CLASSROOM MASTERY
Last Tuesday, the staff from St Mary’s, St Bernard’s and Carroll College, participated in a Classroom Mastery professional learning day facilitated by Dr Tim McDonald and Sara Wiggins. Our three schools were chosen for this program recognising the importance of a common approach for the K-12 Pathway.

Classroom Mastery focuses on the skills and routines needed for staff to create consistently productive, safe, inclusive and calm learning environments. The workshops during the day included evidence to support this approach which aligns with cognitive load theory and explicit instruction, which our teaching staff have  been engaged in implementing as part of our diocesan CATALYST initiative.

During the afternoon workshop our staff established some simple routines for our school that the whole school has embraced to ensure consistency of approach in every classroom, with the goal of optimising learning time. The routines taught include the entry and exit routine as well as the cue to start or gain attention to maximise learning.

Later this term Dr McDonald will visit our schools and work with our leadership team and staff to support the ongoing adoption of these instructional strategies and consistent classroom routines. 

HIGH IMPACT TEACHING PRACTICES  (HITP) - IN ACTION
‘HITP in Action’ is an aspect of the Catalyst program that supports our teachers to improve their practice through practical professional learning. It is a comprehensive professional learning program, encompassing both the theory of the Science of Learning and coaching, for each teacher to enable high impact instructional strategies in the classroom.

At St Mary’s we have been very fortunate to be working with Dr Lorraine Hammond and the team from Shaping Minds, Jordan O’Sullivan and Brooke Wardana. These educational coaches have been working with all our staff to share their expertise and knowledge through a combination of professional learning experiences, demonstrations of teaching in our classrooms, immersive staff meetings, and ongoing support via email. 

Next week Brooke Wardana will be visiting St Mary’s and working with staff in the K-2 classrooms and the leadership team. The focus of this visit will be to provide demonstration lessons on ways to increase student understanding of creating written text.  

GURUBANGAMBA MENTORING AND TRANSITION PROGRAM
The first session of the Carroll College Gurubangamba Mentoring and Transition Program for  Aboriginal students in Year 5 and Year 6 will be held on Monday, 12 February. This program is delivered over three sessions, during the school year. The purpose of this program is for students to develop a connection to the College and form relationships with staff and other ATSI students. These important connections can provide guidance and support to help students as they transition from Primary school to Secondary school.

Students participate in a variety of activities that focus on the following themes:

• Building Relationships
• Fostering Resilience
• Respecting Yourself & Others

These days not only help prepare students for the high school environment, they provide opportunities for students to make friends through positive social activities and join a community of students to share Aboriginal culture.

YEAR 6 SCIENCE & STEM ENRICHMENT PROGRAM
This year all Year 6 students from St Mary’s and St Bernard’s will be part of a Science & STEM Enrichment Program at Carroll College. This enriching experience will be facilitated by Science teachers from Carroll College and aims to foster a culture of curiosity and exploration, making science an engaging and rewarding endeavour. 

Each group of students (approximately 8 in each group) will complete a series of lessons over a 6 week period. The program will begin Week 5. 

• 5 groups of 16 students (8 students from St Mary’s and 8 students from St Bernard’s)
• 6 weeks of enrichment lessons per group with 3 Science and 3 STEM lessons
• Every Tuesday at Carroll College from 12.30pm – 1.30pm
• Odd numbered weeks – Science with Ms Danielle Ciuffetelli
• Even numbered weeks – STEM with Mr Andrew Kenneally

Further information will be communicated to Year 6 parents in the coming weeks.

LITTLE INVESTIGATORS PLAYGROUP
Our Little Investigators Playgroup for children 0-5 and their parents will be recommencing in Week 4 of this term. The Playgroup sessions will run on Wednesday mornings from 9-11am in the school hall. The sessions are facilitated by Mrs Brooke Connaughton.

We have a lot of different sensory experiences set up for the children to explore and play with and it is a great opportunity to connect and build relationships with other families.

Our Playgroup is open to all families, not only those with children enrolled at St Mary's. 

We are so excited to be able to provide this service and help our littlest humans establish their own community and enjoy some wonderful social and learning experiences. 

It is offered at no cost to families. Please spread the word in the local community.

Playgroup begins on Wednesday 21/02/23 (Week 4).

NAPLAN NEWS 
This year students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 will participate in NAPLAN online. Year 3 complete Reading, Conventions of Language and Mathematics online. Year 3 complete writing with pen and paper. Year 5 complete Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Mathematics online. All students use headphones during the conventions of language test, the numeracy test and the Year 5 writing test so they can hear audio instructions. 

NAPLAN tests are in Term 1, and will occur between the 13 March - 25 March.

NAPLAN FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 
What will be tested? 

• NAPLAN tests the important skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. The content of each test is informed by the Australian Curriculum. 
• The Literacy tests are based on content in the English learning area, and the numeracy tests draw content from the Mathematics learning area. 

For more information on the types of skills and understandings that students are generally expected to demonstrate at their particular year of schooling, refer to the information provided for each domain in the NAPLAN section. 

What types of questions are in the tests? 

• Questions are multiple choice, technology-enhanced (such as drag and drop), or require a short written response for all tests except the writing test. In the writing test, students are expected to write a continuous text.

For more information about the writing test, see the relevant FAQs at NAPLAN - writing test 

The links below take you to demonstration tests for conventions of language (grammar, punctuation, and spelling), numeracy, reading and writing for each NAPLAN test year level: 3, 5, 7 and 9. As all Year 3 students will complete the writing test on paper, there is no Year 3 demonstration test for writing. 

https://pages.assessform.edu.au/pages/year-3-demos

https://pages.assessform.edu.au/pages/year-5-demos

God bless and take care
Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal