Assistant Principal Update

Dear families,

NAPLAN

It has been a busy few weeks at MEPS. I would firstly like to congratulate all our year 3 and 5 students for their successful completion of NAPLAN. We are proud of each and every student for their efforts. I would like to thank our staff team for their collective efforts supporting students and facilitating the testing process. Students and staff are to be commended for their flexibility and demonstration of our school value resilience as we, like all other schools in the State, had to adapt to technical difficulties that saw a slight adjustment to our testing schedule. NAPLAN reports will be received and distributed to families later this year.

Knowledge and Memory

Did you know that ‘Learning occurs when students actively process new information and move it to their long-term memory – the brain’s vast storage system – through repetition, elaboration or meaningful connections (Baddeley, 1997). This complex process involves building durable networks of knowledge (Brewer, 1987). That knowledge can consist of unrelated facts or concepts but, more importantly and commonly, it takes the form of interconnected clusters of related information. Students acquire knowledge by integrating new information with existing knowledge in long-term memory.’ (AERO, 2025)

What is it?

Working memory is the active workspace for engaging with knowledge, skills and concepts.
Learning happens when new knowledge moves from working memory to long-term memory.
Long-term memory is where information, including our memories, are stored and new knowledge is linked to existing mental models.
Knowledge builds on knowledge. Connecting new knowledge to prior knowledge supports learning.

A great way to engage with and support your child’s learning is simply through conversation. Here are some questions you might like to ask your child:

What was something new you learned today?
What surprised you in your learning this week?
What is something you are curious to learn more about?
Can you teach me something you learned at school?
How does what you’re learning connect to the world around us?
What place, person or event have you been learning about recently?
If you could ask your teacher one more question about your topic, what would it be?

These small conversations help children reflect on their learning, build confidence and share their developing understandings and curiosities.

An Integrated Approach

At MEPS we aim to develop a curiosity for learning and opportunities to build knowledge and make connections across the curriculum. We use an approach that integrates the curriculum across learning areas/subjects based on conceptual links as a focus for learning. Purposefully integrated curriculum refers to curriculum and assessment planning that draws on two or more learning areas/subjects.

Integrating curriculum across learning areas/subjects has been found to:

• lead to deeper learning by shifting from surface learning and content coverage to in-depth understanding

• increase student engagement and motivation

• lead to enhanced academic performance

• provide an effective way to teach 21st century thinking and skills

• lead to increased student self-confidence and self-awareness, so students form positive relationships and recognise their place in their communities. (Moss, Godinho & Chao 2019; Drake & Reid 2018; Fullan & Langworthy 2014)

As we come towards the end of term, I wish you all a restful and enjoyable holiday break. Learning happens everyday both at school and at home and may you enjoy time with your family making new memories and brain connections!

Kind regards,

Jessica

Jessica Merritt

Assistant Principal

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility, Connectedness and Challenge