2024 Australian Early Development Census

From the Principal

Welcome Back for Term 2

After a wet and wild end to Term 1 we hope you had an amazing Easter and holidays with your loved ones. It was so nice to converse with many parents as they attended our Student Learning Conferences last term. Those conversations are vital to continuing the ongoing partnership between school and home. The process of students identifying their Grows and Glows, as well as establishing their learning goals is the one of the skillsets required for them to be successful learners for the rest of their lives. We encourage you to always converse with your children's teacher if you have any questions or concerns about their progress. 

Term 2 will be just as busy as the other terms. We begin our community events with our Mother's Day Breakfast and Liturgy on Friday 3 May. Yesterday we sent out a Portal Feed to encourage families to volunteer for different events. We ask you to think about a time or event you can help with and email the materdei@twb.catholic.edu.au to express your interest. From there the PEN Executive or the school will be in touch with more details. 

We also wish to resend our Mater Dei Communications Guidelines that was sent out at the start of the year. After speaking to some parents, they thought it might be a good reminder as the start of Term 1 feels like so long ago. It provides a one page guide to how we will be communicating with our wider community and where you can look to find the information you require. A reminder of just how important it is have the Sentral App or you Sentral Portal Login details working especially before Semester One Reports are published at the end of this term.  

Parking and Fines

As is always the case, the council is again on the look out for cars parked incorrectly around our school. We have had one family fined last term for parking at the entrance to the oval on Campbell Street. Another family was fined for parking with 2 tyres up in the bus zone, again on Campbell Street. We cannot police the streets and can only ask you to please be aware of the road rules in our area.  We don't like to see any of our families fined during drop off and pick up times. 

We also have a special request, from the Crossing Supervisors, to not park next to the crossings unless they are designated parks. By doing so you limiting their visibility as they try and navigate the traffic and allow our families to cross safely.

Thanks for your assistance with this. 

ICAS Information for Years 3-6

Once again this year we will be offering ICAS Academic Competition tests to students in Years 3-6 in the subject areas of Mathematics and English. For more information please see the attached information letter, and instructions on how to register. 

Please note that to register your child through the Parent Payment system, you must use the school code: LXG934. 

Parent Payment System: https://shop.icasassessments.c... 

For more information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the school. 

Curriculum FAQ's

Important Curriculum Update

This year you will have noticed some changes in practice than you may have been familiar with at Mater Dei in the past. The Australian Curriculum, which is taught at Mater Dei is continually reviewed and updated as new research and learning priorities emerge. Currently, we are moving from Version 8.4 of the Australian curriculum to version 9.0. 

The biggest impact this will have on staff, students and families is within the English Curriculum, particularly around the teaching of reading, phonics and spelling.

Promoting Literacy Development (PLD)

At Mater Dei we have adopted the PLD program- a research based synthetic phonics program.  This program forms the basis of our reading and spelling programs, especially in P-2.
Synthetic phonics is a systematic approach to teaching reading that focuses on decoding words by associating individual sounds with their corresponding letter or letter combinations. Children are taught to blend these sounds together to form words, rather than relying solely on memorization or guessing and other strategies that may have been taught in the past.

Decoding involves breaking words down into their individual sounds, and then blending those sounds together to form a coherent word. For example, when decoding the word "cat," a reader would recognize the letters c-a-t and say the sounds /k/ /a/ /t/ and then blend them together to pronounce the word "cat." Decoding skills are essential for fluent reading comprehension, as they allow readers to recognize and understand a wide range of written words in different contexts.

Synthetic phonics emphasizes the explicit teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, and decoding skills, providing students with the tools they need to independently read and spell words.

Diocesan Approach to Reading (DAR)

As a consequence of the change in curriculum, the Toowoomba Catholic Schools office is introducing a new approach to the teaching of reading. You will notice changes in the way reading is taught, as well as assessed at Mater Dei.

Students will no longer be tested using the old PM level system that you may be familiar with. Instead, the new assessment tools focus on assessing student knowledge and application of synthetic phonics when reading. We understand that in the past this ‘level’ system may have been easy for parents to ‘track’ student progression, however the new approach will provide a far more accurate assessment of student’s ability to unpack and decode to build words and meaning.

As lifelong learners, teachers are currently adjusting their classroom practice to reflect the new curriculum requirements. We have taken Term 1 to transition from old practices to new practices.  Your classroom teachers will discuss with you your child’s progress and application of reading and phonic skills and how they demonstrate these in the classroom.

Sight Words v High Frequency Words

Previously, students would have been sent home with lists of sight words to memorise by ‘sight’. This is a practice that does not align with the new curriculum or our synthetic phonics approach as it does not teach students the skills, they need to decode words to read and spell. Eventually we want children to say these words with quick fast recall without having to decode or sound out each sound, however, it is vital that students have the building blocks of knowledge of these words before being able to automatically recognise these words.

Instead of Sight Words, students will be learning High Frequency Words, in a sequenced order that aligns to their learning  of phonics in class. These words may form a part of their homework in Term 2, as well as some selected “heart” words, words that cannot be decoded and must be learnt by heart.

Home/Practice Readers

For those who have older children, you would be familiar with the practice of readers coming home for students to practice. We are not sending home these books as we previously had, as currently they don’t align to our synthetic phonics approach to reading. As we adapt our teaching, and students become more familiar with this new approach, we will then begin sending home practice reading texts that align with our new approach.

Given the time delay in sourcing new resources, part of our approach will be to send home some practice readers DIGITALLY. Our preference will always be for physical books, however given the immediate nature of digital resources, we feel this will be a good interim process while we purchase new physical resources. 

Homework

We are currently developing homework practices that align with the new curriculum and way of teaching reading, phonics and spelling. Your class teachers will provide further information around what homework will look like in each year level, with homework being formally set in each class from Term 2.

Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey as we delve into the new curriculum and this exciting new synthetic phonics expedition!

Student Learning Conferences

Student Learning Conferences will be held from Wednesday 20 March to Wednesday 27 March.Our teachers and students have been busily preparing for our student learning conferences and are looking forward to sharing their learning journey with you. We frame our conferences around 'glows' (things that we do well) and 'grows' (next steps in learning) in the key areas of literacy, maths and student wellbeing. In Years 3 - 6, teachers have been working with students to prepare interviews that will be led by the students. If you do have a need to discuss something without your child present, please contact your teacher.

We ask you to note the following points:

• All interviews will be held in classrooms.
• The school bell will be rung to signal interview intervals.
• If you are booking multiple interviews, please do not book them back to back to allow yourself time to travel between classes

A link to the bookings will be sent out next Monday 11 March. 

Parent Engagement Network (PEN) - Executive Meeting

This week we held our first meeting of our Parent Engagement Network (PEN) Executive. The PEN replaces the Parent and Friends Association and School Advisory Board. Next term we will be holding a parent forum led by the Leadership Team with information about the Australian Curriculum - Version 9 and the impact it has on classroom learning and homework. 

We will be calling for volunteers to coordinate our events. If you are interested in being a coordinator for one of our events, could you please contact Mr Ball who will put you in touch with the executive. We are particularly looking for:

• A person to assist with the Coordination of the Mother's and Father's Day stalls. A parent has already begun the coordination of these events, but we are looking for someone to assist this year with the intention to coordinating in 2025. 
• A person or group of people who would like to coordinate the event in October aimed at the adults in our community. In the past this has been a Race Day, and most recently a Long Lunch. 

Please don't hesitate to contact the office for more information. 

Open Morning

Australian Curriculum Version 9

Last year we began implementing the change from the Australian Curriculum Version 8.6 to Version 9. Mater Dei was originally part of the review process of the V9 curriculum during its development. We were fortunate to be a part of this review as it allowed us to begin incorporating the Version 9 curriculum into our planning in 2021-2023.

This year our particular focus is on the English Curriculum and the refining of practice in the teaching of structured synthetic phonics and the impact this has on the teaching of Reading, Spelling and Writing. This will have an impact on our classroom practice and student's homework. 

Below are two links. One video explains the Australian Curriculum - Version 9 and the other explains Synthetic Phonics and changes to homework parents will notice this year. 

Week 3

Open Classrooms and Welcome BBQ

Next Tuesday (13/02/2024) we are opening our classes and inviting our students to take their parents on a tour of their classrooms. There will also be a free sausage sizzle outside the William Morris Centre for families after they have toured the rooms. In the William Morris Centre, there will be an information session outlining aspects of our Annual Action Plan and other key initiatives for the year. We look forward to seeing as many families as possible joining us.

Strategic Renewal and Improvement Process

This week we completed the information gathering phase of our school  review. We thank all the parents who were able to participate and donated their time. The panel collated the voices of parents, students and staff and have made findings and recommendations accordingly. We will be issued a report of these findings and recommendations which will be used to create our Strategic Improvement Plan 2025 – 2028. Once the plan is completed it will be launched to our community later this year.

Annual Action Plan (AAP) 2024

We have finalised our AAP for 2023. It is the last year of the Mater Dei Primary School Strategic Improvement Plan 2021 – 2024.

Below is a graphic of the main focal points the staff will be working on this year. These areas are decided following a review of our current practices, a desire to improve the conditions for our students and an alignment to our Strategic Plan.

This AAP will be explained in more detail in the William Morris Centre next Tuesday (13/02/24) during the Open Classrooms.  

2024 Week 1 Term 1 - From the Principal

Parent Engagement Network

At the end of last year our Parent and Friends Association and our School Board were dissolved to make way for a Parent Engagement Network (PEN). The PEN will require parents to volunteer to be an executive. The role of the executive will be but not limited to:

• developing a positive and affirming community spirit
• supporting the work of the principal and staff
• providing feedback to the principal and staff on school initiatives, policies and strategic direction
• prudent and consultative decision-making
• promoting interaction between home and school, parents and teachers
• encouraging parent/family engagement with their child’s learning and school life
• deepening parent/family understanding of teaching and learning programs
• promoting the school in the wider community
• the provision of resources to support the educational program.
• Oversee the coordination of committees to organise the whole school events such as Christmas Carols and Trivia Night etc.

If you are interested in nominating yourself or nominating someone else please complete this online form LINK. If you would like any additional information, please contact the school. 

We thank you in advance for your support. 

Introducing Lawson Short - Assistant Principal Administration and Middle Leader - APA

Dear Mater Dei Community,

I extend my warmest greetings to each of you. My name is Lawson Short, and I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Assistant Principal Administration and Middle Leader here at Mater Dei.

Joining this respected and wonderful school is a source of immense excitement for me. Having grown up in the Toowoomba area, the opportunity to return to my roots is particularly meaningful.

For the past five years, I served as the Principal of St Joseph’s Millmerran, where I oversaw all operational matters, curriculum development, and school administration. During my time in Millmerran, I fostered a passion for curriculum enhancement and educational progress.

I am proud to have led a comprehensive improvement agenda at St Joseph’s, particularly in the realms of literacy, mathematics, and classroom infrastructure. It is my firm belief that a commitment to educational excellence is paramount.

As I embark on this new chapter at Mater Dei, I eagerly anticipate getting to know each of you in the coming months. Collaborating with the dedicated staff and engaging with the vibrant student community is a prospect that fills me with enthusiasm.

Thank you for welcoming me into the Mater Dei family. I am confident that, together, we will continue to uphold the school's legacy of excellence and foster an environment where every student can thrive.

Warm regards,

Lawson Short 

Learning Excellence Awards 2023

A huge congratulations to all our Learning Excellence Awards recipients for 2023.

Learning Excellence Awards for Learning the Mater Dei Way

This award is based on excellence in demonstrating the Mater Dei Dispositions. Students from Prep to Year Five are eligible to receive this award. To attain a Learning the Mater Dei Way, award a student must achieve 

• A minimum ‘Level 4’ in all fifteen domains of the Mater Dei Dispositions progressions 
• Commendable effort for all Learning Areas on both Semester One and Semester Two report cards

Prep:

• Henry Higgins
• Adelyn Cooper
• Savannah Bennett-Walker
• Heidi McDonnell
• Theodore Roux
• Ruby Kath
• Elsie Buckley
• Ethan Matthews
• George Wilson
• Hannah Jackwitz
• Aria Scarinci
• Ellie Wann

Year One:

• Florence Bernstone
• Roy Johnson
• Xander Jones
• Edward Kirk
• Joshua Lax
• Sally Palmer
• Owen Pascoe
• Milla Ramsey
• Cosima Ferry
• Rosalie Hilton
• Macey Shinohara
• Mira Deghlawe
• Elsie Brunner
• Dilshaan Kaur
• Asha Phoenix
• Louisa Scotney
• Adeline Walters
• Mackenzie Andrews

Year Two:

• Mia Logan
• Niamh O’Sullivan
• Lucy Rickuss
• Eve Salomon
• Lillian Allen
• Samara Dyer
• Samuel Weller
• David Rees
• Maggie Roux
• Dakota Koschel
• Lila Oliver
• Carter Booth

Year Three:

• Hunter Campbell
• Lucy Colthup
• Penelope Egan
• Willow Mackie
• Janet Manibe
• Rylee Phoenix
• Charlotte Pope
• Nina Shridhar
• Mia Van Genderen
• George Troutman
• Olivia Nairn
• Ella Schmidt
• Camilla Davey
• Layla McLoughlin
• Gracie Bennett-Walker
• Sophia Hayes
• Grace Bradshaw
• Ella Stevenson
• Myah Hoad
• Maggie Davis
• Isla Kath
• Linet Manibe
• Humphrey Hay

Year Four:

• Jack Coonan
• Matilda Devey
• Hudson Koschel
• Zara Dampney
• Patrick James
• Zara Frame
• Maximilian Bracey
• Neve Cameron
• Liam Evans
• Allegra Pascoe
• Henry Pascoe
• Luke Redinger
• Grace Weller

Year Five:

• Maggie Carroll
• Lillian Brown
• Eve Nairn
• Charlie Bradshaw
• Hunter Dowling
• Gabriella Dull
• Imogen Slader
• Gemma Montgomery
• Adelaide Wilson
• Grace Muller

Learning Excellence Awards for Achievement

This award is based on reported achievement in English, Maths, Religious Education, Science and HASS. Students from Prep to Year Six are eligible. To attain this award a student must achieve:   

• A cumulative total of at least five A grades from their report cards for the year (Semester One and Semester Two). The five A grades must comprise:  
• A minimum of two A grades in English and/or Maths 
• Balance of A grades in either English, Maths, Religious Education, Science or HASS  
• At least a B grade attained in English, Maths, Religious Education, Science and HASS in both semesters  

Prep:

• Carter Neuendorf
• Lilia Rees
• Rohan Shridhar

Year One:

• Xander Jones 
• Sally Palmer
• Edward Kirk
• Maeve Pearson
• Thomas Stevenson
• Adeline Devey

Year Two:

• Eden Spry
• Iyla Cubby
• Lucy Rickuss
• Mia Logan
• Niamh O’Sullivan
• David Rees
• Samuel Weller
• Amelia Henry
• Charles Tronc
• Rylee Hunt
• Abigail Preston

Year Three:

• Janet Manibe
• Rylee Phoenix
• Nina Shridhar
• Mia Van Genderen
• Layla McLoughlin
• Lucinda Gleeson
• Grace Bradshaw
• Ella Stevenson
• Charlie Enfantie
• Jack Gabler
• Jessica Selby

Year Four:

• Oscar Rickuss
• Maximilian Bracey
• William Johnston
• Everett Davenport
• Henry Pascoe
• Jack Spry
• Patrick James
• Aiden Larter
• Neve Cameron

Year Five:

• Charlie Bradshaw
• Eve Nairn
• Gemma Enfantie
• Tara Shridhar
• Edward MacManus
• Adelaide Wilson
• Gabriella Dull
• Gemma Montgomery
• Hunter Dowling
• Blake Logan

Year Six:

• William Carter
• Francis Hay
• Max McLean
• Halia Sam
• Mia-Rose Schwerin
• Makena Bennett
• Ava Collins
• Lachlan Morison
• Charli Singleton
• Lily Waters
• Charlotte Werth

Learning Excellence Awards for Academic Growth

At Mater Dei we are committed to growth for every learner in order to truly Illuminate Possibilities. We recognise growth as the key to successful life long learning for all. Our Mater Dei Learning Excellence Award for Growth acknowledges excellence in growth in academic achievement throughout the year and is based primarily on data collected  Students from Prep to Year 6 are eligible for this award.   

To attain this award a student must achieve high growth in year level specific criteria with teachers using standardised tools and professional judgement to measure growth.

Prep:

• Ralph Watson 
• Isabella Bino 
• Archer Howse 
• Eamon Flawith 
• Douglas Mansfield 
• George Wilson
• Cormac O'Sullivan 
• Edward Finn
• Jackson Duggan
• Patrick Broadbent
• Rohan Shridhar
• Eilish Quinlan
• Archie Thompson
• Max Harris
• Avery Harber
• Elsie Buckley
• Heinrich Van Den Heever
• Ethan Matthews

Year One:

• Sophie Gleeson
• Jack Grady
• Peyton Murray
• Owen Pascoe
• Oscar Smyth
• Fletcher Smyth
• Lukas Reynaud
• Mira Deghlawe
• Olivia Stower
• Mac Worsley
• Adeline Devey
• Cosima Ferry
• Maeve Pearson
• Agam Choudhary
• Marley Briskey
• Amalia Sawtell
• Adeline Walters
• Louisa Scotney
• Asha Phoenix
• Rocco Carlon
• Jaxen Davies

Year Two:

• Eve Salomon
• Maru Jee
• Thomas Sinclair
• Hunter Dunlea
• Jace Saroa
• Max Coonan
• David Rees
• Lucy Donaldson
• Rory Connors
• Bowie Smith
• Oscar Larter

Year Three:

• Samuel Hewitt
• Charlotte Pope
• Nara Willis
• Clara Winterbotham
• Aimee Richardson
• Agnes McDonald
• Parker Ede
• Cooper Howse
• Charlie Enfantie

Year Four:

• Zara Frame
• Kabir Choudhary
• Elspeth Walsh
• Mumbi Bennett
• Thomas Mills
• Elijah Oliver
• Nate Pritchard
• Archer Schaffer
• Matilda Devey
• Jack Coonan

Year Five:

• Darcy Jenkins
• Edward MacManus
• Charles Edge
• Cormac Lowry
• Archer Ehrlich

Year Six:

• Tasmin Duffus
• Colten Hart
• Abbey James
• Olivia Taylor
• Amelie Druce
• Meli Manibe
• Chase Sutton

Year Six Exemplary Leadership Awards

• Mitchell Sinuhaji
• Patrick Doherty
• Jock Braund
• Mia-Rose Schwerin

Learning the Mater Dei Way

Achievement

Academic Growth

Year 6 Excellence Awards

Leadership Team

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

On behalf of Mater Dei we wish all of our families a safe, restful and happy holiday. May we all remember that Christmas time is a strong symbol of our Catholic faith and the time to hold our loved ones close and be grateful for all we have. We have had another busy but stella year here at Mater Dei and we couldn't be prouder of our students and staff. We are looking forward to a much earned break before a fantastic 2024!

From the Principal

Staffing 2024 Update

Our staffing for 2024 is all but complete. We will be welcoming and saying farewell to several staff at the end of this year and the beginning of next.

Tegan Jones has taken 12 months leave to relocate to Newcastle for family reasons. Tegan is a long serving staff member across multiple year levels. We wish Tegan and her family all the best as they experience life below the border for 2024.

Siobhan Fagan has not taken another position at Mater Dei for 2024 as she looks to take time to complete her Masters of Learning Support. We thank Siobhan for her three years of service to our community through her classroom teaching and other initiatives such as the very popular Mater Chef. We wish Siobhan all the best as she begins the next chapter in her career.

Dominic McAtomney has taken a permanent position at Downlands College beginning 2024. Dominic has been part of our teaching staff for the last 18 months in Year 2 in 2022 and Year 5 in 2023. Dominic’s family are well known to the Downlands community. We wish Dominic all the best for his future years in education and thank him for his time at Mater Dei.

Barbara Bennett joined the teaching staff this year and has done an amazing job in Prep Topaz. Barbara has been a long-standing member of our parent community, and next year the Bennett family will relocate to Victoria to progress Marcus’s career. We wish Barbara and her family all the best as they make this exciting move interstate and thank her for her time here at Mater Dei.

We look forward to welcoming our four new teachers in 2024:

1. Gabriella Brac – We welcome Gabriella back to Mater Dei as a classroom teacher. Gabby has worked as a school officer in our classes for the last two years. She does an amazing job of building rapport with the students and assisting them in their learning. Gabby completed a term of teaching Year 2 this year at Sacred Heart primary school and we are very excited to have her on staff with us.
2. Justine Francis - Justine is currently the Year 1 teacher at Holy Name Primary school. Prior to becoming a teacher, Justine had extensive experience in schools, working as a School Officer since 2016. Justine is excited to join our Mater Dei in 2024.
3. Thomas Dowden – Tom joins the community after returning to Toowoomba from teaching and leading in international schools in Vietnam for the last 6 years. Prior to working overseas, Tom taught at Holy Name Primary School. Tom is looking forward to returning to the Catholic system and particularly excited about joining our community.
4. Jane Batham - Jane has extensive experience in Brisbane Catholic Education schools, before becoming a Digital Learning Facilitator where she provided support and professional learning for staff in the digital resources space. Recently, Jane commenced her PhD specialising in positive STEM mindsets in primary schools. We are excited to welcome her to Mater Dei.

We also welcome back Kara Wann to Mater Dei. Kara will be working Fridays for Term 1 on Year 3 Camellia while Dylan Philp takes Long Service Leave (Each Friday for Term 1). Kara will remain for the rest of the year and her role will be finalised in Term 1.

We are excited to welcome all of our new staff members and thank all of our current staff members for their service.

Class Allocations for 2024

We have selected our class teachers for 2024. The thorough process of allocating our students to these classes has already begun taking into consideration the academic and social emotional needs of each student. If you have sent additional information to the school, this is taken into consideration. It is important to know that not all requests can be met. Teachers will have until Monday 20 November to finalise their recommendations before the Leadership Team will begin the process of review. No request or information can be considered after next Tuesday 21 November. The class lists will be sent out in the last week of school.

P and F and School Board Dissolved for a Parent Engagement Network Model

Last Monday at the School Board and P and F Annual General Meetings, the notion was passed to dissolve both bodies in lieu of a Parent Engagement Network (PEN). We want to thank all the people who have selflessly given their time for these entities. We will call for nominations for the executive of the PEN in the new year. This is reflected in the changes to the fee structure where we now have a PEN Levy rather than a P and F Levy.

Spring Fair

We want to say a massive thank you for all of the people who volunteered their time and efforts to make our Spring Fair a success. We wish to acknowledge Amy Dampney and Georgina Carroll (with the help of Lyn Wegner) who volunteered to coordinate the event and did so brilliantly. We will call for coordinators next year and ask for feedback about what our Mater Dei Spring Fair 2025 could look like.

Semester 2 Reports

A reminder that Semester 2 reports will be uploaded to the Sentral Portal from Wednesday 29 November. If you have any issues logging into Sentral, please contact the office for assistance. For those students not returning to Mater Dei in 2024, please remember to download a copy of their report prior to the new year.

School Renewal and Improvement

Mater Dei is scheduled for a School Renewal and Improvement Quadrennial School Review at the start of Term 1 2024. This occurs every for years, with our last report being created in March 2020.

The Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office has a School renewal and improvement framework in place which has as a key element a quadrennial school review. In this review a panel consisting of senior staff from the Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) Teaching and Learning Directorate and a peer principal from another school in the Diocese visit the school for three to four days.

Through a process of appreciative inquiry, panel members interview staff, parents/carers, students and community members. The questions asked are “In your opinion, what is going well at the school?” and “What could be done better?” The purpose is for the panel to report to the school community its findings and suggested improvement strategies. These suggestions inform the process of a strategic plan development and the annual action plans which are also linked to the TCS Strategic Plan.

The aim is to assist schools to strategically plan to improve teaching and learning and these reviews occur in all TCS schools.

The review team would like to hear from the school community and I encourage anyone who is interested to have their say. Your feedback is important and will help us to continue to achieve the two pillars of TCS: that all students will come to personally know Jesus and that all work towards our vision of illuminating the possibilities of all in our community.

Feedback can be provided to the review panel in person or by telephone. All feedback remains confidential.

If you are interested in assisting with this process, we will call for volunteers at the beginning of the 2024 school year.

ICAS Assessment Results

In Term 3, some of our Year 3-6 students participated in the ICAS assessments in English and Mathematics. These assessments are higher-order thinking and problem-solving assessments that students all over the world participate in.

We congratulate all students who participated in these tests. A number of our students received outstanding results and we want to acknowledge their achievement.

High Distinction – awarded to top 1% of participants
Distinction – awarded to next 10% of participants
Credit – awarded to next 25% of participants
Merit – awarded to next 10% of participants

Mathematics

High Distinction - Charlie Bradshaw

Credit - Grace Bradshaw, Hunter Campbell, Jethro Drummond, Nina Shridar, Everett Davenport, Blake Logan, Edward MacManus, Francis Hay, Max McLean

Merit - Ally Pascoe, Zara Robertson

English

Distinction - Mia-Rose Schwerin

Credit - Thomas Montgomery, Aimee Richardson, Charlie Bradshaw, Blake Logan, Gemma Montgomery, Francis Hay

Merit - Ella Stevenson, Hunter Campbell, Lucinda Gleeson, Everett Davenport, Gabriella Dull

From the Principal

Holiday Works and Oval Refurbishment

We are very excited that on the holidays our two retaining walls at the southern end of the oval are being replaced. Thanks must go to the P and F who are making a $50 000 contribution to the work which will cover just under half of the total cost. The new retaining walls will cover/replace the existing walls and ensure we have an aesthetic upgrade as well as being structurally safer than the current walls.

We have also received a $10 000 grant from Cricket Australia to refurbish our cricket nets. We are hoping to couple this with a Go for Gold grant that could possibly see us receive an amount of $200 000 if we are successful. The intention for these combined grants is to:

• Upgrade our current cricket nets to full size.
• Fix and resurface the current cricket pitch.
• Install a running track for the current Long Jump pit.
• Install a discus and shotput circle with a retractable net.
• Fertilise and turf the oval as needed.
• Install an irrigation system linked to the current tank water infrastructure.

These upgrades will benefit not only our students but the community groups that use our facilities outside of school hours.

Our pruning will also continue over the holidays as we trim every plant across our large grounds. Thanks to all the parents and grandparents who have commented on how good the work looks. One of our parents, Fletcher Graham, has been engaged for the work and is doing a great job.

From the Principal

Student Learning Conferences

Student Learning Conferences begin 5th September. We encourage all families to attend a meeting and discuss their child’s learning and growth. The partnership between home and school is identified as one of the greatest influences on achievement and this is fostered through these opportunities to discuss learning.

Uniform

The switch to Summer Uniform will occur on Monday 4 September 2023.  Hanna's are our suppliers for our Mater Dei uniform, or you can visit the Clothing Pool (please see the school calendar for opening times).

We wish to remind you of the Mater Dei uniform policy. Please see below for details.  This will be added to our Website for perspective parents to view.

Before School Duty of Care

We are experiencing a very high number of students being dropped at school before 8:15 AM and some before 8:00 AM. Supervision of these students begins at 8:15 AM and staff who are here prior to this time are here to prepare their lessons and not supervise. If the students are arriving before the bell (8:15 AM) in any of the 3 areas, they are to be sitting and waiting for the bell to indicate morning supervision has begun.  Individual families will have to be contacted if this continues.

Student Learning Conferences

Dear Families,

Student Learning Conferences will be held from Tuesday 5th September to Thursday 14th September.

Our teachers and students have been busily preparing for our student learning conferences and are looking forward to sharing their learning journey with you. We frame our conferences around 'glows' (things that we do well) and 'grows' (next steps in learning) in the key areas of literacy, maths and student wellbeing. In Years 3 - 6, teachers have been working with students to prepare interviews that will be led by the students. If you do have a need to discuss something without your child present, please contact your teacher.

We ask you to note the following points:

• All interviews will be held in classrooms.
• The school bell will be rung to signal interview intervals.
• If you are booking multiple interviews, please do not book them back to back to allow yourself time to travel between classes

A link will be emailed out Monday to book your interview.

Bookings will close Friday 1st September 2023 at 12:00pm.

NAPLAN - Understanding the new student report

Further support materials have been released for schools to help parents in understanding the changes to NAPLAN Individual Student Reports. ACARA have released a short video that helps explain what the report shows. This is provided here. https://youtu.be/AcYsiLtE7a8The parent and carer's guide has also been made available in digital form https://nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/faq-individual-student-report.pdf

From the Principal

NAPLAN

We have received our results from this years NAPLAN testing from Term 1. Once again we are extremely pleased with the efforts our students have gone to and the positive results we received as a school. While these test scores cannot be compared to previous NAPLAN tests (because of a change to the test structure and the tests being held in March rather than in May), we can rake some positives from our results.

The school's are issued a Scale Score Means or average score for each NAPLAN Test for both Year 3 and year 5 (Writing, Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy). These are the scores many forms of media use to rank schools or create league tables. Our scores this year show us to be above the State Scale Score Means (All other schools in Queensland combined) in all 10 of the test formats across Year 3 and 5, and extremely reaffirming result.

While NAPLAN Testing is only one validator of success we use to track our students growth, it is a positive reminder of the work we are doing as a community to Illuminate the Possibilities for all of our learners!

PARKING

We have had several families who have received fines from the Toowoomba Regional Council. There is a car that patrols the streets and takes digital images of cars who are parked illegally. Our families have particularly been fined for parking with tyres on the footpath on Campbell Street. As always, we encourage all families to obey the road rules during drop off and pick up times.