As you would expect, the last two weeks have been very busy and with just over two weeks to go until the end of term, there is not much sign of things slowing down!

Two weeks ago, we collected reading data from all the students on the campus.  The purpose of this was to track each student's progress to date and to look at ways of maintaining or accelerating the growth moving forward into Semester 2.  As part of our work in the area of Visible Learning, the collection, analysis and using of data to inform next steps in the learning journey has now become more commonplace and purposeful.  It happens at designated times as set by Toowoomba Catholic Schools but also on a daily basis as teachers work with the students to find the best way forward for each of them. Associated with this is the use of specific and timely feedback and improving how we do this for the benefit of all learners is an area of focus for us this year.  

To be a part of the local community is very important to us and in recent weeks, we have become involved in preparations for the Snowflakes in Stanthorpe weekend with the completion of snowmen images.  Part of this has involved some of the children learning to knit.  I would like to thank Wendy Hine for volunteering her time to teach the children to knit and to Sue Fleming for creating the images for us to use. Kaye Clear and Glennis Rossow also assisted with the pom-pom preparations.  Thank you to them both. 

Last week, 75 of our students enjoyed a movie night whilst their parents took advantage of a few hours of 'quiet time'.  Thank you to Mrs McNichol, Mrs Charlton, Mrs O'Dea and Mrs Campbell for their organisation of the event.  

Also last week, 28 students from across Year 3 - Year 6 participated in a STEAM Day at St Mary's School in Toowoomba.  The purpose of the day was to encourage students to explore the links between the five areas of the curriculum and to imagine how they might utilise these in innovative ways in the future. The students were a credit to the school as they engaged in the activities and the Year 6 students, who presented as part of the 'Expo', should also be proud of their achievements.  Thank you to Mr Page and Miss Thompson for their organisation of the day.

Finally, I encourage all parents to read the Primary Campus newsletter which is issued each fortnight as it contains more information about what the students are involved in than can be included here.  It also provides parents with updates about the major academic projects we are involved in, namely Visible Learning and Inspire Maths. As always, we welcome your thoughts, comments and questions about all that is happening on this campus.

With God's blessings

Sarah Yates
Assistant to the Principal Primary