Tag: Dr Criddle

SEQTA – WHAT TO EXPECT AND SOME GUIDELINES

January 28, 2020

Dear Parents

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 they 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. I would also encourage parents to ask for help and to keep an eye out for the SEQTA information evenings which are often run at the start of each year.

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 to 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. Some teachers already exceed these and use SEQTA very extensively. 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. It contains the school Assessment Policy.

For Certificate subjects: The Cover Page includes a paragraph explaining the four compliance requirements, Unit Delivery and Assessment Planner for the whole year, Assessment Tasks (as each is delivered), and RTO Student Handbook.

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.

 

Dr Liz Criddle and Mr Bennet Andrews.

 

ASSESSMENT POLICY REMINDERS

January 28, 2020

Welcome to the 2020 school year, we are looking forward to an exciting and busy year ahead. Class teachers will discuss the Assessment Policy with students in class time over the coming weeks.

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.

Year 12, 2017 – External WACE Examinations

October 5, 2017

Please remember if you are unwell and unable to attend your WACE exam, you must see a relevant medical specialist on the day of the exam and obtain a detailed medical certificate. This applies to each separate exam. You are responsible for sending your whole application to SCSA. A request for Sickness/ Misadventure is made by you to SCSA, and not through the school. You obtain the form from: http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au. It is always strongly recommended and preferable that you attend all exams, even if you are slightly unwell.

 

If you do not sit the examination for an ATAR course, then that course will be deemed by SCSA to be incomplete and will not be counted for ANY element of the WACE, nor will the pair of units for the Year 12 course appear on your WASSA (Statement of Attainment). This is also the case related to attendance and participation in courses with practical examinations (you need to sit both components). This has been previously explained to you in Education Plus. If you are unwell on the day of an exam, it is best to sit the exam and do your best, plus go to the doctor for a medical certificate and apply for Sickness and Misadventure.

 

Best wishes for your exams! Study Seminars are being held during the first week of this term so that your Mock Examinations can be returned to you and you can overview your course. Please email your class teacher or HOLA if you need to catch up during the study break to organise a meeting time.

 

Dr Liz Criddle.

Year 12 students – Collection of Mock Examinations

September 1, 2017

St Stephen’s School

Year 12 students – Collection of Mock Examinations

We wish our Year 12 cohort the very best for their written Mock WACE Examinations, which commence on Wednesday next week. While our ATAR students are sitting their Semester Two examinations, our General and VET students may also be attending school in order to finish work up until Grad’s Day.

Please click the link below to the program for the return of Mock Examination results to students. Each ATAR subject has been given a time slot in the first week of next term, from the 10-13 October. Students should attend school in their sport uniform, and bring appropriate stationery to take notes.

Note that the 2018 academic year commences on Tuesday 10 October for students entering Year 8, 9 and 10 in 2018. The 2018 academic year commences on Monday 16 October for students entering Year 11 and 12, 2018. This is the final year of the academic rollover.

My best wishes to all our students for a rewarding final few weeks of term.

Dr Liz Criddle

Deputy Head of Secondary

Year 12 (2017) Return Mock WACE Workshops

NAPLAN Results

August 22, 2017

NAPLAN individual reports and the explanatory brochure will be distributed to students via Homeroom on Friday 25 August. While the test represents a single snapshot on a specific day, it does provide useful information about both the group of students and about individual students.

The explanatory brochure is useful and further information can be accessed here: https://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/naplan-2017-information-brochure-for-parents-and-carers.pdf?sfvrsn=2.

 

Dr Criddle

Deputy Head of Secondary

Year 7 & Year 9 NAPLAN Information

February 14, 2017

Dear Parents,

This week Year 7 and Year 9 students will bring home an information booklet about the National Assessment Program – Numeracy and Literacy (NAPLAN). This contains details of when the tests will be held and how you can support your child. Please ask your child to hunt around in their school bag so this information does not get lost!

Dr Liz Criddle

Deputy Head Secondary