A very warm welcome to all our new students and families and welcome back to everyone else. This year will hopefully be a huge improvement on last year so we can get back to a more normal routine.

Students have settled back well into classes. This year we are making a concentrated effort to ensure we all do the simple things very well. For students, this will mean that they all come to class fully prepared to learn. They must have all the equipment they need for each lesson and a charged laptop. Staff will not allow students to use their phones as their device. Can parents please assist us in this area by ensuring your child has preferably a laptop, or if not, at least an iPad.

At the College Assembly on Monday I spoke to the students about the Lesson Intentions and Success Criteria that all teachers introduce at the start of every lesson. I explained that these are like a road map to a destination. The Lesson Intention outlines what the students will be covering in the lesson and the Success Criteria is the destination, or what they should be able to do by the end of the lesson. I encouraged all students to pay particular attention when the teacher was introducing these and to ensure they could achieve the Success Criteria by the end of the lesson. I encouraged them to speak with their teachers if they experience any difficulties along the way. Parents could support us in this endeavour by asking their child what the Lesson Intention was for some of their classes at the end of the day.  

All students in Years 7 to 10 undertake Progressive Assessment Testing in Reading (PAT-R) and Maths (PAT-M) at Carroll College. This testing is a snapshot of a point in time of your child’s ability in these areas. Staff use the data to gain a better understanding of your child and to develop their teaching programs to cater to students’ differing needs. The College also uses the data to track growth in student year groups. We will be testing all Year 7 and any new students in Years 8-10 this week and next week. The tests are approximately 40 minutes in duration and are online. Please encourage your child to work to their best ability during these tests. A timetable for when these tests are on can be found in this newsletter.

Students in Years 9-11 have until Wednesday next week to make any final changes to their electives. By this time all students should have experienced several lessons and be settled into their routines. Please speak with your children about this deadline.

Our Year 12 cohort of 2020 achieved excellent HSC results last year. Jade Briggs achieved our highest ATAR, with a score of 96.7. Nicholas Usher came in second with 92 and Cameron Stocks came in third with 90. There were many scores in the 80s and 70s with every student we spoke to achieving the score they needed to pursue their plans. Overall our students gained 12 Band 6 results (the highest band), 51 Band 5 results, and 91 Band 4 results. Overall 77% of our results were in these top 3 Bands.  Congratulations to these students and we wish them the best of luck as they move into the world of work or tertiary study.

All students in Years 11 and 12 now have access to a new learning tool called Edrolo. The College has invested considerably in this program to allow our senior students access to this online learning platform. The platform has almost all our senior courses available to the students. They can access explanation videos on all the syllabus dot points, as well as computer marked quizzes to test their progress. The link and information below will allow your child to access it.

1. Go to edrolo.com.au/activate/wqj-zpx and follow the prompts OR
2. Go to com.au, click the 'Activate Account' button and enter this 6 digit code: wqj-zpx

It is important that the school and home work in partnership to ensure your child receives the best education possible. Please make contact with class teachers as soon as any issues arise. The sooner we know about things, the easier it is to resolve them. Also, please ensure you can access the Parent Portal in Sentral. This is one of our main ways to communicate with you, and all school reports are “posted” to this portal. Contact the school if you need help.

John O’Neill

Assistant Principal
Curriculum and Achievement