Term One Success

We are happy to report overall a very good set of academic reports went out to families at the end of last term. Overall students in Junior Secondary attended 88.2% of the time. We also have had over 500 Optima rewards given to Year 7 students alone in Term one.

This term our focus areas are;

• supporting ongoing numeracy and literacy development of foundational skills to support all learning
• writing is a key focus and teachers will collaborate using a case management approach to improve student writing
• improving achievement of A grades outside of the Academic excellence program in maths, english, science and humanities.

NAPLAN

In Week 4 our Year 7 and 9s will be sitting online NAPLAN, the individual student results are used by English and Maths teachers to tailor programs to continue to build on the literacy and numeracy skills as the students move on to the next year level. We are encouraging students to follow our motto of doing their best when it comes to NAPLAN. Our staff and those at the primary schools have been working on building the skills needed for these exams for years but there are little things that can be done in these last few weeks.

Should your child be absent for any of the tests, they will be provided with a catch-up session in Week 5.

Students require their school laptops charged for the day as usual, and a pair of headphones. They will also need a pen or pencil for use on their scribble paper.

Parent Teacher Interviews

If you have not done so already, please take the time to sit with your child and discuss their interim report, emailed at the end of last term. Celebrate successes and where improvements are needed, set some specific, realistic and measurable goals. Should you require clarification or need to immediately discuss your child’s progress, remember that teachers welcome contact from parents; all teachers’ emails are listed under ‘contacts’ on the PBC website.

Parent Teacher Interview bookings are open from Friday 29 April. The interviews are conducted over across 3 days – Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 May. These interviews will be face-to-face interviews and will be held in the PBC Hall. This should provide as many opportunities as possible for you to meet with teachers. Students are most welcome to be part of the interviews; it can be very useful for them to ask their own questions and to receive direct feedback from teachers, with you present. Teachers are also hoping to learn more about the student, and will welcome information that will help them support each individual in their learning. We look forward to meeting with you.

Work Experience Year 9

All Year 9's are invited to organise work experience for Week 1 of  Term 3. This is an opportunity to explore a career of interest and for those interested in school based apprenticeships and traineeships for senior school can be the start of this relationship. Information packs have gone out to students at assembly late last term and initial paperwork can be returned to students services whenever it is completed. The school will then make contact with the employer to finalise the placement.

House Camps

This year we are introducing adventurous journeys where each House (Athenians, Phoenicians, Vikings and Spartans) will attend a 3 day camp in Term 4, Week 10 - Monday to Wednesday. Each house camp will be going to a different destination and will combine Years 7, 8 and 9. House camp activities will build on character strengths of teamwork and perseverance. In working together in team building activities students increase their own self confidence and build empathy for others. More information will be provided to the students in Week 2.