From the Head of Senior School

Image courtesy: https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/__data/assets/image/0027/157824/landing_p10_naplan_online.jpg

Last week as part of the Ignite program, I had the privilege of accompanying the Year 9 students to the Great Stupa. This morning excursion was a wonderful opportunity for me to mingle with our Year 9 cohort and also visit one of the cultural attractions of Bendigo. We walked around the gardens during the excursion, followed by a tour of the Great Stupa. The highlight was a meditation session with one of the Buddhist monks and our students, who embraced this opportunity to relax and reflect. The mental health benefits of meditation include better focus and concentration, improved self-awareness and self-esteem, lower levels of stress and anxiety, and fostering kindness. Meditation also benefits your physical health and can improve your pain tolerance.

During the last two weeks, our Year 7 and Year 9 students have conducted NAPLAN testing in Literacy and Numeracy. This year we changed the format so that all students sat these tests in a dedicated classroom. Students also spent some lessons practising sample online tests to familiarise themselves with the process and typical questions they may encounter. Preparation, familiarity, and consistency of rooms help settle any nerves that students may encounter prior to or during testing. Although there are many views on the benefits of NAPLAN testing, the improvement of NAPLAN now being conducted online allows for a much-improved process for inclusion, diversity, and accessibility. NAPLAN uses an online adaptive test where the standard for proficiency is set at a challenging but reasonable level. 

You may have noticed that NAPLAN started significantly earlier this year. From this year, parents and carers will get earlier, more straightforward, and more precise information about their child’s NAPLAN achievement based on new, more rigorous national standards. Education ministers have agreed to change how NAPLAN results are reported to parents and carers now that all students are taking the tests online. The new proficiency standards with four levels of achievement for each year level will replace the previous 10-band structure that covered all four levels tested and the old national minimum standard set in 2008 when tests were on paper. The new proficiency standards include a baseline benchmark to identify students likely to need additional support. 

When your child receives their results later this year, if they achieve in the Strong or Exceeding category, it means they have demonstrated proficiency and that their literacy or numeracy skills are where they should be at this stage of their schooling. If your child does not achieve proficiency, they will either be in the Developing or the Needs additional support category.

During the Principal’s Assembly this week, we celebrated cultural diversity with a special Harmony Day Assembly. Students and staff from Years 7 to 12 took part in the first display of their traditional costumes from their cultures and concluded the Assembly with various dances. The reception from our students and staff of the dances was highly enthusiastic and heartwarming, and I am positive next year will be an even bigger display of cultural diversity. 

Ms Dawn Davis

Head of Senior School