Dear Families,

Welcome to Week 7 of Term 3, it is hard to believe that we are approaching the end of August and fast approaching the end of this term.

Previous Reports - (SRS)
During Term 2, when sharing news about The Learning Dashboard, we alerted families that the previous reporting platform (SRS) would no longer be available to access. For those families who have not previously saved their child’s SRS reports when they were released, an EdSmart slip will be released this week where you can opt-in to receive a PDF copy of all previous reports.

While we will work through these requests as time allows, please note that this is not a priority task, as families have previously had access to these reports.

Moving forward, we encourage families to download and store copies of their child’s reports from The Learning Dashboard each semester as they are released.

Please note, this EdSmart slip is for students in Years 1-6 who have previously been enrolled at Our Lady Help of Christians.

Traffic - Stop, Drop and Go
A big thank you to all families for your attentiveness during before and after school times in the Stop, Drop and Go area on Balaclava Rd and Mestrez St. We’ve noticed a positive shift in traffic flow, especially in the mornings, with more families driving forward as far as possible in the line. This small change has made a big difference in reducing congestion and keeping our students safe.

Australian Catholic Education Conference
Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Australian Catholic Education Conference, where I listened to a range of inspiring educational presenters. One highlight was hearing from Maryanne Thorne from Sydney Catholic Schools and leaders from the Australian Catholic University - Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, about their journey in improving reading instruction in K-2 classrooms. Over the past 3-5 years, Sydney Catholic Schools have shifted in their way of teaching reading to be more aligned with the most current research. Their approach is based on evidence-based and evidence informed practices, including the use of decodable texts and the systematic teaching of phonics. Listening to this presentation was both affirming and encouraging given the work currently being undertaken at Our Lady Help of Christians by our staff. It’s clear that we are on the right path in supporting our students’ literacy development and the guidance, professional development and modelling being provided to staff from our Leaders of Learning and Teaching, Madonna Archibald and Tammy Lacey, are laying a strong foundation for continued progress and positive outcomes.

Warm regards,