Principal's Update

AUSLAN

I have been so impressed with the way our students and staff have embraced our new language program. The students are highly engaged in their AUSLAN lessons and have been practising and sharing many of the new greetings, letters and words they have been learning, with me in the yard. Be sure to ask your children to teach you what they have learnt. We look forward to being able to build up their AUSLAN vocabularies throughout the course of the year and enhance their communication skills. 

SCIENCE / AGRICULTURE

I am thrilled to  announce that Mrs Diane Fuller will be continuing on in her role teaching Science, with a particular focus on agriculture through an environment and sustainability lens.  The agricultural science program will incorporate our vegetable garden, chicken coop and other natural resources within our expansive school grounds.  

TUTOR LEARNING INITIATIVE (TLI)

Mrs Fuller will also be taking small groups of students a couple of times per week for some intensive literacy or maths instruction. Mrs Fuller will work with teachers to identify students with particular gaps in their learning, which will aim to be closed through their participation in the TLI. You will be contacted if your child is selected to participate in these sessions. 

School Time Reminders

Students are not to be on school grounds prior to 8.30am or after 3.45pm unless they are booked into out-of-hours school care (CommOsh) or enrolled in an after school activity (soccer/basketball etc). 

School Bell Times are as follows

8.57am: Morning music - for students to line up/enter classrooms.

9am: Bell for class - teaching and learning programs begin promptly at 9am. It is imperative students arrive on time so as not to miss important information.

11am: Recess Bell - wrapper free fruit and snacks are encouraged.

11.27am: Music - prompt for students to use toilet, wash hands and line up.

11.30am: Bell for class

1pm: Lunch eating bell - students eat in the classroom or together in outdoor seating areas. Wrapper free lunches are encouraged. 

1.10pm: Lunch Play

1.57pm: Music - prompt for students to use toilet, wash hands and line up.

2pm: Bell for class

3.30pm: Bell for home 

NAPLAN

NAPLAN will run next week for students in year 3 and year 5. Tests will take place over three days - Wednesday to Friday. 

What is 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 a 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.

NAPLAN is now online

Schools have transitioned from paper-based to computer-based assessments. However, 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. 

Does my child have to participate in NAPLAN?

While it is encouraged that all students participate in NAPLAN, for some students the experience can be overwhelming or more difficult than it is for others. Parents and teachers should work together in these instances to decide whether a student should be granted an exemption or withdrawn from any of the tests.  Where a student has a disability that severely limits their capacity to participate in the assessment, or a student who has recently arrived in Australia and has a non-English speaking background, a formal exemption may be granted. 

What if my child is absent during NAPLAN? 

Where possible, schools may arrange for individual students who are absent at the time of testing to complete missed tests at another time during the school’s test schedule.

At Waverley Meadows, make up NAPLAN sessions will run the following Monday and Tuesday. 

What can I do to support my child?

Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply do their best. Some familiarisation and explanation of NAPLAN is useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance. 

You can see the types of questions and tools available in the online NAPLAN assessments at the public demonstration site.

How is my child's performance reported? 

Individual student performance is shown on a national achievement scale for each assessment. This scale indicates whether the student is meeting expectations for the literacy and numeracy skills needed to participate fully in that year level. A NAPLAN individual student report will be provided by your child’s school later in the year. 

How are NAPLAN results used?

• Students and parents/carers may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.
• Schools use results to identify strengths and areas of need to improve teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy.
• School systems use results to review the effectiveness of programs and support offered to schools.

If you have any questions or concerns about NAPLAN, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or year 3 and 5 NAPLAN coordinators - Andrew Noordhoff and Daniel Lewis.

LONG WEEKEND

A reminder that Monday is the Labour Day public holiday. I wish all of our families a restful and relaxing long-weekend.  

Alison Lough