A Message from the Acting Assistant Principal

NAPLAN

Beginning Wednesday 11th March, our students in Years 3 and 5 will complete NAPLAN testing in the areas of literacy and numeracy. 

What is NAPLAN? 

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses the literacy and numeracy skills of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students participate in NAPLAN tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. 

NAPLAN provides an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. The tests are just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance. It is important to remember that this testing only assesses individual student achievement in a given area on any given day.  

NAPLAN also provides schools and education authorities with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy. If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN please contact myself or Mr Belcastro via the office.

Life Education -Healthy Harold

School isn’t just about learning to read and write. School is one of the most influential places for students to learn about their health and wellbeing and how to navigate all the things that happen to them as they grow.

To help guide them, we use programs offered by Life Education – a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the health and wellbeing of children. You might remember life education from your own time at school, marked by a visit from Healthy Harold the giraffe.

During Weeks 8 and 9 of this term, all our students will be participating in Life Education. Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 will have a 1-hour session and students in Years 3 –6 will have a 1.5 hour session.

What does the Life Education program cover?  

Life Education modules are designed to fit in seamlessly with our curriculum and give students the information they need at an age-appropriate level. Each grade level has a combination of issues that they’ll learn about in more detail during the sessions. The modules for 2026 cover a range of topics including:

- Caring for our bodies (personal hygiene, healthy food, physical activity, sleep)

- Staying safe at home, school and in the community, warning signs and where to get help

- Recognising and managing emotions- How to build and maintain friendships

- How our bodies work and things that can impact how they work (nutrition, exercise, drugs and alcohol)

- Managing peer pressure particularly in relation to drugs and alcohol

- Cyber safety and security including managing bullying and cyberbullying

- Positive and respectful relationships online and offline.

Each module is delivered by a qualified and experienced educator through stories and scenarios involving Healthy Harold and his friends. The use of storytelling is essential to helping our students understand and remember the concepts they’re being taught and apply them to their own situations. 

We’re excited to bring life education to our students and see how it helps them navigate the world around them. If you need any more information about Life Education, check out their website.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

Our focus for Week 6 is-

Our focus for Week 7 is-