the meeting agenda.
WE ARE OPEN!
The St Kevin’s Canteen has reopened. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have put their hand up to help out. Canteen will be open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each week.
Canteen price list can be found below and on the school website http://www.cardiff.catholic.edu.au/ and Compass App. From FRIDAY this week and onwards you will be able to place online lunch orders through the Qkr App.
If you need assistance with the Qkr app please see instructions below or email:
Cash orders will still be accepted. These must be written on a bag marked clearly with: Childs name, class and order along with payment.
Insulated lunch bags can be purchased from the Uniform Shop for $10.00.
There is currently a large collection of items in our Lost Property (located in the School Hall). Some of these items are:
* Size 12 jumper
* Size 4 Sports Jacket
* Size 12 Sports Track pants
* Multple drink bottles and lunch containers
Please minimise the amount of lost property by labelling all items with your child's name.
To celebrate National Volunteer Week, the Diocese are hosting two free events to say thanks to our incredible volunteers. The movie showing at Event Cinemas is THE LOST CITY. The trailer can be found at The Lost City - Event Cinemas.
Tickets for these events are still available.
From the Office of Safeguarding - Privacy Awareness Week
PRIVACY AWARENESS WEEK 2-8TH MAY 2022
Theme - highlighting privacy as the foundation of trust.
Trust is essential to taking the community with us as the digital economy continues to grow and play a major part in our lives. It is essential that the public can trust organisations to handle their personal information with integrity and care; transparently, accountably and in ways that the community would regard as fair and reasonable. That trust will not occur without privacy as the foundation.
The campaign design, using colourful building blocks, is a dynamic way of bringing to life the different components that can contribute to the right privacy foundation.
However, as important as it is to get the foundations right, we need to remember that our privacy platforms need ongoing upgrades. This is especially so as our world is rapidly transformed by innovations in technology, with our personal information now a major fuel source of the digital economy.
Organisations need to consistently revisit and revise their privacy settings and anticipate changes in their environment. They also need to be aware and responsive to the needs and concerns of their customers and the wider community.
The best organisations will not only focus on what good privacy practices can prevent, but what privacy can enable.
If the right foundations are in place, organisations will have the ability to increase the focus on those issues that are unique to them and make privacy part of their competitive advantage – and the community will respond. And government agencies can uplift their standing as trusted custodians of Australian’s personal information, building confidence in the work of agencies overall.
In advance of Privacy Awareness Week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner will be sharing tips to build strong privacy foundations, at home and at work. The cornerstone is to be proactive.
For individuals it’s easy to build good privacy habits. There are simple foundations you can lay to protect your personal information, such as strengthening your passwords and making sure your privacy settings are solid.
For organisations, taking a privacy by design approach and training your staff to prevent data breaches are some of the essentials.