Dear Parents and Friends of St Kevin’s,

Last week we had our Annual Parent Information Night combined with our first P&F meeting for 2020. There was a great roll up, and I thank the staff and parents who together, ensured the night was one of great community building. At that meeting new initiatives and strategic plans were launched, including the new homework policy and the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan.

Homework – A new policy has been written reflecting current research.

Professor John Hattie states, “Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. We need to treat the zero as saying, “It’s probably not making much of a difference but let’s try to improve it”.

Which is why we need to get it right, but not necessarily get rid of it. We need to ask ourselves, “Is it really making a difference?”  

So, we have developed a new policy to get it right.

Reading is the key to learning, so reading is a major component of this new policy. However, it’s not just kids’ reading, but parents reading to their children! We have also acknowledged the importance of play in the lives of children as provided in the research of Professor Pasi Sahlberg and list a variety of activities and games the students can engage in after school.

Year 5 and 6 is where there is a slight deviation in preparation for high school. They will complete contract work and staged assignments to reinforce strategies of study, time management and organisation. Parental support is required to empower students to organise their time and work to a deadline.

This policy will be uploaded to our school website for all to read and digest and is included as an attachment with this newsletter.

2020-2022 Strategic Plan – Our St Kevin’s Strategic Plan is linked to the Catholic Schools Office new strategic plan. It covers Catholic Formation and Mission, Learning, Leadership, Well-being and Partnerships. This document will also be uploaded to website.

2020 Annual School Improvement Plan- is linked to strategic plan and provides more detail for 2020. This year we are focussing on writing, differentiation, the pastoral care policy and ongoing professional learning for all staff and the leadership team. Again it will be uploaded to the website .

Successful Foundations – we are engaged in a new approach to the first 5 weeks of kindergarten. Everyone is having loads of fun and we as teachers, are learning a great deal about the children in kinder through observing them at play.

A successful foundation in kindergarten sets them up for the remainder of their school life…. Just like the foundations of any building! As the name Successful Foundations suggests, Kindergarten sets up children for the rest of their educational journey, if not for life. If we have a foundation where they have driven their own learning, they’ve developed a growth mindset in that “I learn through play, I learn through making mistakes, I learn through what I am interested in. Remember the days when they were 2-3 years old and would say ‘I can do myself!” as they learnt how to feed themselves, put on shoes or dress themselves! That is a classic example of a growth mindset, where learning involved practice, failure and then success. We as adults need to foster and encourage that growth mindset, by not doing everything for them or providing an easy way out when the going gets tough.  

Successful Foundations is linked to our Visible Learning philosophy “I’m here, but I have to go there, and that’s how I’m going to get there.” It sets them up for the rest of their life, so they are never afraid of failure. We will continue the philosophy of play-based learning all year in subjects such as art, drama, music, history, geography and health.

Personalised Plans – This a Government requirement. If a child receives significant adjustments to the delivery of the school curriculum, we are required to offer parents the opportunity to come and meet with class teachers/ psychologist/ Learning Support Teacher to discuss these adjustments and how best to ensure that the child has equal opportunity to access the curriculum. This can include social and well-being issues, academic and physical adjustments. These meetings are to be conducted on Monday February 17 and 27. Parents would have received an invitation to come and meet with the Learning Support Team at the end of Week 2.

Assemblies and liturgies now on a fortnightly basis to ensure we are compliant with Liturgical and educational governance requirements. Term 1 Liturgies and assemblies are on:

• Friday February 28 at 2:15pm in the Church.
• Friday March 13 at 2:15pm in the Church.
• Friday March 27 at 2:15pm in the Church.

Easter Liturgies and hat parades will be held in Week 11 (April 6- 9) at various times throughout that week. Please check the school Website and COMPASS calendar for dates and times.

End of Term: Last day for term 1 is Holy Thursday April 9.

Day 1 Term 2 is Monday April 27.

Have a great week of reading and playing with your children,

Mary-Anne Jennings