Ripley Valley State Secondary College eNewsletter

Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning

Student Assessment Schedules

This week, all students have received a printed copy of their Assessment Schedules. This outlines all assessment due dates for Semester 1 2024.

Please keep this document handy to assist your student in staying organised and prioritising their time effectively leading into assessment periods.

Additional copies of the Assessment Schedule are always available via the Daymap Parent Portal and in your student's Daymap Portal.

Daymap is very responsive to parent/carer feedback about any issues you are experiencing with the website or APP.

Please contact tech@ripleyvalleyssc.eq.edu.au with any feedback or issues you have with Daymap about their software and we will either problem solve at the College or get in contact with Daymap on your behalf.

NAPLAN - Years 7 & 9

Last week, our Years 7 & 9 students participated in NAPLAN practice tests. These tests are designed to familiarise our students with NAPLAN online and test our computer systems to ensure we are prepared for the NAPLAN tests in Week 8 and 9.

NAPLAN is a nationwide measure through which parents, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine how well young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning, and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process. NAPLAN does not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. A child’s teacher will have the best insight into the child’s educational progress. NAPLAN results do not measure overall school quality.
NAPLAN questions are directly linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics. As such, the best preparation students can do for NAPLAN is to learn what they do in the classroom every day. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.
The assessments allow parents to see how their child is progressing against national standards in literacy and numeracy, and over time. Along with other school assessment reports, NAPLAN supports parents in discussing their child’s strengths and areas for improvement with teachers.
NAPLAN results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress.
NAPLAN can support school improvement by enabling teachers to monitor their students’ progress over time against the national measure, to identify strengths and areas to improve in teaching programs, and to set goals in literacy and numeracy.
Students and parents wishing to familiarise themselves with NAPLAN can visit the public demonstration site on the NAP website. Some past NAPLAN papers are also available.

Our school testing schedule is:

If you do not wish for your student to participate in NAPLAN, please contact Emily Prenzler at epren3@eq.edu.au or Taletha Champs at tcham77@eq.edu.au

Further information about NAPLAN is available below:

NAPLAN Information for Parents

NAPLAN Information for Parents 107.99 KB

NAPLAN Privacy Notice

NAPLAN Privacy Notice 129.37 KB

Assessment - Applying for an extension

As we head into the Assessment season for the term, it is timely to remind you that our College has an electronic process to support your child in applying for an extension. From the Student Sharepoint page (which automatically opens when your child opens their Internet Browser) students click on the link to make their application. You will then be advised via email regarding the outcome of the process and new due dates for your child.

Year 7 Extensions: https://ripleyvalleyssc.schoolzineplus.com/form/250

Year 8 Extensions: https://ripleyvalleyssc.schoolzineplus.com/form/251

Year 9 Extensions: https://ripleyvalleyssc.schoolzineplus.com/form/252

Year 10 Extension: https://ripleyvalleyssc.schoolzineplus.com/form/253

Staff Professional Development:

Pedagogy Professional Learning Community (PLC)

Each year, our staff are invited to join a variety of different programs to support continuing professional development and improve their repertoire of skills. One of these programs is our Pedagogy Professional Learning Community (PLC).

Throughout this year a team of dedicated staff will undertake professional learning on the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) framework that forms part of our School-wide Pedagogical Approaches through the text Better Learning through Structured Teaching by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey.

This text will challenge our staff to try different techniques to support productive collaborative learning in classrooms to ensure students are prepared to work with peers in the real world. Staff regularly implement a variety of strategies across the phases of focussed instruction, guided instruction, collaborative learning and independent learning.

Emily Prenzler

Deputy Principal - Year 9 and 10 - Teaching & Learning