As we approach the conclusion of term 3 I would like to thank all parents and carers who have assisted at the school this term, including those who have provided support through coaching and managing our sports teams as well as helping with Auskick sessions. The level of help has been excellent and is greatly appreciated in allowing our students to have these opportunities. A special thanks also to the families that provided baked goods to sell on Tuesday's fundraising stall for the upper primary Tournament of Minds team - it was extremely popular!
Well done to our choir students who participated in the Festival of Music last week. For their evening performance they joined with a number of other school choirs to sing a range of songs that they have been practising since the beginning of the year. Thank you to our Performing Arts teacher, Elena Sourbis, for her work in preparing the choir.
We look forward to an exciting and busy term 4 which has many highlights, including year 6 camp, Italian Day, transition visits for next year’s cohort of Reception students and our end of year concert and Year 6 graduation.
2022 NAPLAN
NAPLAN information has recently been sent home to families of our year 3 and 5 students. At a school level, NAPLAN achievement reports provide useful feedback for teachers, as they indicate the strengths and areas for improvement that can be worked on with students. It is important to acknowledge that NAPLAN results are a snapshot of one type of assessment and that overall student achievement is measured by a variety of assessment types, of which NAPLAN is a part. An important area to reflect on are the following questions; ‘how well is my child going?’ and ‘how is my child going well?’ Whilst NAPLAN and other summative assessments provide an opportunity to reference your child’s achievement against formal benchmarks, it is equally important to acknowledge the areas your child is going well in eg. what progress have they made since the beginning of the year?, what habits and dispositions have they developed this year? what learning areas have they showed a passion for? Celebrating these areas of development and progress are an important part of your child’s learning pathway.
In terms of overall NAPLAN achievement for this year, the school was able to achieve a number of its learner achievement targets which was a pleasing outcome. Our results indicating the following:
Reading
· 100% of Yr 3 students and 92% of Yr 5 students achieving the department’s Reading benchmark.
· 90% of Yr 3 students achieving in the higher achievement bands in Reading.
Writing
· 92% of Yr 3 and Yr 5 students achieving the department’s Writing benchmark.
· An increase in the percentage of Yr 3 students achieving in the higher bands for writing (59%)
· 3 years of growth in the percentage of Yr 5 students achieving the department’s Writing higher bands benchmark.
Numeracy
· 98% of Yr 3 students and 94% of Yr 5 students achieving the department’s benchmark.
· An increase in the percentage of Yr 3 students achieving in the higher bands for Numeracy (52%)
As well as looking at individual student achievement, NAPLAN results allow our school to compare each cohort of students over time, and to examine trends. Teachers have conducted a deep analysis of student achievement data to inform their actions as we maintain our aspiration for all students to make growth in their learning. If you have any queries regarding your child’s NAPLAN achievement, please contact their teacher.
Developmentally Appropriate Behaviour
The Department for Education has recently released an updated resource regarding developmentally appropriate sexual behaviour. The resource provides an overview of what sexual behaviour is developmentally appropriate for your child, and the types of behaviour where the school may need to respond. Most children and young people show developmentally appropriate sexual behaviour, this behaviour is:
· typical for their age
· between children or young people equal in age, size and developmental ability
· light-hearted, curious, mutual and spontaneous
· a natural part of child development
· about curiosity and understanding their own and other people’s bodies and relationships
· balanced with other interests.
Children learn about developmentally appropriate behaviour, respectful relationships and consent primarily through the health and physical education learning area within the Australian Curriculum. Complementary to this, children are also taught the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum which provides age and developmentally appropriate strategies to help children and young people build their knowledge and capacity.
Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the resource provided and contact the school if you have any queries.