Assistant Principal (Years 10-12) Report 

Firstly, I wanted to congratulate most of our students across Years 10-12 for how they have approached their curricular and co-curricular activities this term. By far the feedback from staff and the broader school community has been positive in how our senior students (Yr10-12) are engaging in school life to this point in the year. Unfortunately, we do have some students that require some improvement in one or more of the below areas:

-ability to wear the correct uniform consistently.

-ability to maintain a high attendance, above 95%.

-ability to stay up to date with coursework and/or homework across all subjects on a regular basis.

-ability to regulate behaviour in the classroom and contribute to an environment that is focussed on learning.

-ability to be organised and plan to complete work at home by implementing a study plan or timetable. 

-ability to stay connected with the school and subject information via Compass and/ or Teams

Authentic improvement in the above areas will no doubt have a positive impact on learning. It is my belief that ALL students can improve in the areas listed above, and sub-schools will continue to challenge students who are struggling on one or more of the areas listed above by implementing a range of support and intervention strategies, aimed at supporting student learning.

Attendance

Attendance across these year levels remains high, however there is still margin for improvement. One of the simplest things a student can do to ensure progress in learning within individual subjects is to maintain attendance between 95%-100%. The evidence is clear that when students attend school more regularly, they have a greater chance for academic success and improvement. Parents also play a critical role in supporting your son/daughter to overcome barriers of non-attendance. Examples of this include not scheduling appointments and holidays in school time and not allowing students to stay home without a valid reason, like sickness. Throughout the remainder of the year across years 10-12 sub-school and year level leaders will continue to challenge students who are not attending school as regularly as they should. This will come in the form of notifications back home and in some cases student support group meetings which require parents/carers to come into school and discuss a range of support strategies that may be needed to support improved attendance.

Progress Reports and Parent-Teacher Interviews

Progress Reports for all students will be made available in Compass on Friday 7/4. The final day of school for staff and students is Thursday 6/4. Progress reports are designed to provide students and parents with feedback in five Learning Behaviour areas. Teachers will provide a letter grade (A-E, UG, NA) to report on these learning behaviours. The five learning areas are: effort, behaviour, use of class time, meeting deadlines and homework/preparation. 

It is expected that parents take the time to view these reports and have a conversation with your child about the feedback provided by their teachers in each subject area. Parent-Teacher interviews will take place in the second week of Term 2 and the progress report feedback provides students and parents with information to be used within these conversations.

The attachment below (How to View Your Child’s Report) also provides parents and carers with instructions on how to access progress reports from Compass.

Parent-Teacher Interviews

Semester 1 Parent-Teacher Interviews will occur on Thursday, 4th May. These interviews provide a perfect opportunity for parents to discuss your child’s progress and build communication with your child’s teachers. One of preconditions for academic success is to foster a relationship between home, school, and your child.  Parent-Teacher Interviews can be attended in person or online from your child’s device via Teams.

Parents will receive a Compass notification early in Term 2 Wk1 to indicate when the booking portal is open. Parents can then access the online booking system using your Compass Username and Password. Please note that Compass online bookings are preferred. The attachment below provides instructions with how to book interviews with individual teachers.

If you require any assistance in making the bookings, please contact your child’s respective sub-school for assistance.

Year 7-10 Common Assessment Tasks (CATs) and Year 11/12 Assessments

In line with our Real-time Reporting practice, teachers at Westall have been providing feedback on major assessments (CATs and SACs) that students have completed this term. The feedback allows parents to view the grade of the assessment (A-E, UG or NA), and a rubric or written summary of how your child has performed within these assessments. From the feedback students will be able to clearly see where and how to improve.

More and more, Compass is becoming our one-stop-shop. We strongly recommend that parents begin using this platform if you are not currently doing so. The college can provide support, as and when needed. Once again contact your child’s respective sub-school to access this support.

Winter Uniform

Families are reminded that all students should be in full winter uniform in Term 2. School ties must be worn, and students are encouraged to wear plain white t-shirts under the school shirt for added warmth. Head scarfs, if worn, must be navy blue. Thank you to all families for your continued support of the college uniform policy.

School ties can be purchased from the front office for $20.

The Sustainable School shop option is also available to families to purchase second-hand uniform at discounted prices:

www.sustainableschoolshop.com.au

School Photos

A reminder to all students and families that you can still order school photos which have been taken this term. You will need to do this directly through the service provider Hikari Photography https://www.hikari.com.au/. A reminder to all families that to do this you will need to set up an account online and selected the photo/s that you would like to purchase. 

2023 Free Community Immunisation Program

City of Kingston held their annual free Year 7 and Year 10 vaccination program at our College last week. If your child was not present, please see the above information which details other free sessions being held in the City of Kingston.   

I wanted to thank all the parents of students in Years 10-12 for your continued support of your child’s learning at Westall and wish all families a happy term 1 holiday period.

Mr Jason Tickner

Assistant Principal