Thank you to everyone that turned up on Wednesday evening for the welcome BBQ. Thank you to those that assisted Mr Hughes on the BBQ, especially our Year Six students who assisted to gain service hours needed as part of the Young leaders Program. It was a well supported event and an opportunity for parents to mingle at the start of the school year.

Parent Information Sessions

Next Wednesday 14/2/24, we will be holding our Parent Information Sessions. At these sessions your child’s teacher will outline what learning is taking place and organisational details of both the school and the class.

There will be two sessions for each class with the second being a repeat of the first. This will allow parents to attend two sessions. An overview of what is happening in your child’s class will be sent home to all parents following the evening.

The first session will begin at 5pm and run until 5.25pm while the second will commence at 5.35pm and run to 6pm. All sessions will be held in or adjacent to your child’s classroom with the expection of Yr1 & 2 who will gather in the Library.  

Homework Policy

Following a survey of parents conducted in 2023 the following homework policy has been developed. There are several findings from the survey that underpin this policy. These are:

• An overwhelming number of parents (73%) thought that homework should not be compulsory. 
• The number of parents in favour of homework was closely divided with 52% in favour.
• 27% of our parents indicated that connectivity issues or lack of hardware would impact their ability to engage with any online tasks.
• The survey gave an indication of time to be spent on homework. These are averages from the respondents. Kindergarten to Year 2 - maximum of 10 minutes per night; Year 3 & 4 -  20 minutes per night while Years 5 & 6 is capped at 30 minutes per night. Homework traditionally has been set for 4 days per week, however this is flexible due to many students' commitments to activities outside school.

Non-negotiable

All children are required to read every night. We ask parents to make this a nightly routine in their households. Some year levels may use a reading log to monitor their students reading.  Each term the school will nominate a five week period where all children must record their reading history. Children with a reading record of 95% for this 5 week period will be invited to a celebration BBQ each term. 

Parents Role

While teachers set homework, it is not their role to ensure it is completed. This rests with the family who choose for their child to engage with the work. Teachers will outline the homework to all students in the class and monitor those that wish to engage. 

What homework may look like

• Daily reading to, with and by parents/caregivers or other family members
• Independent reading by the older students
• Linking concepts with familiar activities such as shopping, preparation of food, local environment and family outings
• Conversations about what is happening at school
• Preparation for oral presentations
• Consolidation of spelling and number facts
• Opportunities to write for meaningful purposes

• Investigations or research projects 

Teachers will advise parents of the homework requirements for their class at the parent information sessions held at the beginning of each school year.

A LETTER FROM THE ARCHBISHOP

Today an announcement has been made that there will be a new direction in governance for Catholic Education within the Archdiocese.

 A link to the announcement is below for your information:

https://cgcatholic.org.au/about/our-archbishop/addresses-and-statements/new-era-in-governance-of-ce/

  It is intended that very little will change within schools as a result of this governance change. Further updates will be provided as the initiative progresses.

Swimming Carnival

Please ensure you have opted in to the Swimming Carnival and nominated events for your child via Compass.

Thank you to our generous parents that have emailed me willing to help out on the day. We appreciate your time! Please find below a link to a Roster for timekeeping - would all helpers please pop your name in a timeslot for when you are available. We are still in need of more helpers even if you are only available for an hour!

Thank you again for helping us - we love having you!

Parent Helper Roster

Swimming Carnival Reminders

•     Children may come to school by their normal bus and will be bused down using the school bus.
•     Children may arrive at the pool after 8:30am. There will be no supervision before 8.30am.
•     At the conclusion of the carnival parents must collect students from inside the aquatic centre and be signed out with the GateKeeper.
•     Students must have a note to walk from the pool. Otherwise they will return to school by bus.
•     STUDENTS STAYING AT THE POOL MUST ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR OWN PARENT. They must provide a written note. 
•     If time permits we will attempt to have presentations at the conclusion of the carnival, after that students will line up behind the stands, have the roll called and class by class head to the bus.
•     There will be no warm up swimming before the carnival. If children need a warm up swim that needs to be BEFORE 8:30AM and with their parents supervision.
•     Please ensure students bring sunscreen, a hat and plenty of food and water. There is a canteen available!
• There is a competitive element to the day for our school representative opportunities but our main focus is inclusion and participation! We will have novelties and fun games for everyone to enjoy so please come along and have some fun!!

Archdiocesan Tennis

A big congratulations to Kynan Burgess for his selection in the Archdiocesan Tennis Team. Kynan travelled to Canberra last Friday to compete in the trials in pretty ordinary weather from all accounts! Well done Kynan on this terrific achievement and we look forward to cheering for you at the MacKillop Trials on Wednesday 21st February in Rockdale!

St Mary's purchased at the end of last year, $7000 worth of beautiful new home readers for Kinder, Year 1, and Year 2 students. They will be coming into homes very, very soon!

Thank you so much to the book covering mums for covering so many books to ensure the books are kept in pristine condition.

Please have a conversation at home with your child/ren about bus safty and to buckle up on the school bus.

 Getting to and from the bus stop

• Families are responsible for getting their child to and from the bus stop safely.

• Always supervise your child until they are at least 10 and hold their hand when walking to and from the bus stop or interchange and when crossing the road.

• When waiting for the bus, hold hands and wait as far back from the passing traffic as possible.

On the bus

• Remind your children to get on the bus and take a seat quickly and buckle up if there’s a seatbelt on the bus.

Getting off the bus

When travelling by bus, your child is most at risk in the minutes after they get off the bus. Meet your child AT the bus stop or interchange after school. NEVER wait on the opposite side of the road and call them across. If you cannot meet your child, organise for a trusted adult to take your place. Always wait until the bus has gone, then use a safe place to cross. Talk with your child about what to do:

• if you are delayed and cannot meet them as usual

• if they catch the wrong bus • if they get off the bus at the wrong bus stop.

HILLTOPS YOUTH ACTION GROUP 

Come to our first HYAG meetings of the year! Anyone aged 12-24 is welcome so come suss it out, bring a crew if you’ve got one, and let’s brainstorm what we want to see in our communities this year!
And if you can, let Emily know you’re coming so she grabs enough snacks for everyone: 0447 277 560