Teaching and Learning 

Semester 1 Reports 

Currently, teachers are busily writing Semester Reports, which will be sent home later this term. Whilst I know that they provide you with an insight into your child's learning and how they are going at school, more so, I also hope that they serve as an impetus for meaningful discussion with your child about what they are most proud of, what they have worked hard to achieve, and what they need to do next to move their learning forward. It's not about their level, where a mark is in relation to others, or even the expected standard- it is about the goals, drive, and determination our young people have. This is what will support them to achieve personal excellence. 

Progress is what makes us feel good and after all, learning IS wellbeing. You feel good, you do good.  

I also wanted to refer back to some important messages that we shared with you last term in relation to your child’s Semester report. Our key message related to student reporting for mathematics in Victorian government schools. 

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) has published its revised mathematics curriculum (Mathematics curriculum 2.0). All Victorian government schools are expected to start using the Mathematics curriculum 2.0 in either 2024 or 2025. 

At Karoo Primary School, we have fully implemented the Mathematics Victorian Curriculum 2.0. A part of this change will now include how Mathematics is reported to parents in Semester 1 and 2 reports. 

On your child's previous report, the teacher reported against the 3 strands of the achievement standard for mathematics (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability). Under the Mathematics curriculum 2.0, your child’s teacher will report against the achievement standard as a whole, providing a single, aggregated score. 

As the achievement standards reported on have changed, the first time you receive a report under the Mathematics 2.0 curriculum, it will only show achievement and not progress. For all reports after this, progress will be shown against the single achievement standard. 

The VCAA made these changes to help teachers plan their teaching and learning programs in mathematics, giving them more flexibility to support students to link ideas within mathematics and also with other curriculum areas. 

For further information, refer to the department’s policy on Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10.

Student Led Conferences

A REMINDERthat bookings for Student Led Conferences will open on Tuesday 10th June. 

Student Led Conferences will be held on:

Tuesday 1st July - Times are offered between 9:15am and 11:30am, 3:50pm-5:30pm and 6:00pm-7:30pm

Wednesday 2nd July - Times are offered between 3:50pm and 5:00pm

Please use Compass to make your booking or see the office or myself if you have any questions.

Below is a visual I encourage you to read, this visual provides you with helpful points on what to expect in your child's Student Led Conference. Look out for a Compass post next week, our students will share how they are feeling about the upcoming Student Led Conferences. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding your child’s learning and progress, I strongly urge you to speak directly to your child's classroom teacher.  In addition, my door is always open should you want to know more about how assessment and reporting is used at Karoo. 

As I finish this newsletter, I too want to wish Ms. Ashley Kussela all the best. She brought such knowledge, understanding and guidance to everyone hear at Karoo PS. Ashley will be sorely missed; however, I know she will always stay connected to Karoo PS.

I look forward to seeing you all around our wonderful school and have a fantastic long weekend. 

Warm Regards,

Assistant Principal

Peta Phillips