Dear Parents
Happy Catholic Schools Week! The theme for the week is Faith in the Future.

We pray for the Catholic school communities in the Diocese of Wollongong: that they will continue to be places of hope, integrity, justice and compassion bringing the love of Christ to the students in their care through their service, compassion relationships and commitment to excellence so that all students may experience growth in faith and improvement in learning .

Australia’s first Catholic school was opened in October 1820 by George Morley, a Roman Catholic teacher who was paid the handsome sum of one penny per student (“...provisioned from the Government Stores”, according to an account by Catholic educator Br Kelvin Canavan).

The school, which Catholic historians believe was in Hunter Street, Parramatta, taught 31 students – seven of whom were Protestants. By 1833, there were 10 Catholic schools in the colony

There are now more than 1750 Catholic schools nationally, educating some 765,000 students.

This is one in five Australian students – a remarkable achievement considering that until the early 1970s, Catholic schools were funded almost entirely by parents and their local parish communities.

Medical Advice

If your child is away from school it is important to let the school know as soon as possible with a specific reason, e.g. what type of illness they have, If you are filling in a note on the Compass app, please add an explanation in the details/comments box .

Do not enter into Compass if they are going to be late or leave early, that needs to be done from the school end.

It is really important to keep your child at home if they are unwell, this will help with the spread of illness. In the current COVID 19 climate ,if you child displays cold/flu symptoms, your child will be sent home and you will need to get a medical clearance for your child to return to school

If your child has a Covid test, please notify the school when they have the test and as soon as you get your results please forward these on to the school.

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 & 5 will participate in NAPLAN this year. The assessment period begins Monday 10 May with a preparation day and concludes on Friday 29 May. This period includes the catch up test period if needed.

NAPLAN includes assessments in Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. The Good Samaritan NAPLAN assessment schedule will be communicated closer to the start date.

Consent Form for Photographing

There are still some families who haven’t sent their signed paper work to allow us to photograph students. It is especially difficult in weeks such as this one where the whole school is involved in activities that we would like to share with you. Because of COVID this is a means by which we can celebrate children’s learning. 

The consent form for use of student's image and/or work is required to be completed for each student every year. If you have not completed and submitted one for your child for 2021 please complete the form (which was sent home with your child today) and return it to the school office as soon as possible. Students who have not had a form completed will be marked as DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH (which will include official school photos) until a form is received.

Enrolments for Kinder 2022 - NOW OPEN

Applications for first round offers for Kinder 2022 are now being taken. Interviews being held during Term 2. If you have a child due to start next year, please get the application in by the end of term as we are getting a lot of interest from new families.

Mrs Anne Duggan - Principal