NAPLAN

NAPLAN will be occurring in March. The test schedule is below:

Catch up sessions for students who miss a test(s) due to absence will be available. Students who miss a NAPLAN test(s) should email Ms Nadia Bonvicino.

NAPLAN will be conducted on your child’s school laptop, and he will be required to use headphones in order to access and complete questions. All Year 7 and 9 students are required to bring their own headphones that are compatible with their school laptop. Wired headphones are preferable, but Bluetooth headphones will also work.

We are mindful that headphones were not on the booklist as students and their families may already possess headphones and that they may also be sourced from numerous retailers at a more affordable price.

For the tests, students need a specific browser application. Having completed the practice tests earlier this term, all students should have the required application. We seek your support in checking that the below icon is present on the desktop of your child’s laptop.

Students and parents can access further practice via the public demonstration website:

NAP - Public demonstration site

Students must fully charge their laptops each night at home, to ensure they can complete the tests. They should also bring their laptop chargers to school, in their laptop bags.

Note: Year 9 students that normally have a timetabled ExCEL class at the Preston Campus will need to attend the Bundoora Campus on Wednesday 12 March.

Parents and Guardians that wish to discuss their child’s participation in NAPLAN for 2025, or access to headphones, should contact myself or their child’s Learning Diversity Coordinator.

Absence from Assessment

In situations where students are absent from class for short or extended time periods, then they are encouraged to access the details of the lessons that were missed by accessing each subject’s ‘lesson plan’ on SIMON.

Years 7 to 9

Where a student in Year 7 to 9 is absent for an assessment as a result of an approved reason (e.g. illness, bereavement, medical reason etc.) students and their families should be in contact with their child’s teachers to negotiate a revised date to submit the task. Generally, this is upon return to school or may be up to seven days after a student’s return. The revised due date will appear on SIMON/PAM. Where a teacher is of the opinion that it is unreasonable for a student to sit an assessment due to approved absence, then the grade ‘X-Special Circumstance’ may be used.

Where a student is absent due to an unapproved reason (e.g. holiday etc.) then he will receive an ‘NS – not submitted’. Parents will also be notified of the non-submission via a letter on PAM indicating the new date by which the student will need to submit the task. For Years 7 to 9, the original grade of ‘NS’ remains as the student grade even upon satisfactory submission.

An afterschool ‘Academic Redeemer’ session may be issued by your child’s House Leader in situations where they have not submitted a task even after being provided with a new resubmission date. Where this is the case, parents will receive communication from their child’s House Leader.

Year 7 to 9 Subjects and Timetables

Student timetables are built around maximising student’s elective choices. At the end of the semester when students change their electives, students may have a change of teacher for some of their year-long subjects in Semester Two. As student programs become more elective-based, these changes become more necessary to accommodate elective selections.

As such, except for compelling cases, students in Years 7 to 9 are not able to make changes to their elective or core subjects. Finding a subject no longer enjoyable or discovering it to be more challenging than expected are not considered compelling reasons for making changes to elective subjects. In such situations, it is preferable that students and their families work with their child’s teachers to support them through their learning.

Microsoft To Do

Microsoft ‘To Do’ is a program that students can use to assist with their organisation. ‘To Do’ will be the place where students record homework and tasks they need to complete. ‘To Do’ is a simple and intuitive program that resembles a traditional ‘to do’ list and any task entered will sync across all devices, provided that the student is logged into ‘To Do’ with their Parade account (e.g. mobile device when off campus). All students will have a Microsoft 'To Do' icon very similar to the one below on their laptops where they may access the program.

Students are responsible for entering information and dues dates into ‘To Do’ themselves. Year 7 students will be introduced to ‘To Do’ as part of their digital learning introductory lessons.