Enrolling Now

We’re enrolling now for 2026! Applications are fee-free and can be made online. If your child is due to start Kindergarten next year, the best time to make your application is in Term 1 this year.  

Learn more about our school and the enrolment process here:

https://www.smtdow.catholic.edu.au/

Mental Fitness Gotcha4life update: Pam Cheetham

We’ve started this term off Mentally Fit!
In Week 1, we were fortunate to welcome the team from Gotcha4Life for a special assembly focused on building mental fitness. Students took part in a range of engaging activities that explored the three key protective factors: building our emotional muscles, embracing your village, and not worrying alone. 

This important message of mental fitness was then reinforced in classrooms through a follow-up lesson led by our amazing Student Advisory Group (SAG). It was fantastic to see students taking the lead and their peers actively participating—it truly set a positive tone for the term ahead!

             

Classes have also been working with their teachers to deepen their understanding of the protective factor "Embrace Your Village." Students have been learning what this means and identifying the important people in their lives—at home, at school, and in other areas—who make up their village.

In week 2, staff participated in some further professional development with the Gotcha4life team, focusing on strengthening their own mental fitness. The session highlighted the importance of help-seeking as a key protective factor for mental fitness, ensuring we don’t worry alone. Staff explored pressures and challenges that they face in both their work and personal life, identified barriers that can prevent them from reaching out and discussed strategies to ensure no one faces challenges or worries alone. It was a powerful reminder that asking for help is a strength—and an important step in supporting both ourselves and our school community.

Semester One Reports

Semester One Reports will go live on Compass on Friday 27th June. Students in Kindergarten - Year 6 will receive an achievement report that will outline your child’s level of achievement in each key learning area. There are no general comments in Semester one reports. Parents/carers will be able to access their child’s report on compass on this date. On Wednesday 2nd July there will be an opportunity to meet with classroom teachers during parent/teacher conferences to discuss student achievement in faith, learning and wellbeing. You will be able to book your conferences via compass very soon. 

Want to know more about what the ‘achievement descriptors’ on your child’s report mean?

• All Kindergarten students will receive a report in Semester 1 and Semester 2 with a three-point grade scale used to report student achievement using the following performance descriptors:
• Thorough
• Sound 
• Basic
• Students in Year 1 - Year 6 will receive semester reports twice a year with a five-point grade scale used to report student achievement using the following performance descriptors: 
• Extensive
• Thorough
• Sound
• Basic
• Elementary 

A description of what the Kindergarten achievement descriptors mean is outlined below:

A description of what the Year 1- 6 achievement descriptors mean is outlined below:

Teachers make professional judgments based on assessment to determine the level and depth of knowledge and skill demonstrated by students to determine the achievement for each focus area within the Key Learning Area. An overall achievement descriptor will also be provided for each Key Learning Area (see below).

Teachers will also provide an overall ‘effort’ descriptor for each Key Learning Area, e.g. effort in Mathematics - High

Amendments made to the Classroom and Playground Correction Sequence

Last term, we launched our reviewed classroom and playground correction sequence and spent time implementing the new sequence in classrooms, affirming students and providing gidnace and support through redirection if required. The staff have been focusing on being consistent in their approach to both classroom and playground correction and have received professional learning on the 5:1 ratio of positive to negative reinforcement and 8:1 for students with additional needs. We also introduced the parent notification form to ensure we are being transparent in communicating with parents when students have needed reflection time either in class or on the playground. The addition of this form was in response to 2024 Tell Them From Me data where parents reported wanting more information on their child’s wellbeing. We have since reviewed the sequence and sour approach based on feedback from staff, parents and students and the following changes have been in place since Week 7 of Term 1:

• ‘Time out’ language replaced with ‘reflection time’ - changed on blue cards and parent notification form
• Physical contact/aggression language replaced with ‘physical contact’ on parent notification form and compass as it is a ‘low unintentional’ behaviour.

Some information on what the teachers are implementing in terms of taking a positive approach to behaviour and adopting a ‘Conncetion before Correction’ mindset is below:

Focus on ‘Positive Messages’, ‘Connection before Correction’ 

5:1 ratio of positive reinforcement - to have healthy relationships, meaning 5 positive comments/gestures to every correction.

• Thank you for unpacking/getting ready to learn quickly today

• Thumbs up, smile and nod

• Each day greet the student by name and do the ‘daily check’ in as this promotes ‘connection’ and care

• Tick/sticker on class/individual chart

• Great focus Jonas, love the way you are completing your work, fantastic question, well done on your responses today. 

Mrs Amy Sammut - Assistant Principal 

Section 4: Improving Writing update:  Chelsea McLeod 

At the end of Term One, our teachers participated in a professional learning day alongside colleagues from four other schools in the diocese, focusing on moderation. Moderation is a collaborative process that ensures our assessments of student learning are consistent, fair, and meaningful across all classrooms. Throughout the day, teachers worked together to deepen their understanding of how to make accurate and confident professional judgements about student work. We engaged in discussions and evaluated student samples using shared criteria, ensuring a consistent approach to assessment across schools.

A key focus of the day was on the “image of the child,” which is the holistic view we form of each student based on daily teaching, interactions, and feedback. This view reminds us that assessment isn’t based on a single piece of work, but rather the full picture of a child’s learning journey. By reviewing student samples from all year levels, we were able to identify characteristics of each grade and track how learning progresses over time. This collaborative work helped strengthen how we assess students, ensuring our judgements are consistent and clearly aligned with learning outcomes.

Moving forward, we are committed to continuing this collaborative approach with other schools, building stronger professional knowledge and deeper connections to ensure every student benefits from high-quality assessment and tailored learning experiences.

At the start of this term, all teachers engaged in a second professional learning day that focused on improving writing instruction. This day aligned with our school’s AIP goal: Students will demonstrate appropriate learning growth in writing and can identify their next steps in learning.

The day provided teachers with an opportunity to explore how to strengthen writing skills, focusing on grammar, sentence structure, and the Writer’s Workshop Model. This model includes teachers modelling writing, guiding students as they craft their writing, and providing independent writing time with targeted support. Students also engage in peer feedback and sharing, allowing them to reflect on their work and celebrate each other’s progress through peer conferencing, author’s circles and the author’s chair.  

We used our Writer’s Notebooks to practice writing and collaborated to plan lessons using mentor texts. These texts provide real examples of strong writing that help guide students and ensure that lessons are engaging and meaningful. 

Since these professional development days, our teachers have engaged in collaborative planning days to design lessons that focus on sentence level grammar and sentence varieties. Teachers applied the FLW (Faith, Learning, and Well-being) Framework, ensuring that lessons were rigorous, relevant, and focused on supporting each student’s growth. This approach creates a learning environment where all students can thrive, fostering equity, student agency, and access to high-quality learning experiences.

Chelsea McLeod  - Instructional Coach