From the Director of Student Learning (Years 7-10)
2021 NAPLAN Results for Years 7 and 9
All Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 undertake four assessments as a condition of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) – writing, conventions of language, reading and numeracy. As you may recall, our students completed the NAPLAN Online testing in Term 2.
Your child’s results were received by the College this week and have been posted to the address on file. We are aware that the Australian Post is experiencing delays with deliveries in Greater Sydney; therefore, if you have not received your child’s results by the end of the first week of Term 4, please email curriculum@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au so we can provide you with another copy.
It is important to note that the intention of the NAPLAN standardised tests is to provide information to the government, education authorities and schools about how school education as a whole is performing. The test results do not present an overall picture of a child’s learning and the rich, varied opportunities to think critically, creatively and develop vital learning dispositions. Rather, they are a snapshot in time of student achievement in literacy and numeracy.
The NAPLAN data we receive every year, alongside our Allwell and internal assessment program, allow us to identify both learner weaknesses and strengths and we utilise this data to design targeted strategies to support and enrich students across the full range of abilities.
We look forward to analysing the data from the 2021 NAPLAN and will ensure that classroom teachers have access to this data when they are designing what learning will look and feel like for our girls in 2022 and beyond.
Year 9 Assessment Program in Term 4
Thank you for your ongoing support during Pymble Online. I am very proud to be a part of the Pymble family and truly value the collective efforts of both you and our staff to ensure that learning continued through tumultuous times.
We will continue to design and administer assessments in Term 4 but they will mostly take the form of project-based or portfolio-based tasks.
Rest assured that our curriculum and wellbeing teams engaged in rigorous discussion about the value of examination practice; we all see great value in this type of simulation as preparation for the HSC and are thus aiming to offer an opportunity for this style of assessment as early as Term 1 2022.
Year 10 Examination Block in Term 4
Transition into Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12) is nearly upon us; I know our girls have been committed to their studies and are engaging to the best of their abilities. Given there are parameters around the number and style of tasks that schools can offer in Stage 6, it is imperative that we provide an assessment simulation for our Year 10 students that support the development of exam preparation across multiple subjects before they transition into Senior School.
As such, we will be offering an examination block for Year 10. The examinations will commence on Friday of Week 3 and will continue through Tuesday of Week 4.
Catch-up examinations will be offered on Thursday and Friday of Week 4 for students who experience unforeseen illness, misadventure, or technology failure (such as an impromptu service outage) – an Illness Misadventure Application (‘IMA’) is required to attend the catch-up session without penalty.
Our Heads of Learning Area and their teams are keen to support the students in their preparation for the examinations. As such, normal timetabled classes will continue during the examination block to allow for teachers to facilitate targeted revision and study skills workshops in the lesson(s) leading up to their exam.
We are confident that students can use the two days designated for Learning Discussions as intensive preparation or study; we also feel that splitting the examinations across a weekend allows students time to rest and recharge.
Please refer to the examination timetable below.
Note: specific start and finish times will be provided closer to the examination block and will account for students onboarding (getting onto the call and getting their space set up for the examination).
Some electives will be offering ongoing formative tasks in lieu of an examination because the skills and content are better suited to a different format.
The Year 10 Examination timetable is subject to change based on any adjustments to the NSW Health return to school plan. Should changes to the timetable be required, we will communicate this immediately to the students via email and as a post within the Year 10 Teams.
Mr Jake Plaskett