Dear Parents, Carers, Boys and Girls,

Teaching and Learning
Effective teachers continually reflect on and improve the way they do things. It is important for teachers to continually update and expand their professional knowledge base and to improve or revise their practices so as to meet the learning needs of their increasingly diverse students.

Our staff continue to be involved in a range of professional learning opportunities to ensure that we have the most up to date knowledge on research and evidence based practices. St Mary’s has been fortunate to have been partnered with a number of key educational consultants to work with and coach our staff to develop and refine their skills. 

St Mary’s has recently begun a partnership with Good to Great Schools Australia, an organisation who support schools on their journey towards engagement and excellence in learning. With the support of the GGSA professional learning modules, our staff have been building their knowledge of Explicit Instruction to improve the literacy, numeracy and science outcomes of students and also increase their own pedagogical skills.

This week we have welcomed back to St Mary’s Dr Lorraine Hammond AM, from Edith Cowan University, who is a specialist in teacher-led instruction, including Explicit Instruction and Direct instruction. Dr Hammond worked with our K-2 teachers providing instructional demonstrations, observing their teaching practice and providing feedback to these teachers about their skills in delivering these high impact teaching practices. This coaching model is a way to unlock people's potential to maximise their own performance. Dr Hammond was very complimentary about our dedicated staff and their commitment to learning and improving student outcomes.

It was great to see many of our parents take up the opportunity to attend the parent workshop and hear Dr Hammond speak about how the brain learns to read, the best way to teach it and how you can help at home.

Catholic Schools NSW Early Years Symposium
On Friday last week, Mrs Schofield, Mrs White, Mrs Connaughton and Mrs O’Neill spent the day in Sydney at the Catholic Schools NSW Early Years Symposium. This was a one-of-a-kind opportunity for our staff to collaborate with other early years professionals, explore pedagogy and build skill acquisition to be able to enhance the educational outcomes of our early learners. Neuroscience Educator Nathan Wallis gave an incredible presentation about brain development, with a focus on the first 1000 days of a child’s life. He presented his information in a highly engaging and accessible way. If you have a moment, Mrs Schofield highly recommends you have a look at his website: https://www.nathanwallis.com/

Emergency and Incident Management Training
On Monday, members of our leadership team as well as some staff from Carroll College and St Bernard’s participated in an Emergency and Incident Management training day. The purpose of this training was to develop our skills and knowledge in planning for emergency situations. The topics covered on the day included the fundamentals of emergency management, the Emergency Management Plan (EMP), responding to an emergency and business continuity, all of which allow for our school to function both during and after an emergency or disaster has occurred. 

Later in the term we will work with Catholic Education and the course presenters, Bounce Readiness, to revise and develop our Emergency Management Plan (EMP). We will also be holding some simulation drills and working with the children so they understand the processes and procedures needed to ensure everyone’s safety in emergency situations.

Little Investigators Playgroup
It was great to see our ‘Little Investigators’ boys and girls this week and welcome some new little investigators. Our playgroup has now re-commenced for Term 2 and is held each Tuesday between 9-11am in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). All infants and children (0-5years) with an accompanying adult are welcome. You don’t have to be a St Mary’s family to attend, everyone is welcome. This week we enjoyed joining the St Mary's Kinder students at their Teddy Bear's Picnic.

The webinar will cover:
- when gaming can be beneficial and strategies to promote better in-game experiences
- how to keep children safe online – using safety and privacy settings in games and platforms
- strategies to promote more balanced gaming and how to create smoother transitions from game-play to other activities
- the key online risks and where to find help for things like bullying and harassment in games.

The webinar is on Tuesday 23 May 7.30pm - 8.15pm
Please use the following link to register your attendance.