Assistant Principals Report
Feedback Cycle #2
The next Feedback Report - charting your child's academic progress, Attendance, Effort and Behaviour in each subject - will be published on Friday 26th May and will be available via the Reports tab on your child's Compass dashboard. You should already have received feedback on the completed Common Assessment Tasks (CATs) that will be included in the report. The explanations on how to read the reports are attached below.
Please be aware that you can also check on your child's progress at any time by accessing the 'Learning Task' tab on your child's dashboard. The results and feedback for each CAT undertaken in class should be available two weeks after the completion of the task. Please feel free to contact your child's teachers if you have any concerns regarding tasks, due dates or feedback.
Keeping a check on our children's online usage.
Given the continuing attention and focus upon cyber bullying within our society, I thought I would share this excerpt from an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 23 January 2018.
Schools and parents who work in partnership will hopefully have a positive impact upon the children under our care and through our combined efforts, guide our young people, so that they can make appropriate and well informed choices in relation to their publications within the social media arena.
“Parents can do more to stop cyberbullying"
In Australia, 25 per cent of our children currently experience bullying and 33 per cent experience an online threat… When you gift that first mobile phone, you are giving a device that is beyond the development of a teen's emotional and intellectual capacity. It has the potential to weaponise words and images that can cause severe psychological harm that adults often do not see. So who has the most significant potential to make a change for the better? Parents. The eSafety Commissioner, schools and non-profit organisations continue to deliver resources to support our community but a level of naivety prevails with parents as to the responsibility that comes with a mobile device in teen hands. A "lock and block" ban on mobile devices is not the answer… As a social media strategist, here are my top five strategies all parents of teens with mobile devices should adopt to prevent cyber bullying. First, build your own knowledge-base about cyber bullying. The website of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner is a great place to start and other excellent resources are Common Sense Media and Bullying No Way. Next, establish boundaries for the misuse of the mobile device. Agree with your child what the outcome is going to be if they cross the boundaries, and then follow through. It's important to identify "go-to" people your child can approach for support. A sibling, teacher, counsellor, mother, father or an organisation offering phone support such as Kids Help Line are all good go-tos. Make sure you discuss what cyber bullying looks, sounds and feels like with your child, and then agree to a strategy with your teen if they experience cyber bullying or observe it happening. They need to know they can take action in a safe and supportive manner, so have a plan – screenshot, block and report. And once you've done all this, don't assume they will continue to adhere to the rules. Check in with your teen on a regular basis. Blaming the mobile device, social media, schools and the government is deferring your responsibility.
Lifeline: 131114.
Peter Sutton is a social media strategist advising families, schools, government, and corporations around Australia on how to use and manage social media.
NAPLAN
Please be reminded that the state wide NAPLAN testing will take place for all students on Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 May. All Year 7 and 9 students will sit:
- Language Conventions and Writing: Tuesday 15 May.
- Reading: Wednesday 16 May.
- Mathematics: Thursday 17 May.
Students are reminded to bring their calculators for the numeracy component on Thursday.
Mrs Judy Anderson & Mr Andrew Dixon
Assistant Principals