Dear Parents, Teachers and Students, 

CEO Sleepout
Tomorrow night’s the big night of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. I’ve chosen my spot and have my sleeping bag and beanie packed. Last week’s Beanie Day raised $460 and, through donations from the wider community, a total of $1904 has so far been raised. I am humbled by and very grateful for your generous support of this appeal.

Archdiocesan Athletics Cancelled
Unfortunately, we have now received information that the Archdiocesan Athletics Carnival will not be going ahead. My sincere apologies to those families who submitted nomination forms. The good news is that we are still intending to hold a school-based Athletics Carnival when social restrictions are lifted.

Parent-Teacher Interviews/Reports
Formal Parent-Teacher Interviews conclude this evening. Thanks to parents for your participation; open communication and a positive relationship with your child’s teacher are a vital part of your child’s success at school. A very big thank you to all the teaching staff for the many hours spent outside of school time preparing for and holding interviews. 

The Semester 1 Report will be sent home at the end of the term and covers work completed in both Term 1 and Term 2. Student achievement will be reported as an A-E grade for Year 1 to Year 6 in the three core areas of Religious Education, English and Mathematics (Kindergarten students do not receive A-E grades; their achievement is reported using a three-point scale of Competent, Developing and Experiencing Difficulty). Other subjects and strands may receive a grade if the teacher has sufficient evidence of learning, otherwise ‘Not assessed’ will be displayed. This is in recognition that, although learning throughout the semester has been rigorous, the circumstances of schooling mean that in some subjects or strands it may not be possible to make an overall judgement about a student’s achievement against specific curriculum outcomes.

A new section ‘Engagement with Learning’ has been developed to replace the ‘Personal and Social Capabilities’. The new statements are based on the Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities and target four key areas of learning engagement: Thinking, Communication, Responsibility and Collaboration. The inclusion of the ‘Engagement with Learning’ statements means that the General Comment section of the report is no longer required; the statements give detailed information on your child’s approach to learning. 

Fielding House Spirit
This week’s winner of the House Spirit Challenge, for their outstanding participation in the Beanie Challenge, was Fielding House. And by coincidence, Fielding is the final House name to examine in my series on this aspect of our school’s history.

Fielding House is named for Sister Mary Paul Fielding, who was appointed Superioress (Mother) of Mt Carmel following its founding in 1876. Mother Fielding was one of four Sisters of Mercy who travelled by sailing ship from Ireland and, after a journey of 14 weeks at sea then overland by horse and carriage, arrived in Yass in December 29th 1875. Mother Fielding is remembered for her faith, courage adventurous spirit and tremendous apostolic work. The Fielding House colour, blue, reminds us of the vast journey across the blue ocean that Mother Paul Fielding travelled to get to Australia from Ireland.


Lost Property
Can I ask all families for your help in minimising lost property by, firstly, ensuring that all items of uniform are clearly labelled with your child's name and, secondly, regularly checking that the jackets and jumpers that your child brings home are their own. Any named lost property that is handed in at school is always returned to its owner; however, it is not uncommon for familes to have named uniform items go missing and the cause is almost always that another student has inadvertently taken someone else's jacket or jumper home.


Hours of Supervision
A reminder that supervision at school is provided between the hours of 8:30am and 3:40pm. For the sake of students' safety we ask that all families ensure children are not at school unsupervised before or after these hours.

May God’s peace be in your families,

Michael Green
Principal