From the Principal...

Naplan

Students in Year 3 and 5 will be sitting Naplan in May this year. NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy – important skills that each child needs to succeed in school and life. The NAPLAN tests are designed to help us make sure students are on track with their literacy and numeracy development. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in NAPLAN tests for reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

Between the 14th and the 24th May, our school will participate in NAPLAN Online. Students do not need to be computer experts to take the NAPLAN test online. Making sure students have computer skills is part of our school curriculum, and our teachers will ensure your child is familiar with the online format.

The students will sit a practice test on Monday 1st April.

To see the types of questions and interactive features of NAPLAN Online, visit the public demonstration site.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN Online, please contact your child’s teacher.

For more info:

Kindergarten 2020

On Wednesday 1st May we will be holding our Preschool Open Morning for parents of children starting in Kindergarten in 2020. At this stage we have had a number of inquiries from new families wanting to start at our school next year. If you are a current family and have a child commencing in 2020 can you please let the ladies in the office know so that they can add them to our list.

National Future Schools Conference and Expo

This week I am attending the National Future Schools Conference with five other staff from our school. This conference takes a strategic look at the future of teaching and learning by re-imagining 21st century education and re-designing learning experiences and spaces. There are six parallel conferences running with our staff attending the Future Leaders Conference, the ClassTech Conference, the Young Learners Conference and the Inclusive Education Conference.

The Future Leaders Conference looks at the latest global trends and developments in school education, including changes to the: schooling system; society; behaviour; pedagogy; curriculum; technology; professional learning; and learning spaces. Times are changing and we need our children to be prepared for the global, competitive, digital world.

ClassTECH encompasses ICT across the curriculum, STEM, and the new Australian Curriculum - Design Technologies. ClassTECH will help to harness the potential of existing classroom technologies, embrace new technologies, and understand how to prepare our students for what is coming.

The Young Learners Conference is designed as a highly practical and visionary event for all K-2 educators and school leaders. Delegates will hear from mobile learning to augmented reality, gaming, coding, maker space, connected classrooms and robotics. There are practical sessions and hands on workshops, this conference aims to equip teachers with the tools and practical know-how to integrate and teach Digital Technologies with confidence.

The Inclusive Education Conference is designed to help and provide ideas on how to integrate and support children with learning difficulties and disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Asperger’s, Auditory Processing Disorder, Behavioural Issues, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Gifted Children and a variety of others. Teachers will come away with practical ideas that can be easily implemented in the classroom and will significantly upgrade students learning capacities and outcomes.

We are looking forward to bringing back many new ideas to integrate into our school and classrooms to improve all student learning.