Curriculum News

We have been extremely busy in the last two weeks.  Some highlights include:

• NAPLAN testing for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.  I am sure that many of you have read and seen the media reports relating to NAPLAN this year.  I would like to congratulate our students and staff who coped extremely well with the testing situation. On the Tuesday the whole of Australia experienced technical difficulties. 
• Field Day held this Tuesday in perfect conditions was a fantastic day for the whole College to come together, compete, enjoy the House spirit and celebrate achievement and perseverance. A big congratulations to our Head of PE and Health Petra Dennis, and her staff who organised and ran a great day.
• Year 10 students as part of their transition program attended the Big Day In at the University of Tasmania on Wednesday 22.  The focus was on skills required to thrive in the future. This is extremely topical and we listened to talks relating to preparing for the age of the individual, cyber safety and security and how technology is changing and disrupting many of the traditional markets as well as creating new areas of work. Speakers from the Australian Defence Force spoke of how jobs and directions in the forces are changing. It gave our students much to think about, challenging their thinking and giving them a wonderful opportunity to reflect on their futures.
• Years 8 and 9 students are just entering the exciting phase of choosing their electives. There are some new offerings this year and students will have the opportunity to discuss these with staff on Thursday 23 at an Assembly and then in the afternoon at a session where parents and carers are invited to come and discuss pathways with staff. We encourage students and families to discuss the electives together and to take the opportunities to ask questions and discuss further with staff. It is important that students choose electives they are interested in.
• A number of our students in Year 7 entered in the Write for Fun Competition submitting poems.  Entering competitions is a wonderful opportunity as it provides meaning for writing, and the chance for a real audience. Congratulations to Zoe Fava, Naikya Kelly, Olivia Lowe, Scarlett Sassin, Aimee Stacey, and Catherine Wijayaratne whose poems were chosen to appear in the published book. Special congratulations to Scarlett who was awarded second place winner in this competition for her poem "Deep Water".

Kim Schade

Director of Teaching and Learning