School Canteen
This week we farewell Amanda Ford as she retires from her Canteen Manager role at Star of the Sea after 16 years of service. On behalf of the school community we thank Amanda for her commitment and dedication to the Canteen and for all she has done for our children over the years. We wish Amanda all the best for her retirement which I am sure will not involve sandwich making, except loved ones and friends.
Replacing Amanda, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Deanne Taggert as the new Canteen Manger, replacing Amanda.
Deanne has had 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and 4 years as a canteen assistant for Education Department, Victoria. She has recently been a Childcare Cook at the Grey Ward Childcare Centre.
We warmly welcome Deanne who prefers to be called Dee, and we look forward to her long association with the school as she puts her mark on our school canteen.
NAPLAN Results go home
The Year 3 and year 5 NAPLAN test results have been sent home today. This year Star of the Sea School was again involved in the trial of the NAPLAN online test. The NAPLAN online uses an adaptive test design, which presents questions that better match student achievement levels, aimed to provide a more precise result for teachers to interpret. Each child was presented with questions that were intuitive with how the student was performing in the test and varied in the range of difficulty. Only Year 5 students completed the writing test online.
I firmly believe that no matter how well the NAPLAN test is designed it is one test on one day in the life of your child and is only a snap shot of your child’s ability. NAPLAN tests do not assess all of what makes our children exceptional and unique. The people who score these tests do not know that some of our children love to sing, some are good at drawing or others can teach you how to use a computer. They have not seen the way our children dance with grace or speak confidently to an audience. They do not know that our children participate in sports or play a musical instrument. They do not know that our students are caring, thoughtful, and respectful, and that every day they try their very best.
The scores from these NAPLAN tests do provide valuable information and tell the children how well they did on the test days.
As a staff we will review in detail the school data and we will seek to highlight those areas where improvement in our teaching and curriculum delivery can be achieved. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher should you want further information about your child’s NAPLAN results.
Class Placements 2020
A reminder that in the last Newsletter I informed parents that teachers have commenced the process of class placements. It takes several weeks for lists to be finalised to ensure a balance of gender, learning and social needs. If you think there is some aspect of your child’s learning needs that requires further consideration, please put your concerns in writing to your class teacher. These needs will be considered when class placements are made. A Class Placement proforma is available on the school’s website and should focus on your child’s educational needs. Letters stating the names of teachers that you do or do not want will be returned and not considered. This is a final call.
Congratulations to Kelly and Adrian Manera on the birth of their third child, Andre Luigi. Both Kelly and Andre are doing very well. We wish Kelly, Adrian, Sabian and Lilah much love and happiness with the new addition to their family.
Our condolences and sympathies to Tania and Flavio Condelli at the sad passing of Tania's mother Anna Mattioli. Anna was a familiar face at 'kiss and drop' most afternoons and she will be deeply missed. May she rest in peace.
Matt Perry, Stella Foley and I would like to wish all families and staff a restful break. Once again a term has leapt past us and has presented us with many challenges and rewards. Do enjoy your break from the daily routines of school life and if you are travelling, have a safe journey.
Enjoy the holidays and the AFL Grand Final weekend!
Regards,
Joe De Tullio