School Achievement

Deputy Principal

of Achievement

Mr Stephen Tisch Deputy Principal

Week 6 of Term 4 heralded our first ever Junior Assessment Week which came about in response to the rather big question “What is the purpose of assessment?” From the New Zealand Curriculum we are reminded that “The primary purpose of assessment is to improve the student’s learning and the teacher’s teaching as both respond to the information that it provides” (NZC p 39).

The English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science Learning Areas discussed their different wishes and it was decided a flexible approach was required to cater to those different needs. One hour blocks of time enable different tasks for example an online PAT assessment one time and then a hand written task at another time or a practical activity in a Science laboratory. It also enables variety in the overall amount of assessment time.

The evidence gathered from this week will enable us to analyse who has made the expected progress and who hasn’t and therefore inform future professional learning opportunities.

The Write That Essay programme continues to be used in Social Studies classes to enable students to improve their writing. It now has the added feature of being able to track student progress so that staff can easily see who is engaged and making the necessary improvements.

On Tuesday 10th November, it was wonderful to celebrate the academic achievements of our senior students with three separate year level awards ceremonies. Their focus swiftly changed to the NCEA external examinations - some normality in an otherwise unusual and disrupted year. Tutorials were offered in many subjects to give our senior students the best possible opportunity to achieve highly.

Our Academic Support Mentor, Mrs Stacey Shefferd, along with other supporting staff, continued to offer workshops to students who were identified as needing extra achievement opportunities to help them achieve their NCEA goals. Similarly, our Numeracy Coordinator, Ms Bernice Quatermain, has identified students who need extra support to help them complete their NCEA Numeracy requirements. Each student was provided an opportunity tailored to their particular needs. At this stage, our numeracy results are on track to be better than last year.