Learning and Teaching News

Welcome back to Term 2. We are looking forward to another busy term in the Learning and Teaching area. As usual, this section of the newsletter will be the main source of information for parents. Please continue to read it in order to keep updated.

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit in May each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students do.

As students progress through their school years, it’s important to check how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and numeracy. NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time. 

NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process. It doesn’t replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance, but it can provide teachers with additional information about students’ progress. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy (NAPLAN Online, 2022).

In 2022, NAPLAN will be online for all schools in Australia. Your son participated in a school readiness test at the end of Term 1, which allowed Marist to not only test our IT systems but also provided an opportunity for your son to practice using the NAPLAN program. If your son was away during this testing, please access the public demonstration site here so that he can become familiar with the platform. 

Public demonstration site (nap.edu.au)

If you would like to read further information regarding NAPLAN please see the following which will provide you with further information.

NAPLAN - Information for Parents and Carers

Specific timing and requirements for NAPLAN will be emailed to all students and parents closer to Week 4. 

Make Up Exams

For those students who were absent for the exam block and make up exam schedule in Term 1, please be aware that you will sit these assessments across the end of Week 1/start of Week 2. Please ensure that you are ready for these exams, with the required equipment (calculator, pens etc).

Please ensure that you check your emails each day for further information around these exams. 

Year 10 Subject Changes

As you are aware, Year 10 elective courses run for the entire year. This is in preparation for senior studies where it is highly recommended that boys maintain their course of study for the two-year program. Thus, if your son is in Year 10 and considering a subject change in order to align with his senior course of study, he will need to come to the ACT Office (via the Studies Office) to have a discussion and collect the required paperwork for changes to occur. Subject changes will be open until Thursday 28 April (Thursday of Week 2).

Year 12 Reporting

Year 12 assessment from the end of last term is currently being marked and cross-marked by teachers. Unit 3 Report Card will be published in Week 3 of this term to the Parent Lounge. All parents will receive an email once they are published.

Year 11 Exam Block

Year 11 end of Unit 1 Exam Block will run from Monday 16 – Monday 23 May. Please ensure these dates are kept free from specialist appointments or other outside of school events for Year 11 students. The exam block timetable will be released to students in Week 3.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Thank you to those parents who joined us for Parent Teacher interviews today. These sessions are an important part of your son's learning. Our next Parent Teacher information event is Wednesday 27 April, which is an online meeting. Bookings for these are now closed.

If you have any concerns about your son’s progress or questions regarding specific subjects, please ensure you make contact with your son’s teacher.

Learning from Home

If you are unable to attend school due to COVID-19 please access your classwork via the Moodle subject page and ensure you are revising for your upcoming exams. If you are unsure of what work to complete or require further work or assistance, please contact your classroom teacher for further guidance.

Study Hall

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, the teacher librarians in the senior library offer study hall sessions from 7:45 am to 8:30 am. These are designed to build the student’s capacity to study independently by teaching them key skills for the first 15 mins of the sessions and then offering independent supported study for the remainder of the time.

Please find below the outline for the Study Hall for Term 2.