Dear Parents, Carers, Boys and Girls,

NAPLAN 2022
The results of the 2022 NAPLAN tests have been sent home to the parents of students in Year 3 and Year 5. These tests were conducted back in May this year, when students in those years successfully completed the testing in an online environment.

We had great reason to be optimistic, due to our local data reflecting significant improvement in the achievement and growth of student Reading, Writing and Numeracy outcomes. While optimistic, there is always a level of anxiety. Would an external platform like NAPLAN match the school’s data and reflect the rigour and sophistication of our approach to learning and teaching? Would NAPLAN data reflect the professional development, hardwork and dedication of our staff? 

We are proud to say that as a school our NAPLAN 2022 results are excellent and show that we have built on last year's great results, with further improvements this year! One of our goals this year was to increase the number of students in the top two bands. Our Year 3 students were above the state average in writing with 60% of our Year 3 students scoring in the top two bands. Year 3 were also above SSSG (similar schools) in reading, grammar & punctuation and numeracy. Year 5 were above the state average in reading, and above SSSG (similar schools) in writing, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy, also increasing the number of our students in the top two bands. This is a great result from our school and we are all very proud of the effort everyone has been putting in over the years. It proves that our programs are working and the holistic approach which we embrace, is having a positive impact on every child in the school.

If we want to improve the learning outcomes for students, we need to continually improve the way our teachers teach and lead the learning of our students. At St Mary’s we are so very fortunate to have teachers of high capacity who understand the importance of a commitment to improving their practice. NAPLAN 2022 data for St Mary’s is testimony to a staff who have committed to improving their practice everyday. All our staff will be analysing the results and aligning them with our programs for Term 4 and into 2023.

Year 1 Phonics Screening Check
What is phonics?
Phonics is the relationship between letters and sounds and is vital in learning to read. Some children struggle with learning to read so it is important that these children are identified quickly so teachers can plan for any specific support they may need. 

What is the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check?
The Year 1 Phonics Screening Check is a short, quick assessment that tells teachers how your child is progressing in phonics. Your child sits with their class teacher and is asked to read 40 words aloud. These words include 20 real words and 20 nonsense words. The test normally takes a few minutes. If your child is struggling the teacher will stop the check. The check is carefully designed not to be stressful for your child.

Why use nonsense words?
The assessment includes pseudo or nonsense words to see if the student is able to use their knowledge of blending to read a word rather than their memory of having seen that word before.

More information
Information about the check can be found in the link below. If you have any further questions, please talk to your child’s class teacher.

Gurumbangamba Mentoring Program
Next week our Stage 3 Aboriginal students will attend the third day of the Gurumbangamba mentoring program. The theme of the day is ‘Respecting yourself and others’ and their Carroll College mentors have prepared a range of activities with this theme in mind.