Category: Information

Year 7 Maths Pathway Information Session

March 13, 2020

We will be holding a Parent Information Session at the school on 26th March at 5.30pm, where we will discuss your child’s mathematics learning in further detail and answer any questions that you might have. We will also show you how to log in to Maths Pathway and how to use the data in the Parent Portal to check in on your child’s progress and discuss how you can support your child in their mathematics learning.

Details for this event are as follows:

Date: 26th March 2020

Time: 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Location: Glenda Parkin Building (Yr 7 Building)

Recommended: Please bring your child and their device with you so that you can log in to the Parent Portal on our school network during the event.

We look forward to see you there,

Year 7 Mathematics Team

 

Last Day Information

November 12, 2019

Dear Parents

As indicated in the calendar school closes on Wednesday 11 December at 3:20pm. The closing time on the last day of Term 4 has been under discussion for some time and the move to close at 3:20pm (3:10pm Primary 3-6) is in response to various transport obligations including bus routes. Students will attend a House Farewell in P6 on this day.

Darnelle Pretorious

Head of Campus – Duncraig

Notice for Parents Year 7 & 8

November 7, 2019

Dear Yr 7 and 8 Parents

Earlier in the year your child may have opened a Pinterest account using their school email address. Pinterest is an excellent visual learning tool for students to document their research. Some of your children may have received some diet and body image advertising emails through their school email. You may wish to check with your child to see if they received any of these emails and talk to them about the content.

We have given time and instruction to the students in the classes affected to delete these accounts. Therefore no further emails should be coming through the school email system. Protocols for using such online learning tools are now in place. Here is a link where you can find further information about the protocols and how you can make using this learning tool as private and secure as possible.

More information on Pinterest

If you have any further queries please contact Mrs Penny Herd, Head of Learning Area, Technologies.

 

ASSESSMENT POLICY REMINDERS

August 2, 2019

Parents are reminded that the school Assessment Policy, and SCSA protocols, require that a Medical Certificate is submitted to the class teacher if a student is unwell and misses an assessment. Certificates can be obtained from pharmacists not just from the doctor. Please encourage your child to be proactive – if they are not very unwell they can organise with their teacher to attend school just to sit the assessment then return home. It is important that students are not avoiding assessments, and that they are coming to school whenever possible to sit them on the scheduled day so that assessments are valid for the whole cohort. Of course, circumstances can arise where this has not been possible, please contact your child’s class teacher if this is the case.

Mobile phones should be switched off and in lockers during the school day, unless permission has been given to use them in a specific class. The Assessment Policy requires that students do not have any electronic devices on them when sitting any assessment. This is not just phones, it also includes items such as smart watches for example. Please be aware of this in encouraging your child to be responsible and to plan ahead.

The school Assessment Policy is available on the Parent Portal.

Please contact the class teacher, relevant Head of Learning Area, or myself, if you have any questions.

Dr Liz Criddle

Deputy Head of Secondary (L&C)

 

myEdOnline

November 19, 2018

myEdOnline is a new personalised learning platform, and is included in the Booklist for 2019. This is an App which allows differentiation for all students and live tracking of student learning. The App also allows for teachers to give instant feedback on a quest or assessment. It will also be used to create digital lessons for students, deliver engaging lessons and get real-time insights into exactly where each student is at in their individual learning journey.

For more information about how each Learning Area is using the App, please refer to the program page in SEQTA at the start of 2019.

Dr Liz Criddle

Deputy Head of Secondary

SEQTA – what to expect and some guidelines

November 12, 2018

SEQTA is an amazing tool for schools and we 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.

We 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 teaching 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)

HOUSE PRIDE

May 14, 2018

The School’s innovative House structure is one we’re extremely proud of. It gives students a home away from home, an extensive support system and a sense of pride and loyalty. After many years of loyal service, we think it might be time for a refresh of the logos representing each space.

The House colours and mascots we all follow will stay the same but we’re looking to engage our students in a collaborative redesign of the logos, with the updated design to be unveiled in Term 3.

Students from all Years can contribute to the process, penning their own design ideas over the next few weeks and submitting them to the House Deans either in person or via email by June 1 at the very latest.

The Deans will then collate all the designs and pass them on to the School’s experienced graphic designer who will take the ideas and combine them into three potential designs, which will then be put to a vote.

We aim to open the poll on the School’s Facebook page on June 15(TBC), which will close end of day Friday, June 29, with the winner announced at the start of Term 3. You will need to be a follower of the School’s page (facebook.com/StStephensSchoolWA) to be able to vote.

An unveiling event for Term 3 will be announced closer to the time, allowing students to take ownership of their new House logos into the future.

For any questions regarding the Logo Collaboration please contact your Dean.