McKinnonNEWS

ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS' REPORT

YEAR 7 AND 9 NAPLAN TESTS

On Tuesday 10 May, Wednesday 11 May and Thursday 12 May our Year 7 and Year 9 students will be undertaking the NAPLAN tests. NAPLAN (National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy) tests are conducted by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).  There are five tests in total, including an assessment of students’ writing skills, use of language conventions, a reading test and two numeracy assessments.

 

IMPORTANT: Please note all students will need a calculator for one of the Numeracy tests on Thursday 12 May. Any calculator that can perform basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division functions is suitable. CAS calculators are NOT suitable. All students will be provided with a pencil and eraser; students may bring a black or blue biro for the writing test on the Tuesday.

 

Students must not bring mobile phones in to any NAPLAN test.

 

Year 7 students will need to report to the front of the Hall, lining up in class groups, by 8:20am on each of the three testing days. Year 9 students will need to assemble in class groups at the front of the Hall by 10:50am, just before the end of recess, on each of the three testing days.

 

The results of these tests provide diagnostic information about each child‘s performance in English and Mathematics. This information is used to support teaching and learning programs and improve student achievement. It is important that all Year 7 and 9 students are present during the testing period. For further information please ring Michael Kan on 8520 9000.

 

Later in 2016 the results are distributed to parents (towards the end of Term 3). Parents are supplied printed information regarding their child’s progress in relation to state and national benchmarks. NAPLAN achievement will not be recorded on students’ end of semester reports.

 

For further information please access the NAPLAN website: http://www.naplan.edu.au

& VCAA’s NAPLAN page: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/prep10/naplan/index.html

WINTER UNIFORM

Families are reminded that all students should now be in full winter uniform. School blazers must be worn to and from school. It is also important to note that nail polish and facial piercings are not acceptable at school.  

We have noticed recently that some boys are wearing branded black socks as part of the school uniform.  This is not acceptable and the only type of socks boys may wear are plain black or grey school socks. Thank you to all families for your continued support of our uniform policy.

APPROVING STUDENT ABSENCES

Please continue to provide the College with explanations for student absences, either using Compass, emailing absences@mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au or calling 8520 9050.  

PARENT-TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES

Thanks to all parents and students for their attendance at the recent Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences. These valuable conversations make a significant contribution to maximising students’ academic performance.

 

For future reference, if you have not been able to make a booking with a particular teacher, it is because they are fully-booked for the day. Please send an email to (or call) the teacher for feedback; please do not try to squeeze in an interview, as it puts undue pressure on fully-booked staff and unfairly causes delays for parents that have scheduled appointments. If parents can book appointments with a 5 minute space in between, this will allow for movement around the various locations interviews are conducted.

LEARNING TASKS

In 2015 we changed our reporting procedures to provide parents with information about students’ academic progress online via Learning Tasks on Compass. To clarify a few queries about Learning Tasks:

  • You may see some variation between subjects’ assessment schedules, which will be completely normal - in some classes, students complete a high volume of smaller assessment tasks (every few weeks), while other subjects have a small number of ‘larger’ assessment tasks (which may be submitted later in the semester). This would explain why teachers’ use of Learning Tasks may appear to be inconsistent.
  • End-of-semester reports will still be published at the end of Terms 2 & 4; these will be a compilation of all feedback provided on Learning Tasks throughout the semester (which parents will be able to print, if you wish).
  • When student work is returned it will often include more, explicit feedback from the teacher (in addition to that provided on Learning Tasks).