Swansea Public School Newsletter

NAPLAN 2022 – Celebrating Outstanding Achievement:

NAPLAN is a great way for schools to get a snapshot of where students are at in their literacy and numeracy learning. NAPLAN also allows us to recognise student achievement, monitor learning progress, and celebrate the great work shared by our students, teachers and learning support staff.

Earlier this year students in Years 3 and 5 sat their NAPLAN assessment. The following information is a snapshot of how amazing our students performed as they STRIVE TO DO WELL as active learners!

NAPLAN - Year 3 Achievement

NAPLAN achievement is measured against BANDS. Band 2 is the national minimum standard students should be performing at in their literacy and numeracy in Year 3. At Swansea Public School we aim to have all students achieving at Band 3 or higher, because we have high aspirations for our students, and pride ourselves on being an above average school!

In 2022, our students achieved results ranging from Band 2, through to Band 7, in Reading. Our school average for Reading is firmly placed high in Band 4 (almost Band 5). This shows our students value reading and are awesome at it.

In 2022, our students achieved results from Band 3, through to Band 8, in Numeracy. Pleasingly, our school average a band higher than the minimum standard for Year 5 students, coming in at Band 5. Also worth noting is that Band 8 is the minimum standard students need to achieve to receive their Higher School Certificate (HSC). We are very proud of our Year 5 students achieving at such high levels in numeracy!

NAPLAN - Aboriginal Student Achievement

35% of students in Years 3 and 5, who sat the NAPLAN assessment in 2022, were Aboriginal Students. These 18 students did an outstanding job recording results that were equal to, or better than, our Non-Aboriginal Students.

Our percentage of Aboriginal Students achieving results in the Top 3 Bands for Reading and Numeracy, also significantly exceeded the Statistically Similar School Groups (SSSG) percentage, as well as the State (NSW) percentage.

Our Aboriginal Student achievement percentages not only remain above SSSG and State averages for both Reading and Numeracy since 2020, but our students are also increasing the gap between their results and comparable averages, showing an amazing upward trend in their learning!

NAPLAN - Celebration of Student Achievement

In recognition of outstanding student achievement, we will be hosting a NAPLAN Assembly on Friday 16th September (Week 9) at 9:00am. At this assembly we will be acknowledging students who have achieved in the Top 2 Bands for NAPLAN with special certificates. We encourage all parents and carers who receive an invitation to this assembly to join us in celebrating with our students.

Shout Out to Our Dads:

Last Friday we had our Father’s Day Breakfast. It was an amazing turn-out with 200 bacon and egg rolls coming hot off the production line! There was great fun also shared with competitive games of handball, the throwing competition, and the all-in soccer match. I would like to thank our P&C and our staff making this event so special. A specific shout out also goes to the manager of Swansea Woolworths, Michael, for generously donating the food and to supportive Dad, Shane, for making the rolls fresh on the day! Hat tip to Mr Low as well for being the co-ordinator of the event…it was awesome having everyone come together for such a great time!

P&C Working Bee:

On Saturday 17th September we have a Working Bee happening at our school between 10:00am-2:00pm. There’s plenty of little jobs that need doing, so if you can help in any small way, we’d love to see you on the day!

 *Positive Behaviour for Learning

Our Breakfast Club is open each and every morning and we couldn't do it without the help of our amazing volunteers. Mrs Cummings has dedicated her Fridays to help out and some of Year 6 students continue to show up.

The Swansea Community Cottage generously donate food to our Breakfast Club on a regular basis. Their generosity is greatly appreciated as it helps us to provide an important and worthwhile service to our students.

We would like to thank EVERYONE who helps our Breakfast Club to be the success it is. 

On August 30th our Girls Touch Football team hosted 2 rounds of the PSSA Touch Football Knockout competition at Quinn Park. The girls performed valiantly in their 3rd round match against Floraville Public School, coming from behind to win 5-3. In their 4th round match the girls faced a very well trained Biddabah Public School team who unfortunately came away with the win 6-2. Our girls are to be commended for their efforts on the field, in addition to the manners and sportsmanship shown to other players, referees and staff from other schools. 

Congratulations girls!

Swansea Public had 3 students attend the Hunter Athletics Carnival on Friday 26th of August. We would like to extend a huge congratulations to these students for some outstanding results on the day:

• Shyla G - 8th in U11 Girls 200m Final
• Edyn S - 4th in U10 Girls 100m Final, 5th in Junior Girls 200m Final
• Jayden T - 4th in Senior Boys 800m Final, 4th in Senior Boys 1500m Final

Congratulations to these students on a wonderful effort in representing Swansea Public School.

A number of our Aboriginal students in years 4-6 travelled to Mick Bird Oval in Windale on Monday 29th August for the Bahtabah Oztag Gala Day. This is a local Close the Gap Event with the support of Lake Macquarie Oztag and Bahtabah Land Council for our community. Although it was a muddy day, our students represented Swansea Public School with pride. Our students experienced mixed results on the field, but all enjoyed a day connecting with our community through sport. 

Congratulations to these students.