Education News

Foundation 2023

The Foundation teachers and students would like to thank the ACE Foundation for their very generous donation of a picture book for every student who started at our school in 2023.

The 2023 Foundation students have made a fantastic start to the year so far and we are very proud of them. At present we are concentrating on developing their social and emotional skills to ensure that they feel happy and confident at school. Throughout Term One we will be expanding the students' number sense skills and introducing them to our Phonics Program. Our school values of Purpose, Persistence, Pride, Passion and Positivity will be focused on as will an awareness of different cultural celebrations.

We can't wait to see you at our Meet and Greet on Wednesday March 1st.

NAPLAN will be held from Wednesday 15th March for Year 3 and 5 students. These students will sit reading, writing, conventions of language and numeracy tests.

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake.

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time.

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ educational progress.

NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

Your child will do the NAPLAN tests online.

Schools have transitioned from paper-based to computer-based assessments. All Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper.

Online NAPLAN tests provide more precise results and are more engaging for students. One of the main benefits is tailored (or adaptive) testing, where the test presents questions which may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses.

Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway. 

Please contact your classroom teacher for any further information and queries.

A Compass post will be sent out closer to the administration of NAPLAN.

Multi Age Classrooms 

Traditional schools are one of the few places children are grouped together by a single age. Nearly everywhere else – from sporting teams, to Scouts, to arts programs – children are grouped into broader age groups. This is because children of the same age are not necessarily at the same stage of development. A child may be advanced in one area – such as reading – and behind in another – such as math. Normal development takes place within a range (for example, reading skills develop anywhere from 3 years old to 6 years old), not at a specific age. 

Multi-age classrooms remove pressure and feelings of inadequacy from children, creating an environment where they can learn, succeed, and flourish.

The benefits of multi-age classrooms are that they put learning at the centre, both socially and academically. 

Children in multi- age groups develop friendships and engage in learning just as they would in same age settings, with the added bonus of being able to access peer support and lead learning for other children. These opportunities offer children the ability to develop more sophisticated social skills. Multi aged classrooms not only enriches their learning experience, it also allows them to develop independence and to feel secure in their capabilities.

In all classrooms at CSPS teachers concentrate on what children can do, rather than what they can’t do.  Teachers provide point of need, targeted learning and well being experiences build on prior knowledge. There is never any fear of failure, which builds confidence.  This aligns with our school's vision and mission statements.