Dear Families
As I write this newsletter report it is hard to believe that we are already in week 4 of the term. It has been extremely pleasing to see the way students have settled into classroom and school routines and the focus they are bringing to their learning.
Attendance
Every day counts when it comes to learning and this year, we are prioritising the follow up of all student absences. Thank you in advance to all families for letting us know if your child/ren will be absent from school by one of the following ways:
- Phoning or coming in, in person to the school administration office.
- Sending in a dated and signed note.
- Sending a message using the Schoolzine App.
- Replying to the SMS you will receive if your child’s absence is unexplained.
Open Classrooms Afternoon and Meet the Teacher BBQ
On Tuesday 9th March we are holding an Open Classrooms Afternoon and Meet the Teacher BBQ. We are very pleased to be able to invite parents and family members to join us for the afternoon where they will have the opportunity to participate in a school tour, visit your child’s classroom and meet and chat with our teachers while enjoying a BBQ. We encourage you to take this opportunity to come along and see our wonderful learning environments and meet our amazing teaching staff.
Current COVID19 regulations do mean parents will need to RSVP to attend this event and further details will be provided later in this newsletter, through our Schoolzine App and on the St Marys DS Facebook page, calling our Administration office on 36723900 or by following the link below to book tickets.
RSVP TO OPEN AFTERNOON @ BBQ 9 MARCH
Details for the event are as follows:
2.00pm – 3.00pm Open Classrooms
Parents will need to RSVP and will have the opportunity to visit their child/ren’s classrooms and/or tour other areas of the school including the MDT workshop, Food Technology classroom, Art, Music and Drama studios, Science Labs, 11/12 Classroom, Gymnasium and Pool. Please note, current COVID19 regulations mean that all classrooms will have a limit on the number of adults able to be in the space at any one time, so parents may need to keep their visit brief to allow others some time in a particular room.
3.20pm – 4.30pm Meet the Teacher BBQ and Chat
Parents will need to RSVP for catering and to support us to meet COVID19 requirements. A BBQ and refreshments will be served on the Green and Teachers and Parents will have the opportunity to meet, chat and share information about how your child/ren have settled into the school year. Teachers are keen to share some of your child/ren’s positive learning stories with you!
If you were unable to make it on the afternoon, please know that we are always very welcoming of families and extend an invitation to keep the communication channels open with all our families through whatever means works best for you. We know that to educate children requires a positive partnership between home and school and the opportunity to meet with or talk with parents is always welcomed. We also know that not everyone can attend these events, so if you are unable to make it please call and make an appointment to speak with a teacher.
Term 1 Reporting
After reviewing parent feedback from last year’s period of Learning from Home and consulting with teachers, we have made some changes to our reporting processes for 2021. In Term 1, we will no longer send home the usual progress report. Instead, we intend to report progress and positive achievement by implementing a process of regular communication with Parents/Carers. Teachers will work to contact every parent through email, phone or face to face conversations. The aim of the Term 1 contacts will focus on sharing information about how your child has settled into school as well as sharing their learning successes with you. If you have not yet received a call or email, I’m sure it won’t be too long before you do. Also, please consider coming along to our Meet the Teacher event, so you can chat with teachers in person.
Learning Area Teaching Focus
Over the next few newsletters, we will be sharing current learning area teaching focus information. The table below provides the current teaching focus in a selection of our classrooms and it also offers families some suggestions to support students to practise the skills they are learning while at home. This week we showcase Kindergarten, Prep/1 and Year 7. We hope you find this information both informative and useful.
Warm regards,
Carolyn Watson