Dear Parents/Carers

Throughout each year, we pause to listen to our students, families and staff to gauge how our learning community is travelling. This feedback is invaluable to our progress as effective school communities and is backed by evidence-based research and best practices.

One of the more important formal ways we engage and gather data is through CEMSIS, the Catholic Education Melbourne School Improvement Surveys.

CEMSIS is a set of surveys that have been built specifically for Catholic Schools in Melbourne by Learning Services teams at Catholic Education Melbourne in partnership with researchers at Learning First and in wide consultation with Principals in our schools.

This year, students, families and staff at Our Lady Star of the Sea are invited to participate in CEMSIS using the brand new, secure and purpose-built online platform. The online platform is where our school leaders will access the summary reports that visualise the results of the student, family and staff surveys.

The CEMSIS survey platform is operated by an independent supplier, ORIMA Research Pty Ltd. The platform meets with the very high security and privacy standards for handling student and school data. We have recently updated our privacy policy to ensure school communities are fully informed and protected. Our updated Privacy Policy is available on the school website.

Students in Years 4-6 will be provided with supervised sessions where teachers are on hand to help and answer any questions. Families and staff can complete the survey anytime over the three-week window via an emailed link and password. The surveys can completed using a range of mobile devices and different web browsers.

The data entry window for CEMSIS in 2019 will be Monday September 2nd to Friday September 20th (ie. the last three weeks of Term 3).  More information regarding CEMSIS will be included in our next newsletter.  Families will receive an email inviting them to participate in CEMSIS later this term.

Our community’s opinions are critical to understanding how our school is performing – CEMSIS is a key data source for guiding the ongoing work to improve our school.

All participation is invited, welcomed and 100% voluntary. The surveys are not a test; they are an inclusive way to feed the work we are already doing to improve our school. Everyone has the right to refuse to participate, or withdraw from the survey at any point before, during, or after completion of the survey. Please notify the school if your child does not wish to participate.

If you would like more information, please contact the school.

Yours sincerely

Kerryn Sells     &      Paul Anderson

Principal                  CEMSIS Coordinator