Time marches ever onward as we find ourselves at the end of another semester. Ben Venue is now at full speed and fully recovered from the disruption of the previous few years. This semester, I have felt privileged to report on increased performance in academic growth, supported by a more robust assessment data collection strategy than we have previously used. It has also been uplifting for me to hear such positive feedback from our students and community as a direct result of school and P&C initiatives, improvements and progress, particularly in the areas of connection and student wellbeing.

Thank you for your support of our school, our staff and our students. I wish everyone a safe school holiday period and look forward to welcoming students back to school on Tuesday 18 July.

NAPLAN

Schools received preliminary NAPLAN results from the NSW Education Standards Authority late last week. Four achievement levels now replace bands awarded in previous years. These new levels are Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support. While comparative data (comparing Ben Venue to similar schools and the state,) is not yet available, I can provide the percentage of results in each achievement category in Years 3 and 5 combined across the five domains, as well as the number of students achieving in each category in Year 3 and Year 5, Numeracy and Reading.

Percentage of all results in each achievement category

Exceeding - 15%

Strong - 49%

Developing - 23%

Needs additional support - 14%

(Total does not add to 100% as figures are rounded to nearest percentage point)

Number of Year 3 and 5 students achieving in each category in numeracy and reading

Individual student reports will be sent home when they are published later in Term 3.

Academic Reports

Semester 1 academic reports will be sent home with students on Thursday this week. We are unable to provide reports to families before this date. Should you have any questions relating to your child's report, please make an appointment with their class teacher in early Term 3.

NAIDOC

The latter half of this term has been exceedingly busy at Ben Venue, and this will also be the case in Term 3. For this reason, we have decided to move our NAIDOC celebrations to later in the year, when we can give them the time and respect that is appropriate. Further information will be provided in Term 3, when a date has been finalised.

SRC bathroom project

Last year, the SRC requested an upgrade to the senior bathroom hand washing facilities. Although a backlog of works resulted in a long wait for trades, this upgrade was completed last Friday. As per the request from our student representative body, push button timer taps have now been installed, as have new hand towel and sanitiser dispensers.

An Evening with ACOS

An Evening with ACOS is a biennial event, celebrating creative and performing arts in the Armidale Community of Schools. All Armidale public schools are represented. This year, Ben Venue's involvement will include our junior and senior choirs, selected orchestra students, and the students of S3P performing a choral speaking piece.

Tickets to An Evening with ACOS are now on sale. There are a limited number of tickets available. Click here to secure your tickets.

Cam Pryce

Principal

Parents & Citizens Association

End of term toasties