Week 9 Term 1 2023

Dear Parents and Friends,

Welcome to Week 9! 

We are already so close to the end of Term 1.  It has been a great first term and has been wonderful having our school back to full operations compared to Term 1 over the last three years. 

School Reports - Changes on the Horizon

As many of you would be aware there are two formal School Reports, mid and end of year that occur at IHM.  Catholic Education SA has adopted SEQTA as a Learning Management System and this year the “School Report” module is being rolled out.  This means that the report we have used in previous years will change to the reporting system being used within SEQTA and it is different from what we have previously had.   More information about the new report will be released over the coming weeks. 

Pupil Free Day - Thursday 6^th April

A reminder we have a Pupil Free Day on Thursday the 6th of April.  Camp Australia and IHM have signs up in the front office and OSHC area with information.    A School Stream reminder has also been sent out.  Please ensure if you need the service to book in so that enough spaces are available with the correct student/staff ratios.

A reminder also if you need OSHC on the last day of Term on Friday 14^th April (1/2 Day service), bookings are essential.

NAPLAN

Congratulations to the Year 3 and Year 5 students who have finished NAPLAN for 2023.  The NAPLAN testing has been brought forward this year in the hope that results are available to schools much earlier.  The timing is interesting, as the publicly available results for 2022, have only just been released.  When watching the news there has been a lot of doom and gloom in the reporting as SA results and many national results have gone backwards… well not here at IHM as in 2022 our results were strong and exceeded the SA and Australian mean scores.

This comes as no surprise to us, who closely monitor our students with screening testing several times a year.  This data is interrogated so that we can adjust our teaching to the needs of our students, particularly to those performing beyond or below the expected year level.  Many thanks to our staff who have done an incredible amount of work over the last few years in this area and the previous results speak for themselves.

For those students with the greatest needs, we produce Personalised Plans for Learning, an integral part of the National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD), the process whereby the Australian Government funds extra support for students.  The process used by our staff and the time they put into this area has resulted in a huge increase in support for our students. 

Discussing Your Child at IHM

A reminder that if you would like to discuss any matters relating to your child such as their learning, social/emotional needs or homework that making a time to discuss this with your child’s class teacher is your first step. Teachers are more than happy to meet with you to update you on how your child is doing in all facets of their education.  If you require further follow up from myself or Ms Clark after your meeting with your child’s teacher, please organise a time with Julie in the Front Office. 

Illness

We are experiencing a variety of illnesses in our school at the moment, and I would like to remind parents to please keep their children home if they are not well, especially if they are showing symptoms such as a gastro, a sore throat, cough, or fever.  Thank you for your support in keeping our school community safe and minimising the disruption to learning that can occur when illness circulates the school. 

Warm regards,

Annette Diassinas
ACTING PRINCIPAL

Congratulations

Last week as a school community we celebrated a whole school Reconciliation Liturgy with Fr Lancy, led by Year 3/4P. In our liturgy we explored the importance of reconciliation in our day to day lives, asking for forgiveness and forgiving others.

Following this liturgy, Daniella celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. Daniella has been preparing for this Sacrament for several weeks with her family and Ms Clark. Congratulations Daniella!

Project Compassion - Fourth Week of Lent
(Week beginning Monday 20^th March)

This week through Project Compassion we learn about Thu, who lives in Vietnam. When Thu was 12 years old, he stepped on an unexploded land mine and lost his leg. ​Living with a disability in rural Vietnam presented many challenges for Thu, who worked mainly as a rice farmer. Thu also took on the role of caring for his wife, Linh, after she suffered a stroke.​

Determined to turn their lives around, Thu and Linh joined the Empowerment of People with Disabilities program, run by Caritas Australia’s local partner in Vietnam, the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD).    For Thu, the greatest impact the program has had is enabling the change in Linh’s physical and mental wellbeing. With the support of a physiotherapist, Linh can now walk short distances with the aid of a walking stick. 

Watch a short film about Thu’s story and please support Project Compassion: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion

Easter Story - Holy Week at School

To assist the students to gain a deeper understanding of the Easter Story we will be holding a series of Whole School Easter liturgies here at school starting on Monday the 3^rd of April and running right through until Tuesday the 11^th of April. Each of the plays will be approximately 20 minutes long.  Below is a schedule of when these liturgies will be held and the classes who will be leading them. Families are invited to attend.

• Week 10 - Monday 3 April - 2.30pm - Palm Sunday Play - R/1D, R/1M & 5/6L
• Week 10 - Wednesday 5 April - 9.00am - Last Supper Play - R/1T & 4/5F
• Week 11 - Tuesday 11 April - 2.30pm - Resurrection Play - 1/2HW & 3/4P 

International Try Prayer Contest

Greetings from Fr Lancy D'Silva CSC.

Fr Santhosh and I, belong to the Congregation of the Holy Cross. One of our ministries is the HOLY CROSS FAMILY MINISTRIES. The main office is based in Boston, USA. This ministry organises many programmes all over the world, wherever the Holy Cross Priests work: Parishes/Schools/universities etc.

This year they have introduced International Try Prayer! it Works! Contest 2023, with its theme: “Open wide the doors of your home to Christ”.

There are four categories from which the children can choose to participate in, which includes: artwork, poetry, prose & Video for each of the grade groups (R-3, 4-6, 7-9,10-12). It will be wonderful if children could engage in this competition and submit their entries by APRIL 30, 2023 to Ms Clark. This contest aims to increase the faith within the family.

Below is the manual and other information detailing each of the categories. There will be prizes for the best entries. Click on the links below for contest information and entry form:

https://275132.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/275132/FamilyRosaryWebsite/Try%20Prayer%20Contest%202023/Try%20Prayer%202023%20(1).pdf

https://275132.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/275132/FamilyRosaryWebsite/Try%20Prayer%20Contest%202023/Entry%20Form.pdf?__hstc=19866279.a43cfe56b66b5c0158e9ce5991f11367.1679826257614.1679826257614.1679826257614.1&__hssc=19866279.1.1679826257614&__hsfp=292235427&hsCtaTracking=5d99ebcb-5d81-4c3c-8db2-8b660384f315%7C8cb2a37d-5b33-4b49-ae5c-dd74b1592b25

Southern Cross

The current edition of the Catholic newspaper put out by the Archdiocese called,’ The Southern Cross,’ is available at; www.thesoutherncross.org.au

Thought for the Week:

“It’s not a single, great, heroic deed that defines who you really are. It’s the little things you do day by day that count”.

Paula Clark
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND MISSION