All the stars have aligned for students at Star of the Sea, Cleveland, ahead of this week’s NAPLAN Test (10-20 May).
The Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) school’s Year 3 and 5 students are test ready, says Star of the Sea School Principal Lagi Aukusitino, adding that this year’s NAPLAN test will be “smooth sailing” for her students.
“Our students have always done well on NAPLAN, and this year will be no different,” Principal Aukusitino said.
“At Star of the Sea our students are ready to be tested any day of the year, thanks to BCE’s focus on students being assessment capable learners.
“In order to create assessment capable learners, our school prepares our students every day of the school year for important tests like NAPLAN - it’s built into our curriculum.
“Because we are preparing students all year-round, there’s really no preparation in the days leading up to NAPLAN, and students feel more at ease and confident when NAPLAN time rolls around.
“A lot of our success in NAPLAN can also be attributed to the ‘Bump It Up Walls’ at our school, which helps extend all students to reach their full potential.
’Bump it up Walls’ are a visual display of different levelled writing samples that show what successful writing looks like.
“Students compare their own writing to the differentiated writing samples displayed on the wall and determine what steps they need to take to ’bump up’ their writing.
“We find the walls are a great way of showing students what is required to be successful, as well as providing visual goals for students to set as they work towards higher standards of work.
“Between BCE’s Assessment Capable Learners Initiative and our ‘Bump It Up Walls’ our students are feeling very prepared this NAPLAN - and all our students need to do now is reach for the stars.”
BCE Head of Education Marisa Dann said the one of the keys to BCE schools’ success is a bespoke tool created specifically for its’ students.
“We focus on creating assessment capable learners every day of the school year,” Ms Dann said.
“Instead of cramming, BCE schools focus on good first teaching year-round.
“All year-round our students practice with bespoke tools, like the BCE Writing Analysis Tool, which focuses on preparing students for great writing in every subject.
“The tool helps our students and teachers become more conscious of skills and dispositions you need for learning, which benefits students in all exam situations, not just NAPLAN.”
Star of the Sea parent Erin Hardy said her school takes the stress out of NAPLAN time.
“This year four of my children are sitting NAPLAN with two at Star of the Sea,” she said.
“They don’t feel stressed or pressured, and they are prepared and ready for it.”
Parent Allison Price said her children feel so ready.
“There’s nothing better than having relaxed children as we approach NAPLAN,” she said.
“Star of the Sea prepares our children all year-round, with no last-minute cramming, which takes the stress out of NAPLAN time, for not only our kids, but our school community too.”
For more information about Star of the Sea, Cleveland and to enrol click here.