Barbreck News – Involvement and Opportunities 

Schools are always busy places with many activities happening in classrooms and through co-curricular activities. While Barbreck is a smaller primary school, we provide an abundance of opportunities for our girls to participate in, including opportunities for our girls to showcase their talents, compete against themselves and others, learn new skills, and acquire deeper knowledge. In the few weeks of this term, our girls have been involved in so much! 

Choral Assembly 

The Choral Assembly held last Friday was a highlight of the work the girls have been doing in their choir lessons. Our years Prep to Year 2, Years 3 to 4, Years 5 to 6, and our Epstein Choirs performed beautifully at the School Assembly where many parents attended.

The musical skills the girls have accumulated over their primary years were apparent during the Assembly, with the Epstein Choir demonstrating an exceptional level of talent. The finale to the event was a multi-part round with the choir, students, parents, and staff all taking on a round. This was great fun and showed the level of complexity and skill required for such an activity.  

Our girls are in great hands with the combined talents of our wonderful Junior School Performing Arts Coordinator, Ms Kristen Dhono-Isworo, and Ms Juliana Kay, who are both guiding and supporting the girls’ development this year. 

District Cross Country 

District Cross Country was held last Thursday. Girls from Years 3 to 6 have been training for a long time for this event, under the capable guidance of Mr Crebbin.

Our competitors performed incredibly well with standout performances from Charlotte Roe who placed first in the Year 6 Division, Carla Martuccio who placed in the top eight in the same race and Emma Hessell who placed sixth in the 11 Year category, all of these girls will progress to the Division stage of Cross Country – congratulations girls!

St Catherine’s finished third overall and won the Population Trophy, which is determined by dividing the school’s total points by its school population.  

Athletics Carnival 

The Athletics Carnival this week for Years 3 to 6 provided girls with the opportunity to compete in a range of events, both on the track and in the field. There were many personal bests and some great wins on the day with great weather for the event. For full results read Mr Tom Crebbin’s report here and enjoy reflections from our House Captains here. 

Fredricks and Eccles (2006) found that “activity participation can be linked to positive academic outcomes, including improved grades, test scores, more school engagement, and increased educational aspirations.” Additional to these benefits are learned skills such as teamwork, leadership, positive attitudes of wanting to attend school, and a sense of belonging when at school.  

Across all these events the positive attitude of the girls has been evident. They were excited to be involved and appreciative of the efforts of their fellow classmates. They were encouraging of each other, supportive when things did not go to plan, and appreciative of the talents many of the girls demonstrated. Evident also is the feeling that they are all working together towards common goals and enjoying the journey.  

I also noticed a wonderful School spirit and pride in our School and of those that attend it. Our girls inspire us each day. We want our girls to succeed, engage in new experiences, find their talents, and develop to the best of their abilities. In turn, the girls appreciate and relish the activities and opportunities. This makes for a school where girls belong, are willing to try and work hard to achieve their best, and where opportunities to shine abound. 

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy) 

This week students completed NAPLAN online. This is the first year that St Catherine’s students have completed the test online, except for the Year 3 Writing Task which remains paper-based. 

The online tests differ from the past paper tests as they provide a more tailored design. In each test, students answer an initial set of questions, and depending on their results, they will either be taken to less or more challenging questions.  

If they experienced some difficulties with the initial set of questions, they will be taken to fewer challenging questions. If they scored well in the initial set of questions, they receive more challenging questions. Therefore, students will not be sitting the exact same test everyone in the Year level did in the past.

This assessment design responds to how well students answer questions throughout the assessments. The tailored approach provides better assessment results for individual students relative to their ability. With most of the assessments completed online and with automated scoring, it is hoped we will receive results more quickly than we have in the past. 

Important Term Dates
Thursday 19 May Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Excursion (Years 3 and 4)

Susan McLean, CyberSafety Solutions  Presentation – Year 6

Friday 20 May Prep to Year 3 Special Visitors’ Day
Wednesday 25 May Year 6 District Soccer and Netball Carnivals
Thursday 9 June Barbreck Music Recital (1)
Monday 13 June Queen’s Birthday Holiday
Thursday 16 June Barbreck Music Recital (2)
Wednesday 22 June Reporting Day (Student Free Day)
Thursday 23 June End of Term (3.20pm)
Out of School Hours Care – Term 2 Week 4 Activities

Upcoming activities for Term 2 Week 4 are detailed here.

St Catherine’s School offers an Out of School Hours Care program to all ELC and Junior School families. The program is implemented by our provider ‘After the Bell’ and operates within the ELC building. Parents are reminded that if you need to use the Before School Care or After School Care service, registrations need to be made in advance with ‘After the Bell’. Please allow up to five business days for your registration to be processed before your child can begin attending the program. Registration is free. All families are encouraged to register so that they can use this service in the event that you are unable to pick up your child.

Before School Care – 7.00am to 8.45am

After School Care – 3.00pm to 6.00pm

Registrations can be completed via the ‘After the Bell’ website.

Please phone 9758 6744 for all inquiries.

Ms Karen McArdle, Head of Junior School