Dear St John the Apostle families,

Thank you to the wonderful parents who have the capacity to volunteer their time to support our school and it's families. Thank you to Belinda Duke who organised the family portraits that were taken last weekend. When my children were younger we were regulars at this because it made for a good present to grandparents and others and it was just nice to get an affordable updated photo each year while supporting the school at the same time. Thank you also to Heather Rattenbury, Sarah Stanton and Michael Rix who always help Maria prepare all the food for students each and every special lunch day. They are regulars in the canteen where help is always appreciated.

As we come closer to the end of 2020, complete with one curve ball after another, we have reflected on all we have learnt and how we have grown. This year has pushed us to change teaching & learning strategies, explore effective communication strategies and examine the effective use of technology in our classrooms.

Semester 2 Reports

Earlier this year our Semester 1 student reports were modified to reflect the period of remote learning. We weren't able to provide complete reports and used a combination of written report and parent-teacher interviews to share student progress.

The feedback was positive from both staff and parents. Staff particularly appreciated the opportunity to give more specific and personalised feedback about student achievement. They appreciated the opportunity to speak with clarity, use examples and ensure there was a shared understanding of where to go next for each child. With the opportunity to Zoom for their child's Parent-Teacher Meeting we had a much higher take up by parents.

With this feedback in mind we will continue to build upon this successful experience for Semester 2. This Monday, information will go home about how our Semester 2 reporting process will occur. It will involve a report being sent home earlier than usual (Week 7) followed by the opportunity to have a Parent-Teacher Interview about your child's report and achievement over the year (Weeks 8 and 9). The Parent-Teacher Interviews will once again be available over Zoom and a few face-to-face options may be available if restrictions allow. Longer sessions have been provided so a more in-depth conversation can occur, with a focus on what to work towards next year.

These outcomes of the Parent-Teacher Interviews will then become part of the 'handover conversation' that teachers will have in Weeks 9 and 10 when the current teacher speaks with students' 2021 teachers about their learning needs.

Relationships between home and school are fundamental to children's success. Our previous Semester 2 reporting process didn't lend itself to fostering these important relationships. We hope that this new way of reporting will be much more beneficial for all.

Technology in 2021

Another great learning from this year is how we can use technology to greatly improve the quality of teaching & learning experiences for our students. Our Community Council has worked together with members of our Executive Team to help provide a parent's perspective in the use of technology across our school and we will have some exciting news to share next week, particularly for our middle and upper students.

Welcome to new staff

I would like to welcome Kirsty Vera to our staff for the remainder of the year. Kirsty (mother of Gabby in Year 4 and Tessa in Year 2) will be taking up the Library Assistant role for the last five weeks, helping to make sure our wonderful library is ready to begin again next year! We welcome her experience and enthusiasm in this area.