Illalong Newsletter - 10 March 2023 | A.B. Paterson College

NAPLAN Assessment Program

Over the next fortnight, students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 across Australia will be sitting the annual National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments. The four tests, which cover Reading, Writing, Conventions of Language and Numeracy, are designed to provide a snapshot of student performance and help identify areas where additional support may be needed.

While the assessments provide useful information for schools, it is important that students approach the assessments with a growth-mindset. Here are some tips for helping your child prepare for NAPLAN:

Keep a positive attitude: Remind your child that they have many talents that cannot be measured by these assessments. Emphasize that they have been learning and practising these skills in class and that the assessments are just one way to show what they know.
Maintain a healthy routine: Help your child maintain a healthy routine during the testing window. This includes getting enough sleep, eating nutritious meals and staying active. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress and can help improve concentration and focus.
Keep things in perspective: These assessments are just one part of your child's education. Encourage them to focus on their learning and progress, rather than just their test scores.

It is also important to understand how the College uses the results of NAPLAN assessments. Firstly, we use the results to identify areas for improvement. This data can help us to identify areas where students may be struggling or need additional support. NAPLAN results can also help us evaluate our teaching methods and units of work, to determine if changes need to be made. Similarly, they can be used to help us identify what is working well in our Teaching and Learning programs. It is important to note that while NAPLAN results can provide useful information, they are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to evaluating student performance. We use a range of other tools to get a more comprehensive understanding of each child’s abilities and progress.

Remember, NAPLAN assessments are just one part of your child's academic journey.

With the right support and mindset, your child can approach the assessments with confidence and perform to the best of their abilities.

Rebecca Taylor | Deputy Head of Junior School: Teaching and Learning

International Women’s Day 2023

On Friday 3 March, myself and seven other Year 11 students attended the UN International Women’s Day Luncheon at the Brisbane Convention Centre, to discuss how we can help create a more gender equal future for the young women of A.B. Paterson College.

This year’s international theme was Cracking the Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future.

To crack the code to gender equality, we need to leverage inclusive technologies, embrace disruptive innovation, and ensure access to education for all women.

We were honoured to hear from so many amazing female speakers across Australia such as Tarana Burke, activist, author and founder of the Me Too Movement, Sarah Moran founder of Girl geek Academy, Senator the Honourable Katy Gallagher Minister for Women, and Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk. All speakers spoke about the importance of ‘Cracking the Code’ in the fight for clear and inclusive pathways for women in STEM, the combat against discrimination and the overall marginalisation of women globally, with the moto of the day being: Women, Life, Freedom. In her speech, Premier Palaszczuk reminded all women to "keep the rage" as we fight for our futures in institutions programmed against our growth. Sarah Moran further spoke on this idea and elaborated on the importance of Government budgeting and support towards small programs like Girl Geek Academy, that have the tools to launch women into successful technological and programming careers, but not enough funds to stay alive.

The event was also a great opportunity for us to network with other schools and students such as Brisbane Grammar School, with whom we discussed how our schools can support and advocate for gender equality. As students, we gained a multitude of ideas from these conversations and hope to be able to implement them into our community soon.

Happy International Women’s Day to our future female engineers, doctors, programmers, and all the women within our wonderful community!

Jessica Harrison | Year 11 Student

News from Year 4 Classrooms

“Touch the spirit that lives in the heart of the Gold Coast. Feel the legend of Jellurgal.”

Year 4 students did exactly this last Tuesday and Wednesday, as we spent the day with members of the local Yugambeh tribe at Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre as part of our first excursion of the year.

To begin our day, we were treated with a traditional dancing and singing performance while listening to the sounds of the didgeridoo. The Aboriginal people have dances to welcome and celebrate people and also dances to pay respect to animals. We even learnt one of the dances with them and showed off our skills!

We then were guided around Burleigh Hill, known to the Aboriginal people as Jellurgal. Along this walk, we were offered the opportunity to have ochre painted onto our hands and faces. There were many culturally significant sites that were pointed out to us, such as a midden heap, as well as a range of plants, like the pandanus tree, that served as shelter, medicine or hunting material. We all learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

We want to thank everyone at Jellurgal Aboriginal Culture Centre for a memorable and enjoyable day out!

Year 4 Teachers | Tim Collins, Lizzie Wood, Zoe Truss-Michaelis & Tiffany Henry