It is only Week 3 but it certainly feels like Week 4 or 5! We've covered a lot of ground so far this term, thanks to the hard work of our staff and many parents. Thank you to the parents who were able to help at the Swimming Carnival on Wednesday. Your assistance made it run very smoothly. Thank you also to the Year 6 parents who attended the Opening Mass today and helped us to celebrate the start of our year.

Student School Leaders

Congratulations to our student school leaders for 2019. Today all of our Year 6 students were presented with Student Leader badges that signify the special leadership role they take in the school among the student body. It is a privilege for them to take care of the younger students and help make school a happy place for all.

Congratulations also to the following students who have been selected by their peers to undertake an additional role as Peer Leader. This role involves extra responsibilities in various portfolios. They are:

Congratulations also to our two School Captains for 2019 who have been identifed by their peers as having the leadership skills for harnessing the energy of the Year 6 cohort and making a positive impact in the school. Our 2019 School Captains are:

A new Community Council

On Wednesday night we held our Community Council AGM. It was once again an opportunity to thank Veronica Sammons and Natalie Nicholson for their service as Chairperson and Vice Chairperson in recent years.

We also welcomed new members to the Community Council. Congratulations to all of our 2019 Community Council Members. Thank you for supporting our school and all of its families, students and staff.

I look forward to working alongside this wonderful team throughout the year as we continue to grow our school.

Three Way Conferences

In Week 5 we always send out Interim Reports that gives an indication of how students have settled in for the year. Students also indicate on the report how they think they have settled in. We want to increasingly assist students to understand their own responsibility for their learning and so on Monday March 4 and Tuesday March 5 we are holding Three Way Conferences at which the Interim Report will be provided.

These are similar to Parent-Teacher Interviews but will involve the child in the discussion. They can be a little more relaxed and the student will have an opportunity to share a piece of work, discuss this Interim Report and, with both the teacher and parent(s), determine a learning goal for the first Semester.

These conferences are 10 minutes long and only one parent need attend though both are very welcome.

Bookings will be available online through SZapp. We expect to have a Three Way Conference for every child in the school. A flyer went out today to remind everyone to download it so that they can make the booking of their choice.

The shape of our community

At the Community Council I reported a little on some of the diverse nature of our student population. I thought I would share some of that with you here. So that you can better understand the community to which you belong.

The enrolment numbers for the beginning of the year are:

• Kindergarten 40 (21 boys, 19 girls)
• Year 1 46 (26 boys, 20 girls)
• Year 2 52 (31 boys, 21 girls)
• Year 3 51 (22 boys, 29 girls)
• Year 4 54 (31 boys, 23 girls)
• Year 5 56 (25 boys, 31 girls)
• Year 6 60 (31 boys, 29 girls)
• TOTAL 359 (187 boys, 172 girls)

The increase in class size over time happens as people move to our school for various reasons. We often begin to have waiting lists in the middle and upper year levels.

Some statistical information includes:

• Our students live in 33 different suburbs in ACT or NSW including
  • Florey – 55 students
  • MacGregor – 64 students
  • Dunlop – 40 students
  • Higgins – 23 students
  • Holt – 29 students
  • Flynn – 16 students
  • Murrumbateman & Yass – 12 students
• 57% identify as Catholic, 23% identify with another denomination or faith back ground, 20% identify with no particular faith background.
• 6% of students have a diagnosed disability, 22% students are on a Personal Plan.
• 20% of students identify English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D).
• 1% of students identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
• Families in the school include:
  • 147 families with one child enrolled in the school
  • 72 families with two children enrolled in the school
  • 18 families with three children enrolled in the school
  • 3 families with 4 or more children enrolled in the school

Of particular note is that while our general percentage of students with a disability and of particular genders have not significantly changed, our percentage of students on Personal Plans has significantly increased in two years and our percentage of students with EAL/D has more than doubled in the same time. We welcome this continuing to grow and the opportunities this provides for our students to be part of a more culturally rich environment.

Statistics like those above determine funding for our school. Recently we were audited regarding our 2018 August Census details (much like those above), particularly in regard to the supporting documentation/records that validate the statistics above. The auditors were very impressed with and pleased with all of our documentation and I would like to thank Leanne Griffiths (Front Office), Anthony Ganley (Classroom Support Teacher/AP) and all of our staff for their excellent efforts in maintaining this documentation, enabling us to receive the best possible funding outcomes to support our students. It is hard work amidst the core job of teaching and we have an outstanding team here.

This week we have set the sails for a great journey ahead. I'm very excited about what we will achieve in our school this year. On this note let me share with you a section of a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox that I often use with the School Leadership Team to remind us about the importance having a strong direction.

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
'Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife. 

Have a lovely weekend.

Matthew Garton (Principal)