Dear Parents, Grandparents and Friends,

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing two families new to our community and to Australia. Both families have moved from China, and at this stage speak little or no English. Previously, in mid-March we enrolled another Chinese-speaking girl, Luna into Year 8. At that time she spoke very little English. Today I sought her assistance with the interview. I was astounded by the rapid improvement of her ability to speak and comprehend English. She was very confident and pleased to be asked to assist with translation. She was able to put both families at ease and positively beamed when asked to lead a tour of the Secondary campus. Luna gave them a comprehensive outline of the facilities, was particularly animated when showing the Library, and helped them load the 'Duo-lingo App' on their phones.

As education evolves, teachers are in a constant state of providing feedback to parents, as they recognise the immense value in parent involvement in their child’s learning. On a daily basis, our staff make phone calls, conduct meetings, report through personalised plans, provide information on assessment and learning to parents so that they have the most current information about their child and the progress that they are making. So too, we are so very happy to receive phone calls from parents requesting information or asking questions to better support their child. A child can improve and make progress in this ideal environment.

When all the stakeholders are up-to-date with the most relevant and current, information then we can move forward together. The Google Classroom platform will host the bulk of Secondary subject specific feedback providing access to assessments, rubrics and feedback for both parents and students, as it is available throughout the year.

Therefore, we are reviewing the way we report to parents currently. The comments provided at the end of the semester report are accurate at the time of writing but are not received until many weeks later after a rigorous and extensive editing process that takes an inordinate amount of time. As a result, the Secondary reports will not include subject comments this semester. This decision has been made collaboratively with other Central Schools in our Archdiocese, as well as our governing education (Catholic Education) body in Canberra. What this will allow is time for parents and teachers to make more consistent contact with each other. This could take many forms, possibly additional interview options. We are in negotiations with CE about this model and researching how other schools provide current information to parents that are not limited by word counts.

These changes do not affect the Primary classes only the Secondary reports. If you have, concerns we would appreciate the feedback.

Kind regards to you all. 

Rodney Little, Principal