DEPUTY PRINCIPAL - CURRICULUM

PUPIL FREE DAY ON WEDNESDAY 27 JULY (WEEK 2, TERM 3) - LEARNING CONFERENCES

A reminder that Wednesday 27 July (Week 2, Term 3) will be a Pupil Free Day to facilitate Learning Conferences (Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews) for ALL students.

As a result of the feedback received from parents, the Learning Conferences will take place online via Microsoft Teams. Parents are encouraged to act quickly to book interviews as this is the final Learning Conference for 2022 and it includes all students from Years 7-12. 

The Learning Conferences will be eight minutes in length, with two minutes allowed for change over from one interview to the next. To provide parents with choice and flexibility, the Learning Conferences will be conducted in two blocks:

• Block 1 - 9:00am to 12:30pm
• Block 2 - 2:30pm to 7:30pm

Booking conferences:

• Parents with interview requests from teachers will be able to make bookings from 6:00pm tonight until 6:00pm on Sunday 17 July. All parents are requested to login to Parent Teacher Online (PTO) to see if any teachers have made a request for an interview. If an exclamation mark symbol is displayed alongside the teacher's name, it means the teacher has recommended that you book an interview.
• ALL parents will be able to book interviews from 6:00pm on Sunday 17 July to 9:00am on Monday 25 July.

Accessing Parent Teacher Online (PTO):

• Full instructions are provided to you after you login to PTO.
• Click 'Obtain PIN/Password' and enter the email address you have previously provided to the College.
• Your PIN will be emailed to you. The email you receive will include a link that can be clicked on to log straight into PTO, bypassing the login screen.
• If you have previously saved a PTO password into your browser, you will need to delete this for the new one to work. Alternatively, you can open up a private/incognito browser window.
• Enter Parent Teacher Online (PTO) HERE

Parents will receive a more information about Learning Conferences at the start of next term.

SEMESTER ONE REPORTING

Semester One Reports for ALL students will be uploaded on SEQTA and visible to students and parents by 6:00pm tonight. Reports will not be printed by the College. To view your child’s Semester One Report, simply login to SEQTA Engage with the username and password you have previously received from the College. If you have any technical issues accessing reports (e.g. passwords) please email Mr Colin Bradley at cbradley@sacredheart.wa.edu.au. 

SUBJECT COMPLETION

Parents should be aware that if a student has completed only a small proportion of the overall assessments planned for a particular subject, it may not be possible to allocate a Semester mark or grade for that subject.   

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM/STATE GRADE

Student achievement is reported on a five point (A-E) scale against the Western Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards, which describes expected achievement at each year level for each Learning Area, relative to the performance of the student's peer group. This is identified on the College Report as a State grade. Students will therefore receive two grades for most subjects: a School-based grade and a State grade. In all cases apart from streamed classes, these two grades will be identical. In a streamed class, a student in Advanced might receive a 'C' (School) grade which equates to a 'B' (State) grade when compared to all students across the state. There are a number of subjects for which State grades are not relevant: Religious Education, Project-Based Learning, Astronomy, Sports Science and Fitness and Year 8 and 9 Languages.

SACRED HEART LEARNER PROFILE

The Sacred Heart Learner attributes are essential skills that can be applied in all subject areas and in all educational, career and personal settings throughout a student's life. The Sacred Heart Learner Profile provides a summary of how a student has displayed the learning attributes across subjects during the semester. It is focused on learning, but essentially reveals student attitude, behaviour and effort.

Each Learning Area contributes to the overall picture of each student across each of the attributes - Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Engagement, Independence, Innovation and Perseverance. Descriptors of each attribute are available here, but these are not exhaustive. At the end of each Semester, teachers enter a score from 1 (emerging) to 5 (mastering) for each student in each of the attributes allocated to their Learning Area. The data across all subjects is collated and averaged and then displayed as a bar graph.

SEMESTER ONE ACADEMIC AWARDS

There are two types of awards that recognise the academic progress of students at the completion of Semester One. 

1. Sacred Heart Learner Awards - One student in each class is awarded the Sacred Heart Learner Award to acknowledge they have demonstrated one of the following behaviours/skills:

• Collaborative learning
• Critical thinking skills
• Engagement in learning
• Innovation in tasks
• Independent learning
• Perseverance in the learning process 

Congratulations to the following recipients:

• Year 7
• Year 8
• Year 9
• Year 10
• Year 11
• Year 12 

The Sacred Heart Learner Awards will be presented to students in Years 7-10 at a year level assembly early in Term 3. Sacred Heart Learner Awards have already been presented to students in Years 11 and 12.

2. Academic Honours - AcademicHonours are presented to students who achieves ‘A’ grades for two-thirds of the school-based subjects they studied in a semester. To be eligible for this award, a student must also have completed at least 75% of the total assessment for each subject in which they have achieved an ‘A’ grade. If a student has more than 25% worth of standardised marks for a particular subject and achieves an ‘A’ grade for that subject, the ‘A’ grade is not counted toward the achievement of Academic Honours. To be eligible for Academic Honours, a student must also achieve a ‘C’ grade or higher for Religious Education. State/Australian Curriculum ‘A’ grades achieved in Extension and/or Advanced classes are included in the calculation of Academic Honours. 

Congratulations to the following recipients:

• Year 7
• Year 8
• Year 9
• Year 10
• Year 11
• Year 12 

Academic Honours will be presented to students at a year level assembly early in Term 3. 

YEARS 8-12 MISSED ASSESSMENTS REMINDER

 Students CANNOT complete a missed assessment when they return to school after the holidays for Term 3. Students who do not complete their catch up assessment by Wednesday 6 July will receive a standardised mark for the missed assessment.

The College will offer students opportunities to complete missed assessments during the school holidays from 10:00am - 12:00pm on Monday 4 July and Wednesday 6 July. During this time, missed assessments will be completed in SCIENCE 1 to make it easier for parents and students to access. Students can choose to complete two assessments on one day if they wish and must attend either between 10:00am - 11:00am or between 11:00am - 12:00pm. 

Students must be collected promptly after completing their missed assessment as there will be no one on College grounds to supervise students.

SUBJECT SELECTION FOR YEAR 11, 2023

Families of students currently in Year 10 are encouraged to discuss the selection of subjects for Year 11, 2023 during the forthcoming holiday break by referring to the Year 11 and 12 Curriculum Handbook available on the College Website. This handbook contains a list of all proposed courses for 2023. Parents of Year 10 students have received an email about the subject selection process and should refer to this email for more detailed information.

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (WACE) CREDIT FOR ENDORSED PROGRAMS

A reminder that students can receive credit towards the achievement of the WACE for participating in and completing Endorsed Programs. Students must submit copies of Endorsed Program participation/completion to the staff in the Pastoral Care Centre (PCC) or to me directly via email (lcicchini@sacredheart.wa.edu.au) by Friday 29 July (Week 2, Term 3). 

If evidence of participation has previously been provided to the College, you are not required to provide the same evidence again, although you may wish to check this with me. Parents will soon receive a detailed letter in relation to Endorsed Programs.

SEMESTER ONE MARKS AND GRADES

The marks and grades that appear on the Years 11 and 12 Semester One Reports are PROGRESS marks and grades. The only marks and grades that are sent to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) are those achieved at the completion of the 2022 academic year. The only exception to this is for Year 11 students who have withdrawn from Semester One courses. In this case, Year 11 students will have their Semester One grades for these courses sent to SCSA if they have completed sufficient assessments to determine a mark and a grade for the subject from which they have withdrawn.

YEAR 12 WACE EXAMINATION TIMETABLES

You can access the WACE Examination Timetables below:

• WACE Written Examination Timetable
• WACE Practical Examination Timetable

YEAR 12 SCSA DEADLINES

All Year 12s are reminded about very important deadlines set by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) that are listed below. Please do not hesitate to contact Mr Tony Budas or myself if you have any questions about these deadlines.

Thursday 21 July (Week 1, Term 3): 

• Last date for withdrawal of enrolment from ATAR courses with a practical examination component (e.g. Physical Education Studies) for Year 12 students.

Wednesday 27 July (Week 2, Term 3): 

• Students with an injury or illness existing at the start of Term 3 should apply to be examined in an alternative format, if the injury or illness will affect their participation in the standard practical examination of any course. Any student who may be in this situation should contact myself or Mr Tony Budas immediately as the deadline for applications is Wednesday 27 July. Read more information about Alternative Format Practical Examinations below.
• SCSA must receive a completed Visual Arts ATAR course practical (production) examination submission categories data form. 

Monday 8 August (Week 4, Term 3): 

• Last date for withdrawal of enrolment from any ATAR course without a practical examination component for Year 12 students.
• Last date for withdrawal of enrolment from General, Foundation, Preliminary and VET industry specific courses for Year 12 students.  
• Students must complete the equivalent of five year length courses in Year 12 to achieve WACE. Any student who is thinking about withdrawing from a subject MUST check with myself or Mr Tony Budas before any action is taken.  

Mr Lucio Cicchini

Deputy Principal - Curriculum