Dear Parents and Friends,

It has been a pleasure to witness on a daily basis all of our students committed to their learning in such a focused manner. The educators here at Kyabram P-12 College that work with your children understand and cater for their academic and personal development learning needs. The positive relationship you have with your child’s teacher impacts greatly on the relationship your child has with our school and the learning that they engage in.

Research shows that one of the most important factors affecting a child’s performance in school is how involved their parents are in their education. Developing a healthy parent-teacher relationship is a great way to improve your child’s performance in school.

Getting to know your child’s teachers will not only benefit you, it will greatly improve your child’s chance of success in school. Establishing a strong parent-teacher relationship can be difficult or even intimidating, but there are some great tips to make the process easier:

Parent-teacher communication should be focused on the best interests of the child. It is essential to your child’s success in school
Establish a regular means of parent-teacher communication. Whether communicating by phone, email, or in person, be proactive and work with the teacher in order to solve any problems
Another great tip is to send a note of appreciation to your child’s teacher for all that he or she does. Teachers often hear from parents only when there are complaints or conflicts. Acknowledge and inspire teachers with your recognition and support
Finally, create a strong parent-teacher relationship by volunteering. Helping out in the learning spaces is a great way to support your child’s teacher

I would like to acknowledge all the efforts made by families of Kyabram P-12 College in the first four weeks of this term in setting our students up for success. This has set the foundations for our students to commence another year full of learning.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN Online testing will take place between Wednesday 15 March - Monday 27 March 2022 with all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 undertaking NAPLAN testing. As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing, conventions of language and numeracy – skills that will set them upon the path to success as adults. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgement about student progress.

Special Consideration: Support can be arranged for students with disabilities, if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks, and exemptions may be granted to students with significant intellectual disabilities and to students who have been learning English for less than one year. If a student is eligible for support due to disability or an exemption, parents/carers will be contacted by the school prior to the tests. Parental consent is required before exemption is granted. Forms will be printed, and they must be signed before the tests take place.

Withdrawal: Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer. They can be withdrawn for one, some or all four tests. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers with their children. To register for a withdrawal of some or all tests, please contact our college reception via email (kyabram.p12@education.vic.gov.au) or by phone (03) 5851 2100 before 4:00 pm on Friday 3 May. Registration of withdrawals will be submitted by the College online and forms printed for parents/carers to sign at the end of the date they are requested up to the evening of Friday 3 March. Parents and carers are asked to please contact our College Office this week where they will also be asked to arrange a time to visit reception in person to sign the withdrawal form. This form must be signed otherwise the student cannot be withdrawn. We encourage students within these year levels to access the NAPLAN practice questions online to familiarise themselves with the platform. Access the following link and click on your year level, no login or passwords are required: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site.

If you have any questions in regards to NAPLAN please read the attached PDF, look up the NAPLAN website at https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support or contact either Mr Billy Barnes – Primary Principal or Mrs Fiona Wallace – Year 7-9 Learning Community Leader who are the NAPLAN coordinators.

Student Voice – Class Captains, Student Leadership & House Captains

The purpose of Student Voice Groups is to give students across the college a forum to share their ideas and have input into their education and school life. Before the captains meet with Mrs Anna Fitzgerald or Mr Peter Hughes (Student Enrichment Leaders) they collect feedback from their peers. This promotes student empowerment by giving all students the opportunity to have a voice and be involved in decisions about their school. Our College House Captain nominations are almost finalised. This will provide students another opportunity to exercise one of our core values; Responsibility.

School Arrival Time

As we do not have a staff member on duty until 8:30 am, students should not be in the school yard until this time. Thank you for your help with this.

Uniform Policy

We have seen a significant improvement in students in the correct uniform over the past two weeks. A uniform dress code reinforces in students a pride in their own appearance, instils recognition of themselves as an integral part of the school community, and assists in developing pride in representing their school. We would like to thank all Kyabram P-12 College families for the support you have shown.

Mobile Phones

In accordance with the Department’s Mobile Phones Policy issued by the Minister for Education, personal mobile phones must not be used at Kyabram P-12 College during school hours, including lunchtime and recess.

School Photos

A reminder that Secondary photos are Friday 17 March and Primary photos are on Monday 27 March.

Prep First Full Week of School

After having a mid-week rest for the month of February our Prep students will have their first full week of school for the year next week. If your child has any difficulties adjusting to a full week of school, please contact their classroom teacher.

Important Dates

Term 1