From the Principal  

Never a dull moment ....

The announcement of the roles for the School Production, Generation Gap this week,  has certainly created some excitement around the playground.

Great Ryrie has a wonderful reputation for delivering high quality musicals and the Generation Gap will not disappoint. 

Mrs Murray, who is so clever, has written the production herself and has been able to include all the children to ensure they have a chance to shine.

The Swimming Competition also brought out the parent cheer squad, who were the noisiest there. The cheering worked as we had some great success, which you can read further about in the newsletter below. 

There has been a very successful Gala Day for the Year 5 and Year 6 children, the Cross Country Event with great displays of sportsmanship,

  and the Random Acts of Kindness Day.

The afterschool Cricket Clinic has been well received and if you haven’t heard, the Science and Technology Program has started with a bang led by the fabulous Miss Rose with her trusty sidekick therapy dog, Koda. 

Phew...as I mentioned never a dull moment. 

 NAPLAN

NAPLAN testing will commence over the next two weeks for all students in Years 3 & 5.

The testing window has been moved forward this year to enable schools to utilise the findings more effectively. 

Schools use the NAPLAN results to identify strengths and areas of need to improve teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy. Teachers use the results to help identify students who need greater challenges or extra support. Students and parents/carers may use individual results to discuss progress with their teachers. 

Why do students do NAPLAN? 

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students have the opportunity to undertake. 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 the 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’ educational 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.

Your child will do the NAPLAN tests online.

 Schools have transitioned from paper-based to computer-based assessments. All Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper. Online NAPLAN tests provide more precise results and are more engaging for students. One of the main benefits is tailored (or adaptive) testing, where the test presents questions which may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway.

What does NAPLAN assess? 

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. Students sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar, and punctuation) and numeracy. The questions assess content linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics. All government and non-government education authorities contribute to the development of NAPLAN test materials. 

To find out more about NAPLAN, visit nap.edu.au.

Thank you for your kindness

On a personal note, it has been a challenging time for my family and I, with the loss of my Mum a few weeks ago.

 My gratitude for your support is difficult to put into words at this time.

 Thank you for thinking of me and sending a kind word, flowers or a cupcake to help ease our burdens. The little things are getting us through each day. Even though I have lost my beautiful Mum, I am so lucky to have so many kind people in my life that have offered their support.

 As I learn to carry on, I am reminded of the beautiful things that life has to offer. Your consideration and caring are some of those things. 

Thank you. 

Enjoy the long weekend and the wonderful sunshine predicted with you family and friends. 

Karen Rouda

Principal