Especean

Curriculum and Learning

Year 11 Student Academic Reports and Parent / Teacher Interviews

By the end of this week, the Semester 1 Reports on students of Year 11 will be posted online for parents/carers via the TASS Parent Lounge.

 

The purpose of the reports is to provide parents/carers with mid-Preliminary HSC course feedback on the academic progress of their sons and how they have settled into the routine of senior study.

 

It is worth noting a few key features of the reports include:

  • Completed Co-curricular participation thus far.

     

  • Attendance up to and including Friday 6 June, including attendance to key College events such as the Opening Mass, Swimming Carnival, Athletics Carnival, the Year 11 Retreat Day, and Founder’s Day. 

     

  • The Homeroom Teacher’s Pastoral Profile which describes the student’s general school and homeroom practices associated with grooming and uniform, co-operation, manner, punctuality, responsibility, and contribution to Mission. These profile elements are described as Consistently, Usually, Occasionally or Rarely.

     

  • The student’s academic achievement in each course over the first semester which include the Assessment Block Mark or Assessment Mark, Assessment Block Rank or Assessment Rank and Course Rank, as applicable.

     

  • The Class Teacher’s report on the student’s level of achievement in key Learning Areas of the course associated with the knowledge and understanding of content and the application of acquired skills. Achievement in Learning Areas are indicated as Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Elementary, or Limited.

     

  • The Class Teacher’s report on Student Attributes associated with the student’s approach to learning involving application, commitment, conduct, engagement, and responsibility associated with his classwork and study. These Student Attributes are described as Consistently, Usually, Satisfactorily, Occasionally or Rarely, each of which will be assigned a numerical value of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively and reported on the Pastoral Page as the Student Attribute Average or SAA with the maximum possible value attainable being 5.00.

The upcoming Parent/Teacher interviews on Monday 16 June are an opportunity for parents/carers to meet their sons’ teachers and to discuss aspects of the Semester 1 Report with respect to their sons’ progress and adjustment to study routines, including strategies and recommendations for improvement over Semester 2 in preparing for the final Year 11 examinations commencing Wednesday 27 August and to make the necessary adjustments and effort in preparation for the commencement of the HSC course in Term 4.

 

As stated in recent issues of the Especean, dated 21 May and 4 June, online bookings for interviews via the TASS Parent Lounge using the interview tab will open today at 5:00 PM, Wednesday 11 June, and will close at 9:00 AM Monday 16 June. Parents/carers are to book interview time slots themselves. The College will not be allocating interview times. For parents/carers encountering difficulties logging on to the TASS Parent Lounge, please contact the College’s IT Department via College Reception on 02 9763 1000.

 

Just a reminder that all interviews will be conducted on site and are for six minutes only. There is a two-minute break between each interview to allow the interviews to run smoothly. Please note that parents/carers cannot double book a teacher for a longer interview. Should more interview time be required, parents/carers may arrange with the teacher another mutually suitable time.

Years 7 to 10 Student Academic Reports

By the end of this week the Semester 1 Reports for Years 7 to 10 will be posted online via the TASS Parent Lounge.

 

It is worth noting a few key features of the report include:

  • Co-curricular Involvement to date, as applicable

     

  • Attendance at key College events such as the Opening Mass and High Achievers Assembly, the Swimming Carnival, the Athletics Carnival and others as applicable to relevant Year groups.

     

  • Attendance Record from Thursday 30 January for Year 7 and from Friday 31 January for Years 8, 9 and 10, up to and including Friday 6 June 2025.

     

  • The Homeroom Teacher’s Pastoral Profile, which describes the student’s general school and homeroom practices associated with grooming and uniform, co-operation, manner, punctuality, responsibility and contribution to Mission. These Profile elements are described as Consistently, Usually, Occasionally or Rarely.

     

  • A course report A, B, C, D or E Overall Achievement grade referenced to the Common Grade Scale as defined by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) which represent the collective professional judgement of the course teachers in applying the course performance descriptors and the Common Grade Scale to designated formal tasks, however, selected informal assessment activities may have supplemented evidence from the formal tasks to verify or shift a grade cut-off when on the cusp of a grade.

The Common Grade Scale criteria are as follows:

A

The student demonstrates extensive knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts and applies highly-developed skills and processes in a wide variety of contexts. In addition, the student demonstrates creative and critical thinking skills using perceptive analysis and evaluation. The student effectively communicates complex ideas and information.

 

B

The student demonstrates thorough knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts and applies well-developed skills and processes in a variety of contexts. In addition, the student demonstrates creative and critical thinking skills using analysis and evaluation. The student clearly communicates complex ideas and information.

 

C

The student demonstrates sound knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts and applies skills and processes in a range of familiar contexts. In addition, the student demonstrates skills in selecting and integrating information and communicates relevant ideas in an appropriate manner.

 

D

The student demonstrates a basic knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts and applies skills and processes in some familiar contexts. In addition, the student demonstrates skills in selecting and using information and communicates ideas in a descriptive manner.

 

E

The student demonstrates an elementary knowledge of content and understanding of course concepts and applies some skills and processes with guidance. In addition, the student demonstrates elementary skills in recounting information and communicating ideas.

 

  • A Grade Distribution in terms of the number of students awarded each A to E grade in a course.

     

  • For Years 9 and 10 reports only, a percentage Course Mark and Course Average are provided. It is important to note that the Course Mark and Course Average may have been linear mapped in some courses for parity across all courses such that an A = 85-100, B = 70-84, C = 50-69, D = 25-49 and an E = 0-24. For example, a Course Mark of 86 corresponds to an A in Overall Achievement in all courses, a Course Mark of 74 corresponds to a B, and so on for the other grades.

     

  • Achievement in one or more Learning Areas or descriptors expressed by one of the following indicators: Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Elementary or Limited. Each indicator indicates the level of performance complementary to the Common Grade Scale.

     

  • The Class Teacher’s report on Student Attributes associated with the student’s approach to learning involving application, commitment, conduct, engagement, and responsibility associated with his classwork and study. These Student Attributes are described as Consistently, Usually, Satisfactorily, Occasionally or Rarely, each of which will be assigned a numerical value of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively and reported on the Pastoral Page as the Student Attribute Average or SAA with the maximum possible value attainable being 5.00. 

It is important to note that the Overall Achievement grades and the Grade Distribution provide two kinds of information about the academic progress of students. The Overall Achievement grade gives an indication of academic performance relative to the achievement of course outcomes referenced to the Common Grade Scale. The Grade Distribution gives an indication of that performance compared with other students in the Year undertaking the course.

 

The issuing of the reports is an important time for parents/carers to constructively assess their sons’ academic progress and make the necessary adjustments for Semester 2, with the view of making realistic and progressive improvements over time.

Reminder: Years 7 to 10 Parent / Teacher Interviews

As stated in recent issues of the Especean, dated 21 May and 4 June, the Years 7 to 10 Parent/Teacher interviews will be scheduled for the afternoon and evening on Thursday 26 June from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM and on Friday 27 June from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. All interviews will be conducted in the College Gymnasium. Note that parking adjacent to the College is often difficult and limited by street parking in the surrounding residential area.

 

All students from Years 7 to 12 will be dismissed at 1:25 PM on Thursday 26 and all sports training and other co-curricular commitments on this afternoon are cancelled. Friday 27 June is a pupil free day, except for the Parent/Teacher Interviews.

 

Parents/carers are reminded that they may book interview time slots themselves via the TASS Parent Lounge using the interview tab, open today at 5:00 PM, Wednesday 11 June. The College will not be allocating interview times. Parents/carers need to ensure interviews are booked by no later than 9:00 AM, Wednesday 25 June.

 

Interviews are for five minutes only. There is a two-minute break between each interview to allow the interviews to run smoothly. Please note that parents/carers cannot double book a teacher for a longer interview. Should more interview time be required, parents/carers may arrange with the teacher another mutually suitable time.

 

There is an expectation that parents/carers will book interviews with all their sons’ teachers, if possible. There is also an expectation that students are present with at least one parent/carer for the interviews.

 

For parents/carers encountering difficulties logging on to the TASS Parent Lounge, please contact the College’s IT Department via College Reception on 02 9763 1000.

 

If for any reason a parent/carer needs to cancel or change a booked interview time after the closing times stated above, then please contact the relevant teacher via email.

 

The interviews are an opportunity for parents/carers to meet their sons’ teachers and to discuss aspects of the Semester 1 Report with respect to their sons’ progress and adjustment to study routines, including strategies and recommendations for improvement in Semester 2.

 

Please note that for parents/carers of Year 10, the interviews will not be an appropriate forum to discuss prospective subject selections for Year 11 in 2026 with individual class teachers. There will be a very thorough and extensive process, conducted by senior College staff, to specifically address upcoming subject selection for Year 11.

2026-27 Stage 5 and Stage 6 Subject Prospectuses and Information Sessions

The 2026-27 editions of the Stage 5 and Stage 6 subject prospectuses for Years 9 and 11 respectively will be posted on the TASS Parent Lounge for parents/carers and the relevant CANVAS Year pages for the students on Wednesday 25 June. A thorough and sequential subject selection process is in place and details of this process will be given at the appropriate times.

 

Subject information sessions will be held for Year 10 students on the morning of Wednesday 25 June and an elective subject information morning for Year 8 students will be held on Thursday 24 July next term.

 

In addition, on Wednesday 23 July, a Year 11-2026 information evening will be held in the College Gymnasium for parents/carers and students of Year 10 commencing at 7:00 PM and concluding at 8:30 PM. Both students and at least one parent/carer are required to attend this Year 11-2026 Information Evening. Students are required to attend in College Winter uniform.

 

The purpose of the information sessions is to complement and clarify the information provided in the subject prospectuses and to provide details of the subject selection process and other pertinent information.

 

Michael Cutrupi  

Director of Curriculum