Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching
Thank you to all staff, students and parents for the very warm welcome to the College. I am thrilled to be here working with the St Paul’s College Community. As a previous student myself, I know the incredible journey this College marks for so many in the Macleay and Nambucca Valleys. My family and I are delighted to be back in the area.
Attendance
As the school year continues, we build closer to the HSC and final months of schooling for our senior students. At this time I would like families to consider the importance of school attendance in the lead up to these crucial periods. If students are in class with their teachers they are far more likely to be educationally successful. This requires parents to push hard at times to ensure that students are not having odd days at home. The last few years have been difficult when navigating sickness, however as we approach the winter months I encourage students to do what they can to stay healthy and push themselves to come to school.
Non-attendance has a variety of effects on students, both academically and socially. Absenteeism can increase social isolation, including alienation and lack of engagement with the school community and peers, leading to emotional and behavioural difficulties (Carroll, 2013; Gottfried, 2014).
Year 12
Term 2 presents no formal assessment period, this can be a trap for students as they continue to work through HSC content while also preparing for the major Trial HSC exams in Term 3. There are critical HSC assessment tasks due in Term 2 with increased weightings. Each Year 12 student must have a simple plan for Term 2:
- When are each of my tasks due in Term 2?
- How will I prepare, for eg, what content notes have I got to prepare with?
- What past HSC questions/marking criteria/marker feedback are relevant to the task?
- I must be in each class to attack this task.
- I must send drafts to my teacher prior to the task for best preparation.
Every minute counts in class during Term 2 as well as using each evening towards revision to better prepare for the task ahead.
Year 11
Year 11 students trialled their first assessment block last Term which means they are a third of the way through the Prelim course. We will continue to run the assessment blocks this Term and review the students feedback.
Learning across Year 7-10
Since I arrived, I have been incredibly impressed by the culture of learning across the College. The students are doing wonderful work in the lessons and the teachers have created environments that have reflective and engaging practice. I am excited to be part of this learning environment.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to get in touch.
Ms Kate Fullbrook - Assistant Principal - Learning and Teaching