Dear Parents and Carers,

I'm sure you felt the energy and excitement of our staff and students as they returned to school for Term 3 with access to the new play space. The final touches were put onto the verandah along A Block and we are really happy with the openness this new design has provided. I would like to once again acknowledge the patience of our staff and students during the building construction period and pay tribute to the resilience they demonstrated during this time. I am also grateful to our families for your contribution to the Building Levy and to the Catholic Schools Office for prioritising Holy Name as part of their planning. It is now time to turn our attention to some other projects that will continue to improve the facilities we offer our students and families. We are planning to invite all families in on Tuesday 19th September for a BBQ and opening of the facilities after school. This will be the same day as the Student Led Conferences and a nice way to end the term. We will send out more information as we confirm our plans.

NAPLAN

At the end of last week we received the student NAPLAN results and reports went home to families. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority have changed the reports from reporting against numerical bands to reporting against proficiency standards. Unfortunately, this means that student results cannot be directly compared with the results between 2008 and 2022, however, a deep analysis of the data will still provide schools with the valuable trend information about how our school is performing across different areas. We are looking forward to exploring the results more deeply, especially the learning growth of our students. We have already noticed that many of our students who find this type of testing environment challenging gave it a go. We are so proud of them and grateful for the provisions our Learning Support Team and teachers had in place to support their participation. We are also proud of the learning achievements our students demonstrate everyday in the classroom. As a staff, we look forward to analysing the results across Years 3 and 5 more deeply to determine the impact of the work we do to improve outcomes for students in English and Mathematics. 

Parent Feedback

Over the next few weeks, parents and students in Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 4 and Year 5 will be asked to set aside 15minutes to meet with their child's teacher to set the Semester 2 Learning Goals in reading, writing and mathematics. Parents and students in Year 2, Year 3 and Year 6 will be invited to the Student Led Conferences on Tuesday 19th September, where students will share their learning goals, work samples and classroom experiences with their parents. We are using the feedback gathered this year to determine the pathway for future parent feedback options. The most recent survey was sent via Compass and targeted the Parent experience of the Semester 1 Feedback cycle. The survey can be accessed here and will be open until next Friday 4th August. So far, we have 20 responses which is great but I think if we had at least 50, we would have a better understanding of our parent preferences.  

I was so excited that 52 of our students chose to attend the matinee of the ASPIRE production of 'The Pirate Code' yesterday in Newcastle. All of the feedback has been positive, with students and staff very impressed with all apsects of the production and in awe that all aspects - costumes, acting, script, set design and construction, singing, orchestra and lighting were the responsibility of students of the Maitland Newcastle Diocese. We are very fortunate that our students have these opportunities.

During Week 4 and Week 5, Mrs Loring is taking the reigns as Acting Principal as I participate in an Adventure Race in Queensland and then head on a holiday to visit with my brother. 

This coming Tuesday, I welcome parents to the Week 3 P&F Meeting on Tuesday at 5:30pm in the Staffroom. 

Yours sincerely,

Brooke Stephens 

There is so much going on at St Clare's. Check out their newsletter here!

ICAS Tests

There are only 2 days left to purchase ICAS assessments! The UNSW ICAS tests will be conducted at school this Term. All exams are available to students in Years 2-6 except writing which is available to Years 3-6.

Tests can be purchased through the parent portal at https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps by using the school code  IQH273. If you have any questions, please contact me at school.

Cheerleading

Our Holy Name School Dolphins Cheerleading Team performed their showcase "The Coastal" at Club Forster last weekend. The children did a fantastic job and kept the audience enthralled with their performance.

Important Mass and Celebration Dates for Term 3

Term 3 Class/Grade Joining Parish for Friday Mass

Holy Name is reintroducing children attending a parish mass once a term. The following classes/grades will be walking to the church on a Friday to celebrate mass with the parish at 9:30am. Parents are most welcome to celebrate mass. 

Year 6 Religious Literacy Test

Later this term, Year 6 students will be participating in the annual Maitland Newcastle Religious Literacy Test. This test will be held on Monday 4th September (Week 8).

Our teachers see Religious Literacy as a priority, and ensure when teaching their lesson sequences in Religious Education, that the lesson's Religious literacy is visible for our students.

Year 6 have already begun preparing for this assessment. Most days students answer multiple choice questions on the Religious Literacy of the units they have been taught in Year 5 and Year 6. In the next few weeks, our teachers will be using answers from last year's test to create Bump it up Walls in their room. These walls give samples of work that range from a D to an A grade. The students will then critique the samples and place them where they believe matches the grade. Students then co-construct success criteria on what they need to include in their answers to get a C, B and A Grade.

Our Year 6 teachers will, in the week leading up to the test, host a Religious Literacy Trivia Session in the hall. Children will make their own teams and will be asked to answer questions grouped into themes. Holy Name's Religius Literacy Goal is that 12 students will score 30/50 or above in the 2023 Religious Literacy Test. That is, 30% of our student cohort.

Term 3 Religious Education Units

Great Learning Happening in Year Three!

Each fortnight we like to put a spotlight on the great learning happening in a particular grade in our school. In this report the spotlight is on Year 3. During reading sessions Year Three students have been focusing on informative texts that build the student’s knowledge on particular topics of interest. Students have been using KWL (What I already know, What I want to know and what I have learnt) This has been a great way to assist the students in identifying what they have learnt from a text and how they can use the information to connect with their prior knowledge.

The students in Year 3 have also been working hard to develop their vocabulary skills. Each week students work together to build their knowledge of new vocabulary words within their text, they focus on:

1. Looking at the sounds within the new vocabulary words
2. The number of syllables within the words
3. The definitions of the words
4. Examples and non-examples of what the word means
5. The morphology of the words

 In writing, Year 3 have been learning to plan, write and present a speech so that they can inform an persuade an audience. Students brainstormed why they need to learn to speak and present. They were tasked to list the jobs that require effective communication skills. The students also discussed what puts people off public speaking which was a great chance for the students to see that it’s common to feel anxious about speaking in front of a group and if this is relevant to them there are strategies to use to help overcome the fear. Students have had their first attempt at impromptu speech writing by preparing a speech based on a ‘would you rather’ question. Students shared their speeches with a partner and then gave feedback to each other based on the Success Criteria. The co-constructed success criteria outlined what the students would be aiming to include in the speech and how they would present it.

In Maths, Year Three has working on an investigation titled, ‘Bin there done that’. This unit involves the students investigating what fraction of rubbish is in different areas of the school and if time of day effects the rubbish. Students will use fractions, addition and subtraction, time and graphing skills to find their results and present their findings. This week the students have been learning to model, name and compare common fractions which is a skill they will need to complete their investigation. Check out these photos of Maths in action!

In History, Year Three are learning about Australian celebrations and commemorations and identify and describe local, state and national symbols and discuss the origins, symbolism and significance, eg the school logo, Australian and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, coats of arms from states and the nation.

In Science the Year Three students have been learning about Space and are exploring the sizes, shapes, positions and movements of the Sun, Earth and Moon. They are investigating how shadows change throughout the day and link these changes to the Sun’s movement across the sky. The Visual Art unit has been linked to their Science unit and students have been developing their blending skills which they will use when they create a three dimensional model of a planet.

Well done Year Three students and teachers keep up the awesome work!

Mrs Suzie Monks

Primary Coordinator

This week, our school is partnering with MidCoast Council to promote the Kiss n' Ride parking area at our school. We have attached the flyer as part of this campaign.

We're proud to announce that from July 2023 all of our Catholic Schools Office sites, including Holy Name Forster, are powered by GreenPower – 100% clean renewable energy.

Run by the NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change, GreenPower is the only government accreditation program that guarantees electricity use is matched with power from renewable electricity sources. 

The purchase of GreenPower guarantees the electricity is coming from renewable energy sources that meet strict environmental criteria. This ensures that the grid electricity we use has net-zero emissions.

The transition to GreenPower is just one of the actions Catholic Schools Maitland-Newcastle is undertaking as part of the Diocesan Sustainability Plan 2022-2025, to positively influence sustainability across our region. Another is to reduce electricity consumption across schools. New LED lighting is progressively being installed in all schools and at one primary school alone, there has been a 26% reduction in electricity.

With 58 schools, the impact of the lighting project is quite significant and combined with the installation of PV solar across all Catholic Diocese schools, further efficiencies will be gained. Reducing our demand on the grid is good for the environment but helps students too, with potential reduced operating cost savings being channelled to additional programs.