Leadership Report

Term 1, Week 5 

Dear families,

Last week we successfully completed our Parent Teacher Interviews, where teachers and families got to meet and share information which will set up our students for a successful year. It was wonderful to walk around the school and chat to parents about how the year has started and by all accounts, everything seems to be tracking very well. We sincerely thank our classroom teachers for their work in making these interviews such a success as well, their commitment to our students and school is incredible.

Policies

A reminder that all our school policies are uploaded onto the Williamstown North Primary School website. They are updated at various times throughout the year, please keep checking in to find more information.

Hobsons Bay Network

Last week, we attended Professional Development with the other Principals and Assistant Principals of the other 25 schools within the Hobsons Bay network of schools. The professional development session was geared towards building a cultural action plan within which, we will work towards achieving the best learning and wellbeing outcomes for all our students. It was really reaffirming to see that the work we’re doing at Williamstown North Primary School mirrors the direction in which the Department of Education are supporting schools and networks of schools. 

School Council

Next week, we will have our last school council meeting of the 2025 academic year. After this, nominations for 2026 council will be put to the community by Darcie. If you’d like to be involved, please keep an eye out for the Compass news item calling for nominations. 

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in the National Assessments Program - Literacy And Numeracy (NAPLAN) between Wednesday 11th March and Thursday 26th March, inclusive of catchup days for any absent student. NAPLAN assesses the Literacy and Numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents and carers to see how your children are progressing against national proficiency standards. It also provides us with information about the effectiveness of our teaching and learning programs and whether our students are achieving important learning outcomes in both Literacy and Numeracy.

All bar the Year 3 writing test will be completed online, are adaptive, and designed to provide precise results as students are presented with questions that may be more or less difficult depending on their responses to previous questions. Adaptive testing allows a wide 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.  

NAPLAN is for all Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students and ACARA supports inclusive testing, so all students can participate in the National Assessment Program. Reasonable adjustments for students with diverse functional needs will be made on a case-by-case basis and an exemption from participating granted in exceptional circumstances. These decisions will be informed by classroom teacher input and at parent requests. If you’d like to further discuss any of this, please email shevani.moodley@education.vic.gov.au and we can arrange a time to meet.

For many students, these assessments can bring a mix of big emotions, which is completely normal. Please remind your children that NAPLAN is just one snapshot of their learning journey, and it’s important to remember that it does not define their abilities, their potential, and/or future. NAPLAN is designed to inform teaching and learning — not to place pressure on students or families. What matters most is that children feel safe, supported, and confident in themselves.

At school, our focus during NAPLAN is on helping students feel prepared, calm, and supported. Teachers are:

1. Reinforcing that NAPLAN is simply another learning experience
2. Practising familiar question formats so there are no surprises
3. Encouraging effort rather than perfection
4. Maintaining normal classroom routines to reduce pressure

At home, helpful strategies to support and provide stability and reassurance include:

1. Emphasise effort rather than scores
2. Maintain regular sleep routines
3. Provide healthy meals and plenty of water
4. Allow time for play, exercise, and relaxation
5. Avoid comparing children to siblings or peers

However, if your child shows ongoing distress, strong avoidance, or significant anxiety, please reach out. Our teachers and wellbeing staff are here to work together with families to support every student.

Kind regards,

Richard, Shevani, and Jonathon

Leadership Team for 2026