From the Leadership Team
Kilvington student leaders
Julia Padgett, Deputy Principal
Over the last fortnight, I have had the pleasure of interviewing our prospective Kilvington student leaders for 2022. Each student was required to complete this process online, including presenting to the Senior School students at assembly and taking part in a series of interviews.
It has been heartening to hear how Kilvington has played a vital role in their lives and of their overwhelming sense of wanting to give back to the School. Truly, the School motto is inspiring a generation of school leaders to think of 'not just their own, but other’s good' when considering how they will lead next year.
Our current School Captains Ben Churilov, Caitlin Johnston, Trisha Matthew and Nick Brooks, addressed students at the beginning of Wellbeing Wednesday. They spoke of remaining upbeat, staying focused, and asking for support when needed. As this lockdown continues, students hearing this message from School leaders is vitally important. We are all in this together.
Whitelist Kilvington email addresses
More than ever, we are relying on email communications to keep up to date. Some email providers, however, have been sending Kilvington emails into junk or spam folders. Our IT department has put together guides on how you can whitelist Kilvington email addresses to mark them as safe and stop this from occurring. The guides can be found by clicking here.
NAPLAN results
NAPLAN results will be sent to families this week. Early reports in the media indicate that the results have shown a steady improvement in most literacy and numeracy outcomes, despite the large period of time spent in remote learning last year.
As a School, we will conduct a thorough analysis of the results, noting individual and cohort trends and identifying areas of growth and for improvement. We are mindful that this is one test on one day, and that this does not capture all the nuances of learning over two years. This data is just one of many sets of results that we use to monitor students, alongside continuous online reporting and classroom feedback and observations.
This is the final year that NAPLAN test results will be distributed in September. As of next year, all NAPLAN tests across Australia will be completed online. This will reduce the time it takes for results to be returned to schools, parents and students. The tests have been designed to automatically adapt to correct and incorrect responses, therefore providing a more precise understanding of student achievement.
There are several checks that we have to undertake in preparation for the online tests to run smoothly. These will begin in Term 4 and involve students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Further information will be sent at the beginning of next term.
NAPLAN online will benefit students in several ways. The technology will not only make the tests more engaging but also support students who require learning adjustments. Test questions could be read aloud to students for example (though not on the reading test), and it will be possible to alter the test duration. Developments such as these will make the tests more equitable.
Reasonable adjustments are among the many ways that students are supported throughout the year. In August, we submitted our Nationally Consistent Collection of Data. This is an annual collection of information about school students with disabilities. This enables authorities and the government to better understand how they can support schools, and allows Kilvington to ensure that we have the resources to support our students.