Middle School News
Winter Uniform Term Two
Given Term Two commences on Tuesday 1 May, there will be no uniform transition period necessary. Therefore, all students will commence Term Two in full winter uniform. Given Photo Day will be on the second day of term, Wednesday 2 May, parents are reminded of the importance of checking the sizing of uniforms well before the end of Term One.
Term One Interim Reports
Students are to be congratulated on their achievements so far this year. Overall, the Middle School students have performed well both academically and in the way they apply and conduct themselves in class. It is pleasing to see the students achieving outstanding results for important attributes such as communication and work ethic. I commend the students on their efforts and hope they continue to apply themselves in class throughout Term Two.
Parent Teacher Interviews
The Year 7 to 12 Parent/Teacher/Student (P/T/S) Interviews will be held on Tuesday 1 May from 12.30pm to 7.30pm in the Sadler Centre (normal classes will conclude at the end of Period 3 – 11.56am on this day).
Please note that there may be a limited number of timeslots available. To help with this, please ensure you only book ONE timeslot with your child’s teacher, even if they teach your child in multiple subjects. If you are unable to secure a timeslot during this round of P/T/S interviews, you may contact the relevant teacher(s) directly to arrange a conversation on another date.
If your child’s teacher has indicated ‘Interview requested’ on his/her Term One Progress Report, it is highly recommended that you book an interview with the relevant teacher(s), even if the Edval booking system does not specify that an interview is requested. If your child does not have any interview requests, then your discretion should be used as to whether or not you book an interview with their teacher(s).
Your PIN has been emailed to all families, which will enable you to use the Edval system to book your interviews.
You will be able to book interviews for your student(s) from 1.00pm Wednesday 11 April until 9.00am on Monday 30 April.
If you have any queries or are having problems using the Edval system, please do not hesitate to contact Sara-Ann Tuson sara-ann.tuson@cewa.edu.au
Winter Uniform Term Two
Given Term Two commences on Tuesday 1 May, there will be no uniform transition period necessary. Therefore, all students will commence Term Two in full winter uniform. Given Photo Day will be on the second day of term, Wednesday 2 May, parents are reminded of the importance of checking the sizing of uniforms well before the end of Term One.
Mothers’ Day Breakfast
We invite mothers and your children to a Mothers’ Day Breakfast on Friday 11 May, 7.15am to 8.00am.
Click on the link below to RSVP your interest (Including how many of your children will be in attendance). Please provide accurate numbers to we can cater accordingly.
RSVP no later than 5.00pm Wednesday 9 May.
Tea, coffee, juice and fruit will be provided and bacon and egg rolls can be pre-ordered. (Follow the booking link below for information)
We look forward to seeing as many Mothers and their children as possible.
Please click here to book.
Year 7-10 Da Vinci Decathlon
On the 6th of April, eight Year 10 students from the Academic Excellence Program (AEP) took place in the annual Da Vinci Decathlon Event. This event is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of high achieving students. The competition involves 10 categories; Engineering, Mathematics, Code breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and General Knowledge. This year the theme was “Expect the Unexpected”. From our school, groups of 8 students from Years 7-10 competed in each of these categories against other schools. The winning teams have the chance to represent their school in the National da Vinci Decathlon.
During the lead up to the Da Vinci Gala, we attended training sessions for each of these categories to help us bond as a team and be able to answer questions relating to the themes under pressure. These training sessions were held before, during or after school and were a key part in the preparation for this amazing event. Thank you to all the teachers who took time out of their busy schedules to run these sessions. This included Mr Matthews, Mrs Di Giuseppe, Mrs Davies and Mrs Coma. We would like to especially thank Mr Clark and Mrs Carvalho who played a key role in our success.
On the day 18-28 schools including Corpus were at the gala and as a student who had taken place in this even once before in year 9, it was really great to see the same students competing again. The day started out with the formal introductions and then we started competing. The engineering task was to produce a jack-in-the-box or a paper airplane that travelled the furthest. Art and Poetry was based on the whole theme “Expect the Unexpected”. Science and Mathematics involved answering and solving complex problems. Ideation involved coming up with a solution to a problem. One team had the problem: “What would we do if Alien came to earth?”. English was made up of spelling, poems and a passage from ‘Frankenstein’, that needed to be interpreted. Code Breaking involved deciphering various codes, Cartography involved having extensive knowledge of maps of the world and the General knowledge questions were based on current affairs.
There was some tough competition from all the schools, however, our teams took home some places in the various sessions. The Year 8 team came 4th in Creative Producers. The Year 9 team came first in General Knowledge and Code Breaking and 6th place in Ideation and English. Finally, the Year 10 team came third in Engineering.
Overall this was a really rewarding day in which we learned the importance of team work, the key to our success. As a Year 10 student this is my last Da Vinci Decathlon which is a disappointing thought. However, it has been a great opportunity to take part in the Da Vinci Decathlon throughout the years.
Mary Alamyio (Year 10)
NAPLAN – Years 7 and 9
Please note that this year the NAPLAN will be taking place on 15, 16 and 17 May for Years 7 and 9, with catch up tests (for students absent for any tests) occurring on Friday 18 May.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. NAPLAN performance is now also linked to secondary graduation so it is critical that all students do their very best. NAPLAN will take place in Week 3 of Term 2.
At the College we recognise the importance of NAPLAN but it certainly isn’t the exclusive focus of our learning programs or our teaching. However, leading up to the tests, students will have been familiarised with the tests and, in many cases, have completed practice papers to reduce anxiety and ensure students are comfortable with the process.
More information or additional NAPLAN resources can be found at http://www.nap.edu.au