Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Update

Assistant Principal Curriculum and Reporting: Kara Dunstan

Learning Specialist Curriculum (Years 7 - 10): Alison Dowler

As we come to the end of Term 1, I would like to acknowledge the positive start our students have made to the academic year at Western Port Secondary College.

NAPLAN – Year 7 & 9

Our Year 7 and Year 9 students recently completed NAPLAN, approaching the assessments with focus and maturity. We commend students for their efforts during this period. Families will receive individual results early in Term 3, which will provide valuable insight into student progress in literacy and numeracy.

5-Week Progress Reports

This week, our 5-week progress reports will be released via Compass on Thursday. These reports provide an early snapshot of each student’s learning behaviours, including community, achievement, respect and engagement. We encourage families to review these together and use them as a basis for setting goals for Term 2.

Homework Policy

Our Homework Policy continues to be an important part of supporting student learning. Homework is set to reinforce and consolidate classroom learning and is expected to be completed outside of class time. Establishing consistent homework routines is key to building independence and strong study habits. Homework expectations for students across years 7-12 can be seen in the table below. 

Year 7 Curriculum InnovationAt the Year 7 level, our Curriculum Innovators have been leading work grounded in cognitive science, including the implementation of a low-variance curriculum. This approach ensures all students benefit from explicit instruction, consistent lesson structures and carefully sequenced learning, helping to improve knowledge retention and reduce cognitive overload.

Cognitive Science

Term 1 has involved a lot of new learning for not only our students but our staff too. We began the term presenting to all staff about Cognitive Science and how this can help improve teaching and learning at Western Port. Cognitive Science covers how the brain processes, stores and retrieves information to make learning more effective. Our teachers were exposed to the idea of ‘cognitive load’ and how we can help reduce this in our classrooms to optimise the learning environment. Our Year 12 VCE students also had a presentation on cognitive science to help improve study techniques and learning within the classroom. 

Thank you to our students and families for your ongoing support throughout Term 1. We look forward to continuing this strong start into Term 2.