From the Director of Studies

NAPLAN Testing – May 2021

During May 2021, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will sit NAPLAN. 

What are NAPLAN tests?

NAPLAN tests are Australia-wide tests that provide a snapshot of your daughter or son’s progress in the skills of Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy. These tests also provide a picture of your child’s growth in these skills from their first tests in Year 3 through to their final NAPLAN tests in Year 9. 

Skills in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy essential not only for your child’s progress at school but also for their functioning in future careers. By measuring these skills at regular intervals, it enables teachers, parents/carers and students to better understand their strengths and to work on specific areas of development.

Will students complete digital or paper NAPLAN tests?

Although a number of schools in the state are trialing the new digital NAPLAN tests which will become compulsory from next year’s NAPLAN tests, the College has decided to continue using the paper tests.

Preparing for NAPLAN

In class, teachers will complete some practice NAPLAN style questions to ensure that students are familiar with the styles of questions used. However, the best preparation for these tests remains the normal literacy and numeracy instruction students receive during their everyday classes.

There are many NAPLAN preparations resources on the market and, while students working through these at home will help them become more confident at completing the tests, their literacy and numeracy lessons in class will adequately prepare them.

The schedule for the tests is as follows: 

On Friday 14 May – a ‘catch-up’ day is scheduled for students who missed a test or were absent on a test day. For students in Year 7 and 9, these tests will occur on Friday at the beginning of Parent Teacher Interviews.

Students may be exempt from the NAPLAN test if they: 

• are from a language background other than English, have arrived from overseas and have been attending school in Australia for less than a year before the test; or 
• have significant intellectual disability and/or significant co-existing conditions which severely limit their capacity to participate in the tests. 

Students may be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parent or carer after consultation with the College Principal. To withdraw your child from NAPLAN, a parent or carer consent form must be signed. All other students are expected to participate in the tests. 

Disability adjustments that reflect the student’s normal level of support in the classroom may be provided. Alternative format test materials are available to meet the needs of individual students (e.g. braille, large print, black and white test material or the electronic test). Access to disability adjustments or exemption from the tests must be discussed with Mrs Ivancic (Year 3 and Year 5) or Mrs Sangster (Year 7 or Year 9) and a parent or carer consent form must be signed. 

Please make contact with Mrs Ivancic (Year 3 and Year 5) or Mr Bombardiere (Year 7 or Year 9) if you need to discuss your child’s participation in NAPLAN. For further information about NAPLAN, visit NESA’s NAPLAN website.

HSC Disability Provisions

Disability provisions in the HSC are practical arrangements designed to help students who couldn't otherwise make a fair attempt to show what they know in an exam room. 

The provisions granted are solely determined by how the student’s exam performance is affected. Students may need provisions for:

• a permanent condition, such as diabetes or reading difficulty
• a temporary condition, such as a broken arm, or
• an intermittent condition, such as back pain when sitting for long periods.

Students across the state apply for provisions to help them show the markers what they know and can do. 

Students who wish to apply for Disability Provisions should meet with Mrs Sangster, Leader of Learning – Learning Enrichment. Contact Mrs Sangster via email (msangster@stgregs.nsw.edu.au). The student will need to complete a HSC Disability Provisions document, provide medical documentation and sample work. Applications will need to be lodged with NESA by the end of Term 1 so it is important to make contact with Mrs Sangster as soon as possible.

HSC Presiding Officer

After 18 years serving as the College’s NESA HSC Presiding Officer, Marie Baker has retired. We thank her for her wonderful service to the College, assisting thousands of boys completing their HSC Exams.

The College is looking for expressions of interest for a new NESA HSC Presiding Officer. Potential nominees will have had experience as a HSC Examination Supervisor and may have had experience working for NESA in other capacities. If you are interested, please email Ric Bombardiere rbombardiere@stgregs.nsw.edu.au and provide contact details.

Academic Handbooks Years 7 – 12

A useful resource for students in Year 7 – 12 is their Academic Handbook.

Over the next few months, our Academic Care Leaders (Mrs Lee Ursino – Stage 4; Ms Loren Keir – Stage 5; Mr Stephen Bullock – Stage 6) will work through the concepts outlined in these booklets in order to build students’ academic skills.

This book contains information about Academic Care activities and programs. It provides further information about Assessment procedures, rules and requirements. For Year 10 – 12, the booklet also contains detailed information about HSC Minimum Standards testing and HSC ATAR details. There is a calendar of all assessments and details of all the assessments students will complete throughout the year. It is an important source of information for parents/carers and students and worth discussing with your son.

Students have received a hard copy of their Academic Handbook. It is also available in digital form on SkyBlue – the students’ school server.

Careers and HSC Open Days

The College has always worked to provide our students with appropriate career advice and experience. 

 This continues to be true with the appointment of Mr Michael Ivancic to the role of Leader of Learning – VET, Transition and Pathways. 

Through this role there is a reinvigorated focus on Vocational Education and Training at the College, including our School TAFE Courses in Retail, Construction, Primary Industries and Fitness and access to hundreds of TAFE courses that can be completed concurrently with the HSC. 

This role also involves Careers advice and student transition into the workforce through programs such as School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBAT). We have a number of students completing Apprenticeships in areas such as Carpentry and Electrotechnology. 

There is also a focus on students transitioning into University and TAFE after school through Careers Expos and Open Days. 

Some of the upcoming Open days and university experiences are as follows:

• 6 May – UNSW - LAT (Law Admissions Test) Information Evening 2021 – Online
• 3 – 6  June – HSC and Careers Expo – Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park
• 17 – 23 June – Western Sydney University Campus tour – Various locations
• 8 August – University of Wollongong virtual Open Day
• 5 September – University of New South Wales Open Day
• 9 – 10 September – University of Sydney Open Night

Further events and registration links can be found on this UAC website:

https://www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/open-days

As always, we would encourage students and parents to make contact with Mr Ivancic for further information. His Career focus page is also located in this newsletter.

Information Evenings & Study Skills workshops

Look out for more information on the following Information Evenings and Study Skills events taking place in the next few weeks:

10 March –         Year 10 Information Evening 

(Br Luke Hall – 6.30pm)

23 March –         Year 7 Study Skills Evening 

with Dr Prue Salter 

(Br Luke Hall – 6.30pm) 

5 May –                Year 8 Study Skills Extender 

with Dr Prue Psalter 

(Br Luke Hall – 6.30pm)

Marian Centre – Homework Help

Homework Help has become a thriving Monday afternoon institution with over 70 students attending each week. 

It is great to see Year 12 boys focusing on their HSC English Multimodals pause to help a Year 7 student with their Science work or to see a group of boys completing their homework together before being picked up or catching the last bus to the station at 4.30pm.

The afternoons are always well attended by teachers ranging from the three Academic Care amigos – Mrs Ursino, Ms Keir and Mr Bullock – to Mr Ashby, Mr Bombardiere or Mr Brooks helping boys with their work. During busy assessment times, teachers from specific KLAs work with students on specific assessment skills. Over the next few weeks, there will also be HSC Minimum Standards Workshops for our Year 11 students who still need to pass tests.

Homework Help is open on Tuesdays where HSC Team History are working on their writing skills and Wednesdays where Mathematics Help focuses on extending some students while working on remedial skills with others.

As always, we would encourage boys to come along to these afternoons. While there is a relaxed atmosphere, there is a definite focus on lifting the Academic skills of our boys.

Study Skills