Dear SCA Families,

Mary, by being a mother, shows us the way to be a disciple of Jesus: by loving.

What is a mother? The following poem by Rosemary Escey attempts to capture this spirit:

What is a mother?

She is sharing in happiness, quiet in sadness,

Gentle and understanding in hours of stress.

She is always there when advice is needed. even

though she knows it may not always be taken.

A mother is the past and also the future, to

guide in her own special way.

She is wise in matters of the heart, and quick

to comfort when one has been hurt.

She is strength on weakness of others,

heeding not her own heart-breaks.

A mother is the stars and the universe; the

hopeful joy of a new summer day; the calm

and tranquillity of the dying year.

She is loyal, unselfish, gentle and serene,

but most of all,

a Mother is Love.

We all have a unique vocation in the eyes of God. The vocation of parent and mother sees these above mentioned qualities alive in daily life. This week we most especially recognise the beauty, the love and the commitment that mothers bring to their children and grandchildren. We give thanks for the example of our own mother and Mary the mother of Jesus. And we are inspired by their journey through life.

We wish all our SCA mums and mother figures a wonderful celebration this Sunday.

Thanks

As we look at the challenges of various nations, and even other Australian States, we give thanks for the relatively strong COVID position we have in Canberra. However, we must remain vigilant, and we still have restrictions placed on what we can and cannot do.

I extend a grateful thanks to those parents, carers and grandparents who are helping us adhere to mandatory COVID requirements. This has been especially noticeable when visitors to the school:

• restrict their time on school grounds to less than 15 minutes.
• stay outside the classrooms and buildings.
• sign in using our procedures and the Check in CBR app when here for longer or meeting inside.
• maintain physical distancing (of at least 1.5m).

Athletics Carnival

The beautiful weather was the icing on the cake for last week’s carnival. After cancelling last year’s, it was great to be outdoors and have so many family members present to share in the fun and competition.

Congratulations to all the children who participated with great spirit and determination. I am sure that the majority of SCA children slept very well that night.

Thanks to the parents, and even some siblings, who helped on the day. We literally could not have done it without you.

Congratulations and thanks to the staff for once again organsising and running, so smoothly, such a busy event. Special thanks to the team, led by Mrs Belinda Breen, Mr Ben Sweeney and Mrs Jo McCarthy.

Three Way Conferences

Thank you to the many parents and all the teachers for making Three Way Conferences work so well last week. It was interesting to have a mix of on-line and in-person meetings, with the majority being on-line.

I have missed seeing the positive reactions from parents as they leave a face-to-face session, but am pleased we can continue to actively work with our families in a way that better suits each family.

If you require some more time with your child’s teacher, or you forgot to schedule a meeting, please contact your child’s teacher directly.

Special thanks to the teachers for keeping a smile during the long days of last week on top of all the work involved in organising and preparing for the three way conferences. Thank you.

Are They Really Well Enough

It’s that time of year when children and adults alike succumb to various illnesses. Though we encourage children to be at school, we know that most will have need for the occasional sick day during their schooling.

Please, if your child is not well, do not send them to school. If they are not feeling well, they won’t be at their best to learn and they could very likely be sharing their illness with other students and staff.

2021 Key Improvement Goals

In last week’s newsletter we reminded you of our three Key Goals for school improvement for 2021:

1. Improve student engagement and achievement in English.
2. Improve student engagement and achievement in Mathematics.
3. Build student learning self-efficacy.

Here is a short update on the first of these.

• All SCA teachers have now been fully trained in the teaching of Sounds-Write, and phonemic approach to the explicit teaching of spelling for reading and writing. This is being fully implemented for the third year in Kindergarten to Year 2.
• All classes in Years 3 -6 are implementing Smart Spelling, an approach that builds on the skills children learnt through the Sounds-Write program.
• A Sounds-Write Mentor has been appointed and is receiving specific coaching from James Lyra. Our Sounds-Write Coach, Mr Andrew Aifantis, has been supporting the Infants teachers in using Sounds-Write as effectively as possible.
• Infants teachers have been trained in the use of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). DIBELS is a battery of short fluency measures that is used for screening, benchmark assessment, and progress monitoring of Reading
• Teachers in all classes are providing targeted conferencing for each student in both reading and writing.
• A third of our teachers are active members of the school’s English Professional Learning Team (PLT), which meets regularly throughout the term. The English PLT has been at the forefront of supporting all teachers in the school to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of their English teaching. The PLT has met regularly to review international research and discuss our school’s progress.

If you would like further details, please speak with your child’s teacher, or our English Coordinator, Mrs Jo Thomson.

Enrolments – Close on 21^st May

We have a great school, with wonderful kids, dedicated staff and supportive families. Please spread the word amongst family and friends, reminding those with pre-schoolers that enrolments close on Friday 21^st May.

Community Council Meeting

Our SCA Community Council had their first meeting of the term last night. At the meeting we discussed:

• School finances
• OSHC
• School Registration
• End of Semester Reports
• Enrolments
• 2021 Fete
• Future Open Meetings

If you would like to find out more, please speak with a member of the Council, or email council.scaconder@cg.catholic.edu.au

School Master Plan

We are back inside F Block, and are grateful for the fresh new, and more functional, classrooms. If you are wondering what our next step is in updating our wonderful school’s grounds and facilities, check out the (9 minute) video that was posted on Facebook earlier this year at https://www.facebook.com/543713429122830/videos/429061111769288 (Please excuse my husky voice; too much talking with family and friends during the new year period!)

Mothers Day Celebrations

All mums, grandmums and mother figures are invited to join us for breakfast and a social gathering, on Friday, 7^th May, between 7.30am and 8.30am in the school “Hayshed”.

C’mon gents, give a hand!

Gentlemen, please. One dad emailed me last week to offer a hand this Friday. I am confident we can do better than that. Please let me know, today please, if you can help at this week’s Mother’s Day Breakfast. (matthewer@cg.catholic.edu.au)

It was once said…

Successful mothers are not the ones that never struggled. They are the ones that never give up, despite the struggles.

 - Sharon Jaynes

Blessings to you and your family.

Matt Egan-Richards

Principal