Dear Parents and Carers,

READING FLUENCY
At school, we often talk about the importance of reading, but one key part of learning to read well is something called reading fluency. So, what exactly is it—and why is it such a big deal?

What Is Reading Fluency?
Reading fluency is the ability to read a text smoothly, accurately, and with expression. It’s not just about reading quickly—it’s about reading in a way that sounds natural, like talking. A fluent reader:

• Recognises words automatically (without needing to sound them out)
• Reads aloud with appropriate speed and tone
• Understands what they’re reading as they go

Why Is It Important?
Fluency is a bridge between decoding words and comprehending text. When children read fluently, they can focus on what the text means rather than getting stuck on sounding out each word. This leads to a greater understanding of what they read, an increased confidence in reading aloud and independently, as well as improving performance not just in literacy but in all areas, as deeper comprehension leads to making stronger connections to all learning.

How Can Parents Help at Home?
Here are a few simple ways to help:

• Read aloud together – Take turns reading pages or sentences. Model expressive reading.
• Listen to audiobooks – Hearing fluent reading helps children develop a sense of rhythm and expression.
• Re-read favourite books – Repetition builds confidence and fluency.
• Talk about the story – Ask questions and chat about what’s happening to build comprehension.

Reading fluency is a skill that grows with time, practice, and encouragement. By supporting your child’s reading journey at home, you’re helping them build a strong foundation for lifelong learning. Keep an eye out in future newsletters as I unpack some of the different strategies we are using daily to teach, practice and improve our reading fluency at St Mary’s.

PUBLIC SPEAKING
As part of the English syllabus, the Oral Language and Communication outcomes focus on developing students’ skills in interacting, listening for understanding, and presenting. One key component supporting these outcomes is the preparation of speeches for the Southern Region Public Speaking event.

Stage 2 (Year 3 & 4) - Communicates with familiar audiences for social and learning purposes, by interacting, understanding and presenting.

• Plan and deliver spoken presentations using language and structure to suit purpose and audience

Stage 3 (Year 5 & 6) - Communicates to wide audiences with social and cultural awareness, by interacting and presenting, and by analysing and evaluating for understanding.

• Deliver presentations suited to purpose and audience
• Experiment with volume, pace and intonation to enhance meaning when presenting and reciting, and recognise the effects these have on audience understanding

This term, our Stage 2 and Stage 3 students have been working on their speeches in preparation for the Southern Region Public Speaking event, which will take place early in Term 3. Over the coming weeks, each student will present their speech to their class. Teachers will then select two finalists from each grade to represent their year level in the event.

The topics for this year are as follows:

Year 3 - If animals could talk, what would they say?

Year 4 - A much needed invention

Year 5 - What would I do with a time machine? 

Year 6 - What mistakes teach us?

We look forward to hearing our students present their speeches and sharing their ideas with confidence and creativity.

CARROLL COLLEGE MUSICAL
On Wednesday 25 June, all students from Year 4-6 will travel to Bay Pavilions, Batemans Bay to attend the Carroll College school musical ‘We Will Rock You: School Edition by Queen and Ben Elton.’. Parents are urged to complete the permission note which will be available via Compass on Monday.

Additional performances which families are invited to attend are scheduled for 6:30pm on Wednesday 25 June and Thursday 26 June. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for children. You can purchase tickets using the following link

https://bpav.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/147478

AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY (ACU) CANBERRA
We welcome Miss Olivia Ritchie to St Mary’s Primary School. Olivia is studying a teaching degree at ACU in Canberra and is completing a 3 week practical in our Year 5 classroom alongside Megan Grant. We look forward to supporting Olivia and her growth on her learning journey to become a teacher.

ICAS ASSESSMENTS
These optional academic competitions test students’ higher-order thinking skills and develop critical thinking and problem solving through academic challenges. St Mary's is offering Maths, English, Science and Spelling Bee for Years 2-6 and Writing and Digital Technology for Year 3-6. 

Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.

To learn more about this year’s exciting ICAS competition, visit: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/)

How to participate in ICAS  
If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:  

1. Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/)  
2. Read the Privacy Collection Statement below.
3. Read the terms and conditions here: (icasassessments.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Schools-TsCs_S2023.V6-1.pdf) 
4. Go to the Parent Portal to sign up to chosen subject areas here: (shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps)  
5. Enter our school’s access code – SJE888 
6. Enter your child’s details, select the subject areas your child would like to participate in, then proceed to payment.

ICAS results and certificates
All assessments will be conducted online, at school. We will notify you of the date(s) that we will run ICAS assessments, and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. Your child’s ICAS certificates will be delivered to school. Once we have received them, we will present them to your child to bring home. The back of the certificate will show your child’s ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”. - Use these to enter the Results Portal orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent

Privacy collection statement  
The following information is a privacy notification about how your child’s data is kept private and secure.

ICAS Assessment is owned by Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (We, Us, Our).

To deliver assessment products, Janison will require your child’s School to obtain your consent to provide Janison with certain personal information of students. Janison will collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise deal with such personal information in accordance with its privacy policy (below). We are aware of our responsibility to protect personal information related to children and students from being disclosed when we deliver an ICAS Assessments product. Unless you, as the child’s legal guardian consents, we will not:

• collect any personal information or data of children other than the information we need for the successful completion of an assessment, test, or exam. 

• transfer any personal information we obtain from a child in the delivery of assessments and tests to any jurisdiction outside of Australia. 

• share any personal information relating to children with any third parties (except for those third parties necessary for us to carry out our Services or provide our Products e.g., medal engraving). 

• use any personal information or data relating to children for marketing purposes. 

You can view our full privacy policy at https://www.janison.com/privacy-policy/. 

We may retain personal information and data relevant to a child for their future purposes or for research purposes by Janison for the duration of the school life cycle of the child. However, if you or your child at any time wish to have their personal information or data removed from our systems, they or you may opt out by simply contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@janison.com or by contacting icasassessments@janison.com.

ICAS Assessments 2025

 Parent orders close Monday 28 July 2025

God bless and take care,

Mrs Sue Heffernan
Assistant Principal