Term 2 Week 4 2023
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents and Carers
What a busy fortnight we have had here at St Josephs. Our Kindergarten students shared a beautiful mass with St James last Saturday night which was a wonderful celebration of our mothers, a heartfelt thank you to Ryan O'Connor and Daniel Friel for the amazing singing and music and to our Kindergarten teachers for the gorgeous song presented by our Kindergarten Students. It is absolutely wonderful to share in this celebration as a community and I look forward to the continued support of parents and students to the stage masses. Please try to attend these masses when it is your child’s mass as it is a beautiful way to share in our faith.
Earlier in the week myself, along with Jessica Roy, Aimee Kelly, Jacqueline Robinson and Victoria Atkinson attended a diocesan wide 3-day Professional Learning Day in CLARITY - What matters most in Learning and Teaching and Leading by Lyn Sharratt. This approach focuses on building teaching and leader capacity to increase student achievement and growth in an ongoing and sustainable way.
This is St Joseph’s second year of implementation. Parents are critical partners with us in the educational success of their child. Some questions parents can ask their children
- What did you learn today?
- How did you do?
- What did you do if you didn’t understand?
- How can you improve on your learning?
- What are you most proud of?
This questioning process is being imbedded in our learning culture and having parents involved in this process can assist with their child’s learning.
Kind Regards
Tracey
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - Teaching & Learning
At the end of this term the children will be receiving their first semester report. It is with this report that parents are offered an interview to discuss their child's learning after receipt of their report. This will be coming out on compass soon.
This year saw the implementation of the new K-2 Maths and English Syllabus and as such the report will reflect the new outcomes. Please read the following which gives you information about the new structure and the reasons for the changes.
Understanding the New Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 Student Report
Why are there changes to the K-2 Semester One Student Report?
The NSW Government is reforming the curriculum to streamline and strengthen what is taught in every classroom in NSW, so every student is prepared and ready for their future. The curriculum reform has been informed by consultation with teachers, parents and education experts, and is underpinned by extensive research.
Curriculum reform involves changing teaching, learning, assessment and reporting to parents.
In 2023, K-2 teachers across NSW are teaching, assessing and reporting on the new English and Mathematics syllabuses.
What are the changes for English in the Semester One K-2 Student Report?
There is a new template for English that reflects the new K-2 English syllabus. The template includes:
- A statement that explains the aim of the English Key Learning Area.
- The content has been organised into 5 Focus Areas. A Glossary has been developed to provide an explanation of each area.
- There is no longer an overall grade allocated for English in Years 1 and 2. Each focus area in English is graded separately providing a more precise account of student achievement.
What are the changes for Mathematics in the Semester One K-2 Student Report?
There is a new template for Mathematics that reflects the new K-2 Mathematics syllabus.
The template includes:
- A statement that explains the aim of the Mathematics Key Learning Area
- The content has been organised into 5 Focus Areas. A Glossary has been developed to provide an explanation of each area.
- There is no longer an overall grade allocated for Mathematics in Years 1 and 2. Each focus area in Mathematics is graded separately providing a more precise account of student achievement.
Are there any other changes to the K-2 Semester One Student Report?
Yes. There is no longer an overall grade in any Key Learning Area for Year 1 and 2.
How are achievement grades determined?
The syllabus states the intended learning for students at the end of Kindergarten and at the end of Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2).
Kindergarten
Achievement Grades in Kindergarten are identified on a three point scale using the following descriptors:
- Working Towards
- Working At
- Working Beyond expected achievement.
Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2)
Achievement Grades in Year 1 and Year 2 are identified on a 5 point scale using the descriptors from the Common Grade Scale: The Common Grade Scale describes the performance of students in Year 1 - Year 6 at each of the five grade levels A-E using the following descriptors:
- Extensive (A)
The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.
- Thorough (B)
The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.
- Sound (C)
The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.
- Basic (D)
The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.
- Elementary (E)
The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.
Teachers make professional judgements about student achievement based on a range of assessment information and teacher observations against syllabus outcomes and content. Teachers make decisions based on student achievement in relation to what students have been taught and how well they have achieved (up to the time of writing a Student Report). The teacher makes a judgement and selects the descriptor from the 3 point scale for Kindergarten or the Common Grade Scale for Year 1-Year 6 that best describes student achievement at the time of writing the Student Report.
Why can achievement grades vary from one report to another?
The new K-2 syllabus has a greater focus on building literacy and numeracy foundational skills. Therefore, a student’s achievement in English and/or Mathematics this year may vary from previous reports. Difference in achievement levels from year to year (or from semester to semester) may relate to the change in what the new syllabus requires to be taught and assessed. This variation may also occur into the future as a student’s achievement grade is based on what is taught up to the time of writing a Student Report. This means that student achievement can change depending on what a student has been learning and how well a student demonstrates their learning at various points in the year.
Will there be further changes to the Student Report?
Yes. In 2024, Year 3-6 will have a new English and a new Mathematics syllabus. In 2025, K-6 teachers will teach, assess and report on new syllabuses for the other Key Learning Areas. The release of the new syllabuses provides the Catholic Schools Office the opportunity to revise aspects of the Student Report to align with current research. The research, as well as feedback from schools, will guide future changes. Your child’s school will communicate any further changes to parents prior to the 2023 Semester Two K-2 Student Report.
What if I have questions about the changes?
Parents are encouraged to contact our school to discuss any questions you have about the K-2 Semester One Student Report.
Cheers
Chris
IMPORTANT DATES
Monday 29/5 - Pupil Free Day
Monday 12/6 - Public Holiday
Friday 16/6 - Athletics Carnival
Wednesday 21/6 - Public Speaking Finals 10 am -12.30 pm
Friday 30/6 - Last Day of Term 2
SPORT NEWS
Cross Country
A squad of 42 eager St Joseph's students from years 2-6 travelled to Murwillumbah recently to compete in the Zone Cross Country. Under very warm conditions all students gave 100% effort to conquer the challenging course. Nine of our students gained selection to the Tweed Zone Team and will now compete at the Diocesan Carnival in Grafton later this term. Best of luck to: Luca Boughton, Noah Kotek, Emjay Goldsworthy, Tige Murphy, Elizabeth Steele, Parker Goldsworthy, Jack Harry, Elana Kotek and Isla McGee.
A special mention to age champions and runner up age champions: Noah Kotek 11 years boy age champion,Emjay Goldsworthy 11 years boy runner up Parker Goldsworthy 9 years boy age champion
On Sunday 14th May Parker Goldsworthy competed in the QLD All Schools State Cross Country Championships. Congratulations to Parker who is the Joint State Champion after a tie at the finish line.
TRIVIA NIGHT - Parent Forum
TRIVIA NIGHT PRIZE DONATIONS
The Parent Forum is taking donations for prizes for the Trivia night in June. If you or your Business would like to make a donation for this event, the School Forum representatives can be contacted via email at stjsforum@gmail.com or Liz Grace can be contacted on mobile number 0413843474.
Forum members are happy to promote businesses on the night for any corporate donations.
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
SUPPORT & INCLUSION -NCCD
What does support and Inclusion look like in the classroom at St Josephs?
Our primary focus for students is engagement and inclusivity.
Support for students may include:
- Teachers making reasonable adjustments in class to meet the needs of diverse learners and allow equal opportunity for students to access the curriculum and achieve results in the least restrictive manner.
- Creating Personalised Learning and Support Plans which outline student learning goals and provide strategies for staff to implement to meet the learning needs of identified students
- Implementing Intervention Programs to assist achieving literacy and numeracy outcomes
- Providing in class support and withdrawal support (where necessary) for individuals and small groups with diagnosed learning needs
Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)
The NCCD process has begun for 2023. NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with a disability. This enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disabilities and how they can be best supported at school. At St Josephs, we collaborate with parents to determine the personalised level of adjustments required for students needing a higher level of care beyond teacher adjustments.
We are in the process of completing personal planning meetings for our diagnosed students. Most families have had their Collaborative Planning Meeting with our Inclusion Coordinator and our other students that are also supported at different levels have had their Parent /Teacher meeting or are having their Parent/Teacher Meeting in the coming days, if you have not yet been able to organise a meeting with your classroom Teacher, please contact them as soon as possible.
Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).
Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:
- year of schooling
- category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
- level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.
This information assists schools to:
- formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
- consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
- develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.
The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.
The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).
Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).
Safe on Social Training & Education Article
TikTok 60min limit Under 18s
TikTok has announced that accounts owned by those under 18 will automatically have a one-hour daily limit, which cannot be overridden. TikTok then goes on to say users can choose to disable the limit, but they will be prompted to set a daily screen time limit for themselves if they use TikTok for more than 100 minutes per day.
Then there is more.......If a teen reaches the 60-minute limit, they will see a passcode prompt which they will need to enter to continue watching - a way of forcing them to make an "active decision" to extend that time.
Additionally, parents can use the "Family Pairing" feature (which has been around for quite some time) to link their account to their child's and set a custom screen-time limit that cannot be overridden.
Confused? as to what is actually happening? so are we!
Family Pairing (which has been around for quite some time) allows parents to restrict some content and place restrictions on who the child can message on the app. For families with this setting in place, the parent account must make any adjustment to screen time limits.
Currently, accounts for users aged 13-15 won't receive notifications from the app after 9 pm, and ages 16-17 won't see notifications from 10 pm if they have activated Family Pairing.
TikTok's Family Pairing requires a strong level of trust between parent and child to ensure the child declares their account or accounts to their parent and agrees to be part of the Family Pairing system. It will work in some cases but not others.
The new default screen time limit of 60 minutes daily will start in the coming weeks.
While these new features (as confusing as they are) are seen as beneficial for the digital well-being of children, we must never "set and forget ."
Please continue to have open conversations about rules, limits, and what to do when things go wrong. There has been no word on the restriction of actual content. Kids may see wildly inappropriate, violent, or disturbing content in 60mins.
To activate Family Pairing which was introduced in April 2020 as part of TikTok's efforts to enhance user safety and provide more parental control on the app.
Open the TikTok app and log in to your account.
Go to your profile by tapping on the "Me" icon at the bottom right corner of the screen.
Tap on the three dots in the top right corner to access your settings.
Scroll down to the "Digital Wellbeing" section and tap on "Family Pairing."
Tap "Continue" and choose whether you're a parent or a teen.
If you're a parent, follow the prompts to connect your account to your child's account. If you're a teen, you'll need to enter your parent's TikTok username and password.
Once connected, you can set screen time limits, restrict certain types of content, and control who your child can message on the app.
You can also set a passcode to prevent your child from changing the Family Pairing settings without your permission.
To access your Family Pairing settings in the future, go back to your settings and tap "Family Pairing."