Last week we held a ‘Week of Inspirational Mathematics’ and elsewhere in this newsletter you will read about the activities that look place, the learning that happened and the purpose of why we did it. I hope that the parents who joined us enjoyed themselves in the classrooms but more importantly, that they got an insight into the way that we are teaching Mathematics now. We will look to hold another week like this in the future but in the meantime, learning continues like this for your children every day and we are certainly seeing the results in their developing understanding of concepts, their ability to articulate their understanding and the willingness to take risks and make mistakes. 

In Week 6 of this term, I had the opportunity to visit three Primary schools within the Diocese - St Patrick's Mitchell, St Joseph's Tara and St Joseph's Milmerran.  The focus of the visit was Mathematics and I worked with the children to demonstrate some learning activities for the teachers.  As you would expect as we are all within the same Diocese, these schools have much in common with us. At each school, I was warmly welcomed by the teachers and the children and there was a strong sense of the importance of learning at each school. The teachers engaged in professional conversations about their learners and there was a desire to learn more.   Positive relationships underpinned all the interactions I witnessed. The Catholic beliefs and values were evident in the posters, icons and practices I saw as was the sense of the central role the each school plays in the community. It is good to be able to see other schools in operation and over the next few months, many of our teachers will have the opportunity to visit fellow teachers and learn from their expertise.

Congratulations to the Joyous Joeys for their success in the recent Busking Competition.  It was a great school experience that was well supported by the public.  Thank you to Mrs McLucas and Dr Cuskelly for their work in preparing the children.

My ongoing thanks to all the staff on the Primary Campus who have continued to support the students in their learning, their social interactions and their spirituality.

With God's Blessing

Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary