Monthly Archives: April 2018

First Round Win for the Saints

April 12, 2018

The St. Stephen’s Boys Senior Football team started their tilt at the 2018 premiership flag in scintillating fashion this past Tuesday with a convincing win over their talented Irene McCormack opponents.

After winning the toss and electing to kick in favour of the northern end, the boys from the Duncraig campus made good use of the strong wind advantage and kicked accurately with four goals in the first half (with three rushed behinds).

Having three scoring opportunities of their own in the first half, there was concern whether Irene McCormack would be able to return the favour in the second half. However, the Saint’s mid and back lines played smart football by reading the wind-assisted flight and negated most attacking plays from their opponents. Consistent second and third efforts also made the difference as our delivery inside our forward fifty was excellent, kicking the first and last goals of the second half to ensure the win.

Final Score:

St. Stephen’s (Duncraig) – 6 goals, 5 behinds (41 points)

Irene McCormack – 3 goals, 5 behinds (23 points)

Mr Damon Eaton

Senior Boys Football Assistant Coach

St Stephen’s School, Duncraig

 

Y11 Biology ATAR

April 11, 2018

Here are my Y11 Biology ATAR students carrying out their very first independent scientific inquiry assessment. All students had to research, design and investigate a factor of transpiration in plants. Let’s hope the results work out!

Nicola Ross

Science Teacher

“and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. – 1 John 3:22

ECU Upcoming Events

April 10, 2018

 

Year 11 and 12 Parent Information Evening and Pizza Night
Are you currently in Year 11 or 12 and looking at applying for University? If so then grab your parents and join us for our Year 11 & 12 Parent Information Evening and Pizza Night!

Whether you’re an ATAR or Non-ATAR student, ECU offers pathway options for the courses you wish to study. We’ll explain what these pathway options to ECU are and outline the variety of courses we offer – all the whilst you enjoy the free pizza and refreshments on us!

Where: ECU Joondalup Campus
When:
 Tuesday, 1 May at 6.00pm

Year 10 Parent Information Evening and Pizza Night

Are you currently in Year 10 and trying to choose subjects for next year? Well grab your parents and come along to our Year 10 Pizza Night!

 

If you don’t know what subjects to pick next year or you just want to find out about uni and the courses we offer, this is a great opportunity to have a chat with our friendly Student Recruitment Team over pizza!

 

Mount Lawley Campus
When:
Thursday, 24 May at 6:00pm

Joondalup Campus
When:
 Tuesday, 5 June at 6:00pm

 

You can register your attendance at this event by visiting our Future Student Events page. A registration confirmation will be emailed to you a few days before the event.

Sarah Cooke

Careers Advisor

South African Service Tour Kicks Off

April 10, 2018

After a long flight we have safely arrived in Cape Town, where we received a hearty welcome from District 6’s Guest House. All in all, between flights and our homecoming, we enjoyed three breakfasts. We are all a little heavier as a consequence.
Needing to get the blood pumping, some students pondered on a Table Mountain hike. The teachers however decided shopping at Waterfront will be a better cardio choice, followed by a cable car trip to the mountain top.
The views never cease to amaze, neither does the rotating floor of the cable car.
After a hearty meal at Spur, we headed back home, all in a Zombie haze. Donation packing and organisation lingered and was achieved in one epic group effort. We prevailed. We are all very tired, as so are headed off to bed at 8:00pm.

Gillian Erasmus

YEAR 10 PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

April 10, 2018

Parents will note that the Year 10 interviews are timed to be held at the end of Semester One. The timing of interviews is related to the process for senior secondary subject selection, which includes subject recommendations, individual subject counselling, the Careers Expo, Course Handbook and Information Evening. SEQTA feedback includes ongoing suggestions for concerns to be addressed or changes made during the term. Information about the whole subject selection process will be emailed to parents early in Term Two. If you have any queries, please contact Student Services.

Dr Liz Criddle

Deputy Head of Secondary

YEAR 7, 8 AND 9 PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

April 10, 2018

Parents will note from the school calendar that these interviews are timed to be held at the start of Semester Two, after parents have received Semester One reports in June. Because of the rollover, the Semester One report will report on Term 0, 1 and 2. The parent/teacher interviews are at the start of Term 3. Parents have the semester break 30 June -22 July to discuss the report with their child, before meeting teachers right at the start of Semester Two. This means parents have all of Term 3 and 4 to make any changes and to work on feedback, while it is also expected that the feedback being provided in an ongoing manner in SEQTA is also being accessed throughout the whole year. SEQTA feedback includes ongoing suggestions for concerns to be addressed or changes made and is intended to ensure that there are no surprises for parents when Semester One reports are received. Information about how to book interviews will be emailed to parents closer to the date.

Dr Liz Criddle

Deputy Head of Secondary

Abrolhos Islands Expedition

April 9, 2018

We’ve received some photos from our Marine Biology students who left Perth for their Abrolhos Islands Expedition yesterday, and we’re feeling a bit jealous! Students and staff arrived in Geraldton and have already jumped in the water to practice their new scuba skills. The group will head to the Abrolhos Islands tomorrow to explore the reef.

Discovering How Plants Reproduce

April 9, 2018

The Y8 Science class were investigating how plants reproduce. Each group were able to dissect a flower and identify all its parts before explaining how seeds are formed.

Good job scientists!

Nicola Ross

Science Teacher

SEQTA – what to expect and some guidelines

April 9, 2018
Dear Parents and Guardians,
 
SEQTA is an amazing tool for schools and I would encourage both students and parents to check it regularly.
 
Please note that SEQTA is a resource to supplement teaching NOT an online substitute for the relationship between a teacher and student. Your child spends 320 minutes a day in personal contact with their teachers – and your child has every opportunity to receive help, ask questions and take ownership of their work. I would encourage parents to  grow the independence of their children rather than to expect SEQTA to be the prime source of information.
SEQTA is a great insight for parents – but again, the conversations that are then initiated between parents, teacher and student are of the most value.
 
I would encourage parents and students and ensure that the are aware of the documents attached to each course: course outlines, assessment schedules and other resources are available in SEQTA for reference, saving or printing at any time
 
Teachers will on occasion deviate from their teaching plan because students may require extra time for understanding and consolidation. That is part of good teaching and might disrupt a plan previously put in place.  We all know that parents and teachers constantly adapt as the needs of children evolve. Individual teachers will decide the format or formats  for the submission of work – sometime these may be in hard copy, sometimes they might be uploaded SEQTA, emailed or handed in on USB. This will depend on the nature of the task and the format the teacher feels is best. Teachers are striving to meet the expectations below. The expectations below are our target and while many staff will go beyond these, staff are not expected to. 
 
Cover Page
The purpose of the cover page is to contain an overview of the course. It should be an easy reference for information about the entire year of work.
It contains a copy (or a link) to the assessment schedule, program and syllabus.
 
Assessments
  • The assessment schedule should be developed at the start of the year. Lower school students are to have the entire semester of assessments visible to parents and students. Year 11 and 12 are to have the entire year’s assessments visible 
  • Assessment titles should include the weighting and clear labels that are succinct.
  • Task sheet/assessment description and marking guide/rubric are to be added at an appropriate time.
  • Marks for summative assessments should be made visible, within three weeks of the assessment being finalised.
  • If there is more than one class, all marks are to be made visible at the same time.
  • Exam marks are to be released at the end of the exam period.
  • Formative assessments can be visible with a weighting of zero.
  • Assessment feedback will be placed in the Marks Book on a regular basis.
 
(Lesson) Planning
Students, parents/carers and other staff should be able to see what has been planned on a week-by-week basis (as a minimum). Clarity in lesson naming is essential.
Lesson Resources
It should be clear where students can access resources and links. Students may be required to enter homework themselves on occasion.
 
Documents Section
This is used to store documents that parents/carers might need to access at any point of the year.
Documents include anything from a Parent Information Night slide show, Curriculum Handbooks, and the Assessment Policy.
 
Bennet Andrews
Deputy Head of Secondary (Care)

Maritime Museum Excursion

April 9, 2018

The Year 12 Marine Students from spent the morning at the Maritime Museum in Fremantle. They had the opportunity to see the artefacts and remains recovered from the wreck site of the Batavia  which many of them had the chance to dive on at the Abrolhos Islands last year!

In the afternoon they visited IFAP to see first hand the intense training you need to complete before working in the Maritime Industry. Students were climbing in life rafts, saw helicopters fall into the pool, learnt how to extinguish fires and escape from burning buildings!

Rebecca Hudson

Science Teacher