Category: Early Childhood

Our Vision for Learning, Shine through Discovery seeks to engage students, teachers and their parents in the learning process. We do this by showcasing primary student work using Seesaw, by sharing student reflections via SEQTA or by meeting with families to discuss student learning goals, successes and challenges. When we strive for collective excellence, each individual student benefits. Encouraging others to achieve their best is how we support one another to reach their potential and achieve their goals.

NAPLAN Online Update

I extend my thanks to parents for supporting their children during NAPLAN week and for the staff involved in ensuring our transition to NAPLAN Online was seamless. The College uses NAPLAN data as comparative data against like schools, and to track student growth from Year 3 through to 9.

The experience at Newman was positive and very few students experienced disruptions and distress as reported in the media.

ACARA, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has advised schools that written assessments can be made available for students in Years 5, 7 and 9 if they wish to re-sit the assessment. The College has worked with individual students and families who were affected by a time lag or connectivity concerns. As such, we will support individual students to re-sit the written paper for the Writing Assessment however, this will not be a College wide undertaking.

The written assessment will take place on Tuesday 28 May and a new prompt will be provided to students.

If you wish your child to re-sit the assessment, please reply by email to Julie Maher julie.maher@newman.wa.edu.au

Additional information can be provided by Mitch Bristow, Head of Primary and Alan Fitzpatrick, Deputy Principal Wellbeing Secondary.

DISA Survey

In 2016, staff, students and parents participated in the DISA Survey. The purpose of the DISA is to provide schools with information on which to base judgements about areas for school improvement. DISA is an online tool that you can use to examine your school’s overall alignment and is comprised of three surveys customised for each of staff, parents, and students. Next week a link to the survey will be shared and all parents are invited to participate in the survey. The data collected will inform the College’s 2019-2022 Strategic Plan. All students will complete the survey next week. Thank you in advance for your participation.

Cyberhound

Cyberhound Clearview is a product that is a part of the Cyberhound suite of network security products the College uses to scan and analyse all internet traffic within the school.

Clearview’s unique behavioural analytics identify social issues and topics such as self-harm, racism, profanity and reference to illicit drugs.

College staff are alerted to student activity that is deemed ‘risky’. This information is reviewed daily and when common themes or prolific activity appears then an educative approach can be designed and applied to support year groups, individual students and families to develop a responsible approach to internet use and a positive digital profile.

More information can be found here https://cyberhound.com/ or by contacting your child’s Leader of Wellbeing.

Code of Conduct

A reminder to all families that the Code of Conduct can be accessed via the College website. The Code is mandated by Catholic Education Western Australia and the application of the Code extends to all staff, students, parents, guardians, caregivers and volunteers.

The Code seeks to value the dignity of every person, foster positive relationships, ensuring confidentiality and accountability and supports professional boundaries. Events held during school hours AND outside of school hours that are associated with the College are also supported by the Code of Conduct. Any perceived breaches of the Code can be discussed with any member of the Senior Leadership Team. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support of how we strive to partner positively with one another.

Child Protection and Safety

In addition to writing to the College community regarding our Code of Conduct, we feel it is also appropriate to communicate the processes, policies and frameworks the College applies to ensure our school is a safe place for all children and that our staff are informed, assessed and aware of their responsibilities to this commitment.

Mandatory Reporting

All staff employed by the College, teaching and non-teaching, are required to undertake Mandatory Reporting training. It is a legal requirement in Western Australia for doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers, police officers and boarding supervisors to report all reasonable beliefs of child sexual abuse to the Department of Communities – Child Protection and Family Support. Newman College extends this level of training to non-teaching staff also.

The belief that a child is or has been the subject of sexual abuse may be based on a number of sources of information that form ‘reasonable’ grounds.

For example:

• Observed evidence of physical and/or behavioural indicators.
• A disclosure by a child.
• Allegations or information provided by a third party i.e. another student, parent or colleague.

Reasonable grounds can be established over time. If you decide not to report, you must continue to document all observations and consultations and provide documentation to the Principal for storage.

The College has designated Child Protection Officers to support staff to understand and apply their responsibilities as mandatory reporters. If you have any queries or concerns about this, or any of our strategies to ensure the protection of children, please contact me directly lisa.fogliani@newman.wa.edu.au

Across the College this term, we marked the significance of ANZAC Day by gathering as a community to respectfully mark the occasion and acknowledge the sacrifice men and women made for others. I sincerely thank the staff and students who led these services. The reverence and behaviour of all students was nothing but exemplary and a true reflection of the spirit of the ANZAC’s.

I extend my welcome to returning and new staff members and families to the College community and our Marist family. The commitment, preparation and planning that all teachers undertake to ensure a smooth transition to each term is indicative of the calling of our vocation to holistically educate the young people in our care. Best wishes for the term ahead and all the experiences that it holds.

Welcome new staff

We welcome back, after a period of long service leave, Leader of Learning Literacy, Aaron Richard. We also welcome the following new staff to our Community.

• Bridgeen McDermott, Education Assistant Diversity Education Years 7 – 12
• Michelle Wells, Education Assistant Diversity Education Years 7 – 12
• Davina Sankar, Year 4 Teacher
• Katie Closey, Pre Primary Teacher

Code of Conduct

A reminder to all families that the Code of Conduct can be accessed via the College website. The Code is mandated by Catholic Education Western Australia and the application of the Code extends to all staff, students, parents, guardians, caregivers and volunteers.

The Code seeks to value the dignity of every person, foster positive relationships, ensuring confidentiality and accountability and supports professional boundaries. Events held during school hours AND outside of school hours that are associated with the College are also supported by the Code of Conduct. Any perceived breaches of the Code can be discussed with any member of the Senior Leadership Team. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support of how we strive to partner positively with one another.

Child Protection and Safety

In addition to writing to the College community regarding our Code of Conduct, we feel it is also appropriate to communicate the processes, policies and frameworks the College applies to ensure our school is a safe place for all children and that our staff are informed, assessed and aware of their responsibilities to this commitment.

Staff adhere to the following principles as articulated in the Staff Code of Conduct:

• Employees must always treat students with respect
• Employees must always treat students in a consistent manner without inappropriate familiarity or spending excessive private time with a student
• Employees must be very cautious when engaging in any social activity with students
• Using any form of technology for contact of a personal nature with students is unacceptable. Any interaction with students via technology must be professional and directly related to the educational context. Employees must be aware that as role models for students they have broad responsibilities – even beyond the school bounds

These guidelines inform processes to ensure child safety is a priority, for example, teachers are directed to not be in a space with a student in a one to one ratio.

If you would like any further clarity or information regarding the professional standards expectations and obligations at Newman College, please call or email me so I can provide you with further support.

Professional Learning – Aboriginal Education Improvement Planning

On Monday 29 April, all teachers gathered for a professional learning experience that was facilitated by Catholic Education Western Australia to understand our commitment to improving education outcomes for aboriginal people and begin to consider the development of our Reconciliation Action Plan. The College, together with Catholic Education is committed to the Transforming Lives 2025 strategy and we look forward to sharing our RAP and Aboriginal Education Improvement Plan with our wider community in the months ahead.

College Calendar – Pupil Free Days

Please note the following dates as Pupil Free Days:

Term 3

Friday August 16 and Monday August 19

Term 4

Monday October 14 (Please note, all Year 10 students depart for Year 10 Camp on this day).

Year 6 Camp

Today I attended the Year 6 Camp which took place at Forrest Edge Waroona. To acknowledge the significance of the students’ final year of primary schooling, I presented each student with a commemorative shirt. This process is intended to begin a new tradition at Newman College in recognising the contribution of our Year 6 cohort to the life of the School.

I joined the morning activities where I was inspired by the courage and camaraderie as they took part in the flying fox and the pamper pole tasks. The confidence developed at camp, along with the great example set by our Year 6 students throughout the year will no doubt serve to encourage and empower all Lavalla students to Shine through Discovery.

I would like to extend my thanks to the Year 6 teaching team for their support in organising this amazing experience.

MOTHERS DAY

There is but one and only one,
Whose love will fail you never.

One who lives from sun to sun,
With constant fond endeavour.

There is but only and only one
On earth there is no other.
In heaven a noble work was done
When God gave us a Mother.

We wish all families a happy Mothers Day this Sunday. It is a time when we can give thanks for our mothers and the mother figures in our world.

ANZAC DAY

ANZAC Day draws on the very best of Australian spirit as it calls to mind the sacrifice of those who have gone before us to fight for our nation. At each of our ANZAC Day ceremonies we remembered and gave thanks for those men and women who served and for those they left behind. At our Lavalla Assembly we were blessed to have Warrant Officer Class 1 Damien Liddell (Irwin Barracks – Army) speak to the students about his career; the experience of being a serving officer, both in Australia and overseas. The powerful and insightful words challenged our students and staff to consider how integrity, strong values and perseverance underpin our Australian identity. We are very fortunate to have the freedoms that are ingrained in our democratic nation. We want our students to be good citizens who, as the leaders of tomorrow, will ensure these rights are preserved. St Marcellin Champagnat’s instructive words to the early brothers was to ensure that our young people became good citizens and good Christians. Our Year 6 students who led the Lavalla ceremony are to be congratulated on their dignity and respect for the occasion.

Federal Election

The upcoming Federal Election will highlight some of the contended issues that may affect our College, such as school funding and the right to religious freedom. For the certainty of our community, clarification of federal funding will enable the College to forecast and plan into the future in the continued delivery of excellent teaching and learning. Moreover, certainty that recognises the changing demands on education as well as the rising cost of operating a school that keeps pace with the educational and wellbeing needs of our students. I ask you take time to click here and read the National Catholic Education Commission Facts on School Funding.

Newman Parents Consultative Committee (NPCC)

This Monday 13 May will be our first Newman Parent Consultative Committee Meeting for the year. Our interaction with families is instructive to the strategic and operational direction of the College. In Term 1 we had multiple parent engagement opportunities through our annual information nights and the very successful Newman Parents evening with Dr Justin Coulson. This Monday, Director of Operations and Engagement Tom Wagner, Leader of Wellbeing Early Childhood Lisa McClue and Deputy Principal Wellbeing Secondary Alan Fitzpatrick will be present. We look forward to your attendance.

Staff Development Tour

Our continued commitment to improve the learning experience of our students has led to the establishment of an international relationship with Republic Polytechnic Singapore. Next week, Mr Peter Jones PK-12 Leader of Pedagogy will lead four staff in a professional learning tour to Singapore, to undertake a course in Design Thinking and Problem Solving. Improving the skills of our teaching staff is fundamental in our drive to advance learning experiences for our students. Our Vision for Learning, Shine through Discovery – Let your light shine, highlights the need for our teachers to work hand in hand with students in this journey of discovery. We want our students to be flexible learners, to solve problems, work together and be challenged in their learning. This unique opportunity for our staff will open up new and innovative ways to enhance classroom activities that will drive better learning outcomes. This partnership with this internationally acclaimed College further supports our development as a College of excellence.