Curriculum and Learning

Years 7 to 10 Yearly Reports

By the end of this week, Yearly 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 and Year based events such as Reflection and Social Justice days and others, as applicable to relevant Year groups.
   
• Attendance Record from Monday 17 June up to and including Tuesday 26 November 2024. (Note that the Semester 1 Report included attendance up to Friday 14 June 2024.)
   
• 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 represents the Class Teacher’s professional judgement 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.

• 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, a percentage Course Mark and Course Average are included. It is important to note that for this reporting period, the Course Mark and Course Average have been linear mapped for parity across all subjects such as an A = 85-100, B = 70-84, C = 50-69, D = 25-49 and an E = 0-24. For example, a Course Mark of 85 and above corresponds to an A in Overall Achievement, a Course Mark of 70 to 84 corresponds to a B, 50 to 69 is a C, and so on.
   
• 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 subject.

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

Speech Night 2024

A reminder as per the last two issues of the Especean, the College’s Annual Speech Night will proceed this year at the Quaycentre Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday 3 December commencing at 6:30 PM with an estimated finish time around 8:30 PM – 8.45 PM. Parking for the Quaycentre will be available in Sydney Olympic Park P3 on Sarah Durack Avenue.

Attendance is compulsory for all students from Years 5 to 11. All students from Years 5 to 10 are to be in attendance in full College Summer uniform. All Year 11 students, all prize winners and some performers will be required to wear their blazers, and they will be reminded separately.

Entry doors to the venue’s Main Arena are scheduled to open at 5:30 PM, seated by 6:15 PM. Entry / exit details are as follows:

• Door 1: Year 6 students and their parents, carers and guests                
• Door 2: Year 5 students and parents, carers and guests of Years 5, 7 to 11
• Door 5: Students of Years 7 to 11 and prize winners

Outside purchased food or drink are not allowed inside the venue. Students are not allowed to chew gum nor have water/drink bottles on the Main Arena floor.

All students are to report to their homeroom teacher on arrival in the Main Area to have their names marked off and they will be shown where to sit.

Please note that the upper concourse level kiosks will be trading for snacks and refreshments from 5:30 PM but will close at 8:00 PM. Parents/carers cannot deliver food nor drink to their sons on the Main Arena floor once inside the venue, that includes before, during or after official proceedings.

It is also important to note that full student attendance at the College is compulsory and expected on each school day up to the last day of term, i.e., up to 3:10 PM on Tuesday 3 December at school followed by Speech Night in the evening.

Another Reminder: Years 7 to 11 Optional Parent / Teacher Interviews

Optional Parent/Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Wednesday 4 December in two sessions, 8.00 AM – 11.00 AM and then 3.00 PM – 6.00 PM. The interviews shall take place in the College Gymnasium.

The interview booking facility in TASS will be open to parents/carers at 9.00 AM on Friday 22 November and will close at 12 noon on Monday 2 December. Thereafter, any parental request to change an interview time must be made by mutual agreement with the teacher via email. 

Parents/carers are reminded that they may book interview time slots themselves via the TASS Parent Lounge using the Interview Tab. The College will not be allocating interview times. Parents/carers need to ensure interviews are booked by no later than 12 noon, Monday 2 December.

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.

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 discuss aspects of the Yearly Report with their sons’ teachers with the intention of making improvements for the new scholastic year ahead.

Please note that for parents/carers of Years 8 and 10, the interviews will not be an appropriate forum to discuss prospective elective subject changes for next year with individual class teachers. As has been emphasised in appropriate forums this year, applications for elective subject changes will open in Week 4 of Term 1 next year and not before.

End of Term, the Holidays and Year 12-2025 HSC Preparations

I would like to encourage all the boys of our new Year 12 to use the upcoming holidays wisely and not to let the time pass without having done substantial preparation for the 2025 HSC. Preparation for the Year 12 Assessment Block, which commences Monday 3 March, is essential. There will be enough time to enjoy the upcoming festive season and holidays with family and friends as well as time for constructive study.

It certainly has been a very busy fourth term for all and the boys are obviously looking forward to the break.

I wish all parents/carers and boys a joyful and peaceful Christmas, a Happy New Year and a safe return to first term in 2025 which commences Thursday 30 January for Years 5, 7 and 12 and Friday 31 January for Years 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

God Bless.

Michael Cutrupi 

Director of Curriculum

Year 10 Reflection Program and Transition to Senior Study

This week, all boys in Year 10 are participating in their Transition to Senior Study program. The current Year Ambassadors selected the theme for this year’s program: AI in Education: Innovation with Integrity.

Across the three days of the program, students will complete the four modules of NESA’s mandatory All My Own Work (AMOW) course:

• What is all my own work?
• What is plagiarism?
• How do I acknowledge other people’s work?
• How can I work honestly?

Although this program is primarily designed to prepare Higher School Certificate students to follow the principles and practices of good scholarship, it has much relevance and application to all students engaged in assignment work involving research and/or group work. This includes understanding and valuing ethical practices when locating, selecting and using information as part of their course work and assessments.

It is a mandatory requirement for all students across the State to complete the program before entering senior studies.

Students and interested parents/carers may access the NESA All My Own Work program here.

In addition to AMOW, students will learn more about generative artificial intelligence, how it works, what the implications of this new technology are, and some tips on how to use it to support their study without allowing it to do the important work of thinking for them.

To ensure the boys internalise their learning, they will work in a small group to plan, research, and create a persuasive or informative project that applies the principles of AMOW and demonstrates their understanding of an aspect of AI in education.

Projects are due on Friday 29 November and the best three projects from each Core class will be featured in a showcase at the end of Week 7.  Prizes will be awarded for Best Demonstration of Theme, Best Application of All My Own Work principles and Most Creative. The judges for this year’s competition are the 2025 Vice Captains, Joshua Malone and Gideon Benedict, and the Learning and Technology Prefect Dominic Short.

The All My Own Work program is integrated with and complements all senior NESA syllabuses. The principles and practices of the All My Own Work program are already well established and embedded in the College’s Assessment Policy and procedures.

Class Structures 2025

The process of the placement of your son in his classes for 2025 is being completed this week. As you can appreciate, it is essential that as professionals we engage in rich and genuine discussion around the structure and composition of all classes to best meet the learning needs of your son at St Patrick’s College. The process of constructing classes is a lengthy one involving evaluation of assessment results, collation of feedback from current class teachers, input from diverse learning specialists, counsellors and faculty leaders, and extensive work with year coordinators. Class structures for any given year will vary based on the data for each cohort. 

Our extension program for Gifted and High Potential students, the F Gleeson Program, commences from 2025. The only change this brings to class structures for next year is the introduction of a Year 5 extension class.

For 2025, the following structures apply:

• Year 5:
  • One Gleeson class (Extension). As this is a new program and we will not know they boys personally, there may be slight changes to the composition of the Gleeson class across the year.
  • Six mixed ability classes.
  • Class allocation will be based on information from primary schools and data from the Academic Assessment Services test (Allwell).
     
• Year 6:
  • One Gleeson class (Extension).
  • Six mixed ability classes.
  • Class allocation will be based on information school-based assessment data, psychometric reports, data from the Academic Assessment Services test (Allwell), teacher professional judgement and observation data from specialist teachers.
     
• Year 7:
  • English
    • One Gleeson and one Advanced class 
    • One small cohort targeted intervention class to support skill development in literacy 
    • Six mixed ability classes.
  • Mathematics 
    • One Gleeson class
    • One small cohort targeted intervention class to support skill development in literacy 
    • The remainder of students allocated to Advanced, Intermediate or Standard bands based on demonstrated ability and Year 6 AAS results.
  • Core (Religion, Science, History, Geography and PDHPE)
    • One Gleeson class and one Advanced class
    • Six mixed ability classes.
  • Practical (Visual Arts, Music and Technology Mandatory)
    • One Gleeson class each for Visual Arts and Music
    • Eight mixed ability groupings.
       
• Year 8:
  • English 
    • One Gleeson and one Advanced class 
    • One small cohort targeted intervention class to support skill development in literacy 
    • Six mixed ability classes.
  • Mathematics 
    • One Gleeson class
    • One small cohort targeted intervention class to support skill development in literacy 
    • The remaining seven classes allocated in bands to Advanced, Intermediate or Standard classes based on demonstrated ability and Year 6 AAS results.
  • Core (Religion, Science, History, Geography, Languages and PDHPE)
    • One Gleeson class and one Advanced class
    • Seven mixed ability classes.
  • Practical (Visual Arts, Music and Technology Mandatory)
    • One Gleeson class each for Visual Arts and Music
    • Eight mixed ability groupings.
       
• Year 9:
  • English 
    • Two Advanced classes
    • Six mixed ability classes.
  • Mathematics 
    • One Accelerated Mathematics class as the extension group
    • One Pathway to Extension class
    • Two Pathway to Advanced classes
    • Four Pathway to Standard classes.
  • Core (Religion, Science, History, Geography, Languages and PDHPE)
    • One Gleeson class and one Advanced class
    • Six mixed ability classes.
       
• Year 10:
  • English: 
    • One Pathway to Extension class
    • One Advanced class
    • Five mixed ability classes. 
  • Mathematics:
    • One accelerated Mathematics class as the extension group
    • One Pathway to Extension class
    • Two Pathway to Advanced classes
    • Three Pathway to Standard classes.
  • Science/Core:
    • Two advanced classes in Science which will differ in composition from the two advanced classes for the remaining Core subjects of Religion, History, Geography and PDHPE
    • Five mixed ability classes.

F Gleeson and Advanced classes are carefully constructed using multiple measures of student aptitude and ability, including school-based and external assessments such as the Academic Attainment Services test (AAS), but also referencing characteristics of giftedness, classroom performance and teacher professional judgement. In some cases, the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices test has also been administered to help guide our discernment regarding appropriate placement of students into advanced classes. For Years 9 and 10, placement in an Advanced class is influenced more heavily by school-based assessment results which by Stage 5 are a demonstration of a student’s applied skills.

Mixed ability classes are true mixed ability. These classes are also carefully constructed, looking at combinations of students, learning needs and abilities and demonstrated achievement.

Students will find out their classes and teachers when timetables are released on Edval in late January 2025. Any initial questions regarding class placements for 2025 should be directed to the relevant faculty leader for Mathematics and English classes, or to me for Core classes.

Implications of AI for Learning 

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about AI in Education and at SPC. This week, I follow up with a focus on the implications of AI for learning and wellbeing. 

Learning happens when we engage in cognitive struggle. The posing of a challenge, the repeated exposure to new words or knowledge, the engagement in a course of study or experience or discussion – all these are factors influencing learning. Just as muscles do not grow without adequate nutrition or exercise, the brain does not learn without cognitive struggle. When students pop their homework questions into ChatGPT or ask a chatbot to answer an essay question for them, or have Mathos answer mathematics problems, they might be saving time, but they are taking shortcuts to real learning. Expecting to learn by getting AI to do the work for you is like expecting your muscles to bulk up because you have watched a few fitness videos. You gain exposure to useful information, but real progress can only come from active participation and physical or cognitive engagement.

Dr Sabrina Little, in a recent Psychology Today article titled “Why Students Should Resist Using ChatGPT”, quotes philosopher and educator Mortimer Adler: "Anyone who has done any thinking, even a little bit, knows that it is painful. It is hard work—in fact, the very hardest that human beings are ever called upon to do. It is fatiguing, not refreshing. If allowed to follow the path of least resistance, no one would ever think." Little goes on to say, “This is a problem because ‘genuine learning is…thinking,’ and thinking is transformative. It involves an interior transformation of a person’s mind and character.”

Early studies bear out the concerns of outsourcing the struggle of learning. Jill Barshay, in her MindShift article “Kids Who Use ChatGPT as a Study Assistant Do Worse on Tests” reports on a University of Pennsylvania study conducted with 1,000 high school students. Some students used a chatbot to help study and complete practice problems. Others used a chatbot as a tutor and still others completed their practice and study on their own. Those who used AI for study or as a tutor did incredibly well in practice, but when it came to the examination, had results nowhere near those of the students who did the work on their own. The authors of the study likened using ChatGPT for learning to the use of autopilot in aviation, where the Federal Aviation Administration in the US has warned that pilots need to minimise use of autopilot to ensure their cognitive problem solving skills stay sharp. Barshay concludes, “Getting the right results to one problem won’t help (students) with the next one.”

Generative Artificial Intelligence is not going away, and we need to equip our learners with skills in how to make best use of this new tool. But we must also remain true to our core imperative to grow students as learners; this requires us to be vigilant and critical about how and when to make use of the “shiny new toy”. Along with teaching skills and knowledge, we will need a greater focus on metacognition so our students not only learn, but understand HOW they learn.

I also recommend Mr Byrne’s article from two weeks ago where he mentioned the tragic story of a young man who took his life after engaging in regular conversation with a chatbot. The article Artificial Intelligence and Social-Emotional Learning Are on a Collision Course highlights platforms such as Replika, where an account can be created enabling someone to “converse with a chatbot” as a friend, a mentor or even as a romantic partner. Social-emotional skills are core to what makes us human. Anthropomorphising a chatbot holds a danger in that chatbots are nothing more than predictive text machines. Our Wellbeing Team will be focusing on opportunities in the new year to address the social and emotional implications of using chatbots as “friends”. In the meantime, I urge our parents to have open conversations with your children regarding how they are using AI and for what purposes.

Best wishes for a beautiful and blessed Christmas and a lovely and relaxing break in the weeks ahead. I look forward to working with you in my new role next year as Instructional Coach (Literacy).

Denise Lombardo 

Director of Learning and Innovation 

McGlade Library 2024 - By the numbers

This year, the McGlade Library has been bustling with activity, and we’re excited to share some key insights in a fun, visual format! Our new infographic captures everything from borrowing trends to student engagement, giving you a snapshot of how the library supports our school community.

Top Reads: The most borrowed books this year reflect a mix of adventure, fantasy, and graphic novels. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series as well as Felix and Zelda series continues to top the charts, with graphic novels gaining popularity among Year 7 and 8 students.

Study Success: There are many students accessing the library during Recess and Lunch for quiet study or group projects, as well as playing chess and games such as UNO with their friends. 

Programs and Events: This semester saw a fantastic response to our chess competitions for students. Our Book Week activities brought students together for trivia, games, and book discussions.

Digital Resources: The use of ClickView and our LibGuides (library website) and other online platforms has continued to grow, highlighting the growing importance of digital tools in research and learning.

Look at our McGlade Library 2024 infographic to see how our library is making an impact! We’re here to support every student’s reading, learning, and creativity.

Jessica Lonard

Head of Library and Information Services