Term 1 Week 6 (14/3/2025)

What is On?

Dear Parents and Carers

I could talk at length about the challenges of the past days or I can explain the new landscape we are in as part of a bigger company. After the floods in 2022 the risk climate changed significantly. The impact for us is that if our school or the surrounds are in a Watch and Act we can not access the site and then can not return without a clearance. We worked really hard to have the site ready; I had quiet the checklist to finalise before we returned. The upside of this is that the company structure supported us in the processes and have helped us to ensure we can safely return. 

We have had some damage (as everyone does) but these are already under plans for fixes and the tree audit is first thing Monday. Roads open and we are glad to have the staff and students back on site. Thank you for your patience at this time. We will continue to ensure that we keep you informed and continue to ensure that that we have the school in a WHS safety position where the delay is minimal.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Ann

School Photos- Monday 24th March

Instructions to order online via https://store.theschoolphotographer.com.au/

(For parents) steps to follow:

Enter your order code - make sure if you copy paste it to delete extra spaces if any.
Select your pack: Follow the prompts to choose your desired pack(s).
At the end of the pack selection process, you will have the option to:
additional items (magnets, mugs, key-rings) & sibling photos. 

Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.theschoolphotographer.com.au/faq

RE News

Sacrament Dates

Confirmation- Monday 19th May, 6pm at St Mary’s Church, Maclean. 

Reconciliation- Tuesday 29th July, St James Church, Yamba

First Holy Communion- Saturday 30th August, St James Church, Yamba

The order of Sacraments in the Lismore Diocese is:

Baptism, Confirmation (Year 3), Reconciliation (Year 4), First Eucharist (Year 4)

If you need more information about Baptism for your child, please contact the Parish Office in Maclean at 6645 1188 (open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm).

For any other Sacraments, please reach out to Mrs Howland at school. Please note that your child must be Baptised before receiving any other Sacraments.

If your child was Confirmed last year, they will be invited to receive Reconciliation and First Communion this year. To arrange this, please email yamp@lism.catholic.edu.au. We will be holding a meeting for parents regarding Sacraments, as part of the preparation. Parish Priest, Fr Roland will be facilitating this meeting at school. The date will be advised. All other preparation will be completed at school during Religion lessons.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at school.

Renee Howland

Assistant Principal - Mission

Sport News

Swimming

Last week we had 16 students head to Murwillumbah for the Diocesan Swimming Carnival. This was one of the largest groups that we have had qualify for quite some time and all students swam well with many PB’s achieved on the day. A special congratulations to Lenny who finished 3rd in the 9yr Boys Freestyle and qualified for the Diocesan team to compete at the Polding Swimming Championships in Sydney on 2nd April. Well done and good luck!

Parent Teacher interviews ( or conferences)

As we speak we are finalising the inclusion support meetings in the COMPASS portal so that we can open the interview schedule for all families. I will send an message when we are ready. If you were contacted to make an inclusion booking and have not done so, please act with haste!  I want to open week 8 for all students and we can not secure the different times without notice. 

Pastoral Care

The Diocese Pastoral Care Team has created some excellent resources to support families after a natural disaster. Please see the link if you would like to access any of these for your personal use with your family.   

https://lism.catholic.edu.au/support-after-a-natural-disaster

NAPLAN Parent and Carer Information

Each year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

NAPLAN 2025 will take place from Monday 17 March to Monday 24 March.

NAPLAN is just one part of our school learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will undertake activities to help students become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.

The public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) is available to see the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests.

Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website (https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/parent-information).

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact the school.

Kind Regards

Alanna Cason 

Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

New Date! - ES1 Parent Information Afternoon - Reading and Spelling

New Date! - ES1 Parent Information Afternoon - Reading and Spelling

ES1 is a fantastic year to witness your child's growth and learning. We understand that parents often want to know how they can be more involved in their child’s educational journey. To support you in helping your child learn to read, I will be hosting a parent information session on Tuesday, March 25th, at 2:30pm in the school hall. If you are unable to attend but would like more information, please contact the school office, and I will ensure you receive the necessary details.

Kind Regards

Alanna Cason

Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching

Stage 3 News

English

In English we are learning about Narratives using the very popular book ‘Storm Boy’ by Collin Theil. Students are learning how authors create engaging narratives through the development of descriptive settings, characters and developing action. Students are identifying common narrative conventions and patterns and recognise when these patterns are subverted. Students make connections to Storm Boy through their own personal and common lived experiences and they will be writing a sequel to the narrative as their assessment piece. We can’t wait to share the finished stories with you!

Science

This term in Science, our focus is on the fascinating ‘Living World’! Students are exploring the growth and survival of living organisms, delving into how their unique adaptations help them thrive in different environments. They’re also investigating how food and fibre are produced in sustainable, managed environments that support healthy living. This topic is helping students deepen their understanding of environmental and biological sciences.

To bring this to life, students have teamed up to research the journey of food or fibre from a managed environment to the plate. They are exploring the sustainability practices involved at each stage, including feeding and watering routines, harvesting, transport, testing, sales, and finally, how the product ends up on our plates.

Students will present their findings through an exciting ICT project, showcasing their research in a video or animation format using tools like iMovie, Powtoon, or Canva. It’s an engaging and dynamic way for students to demonstrate their knowledge while developing important digital skills!

Radio

We are thrilled to announce that the Stage 3 Radio Show is back in action this year! Our students are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to visit 93.5 TLC FM every Friday, where they work alongside the wonderful Anne-Maree, who generously volunteers her time to guide them in running the show. Each week, three students will have the chance to step behind the microphone and be a part of this exciting experience. We’re so grateful for Anne-Maree’s support and are looking forward to another fantastic year of broadcasting!

Stage 3 Radio

Elsie, Joe and Violet hosted the Stage 3 radio show this week.

Enrolments 2026

We are in March now and as you know we always pause enrolments of  March 26th to sort round one offers. If you know someone who is interested (particularly ES1) please share this detail and encourage them to make contact. More news to come in the following weeks about the school and the diocesan Growth Strategy.  

McAuley Catholic College Open Night

Attendance

Vacation Care

Bookings are now available for the Autumn holidays. We will post the program next week for all to see. 

Birthdays

James 24/3, Austin 26/3, Dean 28/3, Jackson 28/3, Sunny 29/3