Parent & Student Matters 

• UNSW Programming Competition
• Holiday workshops (Year 12 students)
• NAPLAN Results
• Year 5 - 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
• Lights, Camera, Pius! Film Festival
• Maths Drop In 

UNSW Programming Competition

Last Friday 14 June, 35 of our brightest and bravest young men from Years 6, 9, 10, 11 and Year 12 signed up to take part in the annual UNSW High Schools Programming Competition (ProgComp) - a gladiatorial battle against some 269 other teams from high schools around Australia.

ProgComp is an initiative run by the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia.  The competition aims to encourage and develop programming skills among high school students in Australia. It provides a platform for students to test their problem-solving abilities and compete against other teams.

Our teams of three students, full of optimism and determination, nervous, but with uplifted spirits, charged into battle as the questions revealed themselves at the stroke of clock at 1:30 pm.  They had 2 gruelling hours, working within their teams of 3, gnawing and worrying at each problem, teasing out some inspiration to challenge the answers.

At the stroke of 3:30 pm, the competition automatically shut down, and the young men sighed collectively with relief and exhaustion, packed up their bags, and headed off home loudly discussing the strategies they should have or could have followed, some in disappointment, but hopefully all inspired to take on future challenges.

It was with great pleasure and admiration, as their Computing Studies teacher, to see the gusto and determination the young men showed, and I extend my congratulations to each and everyone of them.

Mr Joseph Lai - TAS Computing teacher

Holiday workshops (Year 12 students)

Year 12 students are warmly invited to participate in the following workshops and study seminars during the Term 3 break. These workshops are designed to maintain study momentum and re-visit topics from earlier in the year. The College is very appreciative of the time devoted by the teaching staff and all Year 12 students are encouraged to attend any session that they can. 

Year 12 Parents and Students should also be aware that this information is available on their Canvas page. Please check Canvas for any last minute updates.

Mr Stephen Davidson - Assistant Principal, Teaching & Learning

NAPLAN Results

In early March, students in Years 5, 7 and 9 completed the NAPLAN tests across the four domains of Reading, Writing, Conventions of Language and Numeracy. Recently, the College has received preliminary results across the domains. Pleasingly, the College median across all domains falls into the ‘strong’ category. Later in the year, ACARA and NESA will release the writing results as well as the Individual Student Reports for parents to review.

The College reviews NAPLAN data to determine areas for improvement and student need. The College has identified that the Reading domain is an area for improvement and will be a focus for students in Stage 4 and 5. We look forward to establishing explicit literacy programs that focus on improvements in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Mr Stephen Davidson - Assistant Principal, Teaching & Learning

Year 5 - 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews

The Year 7 - 10 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews will be held online on the following dates:

Thursday 27 June from 1:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Friday 28 June from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

To enable students in Years 7 - 10 to travel home before interviews commence, classes will conclude at end end of Period 3 on Thursday 27 June (students will leave at 12:00 noon). 

The Year 5 and 6 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews will be held online on Friday 28 June from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Year 5 and 6 students will remain at school on Thursday 27 June (to allow for their normal Thursday Sport day at Oxford Falls Campus), and their classes will conclude, as usual, at 3:00 pm. Please see the Junior School News page for further information on that day.

Please see the attached letter for more information, including instructions on booking.

Please note that bookings will close tomorrow afternoon (Friday 21 June) at 4:00 pm.

Mr Stephen Davidson - Assistant Principal, Teaching and Learning

Lights, Camera, Pius! Film Festival

Calling all budding Spielbergs!

The annual Lights, Camera Pius! Film Festival is back! Get together with your mates, brainstorm some brilliant ideas, and get filming. Just make sure to submit your masterpiece to the Film Festival Canvas page by 22 August to see your work shine on the silver screen at Hoyts and for your chance to win some prizes. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ms Doyle, Ms Janes or Cultural Prefects Michael Krizan and Spencer Anderson. They’re happy to assist!

Spencer Anderson - Year 12 Cultural Prefect 

Maths Drop-In

All Year 7 - 12 students are welcome to come along, to get assistance with Mathematics homework, assignments or study for assessments. Come along, we are here to help. 

Where: C1

When: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Time: 7:40 am - 8:30 am

I'm very much looking forward to seeing many students unlock their mathematical potential.

Mrs Amanda Fileman - Mathematics Teacher