Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

NSW CPS Cross Country
Congratulations to Eli Cassidy, Emmett Crocker, Henry Gooley and Jed Newman who competed yesterday at the NSW CPS Cross Country Championships in Sydney against the best Catholic schools runners in the state. Special congratulations to Jed who, after finishing 4th, has been selected in the NSW All Schools Cross Country team. 


Northern Region Athletics Carnival
This Friday the Northern Region Athletics Carnival will be held in Goulburn. Congratulations and best of luck to all our representative athletes. A reminder to all that, even though we compete in individual ages at our school-level carnival, representative selections are made based on age groupings of Junior (8-10), Intermediate (11) and Senior (12-13).


Annual Satisfaction Surveys
Our Annual Parent Satisfaction Survey closes this Friday. The data gathered provides us with valuable feedback that informs our Annual and Strategic Plans, so I encourage any family who has not yet submitted a response to do so.

You can access the survey using the following link:http://tellthemfromme.com/6tq64


School Banking Survey
The Mt Carmel School Community Council is seeking advice from families about their opinions on school banking, and I strongly encourage all families to contribute.

In December last year the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) Review of School Banking Programs Report was released and included a recommendation for school communities to assess the appropriateness of their participation in school banking programs.

The following link will take you to a very short survey, which only takes a minute to complete: https://mtcarmelsyass.schoolzineplus.com/survey/13

Vinnies CEO Sleepout and Pyjama Day
Next Thursday 17 June is that night that I will be joining a number of Catholic School Principals and business leaders to sleep rough at the National Arboretum in Canberra and raise much needed money for those in our community who can't afford the basics - food, education, utilities and even a place to call home. My personal goal is to raise $2000 for Vinnies; if you are able to donate to this important cause, go to https://www.ceosleepout.org.au/fundraisers/michaelgreen/canberra

Next Thursday, as a House Spirit Challenge and for a bit of moral support for me, we will be holding a Pyjama Day. Students can, for a gold coin donation, come to school in their cosiest PJs, slippers and dressing gown.

Open Classrooms and Reports
As we approach the end of Semester One, teachers are all working very hard to prepare reports, which will be sent home on the last day of term. 

We are currently in the transition phase to a new reporting tool, and although most aspects of the report will be familiar to parents, there are some differences you may notice.

In Semester 1:

For Kindergarten students:

Achievement in each subject will be reported using a four-point scale (Well Above Expectations, Above Expectations, Meeting Expectations and Working Towards Expectations).

For Year 1 to Year 6 students:

Academic grades for each subject using a five-point scale from A-E will be reported using the NSW Common Grade Scale.

For all students:

Strand Achievement will be reported in English, Mathematics, Human Society and its Environment, PDHPE and Creative Arts using a five-point scale (Excellent, High, Sound, Basic, Elementary).

Engagement with Learning statements, which are taken directly from the Australian Curriculum, will provide specific information about your child’s Critical and Creative Thinking, and Personal and Social Responsibility, using a three-point scale (Beginning, Developing, Consistently).

Individual student comments will not be used in the Semester 1 Reports.

The new approach to Academic Reporting is a developing process. Further work will be undertaken in the coming months to determine how progress and achievement is best reported based on what we know to be important information about a student’s learning and progress.

On Wednesday 23 June, Week 10, from 3:30pm to 5:30pm, we will be holding Open Classrooms so that parents can spend time with their child viewing and discussing the work they have been completing this semester. It is our hope that this experience will provide valuable insights and important context for the reports. 


May God’s peace be in your families, 


Michael Green
Principal