Newsletter Week 7 Term 1 2024

Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (Jn 8: 12).

In what is shaping up to be an eventful year for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, our schools In MACS system are celebrating Catholic Education Week, a celebration of life, faith and education.

This year’s theme, ‘In the Light of Christ’ is drawn from the MACS strategic plan, MACS 2030: Forming Lives to Enrich the World (2023): ‘Christ is our inspiration, the very life of our purpose as Catholic educators. Everything we do is illuminated by this’ (p. 8).

God’s light is not only a guiding light, but a light that shines upon us and from within us. 

Our students and teachers have focussed their prayer and songs this week on being the light for the world.  In classes in the past weeks we have experienced music from Andrew Chinn.  Andrew will be at Clairvaux working with all children from Prep - 6 which will conclude with a concert in the afternoon, he will then hold a workshop with staff later in the  afternoon.  I have included a clip here from Andrew that our children may have experienced this week.

Shine Among Them 

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School Closures 2024

School Closures dates for the remainder of the year are:

Friday 26 April

Friday 16 August

Monday 21 October

Monday 4 & Tuesday 5 November are also a Closure day for Report Writing and the Melbourne Cup Day holiday.

On the first three dates in April, August and October above, all Clairvaux teaching staff will be joining with other Western Deanery schools in the Archdiocese as part of our professional learning which is committed to the Flourishing Learners process: to deliver a knowledge rich evidence based teaching and learning program and to ensure that all of our children achieve literacy and numeracy proficiency.   These days will also concentrate on solid explicit behaviour expectations and practice which is an important scaffold for learning.   These foci match our school priorities in our School Improvement Plan and Annual Action Plan.

On Tuesday this week we hosted a day with other Catholic schools on the ‘Science of Learning and Reading - An Event to Inspire’.  

The event was attended by 240 teachers from various schools both local and nearer to Melbourne to hear our speakers Dr Pamela Snow and Dr Nathaniel Swain.    Dr Snow is a professor of Cognitive Psychology and her research passion is  language and literacy competence. She is  based at Latrobe University, Bendigo.  Dr Swain is a teacher, instructional coach, researcher and writer based at Latrobe University, Melbourne.  Both impressed and inspired the audience.

Christine Brennan with the support of the staff was instrumental in engaging these speakers.  Having these qualified renowned speakers at Clairvaux was a result and due to Christine’s  research and dedication for many years to the Explicit Direct Instruction model .  The support Christine has received from Kat Quinn, Michelle Owens, (who is also part of the Flourishing Leaders reference group) Damian Caruso, Bianca Giampaolo, Kat Bohan, Scarlett Storey and our teaching staff has meant that this program has had an impact at our school and made us a forerunner in this field .

The attendees were from schools that are just commencing the journey and others who are interested in the process.  The professional learning day with Dr Snow and Dr Swain unpacking the cognitive science theory and practical methods for the effective practice of this model is in alignment with the MACS Vision for Instruction.

I have included the Media Release from last week's launch of the Vision for Instruction at the Catholic Leadership Centre in Melbourne.

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Media Release

MACs (Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools) Vision for Instruction to shape the future of our Education System 

Students in Catholic schools will benefit significantly from a change in how reading, writing and mathematics are taught in Melbourne classrooms.

Yesterday, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) launched its Flourishing Learners position statement, Vision for Instruction, which embeds a refreshed and system-wide approach to achieving teaching and learning excellence.

Executive Director of MACS, Dr Edward Simons said: ‘Our newly released Vision for Instruction strengthens our commitment to providing an outstanding education for all our students across the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

‘It is the culmination of years of global research on how students learn best, along with studies and analysis of the most successful teaching methods, developed with input from teachers in our own schools.

‘Our Vision for Instruction has twin fundamental goals: excellence and equity. As a key part of our MACS 2030 strategy, this approach will help us achieve our vision that every student is inspired and enabled to flourish and enrich the world, regardless of their background or circumstances.’

Dr Simons said that years of declining performance in OECD PISA results meant that outdated approaches to teaching and learning need to change. The evidence now at hand supports explicit instruction methods as the best way of teaching children the knowledge they need to flourish.

‘These measures have clearly shown us that our education systems can be much more effective at educating our children.

‘The 21st century skills our children need to have, including social skills, are fundamentally reliant on a solid foundation of literacy and numeracy. That’s why we’ve formalised our pedagogical approach to act as a guiding beacon to our staff, and provide the clarity and resources they need to promote excellence and equity in all our schools.’

Director of Learning and Regional Services, Dr Mary Oski said that MACS teachers and leaders will be supported to implement Vision for Instruction.

‘Our educators are dedicated to providing all students with fundamental literacy and numeracy skills, ensuring their active engagement in society while fostering lifelong learning, which is why MACS is committed to providing teachers with the highest quality knowledge-rich curriculum and evidence-based teaching practices.

Social Media and Internet safety

As we approach the end of term one, I wanted to take a moment to address an issue of utmost importance: the role of parents in educating themselves about the implications of their children's presence on social media platforms.  

In today's digital age, social media plays a significant role in the lives of our children. It is a space where they socialise, share experiences, and express themselves. However, it is also a realm where the implications of their actions can be profound and far-reaching.

At our school, we understand the critical importance of equipping both students and parents with the necessary skills to navigate the complexities of social media responsibly. To this end, we recently hosted an incursion presented by Inform and Empower (which will also be held in each additional term this year), aimed at empowering students with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions online. Additionally, we have arranged a parent webinar on this topic and our staff attended a tailored version of the presentation. You can view a recording here password: feb2024. Parents are also regularly informed about the latest cyber safe initiatives and webinars via our Mental Health and Wellbeing newsletter.

Furthermore, we recently welcomed Senior Constable Robbie Noggler to speak with our students about the realities of social media and its potential consequences. His insights were invaluable in helping our students understand the importance of thoughtful and responsible online behavior. In the coming weeks, our students will participate in the Social Savvy program, designed to further enhance their digital literacy skills and foster positive online interactions.

Despite our efforts, it has come to our attention that certain Snapchat groups involving many Year 6 students have been identified as having unacceptable language and themes. It is deeply concerning to hear reports of such behavior, including instances of harmful messages, particularly with our strong focus on respect this term at school.

As parents, it is essential that we are aware when it comes to our children's online activities. We must take responsibility for educating ourselves about the implications of social media and actively engage in conversations with our children about responsible online behavior. Together, we can work towards creating a safer and more positive online environment for our children. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Building the Partnership
Teachers and students achieve their best when working in partnership with families.

Sharing information about our children, including what is happening in their lives outside the school gate, helps teachers more deeply engage their students. Not only does this help teachers, but there is strong evidence it leads to children being happier at school, and improving academically, emotionally and socially.

As parents, you can also support teachers by demonstrating and encouraging children’s respect for them, creating a ‘team’ environment where children will flourish fully as learners, which is what we all want.

Within the heart of every teacher is the aspiration to make a positive impact on the lives of young people, and this is something worth honouring, nurturing and celebrating.

NAPLAN

This week children In Year 3 and 5 commenced the Naplan assessment 

1.3 million students across more than 9,400 schools throughout the country started NAPLAN tests on 13 March 2024. This is 8 weeks earlier than in 2023, a full school term earlier than 2022 and the earliest in the history of NAPLAN. This means our teachers will have more time to consider the results alongside our own assessments, and then use them to inform our  teaching and learning instruction in the current school year. 

NAPLAN also allows parents to see how their child is progressing against national literacy and numeracy standards. Students can also get an insight into where they are placed on their own individual learning journey.

NAPLAN is only one of a range of assessments that we use at Clairvaux. DIBELs(Dynamic Indicators of Basic early Literacy Skills),Spelling Mastery, ROL (Record pf Oral Language), PAT, Essential Assessments, Letter and Sounds etc

Library Books

The loss of Library books over the holiday time of term breaks and end of the year is concerning and huge cost to the school.  Sam Glynn does an amazing job in ensuring that we have an exceptional library for our children. It is a place that the kids love to visit and choose books to enjoy at home and school.

As we approach the term break children will be allowed to borrow two books each.  

At the moment we have 192 books overdue.  

Can I request that parents ensure that books are returned at the end of the each break and throughout the school year.  

If we continue to have a loss of our library stock, we may have to direct families to the many public libraries in future for the holiday period. 

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Catholic education forms individuals with more than just skills, but with the virtues to live life as transformative agents in our communities. By cultivating a maturing of faith and the intellectual life through the modelling of good relationships, Catholic students are prepared for living fruitfully in the world (MACS 2023, p. 8).

Don't forget to register. It is helpful that we have numbers of children attending on the evening. At this point less than a quarter of children have registered.

There will be numbered flags around the course of the oval (P, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) - this is where you will begin your colour run with the rest of your year level.

Incentive Prizes

Fundraising for our Colour Explosion School Run 4 Fun (Thursday 21^st March) is entirely online. At the end of the fundraiser either order prizes to receive or donate to a cause – Carbon Neutral (tree planting), Great Barrier Reef Foundation (coral planting or turtle protection), The Smith Family (reading support) or OzHarvest (providing meals).

You only need to raise a minimum of $10 to receive an incentive prize and $20 to donate to a cause!

Remember the top 5 fundraisers to date on the night of the Colour run will be able to slime the Year 3 teaching team!!!!!

Monty the Monstar Prizes!

Monty the MonSTAR is giving away lots of extra prizes to help you reach for the fundraising STARS! Will you collect them all? Check out your sponsorship booklet to see what Monty has up for grabs.

$10,000 Budget Booster Bonanza Shopping Spree!

What would your family buy with a $10,000?! The highest fundraising student in our school will go into the draw to win: $2,500 Coles Card, $2,500 Woolworths Fuel Card, $2,500 Harvey Norman Card and a $2,500 Visa Card.

Win a PlayStation 5 Gaming Bundle!

Do you have a need for speed? The highest fundraising student in Australia will take home an awesome PlayStation 5 gaming bundle, complete with a NEW PlayStation 5 Console, VR2 Headset and Sense Controllers!

You have to be in it to win it! If you haven’t already, make sure you start fundraising online at www.australianfundraising.com.au. Happy fundraising!

The 4th Week of Lent and Project Compassion     
Every Lent, through Project Compassion, Caritas Australia asks us to help bring light into the world and to make positive change. An example is presented to us this week in the story of Memory, a young woman from rural Malawi. Listen to some of Memory’s words: 'Growing up in the village was not easy. My parents don’t have a job, so they depend on farming. When the season goes wrong, we suffer a lot and become food insecure. Sometimes we need to bathe without soap. Sometimes we need to walk without shoes.’ With the support of Caritas Australia and its partner the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM), Memory was able to enrol at a technical college where she learnt practical skills in carpentry. A new life became possible. She can now realise her full potential and offer more to her family and her community.   
  

Our CSC Social Justice Group has been working hard to promote our Project Compassion Campaign throughout the school:

• Canteen Change Collection: Friday 15th March 
• Gold Coin Casual Clothes day: Thursday 28th March
• Project Compassion boxes continue to be in each class until the end of term.

So far we are very proud to announce that our Clairvaux School Community has raised $550. Let’s keep digging deep! 

Lewis and Ruby counting this week’s Project Compassion donations with Angela                             

First Eucharist
Last Wednesday, we held a  Eucharist Family Faith night at St. Bernard’s Church for our First Eucharist students and their families.  Our facilitators,  Viv Adamko and Anna Demetriou, led our families through an informative and reflective evening about the significance of the Eucharist, the prayers and rituals involved, and what it means to receive Jesus in this way. First Eucharist marks an important step in our faith journey within the Catholic Church. Thank you to those who attended.

First Eucharist Presentation Masses

 Andrew Chinn Concert - Save the date! 
On Monday, 22nd April, we are very excited to announce that Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn will be visiting our school to share his songs with our children.  Andrew’s songs, such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow”, “An African Blessing” and “Rise Up!” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. Andrew will run a series of workshops for our students throughout the day finishing with a concert.  The concert will take place in the Clairvaux Hall, at 2.20 pm.    We look forward to seeing you there.                                                                                                                      

Julie Routley (REL)

           
Easter at St Bernard’s

Wed 20th March: 7.30pm - Penitential Service

Mon 25th March: 7.30pm - Tenebrae quiet prayer

Holy Thursday: 7.30pm - Mass: Lord’s Supper Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Good Friday: 10.00am - Stations of the Cross

Good Friday: 3.00pm - The Passion

Easter Vigil: 7.30pm - Mass

Easter Sunday: 9.00 & 10.30am - Mass