St Matthew’s Primary School

Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers

Thankyou to those parents who attended last Friday’s Mother’s Day Breakfast. It was fabulous to reunite our community after such a long time.

I would particularly like to thank Jessana Pirotta who single handedly raised over $1000 towards our Anniversary Dinner in September. Jessana’s efforts were directed towards reducing the ticket price for this special event.

The Committee is planning several other events leading up to the Dinner, all of which will be targeted towards reducing ticket prices. The next event will be a Used Book Stall which will accompany the Election Day BBQ on Saturday May 21^st. Please drop off any unwanted books to our Front Office so that they can be priced and ready to be sold on the day.

Thank you to Nijole Bentley who has offered to coordinate the Election Day BBQ. She is now seeking volunteers for the day. If you can spare some time, please complete the following link volunteersignup.org/8T9HK volunteersignup.org/8T9HK

If you require further information, please email Nijole on nijole.bentley@gmail.com

NAPLAN

This week our Years Three and Five sat the NAPLAN test. At the time of writing our children were undertaking the composition of a narrative.

Unfortunately, the bad publicity which has surrounded NAPLAN continues to feature each year in the media. From our perspective the test does provide the school with excellent data which enables us to gain insights into areas of strength or need. The data indicating the levels of growth from Years Three to Five by individuals is also valuable feedback for our staff.

I would suggest however that the test should always be taken in context. NAPLAN is one of several standardised tests which our children sit each year. It is a snapshot of your child’s progress at a particular time in their learning journey. I welcome the news that the Tests will be taken in March next year which will enable our teachers to receive, and act upon, the results much earlier.

Enrolling Now for 2023
The first of our Open Days was held after school yesterday afternoon. We plan to hold two more sessions on Wednesday May 18th and 25^th from 4.00-5.00pm. If you would like to participate in a Walk Through or are aware of someone who is considering enrolling their child at St Matthew’s, please make them aware of this opportunity.

Finally, if you are considering enrolling your child for next year it is important to complete an enrolment form as soon as possible using this link https://cg.catholic.edu.au/parents/enrolment/

May God bless you and your families.

Graham Pollard

Principal