Leader of Curriculum

Food for Thought

Year 11 and 12 students have settled into their pattern of study for the start of the academic year. There has been a strong focus on students taking advantage of the support offered here at the College.

One of the programs we offer our senior students is the "Food for Thought" program which operates from 3:15pm-4:30pm Monday to Thursday in the Library. As part of this program, students are offered a quiet place to study, complete homework, prepare for assessments or just keep on top of their workload. To help maintain their energy levels, food is provided, ranging from fresh fruit each afternoon and light snacks to 'Hot Food Tuesday, which this week, included party pies and sausage rolls.

Additionally, teachers often run subject seminars, and this week we had seminars in Visual Art, Economics and English Standard. Thank you to Mrs Pares, Mr Harper and Ms Marchment for offering these sessions to our senior students. Students are strongly encouraged to attend at least two sessions a week, and currently, we are averaging over 30 students attending each afternoon.

Cold Write

On Monday, Week 3 of this term, our Year 7 and Year 9 students were asked to compose a “cold write” for our literacy team to assess. Students were given various prompts they could choose from and were tasked with writing an extended piece in a 35-minute window, on a subject of their own choosing.

The purpose of the “cold write” was to assess the mechanics of student writing and to determine key focus areas for whole school literacy improvement work here at the College. We recognise that literate individuals have the best outcomes at school and in life. We are committed to strong literacy standards in order to facilitate targeted growth in this area. We have high expectations in this regard and aim to increase the rigour and development of our students in literacy.
Students are marked to proficiency scales, and work samples are retained for our improvement focus.

Parents can expect an email this term with their child’s proficiency scale marksheet and work sample attached.

Please don’t hesitate to call me if anything requires further clarification.

Assessment Matters

We are at the end of week 4 after a very busy first month here at St Joseph’s Regional College.

As the weeks continue to pass this term, students will start bringing home assessment tasks to prepare for. It is timely, then, to bring to your attention some assessment matters which will set your child up for success.

Students typically receive both a hard copy and an electronic copy of assessment tasks to aid their organisation. Completing these formal assessment tasks are a required component of your child’s education here at the College. Assessments are important because:

• they let us know what students can do and what they cannot,
• they provide motivation for students to attempt to achieve their best,
• they help teachers differentiate instruction in order to cater for learning needs.

There are two types of assessment tasks:

• In-class assessments: Students complete these tasks in their allocated class time.
• Hand-in assessments: Students complete these tasks and hand this in at a designated time and date.

If a student fails to complete a hand-in assessment or is absent from an in-class assessment, we will be informing parents via email.

Legitimate grounds for student absence from assessment tasks do occur – a student might be ill, away on an excursion or attending a College endorsed event. If a student is away on the day an in-class assessment is carried out, regardless of the reason, they must report to Ms Marchment, Leader of Curriculum on their FIRST DAY back at school after being away. This is to ensure that the task is completed in a timely fashion and the student can access their results promptly.
We are hoping that we can work together in partnership to ensure the best learning and teaching outcomes for all students.
Further to this, the first page of the assessment task notification contains information to keep students and parents informed about the processes for failure to complete assessment tasks. This information is also contained within the College diary.

This information is as follows:

Non-submissions of HAND IN tasks:

Penalties apply for late and non-submission of hand-in tasks. As per College policy, students will incur deductions of:

• • 30% of the maximum assessment mark for the first day of non-submission,
  • 20% for the second, third and fourth days, and
  • 10% for the fifth day of non-submission.

Students will be required to complete the task regardless of whether marks are allocated to this task.

Students are encouraged to speak with their classroom teacher, in the first instance,
regarding reasons for non-submissions.

Non-submissions of IN-CLASS tasks:

All students are required to complete all in-class tasks. If a student is absent from school on the day an in-class task was to be completed, they must do the following:

1. 1. See the Leader of Curriculum, Ms Anne Marchment, on the first day back at school to organise a “catch up”.
   2. Complete the task to the best of their ability.

If students fail to adhere to these requirements and do not organise their “catch-up” task on immediate return to school, penalties for non-attempts may be incurred. As per College policy, students will incur deductions of:

• • 30% of the maximum assessment mark for the first day of non-attempt
  • 20% for the second, third and fourth days
  • 10% for the fifth day of non-attempt.

Students will be required to complete the task regardless of whether marks are allocated to this task.

Thank you for your support of our assessment practices.

Anne Marchment
Leader of Curriculum