EDUCATION

NAPLAN 2022

We are approaching that time of year where Year 7 and 9 students complete the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing. All students in these year levels at Surf Coast Secondary College will complete the online version of the test held between Tuesday 10th May and Friday 20th May 2022.

NAPLAN Online delivers numerous benefits including:

• a ‘tailored test’ design that adapts to correct and incorrect student responses providing a more precise understanding of student achievement;
• innovative use of technology, including a more engaging test design and a wider range of item types;
• the extension of the ‘test window’ to two weeks, allowing schools greater opportunity to schedule the tests at times that suit them best and increasing student participation.
• upon completion of the online transition, reduced time between testing and reporting, increasing the ability of teachers to use the results to inform teaching practice.

The results from these tests inform teachers and parents of each student’s progress against nationally agreed minimum standards for literacy and numeracy at each of the year levels participating. Teachers across our College use the tracking and analysis of these results to inform their teaching, planning and programming, as well as to assess when individual interventions may be necessary. The NAPLAN results, when combined with other information such as examples of class work, subject assessments and individual student’s school reports, enable us to form a broader and deeper picture of each student’s reading, writing, spelling, grammar use and numeracy skills. This helps with the identification of strengths and areas for improvement for each student.

All students in Years 7 to 9 at Surf Coast Secondary College are expected to participate in the NAPLAN Testing. Catch up tests will be available for any students who miss the scheduled day. Support can be arranged for students with disabilities, if the student regularly uses similar support for classroom assessment tasks. If your child is eligible for support due to disability, please contact the Sub School Leader to discuss prior to the tests. Parental consent is required before any support due to disability or exemption is granted. 

Students may also be withdrawn from NAPLAN by their parents or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents in consultation with the Sub School Leader. If you wish to withdraw your child from the tests, a parent or carer consent form must be signed prior to the commencement of the tests. Please contact the relevant Sub School Leader to discuss the withdrawal process. 

To prepare for the Online NAPLAN testing in 2022, students in Year 7 & 9 will be required to sit two pratice tests prior to the official NAPLAN dates in May. These two tests are designed to  support schools in determining any technical problems and also allows students to become familiar with the new online platform. You can view a sample test of the new Online NAPLAN Test by visiting https://pages.assessform.edu.au/pages/year-7-demos

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of NAPLAN, please contact your child’s Sub-School Leader, either by e-mail or by phoning the school directly on 5261 6633.

CANVAS New Parent Access

Hello, late last week our learning management system Canvas was updated to to give new parents access to their students learning data. The initial setup information can be found on our schools website but I’m also included some further support linked below to help you start to dig in. 

Canvas will allow you to see pretty much everything your students see, from their work and comments on their work to grades and other feedback. Canvas is a live platform which means that you can filter students results by their class, topic, etc. I’d encourage you to have a look at the parent aspect of Canvas with your students and use it as a base for your academic conversations. 

In the links below you’ll find support to get started and some links to support to dig a little deeper and customise your experience.

CLICK HERE - CANVAS Guidelines & Features

CLICK HERE: How to Set Up CANVAS

Regards, Shaun Miller.

Digital Learning Specialist.

Tutoring Homework Club

Please come along on Tuesday afternoon for additional learning support.  All Surf Coast Secondary students are able to access additional support on Tuesday afternoons between 3pm and 4pm at our  Tutoring Homework Club in the Inspire Studio 1.

Literacy and Numeracy Support at S.C.S.C

Surf Coast Secondary College is pleased to be part of the Department of Education Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support (MYLNS) initiative. The initiative gives intensive teaching support to identified students in years 8-10 who are at risk of finishing school without the literacy and numeracy skills they need for future work, education and training. Students who are part of the program will receive tailored learning plans based on their individual needs.

The MYLNS initiative gives students and teachers additional support to improve their literacy and numeracy, building on the hard work that S.C.S.C is already doing to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students. This is conducted with the support of the MYLNS Numeracy and/or Literacy Improvement Teachers, who work directly with students, and build the capability of other teachers to improve the literacy and numeracy of students at our school.

As a MYLNS team, we will also be working to support families in engaging students in literacy and numeracy activities in contexts that are relevant to your young person’s experiences and interests. Please find below some suggested literacy and numeracy strategies for home.

NUMERACY AT HOME:

• Cooking: Choose a recipe and change the servings. How much of each ingredient is needed?
• Reading: Discover numeracy in news articles or infographics by selecting an article that interests the student and discuss the meaning in the data.
• Food labels: Compare the nutrition information panels of products and consider, for example, recommended daily intake of sugar and carbohydrates.
• Home improvement: involve young people in calculating materials needed, estimating cost and ordering materials.
• Play games: Board games and card games have a wide range of numeracy skills and strategies in them. A family games night is a great way to get everyone involved in the learning and fun.
• The weekly shop: Calculate the weekly shop online, challenge your family to see who can come up with the most savings by selecting the most cost effective items. The winner may receive a tasty treat!

LITERACY AT HOME:

• Continue to encourage them to write for everyday skills. This includes writing recipes, family messages, shopping lists and greeting cards.
• Persuasive writing will become a focus at school. Encourage your students to read or watch news articles and write down their opinions and ideas about specific issues.
• Read a book or magazine together and discuss the story. What meaning does the student take from the piece of text? 
• Write a blog on a hobby or interest.
• Write letters to post to friends and family members.
• Play online word games like scattergories: https://swellgarfo.com/scattergories/

Happy learning!

Andrea Loving (Numeracy), Stephen Fenwick (Numeracy), Jacqueline Fenwick (Literacy) and Sheridan Graham (Literacy)

Tutor Learning Initiative continues at Surf Coast SC in 2022

Surf Coast SC is delighted that the Victorian Government has continued the Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) in 2022. This initiative was designed to address the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on student learning and engagement in Victoria.

The extension of the initiative allows Surf Coast SC to continue to provide our students who need it most with targeted TLI learning support during the school year. Despite the continued challenges we and schools across Victoria have faced this year, the TLI has ensured that students, who may have fallen behind, become disengaged or missed opportunities for extension receive the help they need. 

How are students selected?

Teachers identify students through a needs based system by utilising school data, observations and prior knowledge of student backgrounds. Selected students may need support in a variety of areas including intervention in Literacy and Numeracy areas, support in reengaging with classroom activities or extension in specific subject areas.

What does tutoring look like at Surf Coast SC?

We are very fortunate to have 4 highly qualified teachers working in our tutoring program. Our tutors work alongside students in the classroom for a 6 to 8 week cycle. Our tutors create learning goals with students and support with the activities and learning in the classroom. Students may sometimes participate in small group work or individually with tutors. This will be dependent on the needs of each students. 

How will I know if my child has been selected?

Parents/carers receive a Compass notification that your child has been selected for the Tutoring Program. Parents/carers are required to give consent for students to participate in the program.

We look forward to continuing the TLI program throughout 2022 by providing small group learning support that will enable our students to flourish now and in the future.