Minimum Standards

Students in NSW need to meet a minimum standard of literacy and numeracy to receive the HSC. To show they meet the HSC minimum standard, students need to achieve a Level 3 or 4 in online reading, writing and numeracy tests of skills for everyday life. Year 10 students sat these tests earlier this week. Results from attempts to date have been very pleasing. 100% of Year 10 students who sat the Reading test achieved minimum standard and 99% of students who sat the Numeracy test achieved minimum standard. We are awaiting Writing test results. Congratulations to the Year 10 students on these results and the manner in which they conducted themselves over the two days of testing.

Tips for parents to manage and communicate expectations about schoolwork and results

The following has been adapted from the Study Skills Handbook in the Study Samurai Library. If parental expectations are too low, students may not strive to achieve their personal best. If parental expectations are too high, this can contribute to high levels of student stress. So how can parents find the right balance? Some areas to consider are:

• Help your children to set realistic goals: Keep talking to your children about what they want to achieve, in individual subjects, at school overall and in other aspects of their life. Helping them to identify their goals will enable them to determine what subjects they need to focus on and what marks they are likely to need, which means that effort can be concentrated on the areas which will help them to achieve their goals.
• Be involved in your children’s learning: Throughout the term talk to your children about what they are studying. Ask them to show you their bookwork and homework.
• Make sure you really communicate what you expect: Think about how you communicate your expectations to your children. Remember to praise them for the effort they make rather than the results they achieve, this way they are motivated to keep on trying, even when learning is difficult.
• Remember nobody is perfect: Even the brightest, most highly motivated child will struggle at times. They may struggle to understand a particular topic or concept, or they may struggle with motivation.
• Provide practical homework and exam support: Provide practical help to your children with things like proofreading and reviewing drafts, checking work and listening to speeches. Remember though, don’t make changes, rather make suggestions and provide guidance.
• Spend time together doing something fun: Make sure your relationship with your child is about more than homework and study. Allocate some time to do fun things together.
• Support your child to do their best: You can do this by providing healthy, nutrient rich food; opportunities for exercise, rest and relaxation and an environment which is supportive of and conducive to study.
• Keep alert for the physical and mental signs of stress: When you notice that your child is stressed provide them opportunities to discuss what is worrying them and work with them to identify how you can help them. You may wish to communicate this with the school.

Study Samurai Library

All families have access to the Study Samurai Library. The Study Samurai Library includes the Study Skills Module website which provides advice and resources on developing essential skills for academic success. To access the Study Samurai Library website, go to www.studysamurailibrary.com and login with these details:

Username: edmundrice
Password: 13achieve

This fortnight, families are able to spend time listening to Rocky Biasi speak about Seven Motivational Strategies. Click here to access the resource.

Please do not hesitate to make contact if you have any questions.

Mr Sozio
Director of Learning & Teaching