ST NORBERT NEWS

Deputy Principals

Mr Peter Hawke, Mr Rod Dowling,  Ms Carrol Abel 

Year 7 Retreat

FOR the Year 7 retreat day next Tuesday, 14 March, parents need to ensure that they give consent, and send students with hats, water, morning tea and in sports uniform.

Students will attend Homeroom on the morning and then move to James Court where they will walk in small groups, accompanied by their teacher, to the Cannington Leisureplex. The organisation 24/7 Ministry will spend the morning with us and after a pizza lunch, the Year 7 students will enjoy an activity afternoon together before walking back to the College in time for school finishing.

NAPLAN Online – Term 1

NAPLAN Online will commence for all Year 7 and Year 9 students next Wednesday, 15 March. Students have already been participating in NAPLAN practice tests to prepare them for the online tests next week. One issue that has been identified as a result of these practice tests is the lack of plug-in headphones amongst Year 7 and 9 students. This is essential for the NAPLAN Online assessment as Bluetooth headphones can interfere with the NAPLAN browser. Plug in headphones were a required item on both the Year 7 and Year 9 booklists and students will need to be able to access them by the start of the tests. Details regarding the NAPLAN assessments were sent to Year 7 & 9 parents last Friday and a summary of the schedule is below:

  • Writing:  Monday, 15 March
  • Reading:  16 March
  • Conventions of Language: 17 March
  • Numeracy:  Monday, 20 March

Catch-up sessions will also be fitted in during the NAPLAN assessment window to ensure that students can complete the assessment if they are unable to attend school on the day of the test. Further details regarding the NAPLAN Online at St Norbert College will be made available to students in the coming weeks and further information about the NAPLAN testing can be found at:

https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/assessment/testing/naplan

https://www.nap.edu.au/home

Class of 2023 Update

WITH the first term over the halfway mark, Year 12 students are quickly realising that their time at the College is becoming less and less each day. Already this term our Year 12 students have participated in some memorable occasions with Kairos 33 being a clear highlight for the 32 Year 12 students who attended. There are many more great events planned for the Class of 2023 and I would encourage all Year 12 students to make the most of remaining time at the College.

As the year rolls on, focus also switches to preparing for the final push towards graduation at the end of the year. In this regard, the School Curriculum and Standards Authority has published some guidelines and advice for Year 12 students to follow in the lead up to the completion of the school year. The first of these is the requirement for every Year 12 student access the Student Portal and complete the Student Declaration and Permission. Information regarding accessing the SCSA Student Portal has been sent to students and families via SEQTA Direqt Message and also is available in the Year 12 Team.

SCSA have also released the Year 12 Handbook 2023 Part One which is an excellent resource for students and families to help them navigate the complexities and potential challenges of completing school and heading off on a post-school pathway. Part One focuses on the SCSA Student Portal, the WACE/WASSA and providing advice on how students can ensure that they have a healthy and rewarding Year 12 experience. Part Two will be released in July and will have a greater focus on the WACE examinations. The SCSA Year 12 Handbook 2023 Part One is available in the Graduating Class of 2023 Team and also from the SCSA website.

 

Parent Drop Off and Pick Up

WITH large numbers of students being dropped off before school and picked up immediately after school, we urge parents to be mindful of some important points in order to ensure the safety of all in our community:

  • The Main Administration car park and the Staff car park (near the pool) are NOT drop off or pick up locations for parents. The movement of bodies through this area means that additional cars cause a danger to our students.
  • The bus bays on Centre Street are not a place for parents to park.
  • There is parking available for parents on Treasure Road as well as outside the Xanten Performing Arts Centre.
  • Parents are also asked to ensure that L-Plate drivers do not drive in the immediate vicinity of the College either before or after school.  The large number of students moving around the area means that inexperienced drivers may not have the skills to cope with random student movements.

Parents are also reminded that students should not be dropped off at school before 8.20am unless they are participating in a Co-Curricular activity at the College. Active supervision by staff does not occur before this time and if in the event this does happen, students will need to wait in the Year 7 area outside Student Services until staff take up their supervision duties. Similarly, students should have departed the College by 3.40pm each day unless involved in an activity or are attending an academic study or catch-up session.

Student Reviews - Year 11/12

THE Student Review is conducted at the mid-point of Term 1 for all Year 11 and Year 12 courses, and provides feedback for students with regard to how they are tracking in the categories of Achievement and/or Application. The rating system includes the following: 

  • The student is tracking well = The student receives a rating of ‘1’ (This student would be considered to be currently exceeding expectations)
  • The student is tracking as expected = The student receives a rating of ‘2’ (This student would be considered to be currently achieving the expectations)
  • The student is not yet tracking as expected  =  The student receives a rating of ‘3’ (This student would be considered to be currently limited in the achievement of the expectations)

An update of these ratings will be sent to families and will highlight where a student has achieved a ‘1’ or a ‘3’ in a particular subject. The aim is to provide initial feedback on academic achievement and effort and make contact with the respective subject teachers to discuss any concerns or additional learning requirements.

WACE Checker

THE WACE checker allows a student to determine whether they are on track to achieve the WACE in Year 12. Using the link provided, students in Year 12 can enter their course achievement (including VET certificates and Endorsed programs) from Year 11, as well as their predicted grades for year 12 courses and track their progress towards the WACE. The following link will enable you to access the WACE Checker: https://wacechecker.scsa.wa.edu.au/

 

Externally Set Tasks - Year 12

ALL students enrolled in a General Year 12 course and/or a Foundation Year 12 course are required to complete the externally set task (EST) developed by the Authority for that course. The EST is compulsory and forms part of the school-based assessment and is included as a separate assessment type with a weighting of 15% for the pair of units.

The ESTs are administered in schools during on designated days from Week 2.2 through to Week 2.4 under standard (classroom) test conditions. The EST will take 50 minutes. The ESTs are marked by teachers in each school using a marking key provided by the Authority.

The ESTs are assessment tasks which the Authority develops and distributes to schools for administering to students for each Year 12 General and Foundation course.

 

The aim and purpose of the EST is to:

  • Help ensure fair assessment of student achievement in Year 12 General and Foundation courses.
  • Has an educative role in establishing common understandings among teachers of the course standards and related content.
  • Provides access to feedback, which will encourage teachers to review and, where appropriate, adjust their marking.
  • Model best assessment practice which teachers can apply to other school-based assessment tasks.
  • Helps inform the Authority’s other moderation activities.

The EST is marked by the teacher/s delivering the course using the marking key provided by the Authority and the College provides the total raw mark for each student to the Authority. The EST is administered in the following way:

  • Is a written assessment task (not practical, performance or oral).
  • Is constructed to be completed in 50 minutes.
  • Is based on selected syllabus content from Unit 3.
  • Can comprise several items or components/parts
  • Is developed to provide discrimination between students of differing abilities.
  • Can require students to refer to stimulus material.
  • Can require students to refer to work/activities they have completed during Semester 1 (particularly in courses with a significant practical component).
  • Is provided in a question/answer booklet.
  • Is developed in conjunction with the marking key which will be used by teachers.

The ESTs will be conducted in the regular scheduled class for that course on either a Monday or Tuesday in Term Two (Week 2, 3 or 4), or on the Wednesday (if required). Students must attend as the EST will contribute 15% of the course mark for each General or Foundation course.

[Ref: https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/externally-set-tasks] 

OPEN DAY 2023

THE College hosted a wonderful Open Day last Friday with great numbers of visitors in both the morning and afternoon sessions. It is a day when we proudly show how our College operates on a normal day with tours led by students from different year groups. We received positive feedback about the classes observed and glowing reports about our friendly and knowledgeable student tour guides. Thank you to our staff and students who assisted and contributed towards this successful event by living out our College motto ‘Prepared for All Good Works’. As we have healthy enrolments in all year levels and a waiting list, it is vital that enrolment forms are submitted as soon as possible and prior to the end of Year 4.

 

_ Deputy Principals 
Ms Carrol Abel (Years 7 & 10) 
Mr Rod Dowling (Years 8 & 11) 
Mr Peter Hawke (Years 9 & 12.