Dear Families,
This week our Year 3 and Year 5 students began the annual NAPLAN tests, commencing with Writing and following up with Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. Our students used their new iPads for the majority of these tests and have been quite comfortable with the online format. The NAPLAN tests have traditionally been done in May but this year they have been brought forward to March. This earlier date will mean that we receive results sooner and have a better opportunity to work with the children in the same year as the tests.
Last week all students undertook the Classroom Pulse Check-In Survey. This test is all about wellbeing and is conducted in Week 5 or Week 6 of each term. We are able to gather useful information about how your child is tracking over time.
In Week 10 of this term, we will hold our Parent Teacher Learning Conversations. The dates are Monday 3, Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 April and you should have received a note on Thursday of this week. Please complete and return the ‘tear off slip’ as soon as possible indicating your preferred day(s). Once they are all booked in, we will notify you of the date and time(s) we have allocated to your family.
I would like to remind you that the City of Playford inspectors have been monitoring parking around the school. So please follow the local by-laws and park in the appropriate places. Also, please remain patient and respectful to others at all times. Remember that the speed limit along both Fairfield Road and Harvey Road, adjacent to the school, is 25kph when students are present. Sadly, we regularly have people exceed this limit, including some of our own parents.
Thank you to those who families who have paid their Resource Fee of $250 or have started making payments. This is greatly appreciated. If you have not yet paid or arranged to pay by instalments, please do so as soon as possible.
In this fourth week of Lent, we hear of how Jesus heals a blind man and his sight is restored. While this is quite miraculous, Jesus healing the man is not the main point of the story. Jesus was challenging the people of the time and indeed, us today, to open their eyes and not be blind to all the things that go on around them. We often hear people say that we ‘turned a blind eye’ to something. In other words, we simply ignored it and moved on. Our challenge is to not turn a blind eye but instead do something about whatever it is that we have seen.
Sometimes it is not about actual eyesight either. Sometimes we are ‘blind’ because we simply don’t have all the information to a particular story or issue. This can often lead to us getting angry or upset when we don’t really need to. I invite you to wonder: when are the times that I am blind? Are there times when I’ve ‘lost it’ and I then have to apologise because I have made the wrong assumption? We all need to be patient, not make assumptions and always find out all the information before we get ourselves in a state. I acknowledge though that we are all different and have different levels of anxiety. That is a part of simply being a human. Jesus would certainly encourage us to take our time and reflect on things before we act.
Check with your child(ren) about the great Bluegum Bill’s Animal Incursion on Friday of this week. This will be a great opportunity for our children to engage with a variety of different creatures that they would not usually experience eg: Frogmouth owl, python, bettong, goanna, etc. Thanks Miss Sam for organising this event.
Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish descendants for Friday of this week.
May good luck be with you wherever you go, and your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. May your days be many and your troubles be few, may all God's blessings descend upon you, may peace be within you, may your heart be strong, may you find what you're seeking wherever you roam.
Shaping the Future Together
Peter Mercer
Head of Campus
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln
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