Welcome back to Term 2! I am hearing from many teachers that the students have come back to school eager and ready to learn. 

A reminder that NAPLAN will be in week 4 of this Term for our year 3 and 5 students. Here is a repeat of information from an earlier Newsletter: 

NAPLAN Testing

NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit in May each year. It is the only national assessment all Australian students do.

As children progress through their school years, it is very important that checks are made along the way to see how well they are learning the essential skills of reading, writing and mathematics. NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgment about student progress.

Year 3 and Year 5 students complete NAPLAN Online, with the exception of the year 3 writing test which is completed on paper. Coming up to the tests, students will be engaged in learning about the types of questions that will be on the NAPLAN test and how to navigate the site. Students will also participate in a practice test this coming Thursday 30th March in order to become familiar with the platform. If you would like to, you and your child can access the Public Demonstration Site  to familiarise yourselves with the type of questions and related functionalities available in the NAPLAN Online assessment.

This website (https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support/) provides further information and resources about NAPLAN for parents and carers.

Parents or carers may withdraw their child from the tests to address issues such as religious beliefs or philosophical objections to testing. It is recommended that withdrawal be considered in consultation with your child's teacher. If you would like to withdraw your child from NAPLAN please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible and you will need to sign a form along with the Principal (Penny or Nick) by Friday 6th May. 

The NAPLAN schedule for St Benedict’s Catholc School is below. Wherever possible, we will organise for individual students who are absent at the time of testing to complete missed tests at another time during the test window. Classes will resume as normal (no more catch ups) after Friday 13th May. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding NAPLAN please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. As stated, we appreciate that NAPLAN is a point in time assessment, and we know your children for all their strengths and achievements outside of standardised testing. 

Yours in Learning,

Aleesha