Curriculum & Data

It is an exciting time for students in Years 10 and 8. Year 10 have just entered their subject selection preferences for Year 11 and Year 8 have just attended their subject selection evening.

At the Year 8 subject selection evening we launched a new initiative for the school. In 2025, students in Year 9 will have the opportunity to study a VET course, either Business Services, Retail or Financial Services. VET courses are normally only offered in Stage 6. This means that current Year 8 students, at the end of Year 10, will finish with a Certificate III in their chosen VET course, a nationally recognised qualification. If they choose to sit the HSC at the end of Year 10, in their chosen VET course, they will have completed 2 of the 10 units required for the HSC. 

In regard to subject selection, please also keep an eye out for the emails I will send regarding the NSW School of Languages. This is another avenue students may decide to explore- they can study one of a number of languages outside of the school. Please be prompt at completing application forms, as places are limited and not guaranteed.

This term we will also see Year 11 complete Minimum Standards Testing, as well as their Yearly Preliminary Examinations. Now is the time for Year 11 students to be making comprehensive study notes and complete practice papers and submitting them to their teachers so they can gain valuable feedback. 

Year 7 and 9 students should have by now received their NAPLAN results. NAPLAN results allow parents and teachers to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time- individually, as part of their school and against national standards. These tests are part of an  important contribution to monitoring and evaluating the performance of schools and school systems in these fundamental capabilities. They also provide schools, states and territories with information about how educational approaches are working and what areas need to be flagged and prioritised for improvement. 

Over the next semester, teachers at Brigidine will be looking at NAPLAN results as well as other data such as summative and formative assessment, Allwell Testing and teacher observation to see student areas of strength and areas which need to be further developed and improved upon. 

At Brigidine, we are very proud of the achievements of students and their positive attitude when undertaking assessments. We intend to use data to track students progress, and examine research based practices which impact student learning.

Trish Smith

Director of Curriculum and Data