From the Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

I hope this week's Newsletter finds you and your family in high spirits. As we head into the NAPLAN testing period, I wanted to provide some reassurance and clarity around the purpose and use of these tests.

Firstly, our school is well-prepared for the testing period, and our experienced teaching staff are well-equipped to guide and support your child through this process. We recognise that this can be a stressful time for students and parents, but we want to reassure you that NAPLAN is just one of many tools we use to plan and deliver effective learning experiences for your child.

It is important to remember that NAPLAN data is not designed to be used as a comparative tool between schools or students. In fact, using NAPLAN data in this way is directly contrary to the test's purpose. As David De Cavalho, the CEO of ACARA - the body that administers NAPLAN, recently said: "I have noticed schools promoting their NAPLAN results on LinkedIn, purporting to be "outstanding" or "excellent", according to NewsCorp league tables that use mean scores without providing any contextual information about the socio-educational profile of the school community. The real question is whether this level of achievement is, in the terms used on the My School website, well above, above, close to, below or well below what you would expect given the socio-educational profile of the student body. I suggest that these schools might do well to either provide full disclosure by pointing out that, in fact, their results are nothing special when this context is taken into account or, even better, remove those posts as they do more harm than good to our education system as a whole."

At our school, we do not believe in using NAPLAN data to promote our school or to compare our students with others. Instead, we use this data to identify areas where our students may need additional support or enrichment and to plan learning experiences tailored to their needs and interests. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive learning environment that empowers our students to reach their full potential.

We hope this message provides reassurance and clarity about the NAPLAN testing period. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our teaching staff or school leadership team.

In addition to preparing our students for the upcoming NAPLAN tests, we also focus on supporting our Year 12 students as they prepare for their final year of school.

In the coming weeks, Mr Laffin, Mrs Michielsen, and I will begin to interview each Year 12 student individually. These interviews will help the students set goals, identify constraints and articulate areas where they would like to be held accountable as they head into their final year of school. These interviews will be repeated at the beginning of Term 3, as students head into their last term.

The purpose of these meetings is to walk alongside our Year 12 students, help them make sense of this time in their schooling and have them identify areas where they need some help. We want to empower our Year 12 students to take ownership of their learning and achieve their academic and personal goals. By working closely with our students and providing individualised support, we can help them thrive in their final year of school and beyond.

We are excited about this initiative and believe it will positively impact our Year 12 students. Can you check in with your Year 12 child and ensure they have organised and booked a meeting timeslot? If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our teaching staff or school leadership team.

I look forward to the coming week.

Mr Steven Coote

Principal