The Power of Reading!

Reading aloud to children daily is one of the most impactful and nurturing habits parents can adopt. Beyond fostering a love for stories, this simple practice significantly enhances a child's cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Regular reading sessions enhance children's understanding of language structures, improve listening skills, and foster better attention spans. These benefits contribute to stronger school performance, particularly in reading and writing tasks.

Moreover, children who are read to consistently demonstrate greater imagination and creativity, as stories introduce them to diverse scenarios and problem-solving situations.

Tips for Incorporating Daily Reading

Make It Interactive: To engage your child's thinking, ask questions about the story, discuss the illustrations, and encourage predictions.
Be Consistent: Set aside a specific time each day for reading to establish a routine.
Choose Diverse Materials: Introduce a variety of genres and topics to broaden your child's horizons.
Lead by Example: Let your child see you reading, demonstrating that it's a valuable and enjoyable activity.

NAPLAN Results

Students in Years 3 and 5 will receive their NAPLAN results at the beginning of Term 3. These will be sent home with your child when they arrive at the school.

NAPLAN results are reported across four proficiency levels, helping families and teachers understand how students are progressing at the time of testing:

• Exceeding – The student is performing above expected standards for their year level.
• Strong – The student is meeting challenging but reasonable expectations.
• Developing – The student is working towards expected standards.
• Needs Additional Support – The student is not currently meeting expectations and may require extra assistance to support their learning.

If you have any questions about your child’s results once they are received, please don’t hesitate to contact their teacher.

Report Cards

As you may be aware, in 2024, Townsville Catholic Education conducted surveys regarding reporting with staff and parents. The survey responses have informed the review of the Reporting Guidelines for Prep to Year 10, which have now been updated. The changes to your child’s report from this semester are outlined below.

• The Learning Areas Comments have been removed. Instead, report cards will contain a Learning Area Statement outlining the key learning undertaken for the semester.
• Application to Learning refers to the students' effort in learning and completing tasks to the best of their ability. It reflects how the student responds to the feedback and demonstrates interest in their learning. This is reported on a 4-point scale: Needs Attention, Satisfactory, Very Good, Excellent.
• A statement indicates that the Working With or C achievement level is the expected end-of-year achievement standard. This level of achievement is highlighted in the explanation.
• In Prep, students are assessed and reported against the achievement standards for English, Mathematics, Health and Physical Education, and Religion. 
• One general comment, personalised by the class teacher included at the end of the report. 

Kristy Bates

Assistant Principal Pedagogy and Learning  (APPL)