Included this week:-
- NAPLAN
- SeeSaw
- Report Writing
- School Uniform
- School Closure Days
NAPLAN, could I start this week’s newsletter anywhere else? For those parents with students in Years 3 or 5 you would have received a letter home explaining NAPLAN and its role in education. Some of the suggestions around its use include discussing progress with teachers, identifying students who require challenge or additional support, and reviewing programs and support offered to schools. In theory all of that is great, it’s exactly what we want from an assessment - it’s the turnaround time that remains the issue. A test conducted in May is no longer an accurate picture of a child’s capability 3 or 4 months later when results arrive. It also only manages to provide a broad snapshot of what is going on in the school compared to the extensive ongoing assessments we already use to drive our teaching.
As a school we score well on NAPLAN, >95% of our students score above the standard and on average our students show more progress in reading, writing and numeracy from grade 3 to 5 when compared to similar schools, and significantly higher growth rates when compared to all Australian schools. NAPLAN is a snapshot tool, it’s not ideal, it’s what we have though. As always I would encourage parents to avoid over inflating or applying pressure in relation to the NAPLAN assessments with their children, reassure them that they are simply one small part of their education. If your child is experiencing increased worry related to NAPLAN please contact their classroom teacher to discuss this.
Earlier in the year I talked about ways we are looking to better communicate what is taking place in the classroom with families. One of the suggestions at the time was the use of SeeSaw, an app that allows parents, students and teachers to post closed comments and images. SeeSaw is working in a number of the schools within the diocese and has been a great success in showcasing actual learning in an immediate way, not waiting till the end of a semester to receive information. Staff have been exploring its use over the last term and we feel it will be a valuable addition to our reporting process. We are currently looking at the best way to inform families around how we intend to use it and the purpose behind this.
Alongside this we have been reviewing our entire reporting process, unpacking the purpose being it and looking at how we can make it more purposeful and efficient. The average writing time for a semester report can be upwards of 5 hours, plus proofing and editing, the average read time is an awful lot less (under a minute last I saw). What we have been hearing from families is the value of parent teacher interviews and 3 way conversations. We are looking to reduce the written content in our reports, removing the english and maths comments and instead bring in another interview directly related to the report. By doing this families will have the opportunity to discuss student’s reports directly with the homeroom teacher and how it relates to the work they are producing. This change, along with the introduction of SeeSaw is aimed at providing parents with a clearer picture of what is happening on a regular basis for their child. By having this information available parents who wish to will have an increased awareness of what is taking place and how they can support their child’s learning journey.
School Uniform
We have a number of families looking for named lost woollen jumpers and sports jumpers. We ask all families to take a few moments to look at the uniforms that their child/ren have brought home. If you have any items of uniform that have been mistakenly taken home we ask that they be returned to the office.
A number of families have also purchased 2nd Hand Uniforms, we ask that you take a few minutes to ensure you child’s name is on these items so if misplaced we can return to the correct person quickly.
We also have a number of jumpers and rugby tops in lost property.
School Closure Day
Just a reminder as stated on previous newsletters, this coming Friday, 18th May is the first of our School Closure days for Term 2 as our teaching staff attend the Hawker Brownlow teaching and learning conference in Melbourne. This is an annual event that hosts international speakers some of whom we have worked with previously. Staff will be attending a variety of sessions on various topics including cultivating creating, embedding formative assessment and reflective thinking.
The second closure day on Tuesday 12th June, will continue our work from last year looking at how we work as collaborative teams and make use of our open learning spaces to best support student learning.
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As a school we score well on NAPLAN, >95% of our students score above the standard and on average our students show more progress in reading, writing and numeracy from grade 3 to 5 when compared to similar schools, and significantly higher growth rates when compared to all Australian schools. NAPLAN is a snapshot tool, it’s not ideal, it’s what we have though. As always I would encourage parents to avoid over inflating or applying pressure in relation to the NAPLAN assessments with their children, reassure them that they are simply one small part of their education. If your child is experiencing increased worry related to NAPLAN please contact their classroom teacher to discuss this.
Earlier in the year I talked about ways we are looking to better communicate what is taking place in the classroom with families. One of the suggestions at the time was the use of SeeSaw, an app that allows parents, students and teachers to post closed comments and images. SeeSaw is working in a number of the schools within the diocese and has been a great success in showcasing actual learning in an immediate way, not waiting till the end of a semester to receive information. Staff have been exploring its use over the last term and we feel it will be a valuable addition to our reporting process. We are currently looking at the best way to inform families around how we intend to use it and the purpose behind this.
Alongside this we have been reviewing our entire reporting process, unpacking the purpose being it and looking at how we can make it more purposeful and efficient. The average writing time for a semester report can be upwards of 5 hours, plus proofing and editing, the average read time is an awful lot less (under a minute last I saw). What we have been hearing from families is the value of parent teacher interviews and 3 way conversations. We are looking to reduce the written content in our reports, removing the english and maths comments and instead bring in another interview directly related to the report. By doing this families will have the opportunity to discuss student’s reports directly with the homeroom teacher and how it relates to the work they are producing. This change, along with the introduction of SeeSaw is aimed at providing parents with a clearer picture of what is happening on a regular basis for their child. By having this information available parents who wish to will have an increased awareness of what is taking place and how they can support their child’s learning journey.
School Uniform
We have a number of families looking for named lost woollen jumpers and sports jumpers. We ask all families to take a few moments to look at the uniforms that their child/ren have brought home. If you have any items of uniform that have been mistakenly taken home we ask that they be returned to the office.
A number of families have also purchased 2nd Hand Uniforms, we ask that you take a few minutes to ensure you child’s name is on these items so if misplaced we can return to the correct person quickly.
We also have a number of jumpers and rugby tops in lost property.
School Closure Day
Just a reminder as stated on previous newsletters, this coming Friday, 18th May is the first of our School Closure days for Term 2 as our teaching staff attend the Hawker Brownlow teaching and learning conference in Melbourne. This is an annual event that hosts international speakers some of whom we have worked with previously. Staff will be attending a variety of sessions on various topics including cultivating creating, embedding formative assessment and reflective thinking.
The second closure day on Tuesday 12th June, will continue our work from last year looking at how we work as collaborative teams and make use of our open learning spaces to best support student learning.
Back to main
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