NAPLAN RESULTS
This week families have received their 2009 NAPLAN reports. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sat the assessments in both Literacy and Numeracy in May this year. Student performance is reported in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation and Numeracy. In addition to the students performance there are comparative results which shows the class average, the Australia wide average and the spread of the middle 60% of students across Australia. The results are also reported in bands on a common scale from 1 to 10 across all years.
I was pleased with the school average results compared to the national averages and there were some outstanding individual performances. What was also positive was the growth that almost all students showed compared to similar tests they sat two years ago. The results confirm that students are learning more the longer they are at school.
However the results do show that we still have more work to do. Teachers can access all the student results and undertake their own analysis to most effectively target weaknesses highlighted by the tests. I invite all parents/carers who would like to discuss their child’s NAPLAN results to contact the school to make an appointment with myself and or the class teacher.
BOYS AND GIRLS BIG DAY OUT
On Thursday 17th September mainstream lessons in Secondary were set aside to allow for a focus on student well being. The special activities organised for the girls and boys were designed to emphasise the benefits of working together in teams and how important good friendship, respect for others and tolerance is in our society. The boys activities, centred on the river, included abseiling off the bridge, camp cooking, fishing and archery.
The girls began their day on Wednesday night with a movie and sleep over, followed by workshops on Thursday which included hair and makeup, girls health, and a fun ‘newspaper’ bridal gown competition.
The feed back from everyone involved has been all positive. Congratulations to the students on their excellent participation and willingness to cooperate. Thank you to staff, particularly Brooke Marshall and Ben Wright, for their work and creativity and thank you to the many volunteers who added significantly to the day.
Mark Vale
Principal
