Curriculum News

Head of Senior School Curriculum - Ms Jennifer Smeed

Year 5 -12 Reports

Our reporting processes allow for academic progression and learning behaviours to be formally reported home at the end of a term or unit.  At the end of Week 10, reports cards for students in all year levels will be accessible on the Parent Lounge. These reports cards are different for certain year levels depending on their sequence of study-

• For Years 5-10 students, these will be mid-semester interim reports giving a brief snapshot of your son’s progress and learning behaviours to date.
• For Year 11, full Unit 2 report cards will be published.
• For Year 12, a progress report giving an outline of Unit 4 to date.

For students in Years 7-10, their reports will contain an interview section. This allows staff to request a parent/teacher interview or a conversation about the progress of your son in their subject. If an interview is requested, this will be for the next round of interviews on 5 October.

We thank our teachers for the effort in completing this valuable feedback for you and your son’s to discuss over the holiday break and set learning goals for Term 4.

Year 11 Subject Changes 

The end of Term 3 also signifies the end of Unit 2 study for our Year 11 students. Unit 3, which also includes summative assessment in General subjects, commences at the beginning of Term 4. According to QCAA guidelines, students are unable to change subjects throughout Unit 3 and 4 as these units are completed as a pair. Therefore, if your son is thinking about changing subjects, can you please encourage him to go to the Studies Office to see Ms Smeed or Mr Knight by the end of this term.

Year 10-11 Exam Block – Week 9

This week our Term 3 Year 10 and 11 Exam Block commenced allowing an opportunity for students to study for their exams from home when they are not required on campus. Year 10 Exam Block will run from Monday 6 – Thursday 9 September, with students returning to normal timetabled classes on Friday 10 September.

Year 11 Exam Block runs across the whole of next week (Monday 6 to Friday 10 September). Year 11 students will return to the normal timetable class on Monday 13 September. 

When utilising the exam block to study at home, the expectations are as follows:

1. Normal College rules apply when on campus
2. Boys must arrive to and from school in full school uniform
3. Boys are to travel directly to and from school without congregating at shops, outside other schools or the like
4. Boys must arrive 15 minutes prior to their scheduled exam
5. Boys must bring all required equipment (calculator, pens, highlighters etc.)
6. Boys must adhere to the exam coordinators’ instructions at all times.

Boys are also encouraged to bring their equipment in a clear plastic sleeve or container and that their water bottle should be clear. This is great practice for external assessment in Year 12.

External assessment invigilators for QCAA 

The QCAA appoints members of the Queensland community to observe the administration of assessments. The invigilator role is independent; they are appointed to observe and report on the administration of the external assessments. Invigilators play an important role in promoting public confidence in the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) system and ensuring that proper and fair administrative procedures are implemented.

Invigilator roles 

Applications from Queensland community members for invigilator roles are now open. Invigilators are appointed as casual employees. 

Role summary 

Invigilator duties and eligibility requirements are detailed in the External Assessment invigilator: Position description located at https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/external-assessment/external-assessment-invigilators. In brief, invigilators are required to attend allocated assessment sessions at assessment venues to observe the administration of assessments. Invigilators report their observations to the QCAA after each assessment session by completing an online Invigilator report. Invigilators do not move or distribute materials, participate in or assist with any aspect of the administration of assessments, supervise or have any contact with students, or provide advice or feedback to staff at assessment venues about any aspect of the administration of the assessment 

Eligibility 

To be eligible to apply for a QCAA invigilator role, community members must hold a current, paid blue card, or, for teachers with a current Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) registration, an exemption card from Blue Card Services. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and eligible to work in Australia. They must possess personal attributes of discretion, tact, attention to detail, and an ability to maintain confidentiality, as well as meeting straightforward requirements for identification and access to technology. 

If you are interested in invigilator positions within the school community or you worked as an invigilator in 2020, you need to reapply for 2021. Prospective applicants should follow the below steps:

1. Read the attached External assessment invigilator: Position description and the frequently asked questions, available on the QCAA website at: https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/external-assessment/external-assessment-invigilators/external-assessment-invigilators-faqs
2. Obtain your paid blue card (or exemption card for teachers) from Blue Card Services.
3. If necessary, register for a QCAA Portal account, following the instructions in the External assessment invigilator: Position description.
4. Submit your application for a QCAA invigilator role via the Assessor Jobs app in the QCAA Portal. To find out more please email externalassessment@qcaa.qld.edu.au or phone (07) 3074 7570.

Head of Middle School Curriculum - Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg

NAPLAN results 2021

This week you will receive your son’s NAPLAN results, which can be accessed digitally on the parent lounge.  A hard copy will be sent home in a sealed envelope with your son in the coming days. 

When reviewing your son’s results please note that NAPLAN complements school assessments of literacy and numeracy and when coupled with internal achievement data contributes to a balanced view of student achievement.  Each of the five tests contains questions that vary in difficulty to cover a broad range of student abilities and have been written with reference to the national Statements of Learning for English and the Statements of Learning for Mathematics.

Only some aspects of literacy (Language Conventions, Writing and Reading) and numeracy (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability) are assessed.  Your son’s writing result is also based on first-draft writing. 

Your son’s results are recorded in bands on a scale and an indication of the national minimum standard (NMS) is provided.  NMS identifies some of the skills and understandings that students can generally demonstrate at their particular year of schooling, in a specific domain.  Information on the report will describe a summary of skills assessed and a short statement on how to read the report, as displayed below.

If you would like further information on how to interpret your son’s result please click here. 

I would like to congratulate the following boys who have shown marked progress between testing years. 

Year 7-9 Scheduled Exams

This week your son will sit his exams.  Your son will sit these exams and then return to the normal school timetable. 

Sitting cohort exams provides practice for our students to sit these tests in an environment that mimics senior exams (Years 10-12) as well as providing assessment integrity.  Your son is to ensure that he has all the necessary equipment for his exam days. This includes:

• 2B pencil
• Sharpener
• Eraser
• Blue, black and red pen
• Calculator
• Water Bottle

Secondary Learning Leader - Mr Adam Knight

With most exams this week, it is time to employ techniques to get the most of committing concepts and skills from “things I have done” to “things I can do”.

The use of Flash Cards is an effective method of memorising – both in using them, and creating them. The following website provides a wonderful set of tips and tricks in both creating and using them for effective memory recall: https://collegeinfogeek.com/flash-card-study-tips/

More memory techniques—some simple, some complex—can be found here: https://toggl.com/blog/memorization-techniques-professionals. I have seen the Loci method used amazingly by those who practice it. 

Of course, nothing replaces regular, planned and active study where students are producing materials that they can use further for revision and/or practice the skills and processes they need to demonstrate in their exams. 

Work hard this week, boys.