Teaching and Learning 

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is approaching for our students in Grade 3 and Grade 5, in Week 7 and Week 8 of this term. Each year, we always endeavour to make NAPLAN as stress free as possible, for both families and students. In order to prepare, there are a couple of housekeeping tasks to organise at home. 

1. Headphones: If your child is in Grade 3 and uses a school owned device, Teesdale PS will supply your child with some headphones to borrow for the testing session. These will be wired USB-C headphones. 

If your child is in Grade 5 and brings their own iPad as part of the BYOD program, they will need to bring along some headphones that suit their device. For devices with the 3.5mm headphone jack, we recommend wired headphones be brought along to school on the testing days. For devices without the headphone jack, students are able to bring either wireless bluetooth headphones or wired USB-C headphones. Wired headphones tend to have less technical problems during NAPLAN tests so for a stress free testing session, we recommend wired headphones. We also recommend students bring cheaper alternatives from Kmart/Target to school for use, however if your child already has some headphones at home that are expensive, we are able to lock these away safely before and after NAPLAN use.

2. For students in Grade 5 with a BYOD iPad, uninstall and reinstall the latest NAP Locked Down Browser App from the App store, to ensure it is the most up to date version. See attached picture of App. 

Attached to this message is also some NAPLAN information for Parents/Carers to read for more information. NAPLAN testing period will begin on Wednesday, 11th March and run through till Monday, 23rd March. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's homeroom teacher. 

Curriculum Committee

The excitement has been buzzing around Teesdale Primary School with the launch of our 2026 Curriculum Committee. Middle and Senior students submitted their persuasive expression of interest letters in Week 4 and the successful applicants were announced in Week 5. Impressively, we had nearly 50 applications, up from 24 applications in 2025. Given the enthusiasm, it was decided that all applicants were successful! This year, we have created a termly roster for students. ,

Introducing the Term 1 Curriculum Committee:

This term, students will work together to advertise reading at home! Students will make announcements at assembly, create posters for classrooms and remind students in Mr Irwin’s Morning Message. They’ll also help keep track of students reaching the 50 and 100 nights of reading, to make sure they get their special awards and prizes each week. Keep your eyes on the lookout for our amazing Curriculum Committee at Assembly this week! 

Happy learning, 

Mrs Martin