Term 1 Week 7

If you have any questions regarding the learning needs of your child then your first point of call will generally be an email or phone call to the relevant classroom teacher. You can also contact the appropriate Leader of Learning or the Curriculum office at any time to discuss other matters should the need arise.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS 7-12

Bookings for Parent Teacher Interviews are now open in Compass. Interviews for all year groups will be held over two nights, Monday 20 March from 3:40 pm to 8 pm and Wednesday 29 March from 3:40 pm to 8 pm. Interviews will be held via Zoom. Please take this opportunity to meet your child’s teachers for 2023 and to keep up to date with their progress so far this year.  

Subject Selection

The window for changing electives in stage 5 and Year 11 is now closed. Students are locked into these subjects for the remainder of the year. Year 11 students may have the opportunity to review the level of English and/or Maths they are doing halfway through the year. Year 11 students generally can drop a subject from their pattern of study at the end of the Year 11 course at the start of term 4.

Assessment Manuals

All students have been emailed a copy of the 2023 Assessment Manual for their relevant year group. Students and their parents/carers are encouraged to take the time to review these documents to be aware of the requirements around formal assessment. This is particularly important in Years 10-12 where students are working towards their ROSA/HSC and must meet the NESA requirements regarding assessment to obtain these credentials.

Student Assessment

Now that we are into the swing of things we are approaching that stage in the Semester where students will begin sitting Formal Assessment tasks. As mentioned above students have been issued with an Assessment Manual that has the assessment grid for each subject they are studying that outlines when formal tasks will be held and the weighting of those tasks. Some other things to be aware of:

• Students will receive a written notification at least 2 weeks prior to the submission date for each formal assessment task. This will contain specific detail about the nature of the task, the outcomes being assessed as well as submission details
• Tasks need to be submitted on time, and issues with submitting/completing a task should be notified to either the class teacher/Leader of Learning or the Curriculum Office asap.
• Technical issues such as printer not working are generally not considered a valid reason for a task not to be completed
• Students can email work to their teacher as an interim to demonstrate completion of class work, tasks may also be submitted by others such as siblings/parents if a student is absent on the day of submission
• Students who are absent on the day of an in-class assessment task need to make arrangements to complete the task by contacting their class teacher or the Curriculum Office. Tasks will generally be rescheduled for the first day the student returns after their absence
• Students in Years 10-12 need to ensure they are following the appropriate NESA protocol regarding submission/non-submission of tasks

Home Study

Home study is an important process for all students from Years 7-12. Home study is different from completing homework/assessments as it is a way to refine and enhance knowledge of concepts covered in class. All students should be allocating time to home study as part of their weekly schedules, this is particularly important for younger students to help make this process part of their regular routine. This is particularly important for subjects that have scheduled an exam as part of their assessment requirements for the semester (refer to the assessment manual to determine). Students are encouraged to explore various study methods to determine which ones most suit their learning style as well as the subjects they are studying for. Students seeking assistance can discuss with their class teachers if they feel they could do with support.

NAPLAN

ACARA have moved the dates forward for NAPLAN this year. It is scheduled to take place in weeks 8 (next week) and 9. Students in years 7 and 9 will start with their writing test on Wednesday. They will then do tests on Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday. We will run catch-up tests From Wednesday to Friday of week 9 for students who miss any of the tests.

To help your child through this process you may wish to consider accessing the online Naplan Public Demonstration Website. On this page you will find links to the various tests for each year group. It is highly recommended that students take the time to access these practice tests (usually only 10-20 questions/test) as it provides an opportunity to access and familiarise themselves with the online platform and types of questions used for each test. This helps to reduce a lot of anxiety on the day of the tests and supports students in their performance as they know how to access the resources provided such as the calculator, ruler, protractor etc.