In this issue

Dear parents and carers, 

It feels as if the school year has only just begun and already NAPLAN is around the corner. Sometimes NAPLAN can cause a great deal of anxiety for students and parents alike! It need not be this way. Here are a few points to help you understand how we approach NAPLAN at St John’s. 

What is NAPLAN? 

The National Assessment Program- (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy national assessment that students in years 3,5,7 and 9 sit each year. The idea is to see how students are learning though the Australian Curriculum and it allows education authorities, schools, teachers, parents and carers to see how a student is progressing against national proficiency standards. Students in Year 3 and Year 5 at St John’s Lutheran Primary will undertake their NAPLAN tests on the 18,19 and 20th of March. 

NAPLAN at St John’s Lutheran Primary School 

 NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment process. It does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers of a student’s performance. Teachers at St John’s spend time getting to know your child and where they are in their learning. They are always working to support your child and further develop their literacy and numeracy skills. The focus is not on getting top NAPLAN results but rather on developing student learning, continuously and consistently, throughout their time with us.  Students will also be given an opportunity to familarise themselves with the format of the assessments and the online platform used to complete NAPLAN. On the 23rd of February we will be running a Practice Test for all students in Year 3 and Year 5. 

What can parents do to Support their child? 

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and to simply do their best. Remind them that they are always learning and the work they have done in previous years at school as well as this term will see them through. 

Participation in NAPLAN 

Though schools are not permitted to withdraw their students from the NAPLAN tests, parents/guardians may withdraw their child(ren) due to religious beliefs, philosophical objections to testing or other reasons. This is a matter for consideration by individual families in consultation with the school. No child is in anyway disadvantaged in not having a NAPLAN result.  

 There are also some instances where students may be exempt from or granted special consideration for one or more of the NAPLAN tests due to a learning disability. This is determined after consultation has occurred with myself or Mrs Bakker and the parent/guardian, and where the student is not able to access the tests with approved adjustments (according to NAPLAN regulations). 

 Should you feel that your child needs to be considered for exemption, special consideration, or withdrawal from the upcoming NAPLAN tests (based on the above information) please contact me no later than Monday 4 March 2024 via the school office to arrange a meeting time. 

Yours in education and God bless, 

Deborah Bosch 

Attendance Expectations  

As part of our commitment to student wellbeing, we aim to ensure all students are in attendance at school every day, aiming for our target range of 95-100% attendance. St John’s Lutheran Primary School has developed a model to support and improve student attendance, making ‘Everyday Count’, as per Qld Government Policy.  

Establishing a safe and supportive school/classroom environment is of utmost importance. We consider our school a safe and welcoming place to be and aim to promote and encourage positive relationships between all stakeholders. 

It is our aim to help staff, parents and students understand, what constitutes a reasonable excuse for an absence, which also reflects compliance as per the national definition. For example, staying home to celebrate a family birthday is not by definition, considered an acceptable reason for absence. If you would like further information regarding acceptable and unacceptable absence, please contact the DPCW, Mrs Tamara Carroll for further information. 

Part of our procedure involves communicating high expectations of attendance and following up on student absence. Student attendance and non-attendance is monitored on a weekly basis and parents/carers may expect increased correspondence from school to support student attendance.   

If you consider that your child is struggling with student attendance, and or engagement, we strongly encourage you to contact your child’s classroom teacher or DPCW for discussion and support.  

School Refusal 

School refusal can be described as when a child refuses to attend school of has difficulty remaining in school for the entire day. According to Qld Health, School refusal effects between 5-28% of young people at some time in their lives. School refusal is not a clinical diagnosis but can often be related to a mental health concern. This may serve different functions, and is often caused by multiple factors. 

As a result of these factors, some behaviours of school refusal may include: 

• Struggling to get out of bed, leave the house, or get out of the car 
• Disrupted sleep cycle, not getting enough sleep or oversleeping 
• Complaints for feeling sick before going to school 
• Difficulty separating from parent/caregivers 
• Isolating behaviours at home 
• Excessive Screen time
• Extreme distress of aggressive behaviour 

The role that parents/caregivers play, in such presenting behaviours, is also crucial. It is essential that parents/caregivers: 

• Establish clear and predictable before school routines 
• Assist school staff in making drop of a quick and easy process 
• Provide students with a brief reassurance that you will be back to collect them at the end of the school day, and that school is a safe and supportive environment. (Please note, that prolonging departures and goodbyes can often make the separation between parent and child more challenging in many cases.) 
• Discuss concerns or any tricky morning experiences, out of earshot of children, as this often perpetuates further feelings of insecurity  
• Always reassure your child that you love them and look forward to the wonderful opportunities that the day ahead will provide, and look forward to hearing upon pick-up, the wonderful learnings, connections and highlights of the school day.  

We recognise that each child/family circumstance is individual, and encourage parents to seek assistance if unsure, regarding a child’s before school and drop off routine.  

Together we will create a flourishing environment for all child and their learning, particularly in managing challenging separation/departures for all stakeholders. 

Life Education Visit Term 1 Week 4-5  

Please register your interest for our Triple P – Raising Resilient Children Parent Webinar.Registration Link

Details of which you can find in the attached flyer. 

Community Sunday Worship Service – Sunday 3 March 

As per recent correspondence, we will be calling upon all Year 3 and Prep students to participate as part of our Community Sunday Service. This service will also see the Installation of our 2024 School Principal – Mrs Jocelyn Bakker. If you have any further questions regarding the student roles for this service, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Tamara Carroll DPCW – we look forward to students serving in various roles such as greeting at the door, collecting the offering, singing, bible reading, offering or prayers. We look forward to coming together as a school community to worship in His name.  

Find below information regarding the Move it Expo:

Join us for the 12th annual Move it Expo!

Find information below regarding the Corinthians Soccer Come and Try Day:

Weekly Awards are presented each week at Chapel & Assembly from 8.45am, SMS notifications are sent prior to this advising of your child’s upcoming award – everyone is welcome to attend.

Please come along and join us before Chapel & Assembly for Coffee & Connect from 8am.