tempe high school innovation, opportunity, excellence · march at tempe high school and the...

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL Innovation, Opportunity, Excellence

Unwins Bridge Road TEMPE NSW 2044

TERM 2, WEEK 2 Phone : 9558 2023 5 May 2011 Fax : 9558 9460

Principal’s Report Welcome back to Term 2 for our 910 students 63 teaching staff and 13 clerical staff. Term 2 is synonymous with N.A.P.L.A.N. student assessments, half-yearly reports and parent-teacher interviews. The term commenced with an A.N.Z.A.C. service hosted by students with some meaningful messages about the importance of ANZAC Day and the sacrifices made by soldiers and civilians in conflicts over the last 100 years. At the end of the service I congratulated the boys and girls for their respectful and excellent behaviour.

Year 12 should soon receive their mid-course reports. With the Careers Adviser we will continue to interview their progress and to assist in any areas of concern. We have been impressed at the dedication most students are showing towards their studies and their desire to succeed in the H.S.C. Year 12 students have been allocated their teacher mentors and so should make regular contact with them and act on any advice given regarding their studies. It is essential that students focus on REVISION as it is not good enough to simply complete their homework and assessment tasks. Revision should be regular so that as exams approach revision is manageable and areas of concern can be focused on. Students should also seek teacher assistance and not let uncertainties or problems go unaddressed.

Congratulations to two Year 10 students Michelle Xiang and Nancy He who won second prize in the Wool 4 Skool Competition in the Australian Wool Fashion Awards. They re-designed our school uniform which was professionally made and modelled at the Easter Show finals. We look forward to seeing their efforts and hopefully sharing with students, staff and parents. I applaud their initiative in entering this competition and their interest in trying to extend our school uniform choices.

All students in Years 7 and 9 will sit for the N.A.P.L.A.N. (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) in Week 3—10, 11, 12 May. It is important that all students attend as teachers use these results to meet the individual literacy and numeracy needs of our students. I look forward to seeing as many parents as possible at our next P & C Meeting on Tuesday 10 May at 7pm in the Common Room (old stone building) where we'll discuss N.A.P.L.A.N. and our school’s results. I have included a letter from the owner of Scuba Shack commenting on the behaviour of our Year 7 students and Year 11 Peer Support Leaders at the Year 7 Camp held in Term 1.

“Over three days we had 151 students in the water with us and a few sitting on the beach. These numbers usually terrify us as controlling large groups can be a nightmare. Your students were well behaved and polite at all times, followed instructions, stayed within the boundaries that we set and showed a great interest in what they were doing. Your students are a credit to your school, their teachers and most importantly to themselves. It was great seeing older students in leadership positions helping with group control and organisation”. by Greg Evans, Scuba Shack. I hope you enjoy reading these reports and students contributions in this company of the Tempe Newsletter.

John Fairburn, Principal Harmony Day 2011

This year’s Harmony Day was conducted on the 24th of March at Tempe High School and the celebrations involved a special assembly on the last period of the day. Harmony Day celebrates the uniqueness of every individual culture and the unity that exists within our multicultural society- orange ribbons worn by the school that day were symbolic of this. The assembly was an immersive experience, with various musical items showing how talented Tempe High students were, while at the same time, demonstrating the beauty of their own cultures. We were also fortunate enough to have a guest speaker, Jay Laga’aia (of Star Wars and Home and Away fame), who entertained the school with snippets of his adolescent life and his culture. Even though the assembly reached past the end of the school day, many students stayed behind to watch the last performance. It was a very successful Harmony Day, and I’m sure the entire school felt a great sense of harmony and belonging.

by Michelle Xiang—10B

Innovation, Opportunity, Excellence

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


P & C News At the recent P&C Annual General Meeting P&C President of 2 years Dianne Picton stepped down as well as Lynette Coghlan as Secretary. They have done an outstanding job for the P&C and we would like to thank them for all their efforts on behalf of the parents of Tempe High School. I would like to announce our new committee: President - Tanya Burrows Vice President - Chris Small Secretary - Leonie Sinclair Treasurer - Karen Turvey The P&C meeting once a month on a Tuesday at 7pm- the dates for the year are: 10 May 14 June 9 August 13 September 11 October 8 November 13 December We would love to welcome you all to our meetings. They are very informal and each month our Principal John Fairburn and Deputies Terry Vallis and Socrates Dassaklis update all attendees on events in the School, addresses concerns and welcomes any suggestions as to how we can make our great school even better. Each parents contribution is encouraged and appreciated. Fundraising is not a major part of our P&C and the meetings are generally about an hour in duration. If I can ever be of any assistance please contact me on: [email protected] I look forward to meeting you all. Tanya Burrows

SRC 2011 The objective of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at Tempe High School is to enable students the opportunity to make a difference in their school and in their community. It provides them with the opportunity to be involved in a decision-making role in the school, to learn how to run meetings and to work democratically. SRC meetings are held weekly where important topical issues within the school's agenda are discussed and debated on, with SRC representatives voicing their peers' opinions and ideas.

The Student Representative Council (SRC) is elected by the students to represent the students. Years 8 to 12 are elected in Term 4 of the previous year and the Year 7’s are elected in Term 1 after the Year 7 camp. The SRC plays an important role within the school and aims to do the following:

To improve the communication between staff and students

Help create a better environment around the school

To provide students with a forum to discuss views and ideas

Raise money to benefit both the school and several charities.

2011 Student Representative Council

This year the SRC representatives have committed themselves to the environmental improvement of the area outside the canteen. The SRC has raised money for the Queensland floods and has also raised money for Red Nose Day, the Pakistan Floods and Stewart House. A few brave students participated in the World’s Greatest Shave this year. Ms A White-Head Teacher Welfare/SRC

Year 12 Year 11 Year 10 Year 9 Year 8 Isabelle Teo

Naomi Dang

Samantha Ma

Selina Le

Beryl Li

Sandy Thai

Christine Nguyen

Kathleen Cai

Ivy Ng

Yasmine Barwardi

Xinh Nguyen

Tina Nguyen

Rea Singh

Peti Palelei

Angela Abraham

Irene Liu

Istiak Ahmed

Amr Mustafa

Zoe Yalouris

Anderson Zhang

Jeremy Han

Lachlan McCauley

Justin Lin

Petrina Singh

Dominic Causley-Todd

Daniel Simmonds

Arif Sudarsono

Matthew Mojovski

Jonathon Ma

Alex Johnson

Victor Le

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


NASCA INDIGENOUS SPORTS ACADEMY –

SPORTS GALA DAY Wednesday 30th March 2011 On Wednesday 30th of March, 65 National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy members attended a sports gala day at Alexandria Park Community School. The day was held to wrap up the term 1 activities as well as introduce new and existing members to each other from across the three schools that participate in this program. The schools include Alexandria Park Community School, Tempe and Marrickville High Schools. On the day academy members were very lucky to have Baseball NSW, Redfern Redsox and the New South Wales Institute of Sport (Basketball program) run clinics for their specific sports. Students rotated around each activity which also included touch football. After a huge bbq lunch, Mo’onia Gerrard from the NSW Swifts (netball) came along and addressed the students on the hard work it takes to become an elite athlete and shared some of her family stories about growing up with her brothers (one of whom has played rugby for Australia). Students were then given their NASCA polos which they are allowed to wear on academy days at school. This term students have also participated in a variety of activities. Programs have included, cultural awareness sessions which had Jie Pittman from Liventruth Productions come and work with academy members touching on traditional tools and equipment used by our traditional Indigenous peoples. He also looked at some traditional dance and showed some of his own artworks regarding his family. Jie will be returning in term 3 to continue working with academy members and will be introducing dance, art and hip-hop workshops. The Australian Rugby League Development team are currently working with the academy students on a ‘Backyard League’ program. The program is designed to give all participants the opportunity to experience rugby league as well as work on specific skills for the more advanced rugby league player. The clinics have been very practical with the use of the tackle bags and hit shields being one of the most exciting activities for the students to be involved in. 12 students were involved in a Surf program run by Surf NSW and ‘Let’s Go Surfing’. The students were taught about beach and surf safety including how to read surf conditions. All students received both a certificate 1 and 2 in ‘Safe Surfing’. Term 2 is shaping as another busy term for the NASCA academy members. 20 students from across the three schools will be heading to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for a live, eat and train program over three days.

Hockey NSW will also be running a 4 week program to introduce the game of hockey to academy members. This is the first time Hockey NSW have been involved in the NASCA program and its looking very exciting and something brand new for the students to learn. Thanks for a great term.

Ash Hogan – NASCA South Sydney Project Officer

Marni Reti - Year 10

NASCA Academy Students Tempe & Marrickville High Schools

Eli Potter -Year 7

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


HSIE Hello everyone from the HSIE faculty. Term 1 was an extremely busy time, and I would like to take this opportunity to fill you in on what has been happening in the faculty and to let you know about coming events. The Year 10 and 11 Geography students participated in their mandatory fieldwork trips in Term 1. Year went to Homebush Bay wetlands to observe and measure the effects of human activity on the environment, to examine management strategies and suggest further action which could be taken to protect the area. While there are strict controls now for the control of pollution, I have been asked to submit fresh ideas to the Field Studies Centre which come out in the students’ reports.

Year 10

Year 11

Year 11 Geography studied biophysical interactions at Cronulla Beach, again focusing on the effectiveness of management strategies to protect the coastline. They considered the possible effects of sea level rise on the area and gained an insight into the perceptions of beach users on this very topical issue. Year 7 History are Studying Societies and Civilisations of the Past. To enhance their experience, they visited the Entombed Warriors Exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. While the gallery was crowded with visitors to see this wonderful display, Year 7 were able to choose the aspects which they were most interested in, and came away with valuable insights into life in ancient China. I would like to thank Ms Simmelhaig for organising this day for Year 7, and also the teachers, including those from outside the faculty, who attended to help supervise the students on the day. Also in Term 1, Year 12 Legal Studies, accompanied by their teachers, Ms Riad and Ms Duncan, attended a one-day seminar on Human Rights, one of the topics being studied for their HSC. These students are the first cohort studying the revised HSC syllabus, and their attendance at this seminar was an extremely important part of their exam preparation. ANZAC Day celebrations at Tempe High School have traditionally been the responsibility of the HSIE faculty, in particular, the History staff. I would like to thank Ms White, who took a small group to the service at the Cenotaph, organised the wearing of green ribbons by the entire school and coordinated the ANZAC assemblies at school. A special thanks goes to 10W and the other students who ably assisted.

Year 10 Students Michelle Xiang, Nancy He, Hannah Dinh, Vincent Nguyen

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


HSIE (cont.) The coming weeks are also proving to be busy. In Week 3 of this term, Mr Jackson, accompanied by three other teachers, will be taking a group of Year 10 students to Canberra for three days. He will be wearing his two hats: that of Year 10 advisor, and that of Year 10 History teacher. What started out as an idea for a Year 10 camp, morphed into an excursion to enhance the students’ knowledge and understanding of Australian history. The experiences gained will be invaluable for the students in their School Certificate course. Those not attending will not miss out, however, as they will be doing virtual fieldwork on their laptops on the days that the others are away, including a “visit” to the Australian War Memorial.

Ms White, Mr Vallis and the ANZAC Assembly organizers and presenters

Coming up in Week 7 will be a lecture day for the HSC Economics classes, accompanied by Mr Michos and Mr Kokkorogiannis. It will provide the students with the latest economic information from industry professionals.

So far, HSIE events organised for Term 3 are: in Week 2, all of Year 10 will participate in the NSW Geography Competition, which will also form part of their School Certificate assessment, while History Week will be celebrated by the attendance of Year 8 at Medieval Day on September 8th. This is an annual event at our school for Year 8, and is an important part of their work in the study of Medieval Europe. In Term 4, we will be holding our annual Financial Literacy workshops conducted by the Commonwealth Bank as part of the Year 10 Leadership Program. More information will be given on this closer to the time.

Finally, an update on the HSIE staff: Mrs Jennings has gone on maternity leave, and we wish her and family all the best in the coming months. As well, I will be taking some long service leave. We are being replaced by two very capable and experienced teachers, Matthew Pell and Jurij Sadowski. As well, we have a History student teacher from Macquarie University with us for the rest of the year on a part time basis, Ms Francesca Castro. I welcome these three teachers into our staffroom and our school. Mrs Plioplis Head Teacher, HSIE A message from the Careers Adviser

University Scholarships Universities offer scholarships every year for a wide range of courses. There are many more scholarships available than those that arrive on my desk, and you should use the university websites and/or contact the universities to see what is being offered. Go to the NSW and ACT Universities Information page at http://www.mhscareers.comListofNSWUniversities.html and click on scholarships information for each university. Other university scholarships (interstate and overseas) can be found here http: //www.mhscareers.com/UniversityWebsites.html Many scholarships have closing dates for applications around the end of September. Additionally, there is a scholarship search facility on the my future website http: //www.myfuture.edu.au/The%20Facts/Funding/Awards%20and%20Scholarships.aspx Students are welcome to come and see me for assistance with information and applications.

Mr Fawcett - Careers Adviser

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


Our Day at Lapa Ngura Year 8 Aboriginal Languages Excursion to La Perouse 31.3.11 After we got off the bus at the Loop in La Perouse, we walked past Congwong Bay and across the bridge to Bare Island’s gate. We posed for a group photo against the dramatic backdrop made famous in the film Mission Impossible. We continued walking around the Loop. Aunty Carol and Mandy told us about when they were kids growing up in Lapa. They used to dive into the water to collect coins thrown by tourists. We walked past the shops at Frenchmen’s Bay. We stopped for another group photo, this time with Aunty Carol Timbery under the giant, ancient Morton Bay Fig tree on the place where Queen Emma Timbery had her house back in the day. Next we went up the path along the area where Aunty Carol lived and played as a child that used to be called Frog Hollow. When we got to Yarra Bay House we had a rest while rugby legend Gary Ella told us about life in the past for the children who lived at Lapa and about the ghosts of Yarra Bay House. The boys tried to play the didj with Sia. We also saw a memorial for the political legend Chicka Dixon and learned why he was called the Fox. One of the best parts of the day was having lunch at Danny's Seafood or the Paris Café or in the park by the beach. Our mob spread out over both cafes and the park. The fish and chips were really delicious. After lunch we visited the La Perouse Museum. There was a screen showing old movies of the snake pit shows. In another room there were carved Emu eggs. There was also an art exhibition. There were many other interesting things in the museum. Outside while we waited for the bus, some people played a game where they had to throw a ball through a rolling hoop (to ‘spear the wallaby’). Other people learned the Haka. Some people just sat on rocks or the museum steps enjoying the last special moments of our day at Lapa Ngura (La Perouse camp). Ms M Knight-Language Teacher

Aboriginal Language Students

Aunty Carol (Mrs Timbery) Otis Husband—Year 8

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


Wool for School Design Competition On the 22nd of April 2010, we attended the Royal Easter Show to see the designs we made for the 2011 Wool for school project. Our designs had made it to the finals, and were being worn by models on a catwalk. We were placed 2nd out of more than 56 submissions, winning us $700 to share. Our task was to re-design our current school uniform using as many innovations that wool can offer. It was a real thrill and an honour to see our sketches and designs manufactured into uniforms and worn by models in front of a large audience enjoying cocktails and canapés. by Michelle Xiang (10B) and Nancy He (10W)

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


Cyber-Safety Tips Safe Passwords Encourage your child to set passwords that are easy to remember but hard to guess. The best passwords mean something to you, but wouldn’t be randomly guessed by others. Select pass-words that are: Long - the more characters your password has,

the lower the probability that it can be randomly cracked

Diverse - use a range of different characters including capital letters, numbers and special characters (like a $)

More tips at: www.schoo l s .nsw .edu .au /news / techno logy /cybersafety/yr2009/passwords.php Web Cam Safety If your children are asking you to buy a webcam, it’s worth asking what it will be used for and where it will be used. Think carefully about who your child is talking to and what they may be able to see through the webcam. You may choose to place the computer where you can easily see your kids using it. Do you know when a webcam is being used for? Do you know who your children are talking to? Can you disconnect the webcam or securely

turn it off? Can you control access to the camera through a

password? More advice at: www.schoo l s .nsw .edu .au /news / techno logy /cybersafety/yr2008/webcameras.php Encourage your child to be a good digital citizen Life online works better when people maintain good manners and treat each other as they’d like to be treated. Talk about this with your child and it may lead to a decline in bullying behaviour and disagreements that children have. More safety tips can be found at: www.schoo l s .nsw .edu .au /news / techno logy /cybersafety/yr 2008/staysafe.php

Avoid getting spam Most spam carry viruses that: aim to harm your computer contain explicit material, or are an attempt at fraud How can you and your children avoid getting spam? Be wary of who you give your email address to Avoid posting your email address in chat rooms

or on social networking sites Have a generic email address set up - when you

do need to publish contact details, you may want to use an address that you won’t be so worried about should it be flooded with spam

Be careful when filling in forms online - many

spammers (and also legitimate websites) collect personal information, including email addresses, via online registration forms. Make sure you read and understand the entire form before submitting any personal information, particularly one that’s unfamiliar to you. You should also check the privacy policy of any site that asks for personal information. Make sure it states that your details will not be passed on to anyone else or used to send you unsolicited email.

More advice at: www.schoo l s .nsw .edu .au /news / techno logy /cybersafety/yr2008/spam.php Mathematics Competitions This year, students at Tempe High School have the choice of participating in two mathematics competition:

The Australian Mathematics Competition on the

4th August. The cost is $5.50, to be paid by the 13th May.

The ICAS Mathematics Competition on the 16th

of August. The cost is $7.00, to be paid by the 19th July.

Permission notes will be distributed in class in the coming weeks. We wish all those that take part the best of luck!

Mr Wilson - Mathematics Teacher

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


Sports News!! Tempe High students have been highly involved on the sporting field of late and there has been a host of outstanding performances. Vivek Sainju in Year 10 was honoured with selection into the Sydney AFL team which is chosen from a combination of all the regions in Sydney and Cleona Ha, also in Year 10 was selected in the Sydney East Volleyball team to play in the CHS carnival on 2nd – 6th May. Our Year 7 & 8 Grade sport teams have also finished the Term 1 competition with gusto. Special mention must go to the undefeated cricket team who will look forward to maintaining their run into term 4. All year 7 and 8 students will have selected their term 2 and 3 sports on Tuesday 3rd May and will be commencing the season proper on Tuesday 10th May. Also coming up is a busy carnival season with the Cross Country Carnival on Friday 13th May at Gough Whitlam Park and the Athletics Carnival on Wednesday 1st June at Hensley Park. We are looking forward to witnessing the great talents of our students on these days!

Mr Hartley - PDHPE Teacher 2011 PEER SUPPORT CAMP The sun was shining, the birds were chirping…..and the kids were screaming with delight as they jumped off 10 metre poles in the leap of faith, charged through the still water in their canoes, ripped through the air in the giant swing and peppered foam aliens with arrows in archery….this was Peer Support Camp 2011! On the 14th, 15th and 16th of March this year we took away the biggest group yet with 130 Year 7 students, 31 Year 11 students and 7 teachers loving the atmosphere and activities at camp where stronger bonds were forged between staff and students alike. Some of the highlights for the students included experiencing some amazing marine life during the new snorkelling activity, taking on the adrenaline activities mentioned above, getting dressed up and partying at our disco night and being privy to a personal show from teen sensation Justin Bieber (aka Mr Bird being an idiot). This camp was truly a highlight amongst the exciting calendar of events lined up for Tempe High this year and we look forward to forging many more wonderful memories at the 2012 Peer Support Camp in the year to come.

Mr Bird—PDHPE Teacher /Peer Support

Art Express Excursion Last term art classes from Years 9, 10 and 11 went on an excursion to Art Express and to the Art Gallery of NSW. It was a wonderful day enjoyed by both the students and teachers. First stop was Art Express, a gallery of works created by students for the Higher School Certificate Examination in Visual Arts. The experience was very inspirational. These young artists who had created these magnificent and diverse paintings were as young as 17. This proved to all the students that if they worked hard, they too could have their work on display at ART EXPRESS in years to come. The artist statements made a huge impact on the exhibition. Conceptual ideas were made into something real, that everyone could see and enjoy. After a long bus ride from Homebush Bay to the City, we all had lunch in the park across from the Art Gallery of NSW. Although many students had visited the gallery prior to this excursion, we were asked to see the painting and sculptures from a new perspective. The contrast from the modern artwork of art express to the historical oil paintings and abstracts from such painters as Pablo Picasso was very interesting. This excursion taught us all a lot about art theory and its application to practical work. The day was really fun and a good change from regular school work.

by Gina Beard and Kainu Stirling (Year 10)

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


Creative Arts/Music Department CONCERT BAND At the beginning of Term 2 Tempe High School will be starting up a Concert Band. This will be run by Mr Michael Gubb. Mr Gubb has 30 years experience as a professional jazz pianist and session musician and also has experience as Coordinator of Performance at St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly. He has also been running Jazz Ensembles and preparing and accompanying students for their HSC at Sydney Boys High School since 2002. The Concert Band is open to all woodwind and brass players and will be rehearsing at school on Wednesday mornings at 7.45am in Room P3, at a cost of $50 per student per term. Starting Date will be: 4 May 2011 Mike’s musical credits are numerous. Some of the highlights include: Keyboard players for the Dynamic Hypnotics (“A soul kinda feeling”). He has also worked with Australian music luminaries such as Mental As Anything, toured Australia and America with the “Whitlams” and has toured Europe and Japan with Crowded House. If interested please contact Mr Gubb-Music Teacher

Upcoming Art Events at Tempe High IKEA Tempe Fencing Project; Tempe High School will be hosting a two day art workshop with professional artists Justin Feuerring and A’Mairee Daisyjaw on the 25th and 26th May. A select group of year 7 and 8 students, (50 in total), will work with the artists to create artworks based on the theme ‘My Home’. The completed artworks will be displayed on large banners attached to the perimeter fencing around the IKEA site, running parallel to the Prince’s Highway. Installation of the mural will occur in July 2011. Gulgong Art Camp In week two of Term 3 a mixed group of Visual Art elective students from years 9,10 and 11, (approx.54), will be travelling to Gulgong for a three day/two night art camp. The aim of the excursion is to provide elective students with access to traditional artmaking methods used by Aboriginal artists. This will include using raw ochres to paint with and using the landscape, flora and fauna as a source of inspiration. In addition, students will experience natural landmarks and the historic goldrush town of Gulgong itself.

School Mural Competition The Visual Arts department in conjunction with the Tempe High School Environment committee is running a mural design competition to replace two of the current murals in the main quad.

There are two design themes; Saving the Environment and Recycling for the Future. The two winning designs will be painted/spray painted in the main quad in early Term 4.

Competition entry forms with all terms and conditions will be available from the front office Week 3, Term 2.

TEMPE HIGH SCHOOL


IMPORTANT DATES TERM 1

2 -6 May - Year 11 Assessment Week 6 May - Year 7 Vaccinations 10, 11, 12 May - Year 7 and 9 N.A.P.L.A.N. 10 May - Winter Grade sport begins for Years 7 and 8 - P & C - Common Room 7pm 13 May - School Cross Country 16 - 18 May - Year 10 Canberra Excursion 24 - 27 May - Year 10 Careers Telephone Interviews 24 May - I.C.A.S. Computing Test - Lisa Forrest - Writer in Residence for 6 weeks 26 May - National Sorry Day—Visit our School Hall at 7pm for a BBQ and other events. All welcome - T.E.A.M. Launch with Mentors from Fuji-Xerox 1 June - School Athletics Carnival 8 June - I.C.A.S. Science 14 June - P & C Meeting - 7pm 21 June - I.C.A.S. Spelling - Years 7, 11, 12 - Parent/Teacher Evening 24 June - Zone Athletics Carnival 27 June - Year 10 Job Interview Day 28 June - Years 8, 9, 10 - Parent Teacher Evening 1 July - Last day of Term 2 Term 3

19 (Tuesday) July - Student return - Term 3 1-12 August - Year 12 Trial H.S.C. 5-16 September - Year 11 Final Preliminary Assessments 23 September - Last Day Term 3 Term 4 10 (Monday) October - Term 4 commences 17 October - H.S.C. commences 16 December - Last day for students 2012

30 (Monday) January - Years 7, 11, 12 return for 2012

31 (Tuesday) January - Years 8, 9, 10 return for 2012

National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy 2011 Letter to Parents

In May 2011 the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will be completed by all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in all government and non-government schools. NAPLAN has the support of all State and Territory Education Ministers and will assess the literacy and numeracy learning of students in all Australian schools. The results of the tests will provide important information to schools about what each student can do, and will be used to support teaching and learning programs. Parents will receive a report indicating their child’s level of achievement. Each student’s level of achievement will be reported against the national minimum standard. Background information (student name, gender, date of birth, language background and Aboriginality) will be collected as part of the National Assessment Program. This information is treated confidentially and held securely to ensure that every student’s right to privacy is maintained. The tests will be conducted across Australia for all students from 10-12 May 2011.

In the Numeracy tests students do not require any measuring tools such as rulers or protractors. In Years 7 and 9 there will be two Numeracy tests: one where a calculator is allowed and one where calculators are not to be used. For the calculator test, the student should use the calculator that they currently use at school. Friday 13 May—A ‘catch-up day’ day is scheduled for students who missed a test or were absent on a test day. Students may be considered for exemption from the tests if they are newly arrived in Australia (less than one year before the test) and with a language background other than English, or if they have significant intellectual and/or functional disability. All other students are expected to participate in the tests. Special provisions which reflect the student’s normal level of support in the classroom will be provided for students by the school. Large print, Braille and Black and White versions of the test are available for students with vision impairment. Access to special provisions and exemption from the tests must be discussed with your school’s learning support team and the school Principal, and a apparent or carer consent form must be signed. Students may be withdrawn form NAPLAN by their parent or carer. This is a matter for consideration by parents and carers in consultation with the Principal. If you wish to withdraw your child from the tests you must sign a parent or carer consent form. Consent forms are available at your school. Please make an appointment with the Principal of the school your child attends if you would like further information about your child’s participation in NAPLAN. Additional information about NAPLAN can be found at: http://www.naplanforparentsnsw.com.au

TUESDAY 10 MAY WEDNESDAY 11 MAY THURSDAY 12 MAY

Language Conventions (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) Writing

Reading Numeracy (Number, Algebra, function and pattern; Chance and data; Measurement and Space

tempe high school innovation, opportunity, excellence · march at tempe high school and the...

Documents