You either love it or find it challenging and overwhelming but the Book Week Parade is here! There is a feverish excitement amongst the children when they talk about books and costumes and the joy of a parade. I am not sure this is shared with some parents but there is no doubt that the Book Week Parade is a spectacle and a wonderful memory in the minds of our students. Hopefully the fog will clear and the day will be resplendent with sunshine to make the day special.

Last week the NAPLAN reports were sent home. On a first superficial analysis we are pleased with the results across the school. We have seen significant improvement in writing (which has been a targeted focus for many years) and some classes clearly outstripped the NSW average which is fantastic. There is still room for improvement in some areas, namely spelling but this, we hope, will be addressed by the implementation of the Spelling Mastery program that has only gained traction this year. We will need to wait until next year to understand the impact of the intervention and targeted program. If you have any queries arising from your child/ren’s report, please make contact with the classroom teacher in the first instance. The data that we use to analyse the school wide results and specific year level responses is limited because there is no comparative data to establish trends or specific areas of concern as the new testing system has only been operation al for two years. This means we cannot identify specific student growth and the predictive pathways for questions makes it more challenging to identify strengths and weaknesses. However, the staff will spend time making sense of the data to better inform teaching, support and extension.

Last night was a generally well attended parent/teacher/student interview night. Many parents made the most of the opportunity to enquire about the development, effort and progress of their child/ren. There is a second opportunity next Tuesday and there are plenty of spare time slots to meet with the teacher/s.

The calendar is quite jam-packed until the end of term and we have several Primary Reflection Days, The CECG Athletics in Canberra, more Primary assemblies and other excursion opportunities for our secondary students. Please make sure you stay up-to-date with the different events and complete the necessary permissions on COMPASS to ensure your child/ren doesn’t miss out. A reminder that the final monies are due for the Year 9 Melbourne excursion. This should be a fabulous experience for our Year 9 students and all the bookings are now confirmed and final payments made.

Thank you to the O’Shaughnessy House staff who hosted the Community Breakfast this week. My apologies that I could not share in this community building activity but to all reports there were quite a number of families who shared a breakfast of pancakes and hot chocolate. This is a fabulous way to connect with other families and to make some memories with your children. On Saturday 31 August O’Shaughnessy House will also lead the ministries at the Parish Vigil Mass at 5pm. We hope that many families will join with the parish community to share the Mass. Many of our students will be involved in reading, offertory or as welcomers.

Remember – Kindness is Cool!

God Bless

Upcoming Faith Formation Events

Week 6 - Saturday 31st August 5:00pm O’Shaughnessy Lead Parish Mass

Week 8 - Wednesday 11 September Year 3 Reflection Day

Week 8 - Thursday 12 September Kindergarten Reflection Day

Week 8 - Friday 13 September Year 10 Shine Retreat Canberra

Week 10 - Tuesday 24 September Stage 3 Journeying with Jesus retreat

Week 10 - Thursday 12:00 noon 26 September Traditions Day Mass

Year 10 Science students were visited by Highway Patrol Sargent Mr Ben Smith as part of their Physics-Motion unit, learning about how radar and speed detection technology is used by the NSW Police Force. 

~Book Parade~

Secondary Sport

Representative Sports

A reminder to keep checking the Secondary Sports Google Classroom page for all notifications and processes for registration for the many representative sports coming up this term. IMPORTANT - Please take notice of the due date. There are many reasons for the due date and we need to stick to them.

CG Athletics

Good luck to the students going to Athletics on Tuesday. 

If you are going on the bus, please be at the school bus shelter by 5:30 am to leave by 5:45 am. Returning at approximately 6:30 pm.

If travelling by car, please check in with Ms Withers upon arrival and check out with her before you leave.

Secondary Sports Dates

Term 3

W6

Tue Aug 27th - CECG Athletics, Canberra

W9

Mon Sep 16th - NSWCCC Athletics, Sydney

Thu Sep 19th - Yr 7-9 League Tag, Wagga