Yulmburral and welcome to Week 3.
Reading the school’s Mission Statement is a great opportunity to revisit this statement in light of our 2019 School Annual Improvement Plan. Our Mission statement is; Through the living Spirit of Christ, St Augustine’s School delivers excellence in education for every child. This wonderful statement can be broken into 3 parts…
- Through the living Spirit of Christ, (enhanced Catholic identity)
- St Augustine’s School delivers excellence in education (improved writing skills goal for 2019)
- for every child. (social justice for every child)
I wish to thank the staff and especially Mrs Pendlebury in her role, for providing stability of education for children over the first two weeks of this term. I also thank everyone in being flexible with sports lessons last week as Mrs Caltabiano was required to attend to personal matters at short notice. Please keep in your prayers Mrs Caltabiano’s father and all those in our community who are recovering, are in poor health or facing challenges. Our faith in prayer is at its best when a community prays together.
Congratulations to all our cross country runners who participated in the Inter-School Cross Country Carnival in Port Douglas last week. With talent, passion and team spirit our team achieved success in being the winning school at the carnival. Mrs Caltabiano’s sports report has more details.
There are a number of signifiicant events coming up in the next few weeks. The school will be undergoing a 5 Year Review and this is a legal requirement for compliance with school funding. On Friday 24th May our school will be hosting all the Catholic Primary School Principals from across the diocese in a Principal Association Meeting.
Next Friday is the school Athletics Carnival. I appreciate that this change of date may cause inconvenience for parents and friends who need to make work arrangements etc. Originally this event was set for the last week of term however due to a change in date of the next level of representation the school has been forced to bring this event earlier at short notice. Your understanding of this change is greatly appreciated.
Next week is NAPLAN Week. It is important to keep these assessments in perspective. These assessments are useful in giving a snapshot of literacy and numeracy skills at a single point in time. The data will assist in confirming strengths and areas for attention in student learning. As important as these tests are, we must remember that 6 hours of testing cannot give a complete picture of 7 years of primary schooling. Parents play an important role in reassuring their children these tests are a way to show what they know and all are encouraged to enjoy the opportunity next week. We wish all our Yr 3 & Yr 5 students ‘Good Luck’.
Finally, to all our mums, grandmothers, aunties, sisters and any person who fulfils a maternal role in the life of another, I thank you for the gift of your love and service. Enjoy Mother’s Day and celebrate the recognition you deserve on Sunday.
God Bless
Paul
