Junior School

Supporters' Duty this Saturday

Further to Mr Fochesato’s recent correspondence, this Saturday 15 May is Supporters’ Day for all Junior School students. This is an exciting day, especially since it is their first experience, particularly Year 6 having missed out last year due to COVID-19. 

If you are not sure about the details and expectations of the day, please refer to Mr Fochesato’s recent letter. 

I am aware that some children are unable to attend this weekend’s event; these children have been granted permission to fulfil their Supporter’s Duty with a different cohort on another set date. If your son is in this position and you have not yet requested a change of date, please do so urgently by emailing me at ben.munday@spc.nsw.edu.au so your son does not incur a consequence for not fulfilling his Supporter’s Duty.

NAPLAN

This week our Year 5 students sit for NAPLAN, as do students in Years 7 and 9. We wish our boys all the best for these examinations. 

I really like and appreciate the excellent information NAPLAN gives us about a student’s performance in literacy and numeracy at a point in time. It is a diagnostic tool that gives us a snapshot of what they can already do and what we still need to teach them. As results are reported on the same scale from Year 3 through to Year 9, we can see how they are growing over time. It is an integral part of our overall assessment program. You can find information and videos on the National Assessment Program (NAP) website if you would like to further examine what NAPLAN can tell you about your child.  https://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/how-to-interpret

However, as I like to emphasise each year, while NAPLAN can tell us a lot, there is so much it cannot tell us. For instance, it does not indicate that your son is a talented footballer, a LEGO genius, a thoughtful sibling, an expressive artist, a good mate, a resilient worker in class, a speedy tree climber – you get the point. We must keep things in perspective and not try to turn NAPLAN into something it is not and cannot be. NAPLAN helps us to be more precise in teaching your son and to track his progress, and that is its intention. Please be sure your son knows it is not a high-stakes event and that it does not pass judgement on his value as a person. 

God Bless.

Ben Munday

Director of Junior School