Message from the

Head of Senior School

Term 4 , Week 5B

I hope the final weeks of the school year are not proving too challenging for parents and students as they approach the yearly exams.These can seem like very big hurdles for students, and there are those who argue that exams are old-fashioned and not a good way of assessing the learning that has gone on during the year. While exams may have their drawbacks, they are certainly a way of focusing the mind for students and a method whereby teachers can assess their own effectiveness in conveying to their classes the essential content and skill base needed for future learning. It is also not such a bad thing for young people to learn what it feels like to sit still and concentrate for an extended period!

Year 11 students have started their HSC courses; I urge them and their parents to be very familiar with the assessment schedule and with the policy and procedures that go with assessment. This is especially important if you are contemplating any sort of planned absence from school – absence around or on the day of an assessment task, without due arrangements having been made, can have a serious impact on student rankings and marks.

Year 7 parents will soon be receiving an email from MMG Education inviting them to complete a survey about their own and their child’s experience of the transition to secondary school at KWS. This survey allows us to hear your voice and that of your children (they will complete the survey here at school after their exams); from this we can tailor what we do to better serve future students coming into the Senior School. Please be assured that all responses are anonymous and confidential – all we receive from MMG is aggregated data and nobody is identifiable from the feedback we get. Please be frank and honest, tell us what we have got right and wrong in your opinion, as it is only by receiving open information that we know what to keep, what to change and what not to continue to do.

After their exams are over, Years 8 and Year 10 will be doing special activities – you will be receiving more detailed information on this if you are a parent of the relevant year groups. Both programs contain excellent and productive sessions that will be of practical benefit to your child.

I wish you all the best as you prepare for the end of the school year, your holidays and the festive season. And for those about to begin their harvest, I hope the returns on your hard work, particularly in the face of such challenging weather conditions, are decent and enable you to feel hopeful and confident about the future.

Bev West

Head of Senior School