Principal News
Dear parents, staff and students,
So, now we are back with full classes. How has it been in the past few weeks?
Parents still have to leave their children at the school gate. The children play in three different areas each morning before school and at play times.
When children enter and leave their classrooms we have strict rules around frequent handwashing.
As a staff we have socially distanced as much as possible.
We love having all our children back. We want to keep them safe. We want to ensure we are safe too. We can now feel like a school again and, though it is different in many ways, our focus on safety is the same as it ever was. It is just a little more visible than perhaps it was before.
Important flu facts from Queensland Health:
1. Flu is a serious illness for everyone, but particularly for children.
2. Flu strains change each year, so you and your children need to be vaccinated every year.
3. Flu spreads easily between people, particularly children.
− If you (or your child) are unwell, stay home and seek medical advice.
− Wash your hands frequently with soap and running water.
− Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, throw the tissue in the bin and wash your hands.
Having an annual flu vaccination this year can:
∗ Reduce the severity and spread of flu
∗ Prevent you getting flu on top of other respiratory infections that may be circulating
∗ Relieve pressure on our health system
Free vaccine is available for those individuals at greatest risk of severe flu. They are:
• all children aged 6 months to less than 5 years of age
• pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy
• persons 65 years of age or older
• all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 6 months and older
• individuals aged 6 months and older with medical conditions which increase their risk of severe influenza and its complications.
All other Queenslanders can purchase the vaccine from their doctor or immunisation provider.
Visit your doctor or other childhood immunisation provider to arrange vaccinations.
Rebooting School Sport
This week we have received some great news about the rebooting of school sport in Queensland. Yesterday a letter to all parents was sent via schoolzine outlining our amended school Athletics Carnival. Thanks to Mr Luck for ensuring that all children are able to participate in this carnival and we look forward to the final results in Week 4 of Term 3.
Unfortunately there are many sports that will not occur in 2020 as the timelines for state championships have passed during the restrictions due to COVID. It is also critical to note that although some events may continue, their format will vary considerably and there will be limited to no capacity for spectators as we abide by social gathering restrictions. It is important to note that although schools are largely exempt from many restrictions, in order to be able to deliver the curriculum in a practical manner, this does not extend to school sport. There are also some discussions in local circles regarding additional options for our students for interschool sport events for Term 4 rather than Term 3 as normal. For more information, please see Mr Luck’s Sport Update and keep an eye out for more details as they come to hand.
Camps and Excursions
We are currently considering which camps we will continue planning for and which are no longer feasible for 2020. Whilst talk of camps has been rather quiet recently, we are looking at providing opportunities for our Year 5 and Year 6 students. We will be moving forward with our communication regarding camps early in Term 3 once we have confirmation that camp sites are open to all schools. This we hope will also help keep families well informed to start planning financially for the costs that are involved. We know that this is a highlight for our students in Years 5 and 6 each year and we can’t wait to see the students off on new adventures and learning experiences shortly!
Reading Your Child’s Report Card
Teachers and students alike have been busy completing and marking assessment pieces to contribute to their overall results for this semester’s report cards. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, report cards for Semester 1, 2020 will be distributed in Week 2 of Term 3 and will report on five Learning Areas: Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science or HASS. This change in timing for 2020 is due to COVID-19 restrictions and has allowed more time in class for teachers to monitor student learning and their progress.
At St Saviour’s Primary School, we report to parents to:
- Communicate progress of individual learning
- Make comparative judgements against the achievement standard
- Inform parents of the application and attitude of students towards their learning
- Be accountable to the intention of our teaching as communicated at the start of each unit
Academic Achievement
Your child’s progress is graded on a five-point scale based on their progress throughout Semester 1. This progress is measured against their year level Achievement Standard. So what does that mean? The Achievement Standards describe the depth of understanding and the sophistication of knowledge and skill expected of students at the end of each year level or band of years. It means that your child’s teacher/s covers curriculum and then assesses your child’s knowledge, skills and understanding against what they have taught at this point in the year. The teacher uses evidence from your child’s work to give an overall grade of achievement at one of the following five points:
|
A |
Evidence in the student's work typically demonstrates that the student has the targeted knowledge and a sophistication of conceptual understanding, an excellent application of skills and the ability to transfer the above to new situations. |
|
B |
Evidence in the student's work typically demonstrates that the student has the targeted knowledge and a developing sophistication of conceptual understanding, a strong application of skills and they are beginning to transfer the above to new situations. |
|
C |
Evidence in the student's work typically demonstrates that the student has the targeted knowledge and expected conceptual understanding, expected application of skills and they are able to transfer the above to familiar situations. |
|
D |
Evidence in the student's work typically demonstrates that the student is developing the targeted knowledge and conceptual understanding, developing the application of skills and to transfer the above to familiar situations. |
|
E |
Evidence in the student's work typically demonstrates that the student has an emerging knowledge and conceptual understanding, has an emerging application of skills and can apply the above in scaffolded situations. |
Other notations against Academic Achievement on the report card may include:
|
N |
Insufficient evidence to make a judgement |
|
M or * |
Modified program delivered and assessed |
Thank you to each and every member of our school community for your support, understanding and adaptability over the past few months. We are so proud of our staff and students' resilience through this time - they have risen on many occasions in supporting each other.
A reminder to parents that Term 2 will end for students on Thursday 25th June as Friday is a professional development day for staff.
We look forward to seeing all students return to school on Monday 13th July. Hoping we stay and well over the holiday period.
Wishing you all a well rested holiday break
Madonna