Junior School Academic Handbook
Pymble Teaching and Learning Framework
LEARNING PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
Pymble Ladies’ College aims to nurture the development of compassionate and influential young women with the capacity and confidence to change the world.
Our Strategic Vision (2021-2030) recogises the importance of a holistic education in partnership with parents and the community which focuses on four key intelligences: Academic, Digital, Emotional and Social. Specifically, our Strategic Vision identifies a ‘robust’ approach to academics to equip students to flourish in a rapidly changing world.
Our Teaching and Learning Framework is shaped by the College values of care, courage, integrity, respect and responsibility and identifies the following tenets at the core of our practice:
1. An inclusive and supportive environment
2. The role of expertise
3. Key skill development
4. Character dispositions
Our Model embeds a four dimensional approach to learning based upon the model developed by Charles Fadel from the Center for Curriculum Redesign.
Pymble Teaching and Learning Framework
KNOWLEDGE
What is important for me to know in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).
SKILLS
Developing skills in my specific subjects, as well as thinking critically and creatively.
CHARACTER
Using curiosity, courage and resilience to guide how I engage with the world.
META LEARNING
The process of reflecting on and evaluating my work and my learning.
*Model courtesy of the Center for Curriculum Redesign
Assessments in the Junior School
(STANDARD 5: ASSESS, PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND REPORT ON STUDENT LEARNING)
The Junior School is committed in designing and delivering rigorous academic learning opportunities that meet the needs of all learners. Assessment in the Junior School is student centred, purposeful and growth focused. Assessment plays an integral part in teaching and learning activities, curriculum development and reporting. Assessment allows planning and delivery of content to improve student performance. Analysing and reviewing data, teachers identify the students’ individual needs, reflect on and modify current practice and design future learning. There is an emphasis on continued assessment and regular feedback.
All assessment is linked to explicit learning outcomes and evaluated against the Common Grade Scale. Students are provided with a range of authentic ways they can demonstrate their achievement and growth over time in relation to set learning outcomes and standards. Suitable strategies include teacher observations (individual, group and whole class), written work, investigations and open-ended tasks. Peer and selfassessments, as well as individual and collaborative assessments are valued as methods of generating learning evidence.
Assessment needs to provide data about the students’ knowledge, skills and understanding relevant to the NSW syllabus outcomes. Assessment provides opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills, knowledge and understanding.
Assessment across the Junior Schools, incorporates different forms: Assessment for, Assessment as and Assessment of learning.
Assessment for learning involves teachers using evidence about students’ knowledge, understanding and skills to inform their teaching. Sometimes referred to as ‘formative assessment’, it usually occurs throughout the teaching and learning process to clarify student learning and understanding.
Assessment as learning occurs when students are their own assessors. Students monitor their own learning, ask questions and use a range of strategies to decide what they know and can do, and how to use assessment for new learning.
Assessment of learning assists teachers in using evidence of student learning to assess achievement against outcomes and standards. Sometimes referred to as ‘summative assessment’, it usually occurs at defined key points during a unit of work or at the end of a unit of work, term or semester and may be used to rank or grade students. The effectiveness of assessment for learning for grading or ranking depends on the validity and reliability of activities. Its effectiveness as an opportunity for learning depends on the nature and quality of the feedback.
Assessments in the Junior School
For further reading on assessment strategies:
educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/assessment/k-6assessment-strategies
curriculum.nsw.edu.au/assessment-and-reporting/assessment-principles curriculum.nsw.edu.au/assessment-and-reporting/formative-assessment curriculum.nsw.edu.au/assessment-and-reporting/summative-assessment
At Pymble Ladies’ College we embrace the assessment strategies suggested by NESA. These are set out below but are not limited to:
TEACHER OBSERVATION
Teacher observations can provide data on student performance in relation to syllabus outcomes. While students are working individually or in groups, the teacher has the opportunity to observe and note aspects of student learning and behaviour.
STUDENT SELF/PEER ASSESSMENT
Students are provided with the opportunity to assess their own work. This may be through individual, small group or class discussions. Alternatively, students may complete a written self assessment or teachers may ask students to provide feedback to one another.
PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES
Practical activities provide students with opportunities to pose questions, investigate, make decisions, manipulate and make observations. Students may work individually or in groups. Assessment activities can include, but are not limited to: role play, investigation and problem solving activities, manipulation of materials to demonstrate conceptual understanding of lesson objective.
CHECKLISTS
Checklists can provide information concerning strengths, weaknesses and concepts achieved. They may be used in planning support activities and enrichment work.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
These tests are conducted for each grade at the start and end of each year. The results of these tests serve as benchmarks for student achievement against recognised standards or norms. The data is entered into a common spreadsheet so that all teachers have access to the students’ results. The data is cumulative for every year the student remains at the College. Such test results allow a student to be tracked easily from Junior School through to Senior School.
PRESENTATIONS
Students demonstrate their understanding to an audience through spoken, written or multi-media presentations.
STUDENT WORK
Collection of student work at specific points of the learning enables teachers to identify future teaching and learning opportunities. It can also serve as a summative assessment at the end of the unit of work.
PRE AND POST TESTS
These are conducted on a regular basis as the introduction to and culmination of a variety of teaching units. They provide information to ensure that programming and teaching is focused on the needs of the students. Such tests, tasks or entry/exit slips are critical to appropriate curriculum differentiation for each student.
EVALUATION
Information gained through assessment assists teachers in the evaluation of their lessons and programs. This involves consideration of the appropriateness of the program, teaching strategies and practices, the appropriateness of assessment strategies and opportunities for students to be engaged in a variety of learning experiences, including group work and investigations. Evaluation also involves the consideration of the selection and use of resources and further professional development.
STANDARDISED TESTING
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT (NAPLAN)
The National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy assesses the literacy and numeracy of students in Years 3 and 5. NAPLAN assists teachers in identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses in Literacy and Numeracy. By analysing results along with information from teacher judgements and student work, teachers can adjust teaching strategies to provide appropriate support. The analysis of aggregated results assist with school planning and is used by the Junior School to monitor Literacy and Numeracy development over time.
Marking and Grading of Assessment
(STANDARD 5: ASSESS, PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND REPORT ON STUDENT LEARNING)
COMMON GRADE SCALE
The NESA Common Grade Scale is applied to assessment and reporting at Pymble Pymble uses the Common Grade Scale published by NESA to describe student performance at each of five grade levels (A-E) on a number of report outcomes and assessment tasks:
A Outstanding The student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.
B High The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.
C Sound The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.
D Developing The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.
E Beginning The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills
NESA (https://curriculum.nsw.edu.au/assessment-and-reporting/reporting-and-using-grades)
If teachers use the Common Grade Scale to report student achievement in Years 1-10:
• The full range of grades can be used at any point in time in relation to what has been taught
• The grade reported should reflect student achievement in relation to the syllabus outcomes for the relevant stage of learning
• Students in the first year of a stage are not restricted to lower grades
• Students do not need to be working beyond the syllabus for their stage to receive a grade A or B. (NESA)
CONSISTENT TEACHER JUDGEMENT
Consistent teacher judgement is a key aspect of professional practice in assessment. It requires “teachers to have a shared understanding of assessment and syllabus standards and apply that understanding consistently when making judgements about what students know, understand, and can do.” (NSW Education 2025)
GRADING
Throughout the Unit of Work or Program of study, teachers collect diverse evidence of learning from students and assess this evidence against learning outcomes. Teachers make professional judgements based on the evidence collected of the student’s work and assign a grade for reporting purposes.
Teachers carry out moderation activities to ensure consistency of the awarding of grades across the different classes in all Key Learning Areas.
Grading for Learning Outcomes is on the following scale:
Curriculum Achievement Common Grade Scale
Exceeding Expectation
Above Expectation
Meeting Expectation
Approaching Expectation
Experiencing Difficulty
PROCESS OF GRADING
Grades are allocated to a student using the NESA Common Grade Scale. Teachers follow processes to ensure grading of assessments are fair and consistent. Through moderation practices and common rubrics, student work is moderated by teachers against the syllabus outcomes and Common Grade Scale. This ensures consistency of marking and transparency.
Marking and Grading of Assessment
MODERATION
“One of the most powerful resarch-based strategies for linking assessment to improved instructional practice is teacher moderation. This process involves educators in a collaborative discussions of student work based on predetermined assessment criteria”
“It is through moderation practice over time that teachers develop judgement practice that is dependable and defensible. Klenowski & Wyatt-Smoth (n.d).
MODERATION PRACTICE
Year Co-ordinators and Specialist Co-ordinators schedule opportunities across the school year for teams to moderate student work. Moderation can be carried out at various points within the learning cycle.
The following steps describe an approach to a teacher moderation process.
STANDARDS-SETTING MODERATION MEETING
• Read over the task. Discuss what students are asked to know, understand and do.
• Read through and discuss the marking criteria, beginning with the B range. What will students typcially demonstrate in this range? Then move to the A range, following by C and D. What will be the defining chracteristics of responses in each range?
• Teachers read 3-4 responses (depending on length). Teachers ascribe a band and specific mark, aligning the script to the marking criteria. Teachers should also make comments and annotations.
• Each script marked is discussed, with each teacher having the opportunity to state their mark and justification. Engage in respectful dialogue about each script. Consensus needs to be reached.
• Collectively discuss strengths, patterns, gaps and trends. What are we seeing? What would be the next steps for these students?
HOW MODERATION PROCEEDS
• Teachers mark their allocated bundle with close attention to the established standards, attributing grade/ mark and recording next step. Pairs or groups of three teachers meet at key points to discuss their allocation of grades/marks. Teachers compare at least one script from each range. It is important in this session to look at the samples.
• Discuss next steps, set goals and share teaching strategies.
REFLECTION SESSION
• Critically reflect on the assessment task. Did the students meet the achievement standards?
• Did the task allow them to move beyond?
• Critically reflect on the feedback. Did the feedback move the learning forward?
• Team discuss strengths/gaps/patterns. Where to next for the students?
Further reading on moderation practice:
www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/practice/ professionalpracticenote15.pdf
www.aitsl.edu.au/tools-resources/resource/team-teaching-moderation-illustration-of-practice
FEEDBACK
Assessment is continuous and combined with regular and effective feedback, whether verbal or written, motivates and guides the learner to improvement. Feedback is an essential component of student learning and can occur at any point in teaching and learning. By providing specific feedback, students can develop personal goals and play an active part in their learning resulting in “bridging the gap” between current achievement and desired outcomes. Feedback relates to the learning intention or goal and supports students to monitor their own progress, achievement and areas for development.
This feedback is personal, timely and focuses on student improvement.
Further reading:
Feedback practices and strategies
www.curriculum.nsw.edu.au/assessment-and-reporting/evidence-and-feedback
Academic Reports and Learning Discussions
ACADEMIC REPORTS
Formal school reports are issued to parents twice a year, at the end of Semester 1 and Semester 2 respectively. Each semester, the Deputy Head of Junior School - Academic creates a reporting timeline, which is designed to ensure that the reporting process is completed efficiently. This ensures that parents receive their daughter’s report in time to seek further feedback from teachers, if required, before the start of the holiday period.
During the reporting cycle, parents are invited to participate in Academic Learning Discussions. During Academic Learning Discussions, teachers provide accurate and honest feedback on a student’s learning progress, areas of strengths and next steps.
ACADEMIC LEARNING DISCUSSIONS
Term 1
• Led by the Compass Teacher. The purpose of this discussion is to review the academic progress and next steps for the student.
• Parents have a choice whether to attend Academic Learning Discussions online or face to face.
• Duration: 15 minutes
Term 3:
• Led by girls (in Years 4-6) and supported by their Compass Teacher or led by the Compass Teacher (in Years K-3). The purpose of this discussion is a reflection on learning and discussion on growth and next steps.
• Discussion may also focus on reviewing suggested next steps and academic results from the Semester 1 Report.
• Parents have a choice whether to attend Academic Learning Discussions online or face to face.
• Duration: 15 minutes
Program Management
(STANDARD 3: PLAN FOR AND IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING)
• All Units of Work are to be uploaded onto Teams in the relevant grade or specialist folders. Units of Work are to include Syllabus outcomes and follow Scope and Sequence documents.
• It is the responsibility of teaching staff to review relevant Syllabus documentation to ensure content taught reflects Syllabus outcomes found within each Stage.
PACING GUIDE
• All Units of Work should incorporate a pacing guide. A template can be found on Teams, please see your Year Co-ordinator or Specialist Co-ordinator.
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
• Scope and Sequence documents are stored on Teams. If you are unsure of where to find relevant Scope and Sequence documents, please see your Year Co-ordinator.
• It is the responsibility of teaching staff to review relevant Scope and Sequence documents when programming Units of Work.
• Any amendments or changes to Scope and Sequence documents, must be approved by Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic.
ANNOTATIONS - UNITS OF WORK
• All teaching staff must digitally annotate directly on the Unit of Work on Teams and include the date the lesson was taught within their annotation. Annotations are expected to be up to date each week. If a lesson has been modified reference must be made as to how the lesson was modified. If no change to the lesson, a date must be recorded on the annotation to demonstrate that the lesson was taught. Links to other documentation are not to be used to form part of a teacher’s annotation.
ANNOTATIONS - NCCD STUDENTS
• It is a requirement that evidence must be shown of modifications made for students registered on the NCCD.
• Teachers are to annotate these changes on Units of Work. Students are not to be identified using their full name but rather their initials. Please use red text for these annotations. Please speak to K-6 Learning Enhancement Co-ordinator, if you have any questions.
Program Management
DIFFERENTIATION
(STANDARD 1: KNOW STUDENTS AND HOW THEY LEARN)
• Incorporated within Units of Work must be evidence of differentiation.
• Differentiation for learning enhancement students can be identified as LE or in red text.
• Differentiation for High Potential Learners (Extension) can be identified as HPL or in purple text.
• EAL/D strategies are also to be included in the Unit of Work.
• Each grade must upload A Statement of Differentiation onto Teams at the beginning of the school year.
ASSESSMENTS AND GRADE SPREADSHEET
(STANDARD 5: ASSESS, PROVIDE FEEDBACK, REPORT ON STUDENT LEARNING)
• A variety of assessments tools and strategies should be used to gather information about a girl’s learning at purposeful moments in her learning journey. These may include observations, work samples, performance tasks, quizzes, videos, models, pre-test, exit slips and standardised tests etc. Assessments must relate to relevant Syllabus Outcome(s) and incorporate criteria to challenge the girls so that an A or B grade can be authentically awarded.
• Assessments are to be collaboratively created with Learning Enhancement teachers and Year Co-ordinators. Assessment results are to be recorded on a grade spreadsheet, maintained by Year Co-ordinators or Specialist Co-ordinators.
ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE
• An Assessment Schedule is to be created by the Year Co-ordinator or Specialist Co-ordinator, setting out assessments across the term. This schedule is to be sent to the Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic at the beginning of term and uploaded onto Teams.
STUDENT PROFILES
(STANDARD 1: KNOW STUDENTS AND HOW THEY LEARN)
• Compass Teachers are to save student profiles on Teams. These profiles are to be maintained and updated throughout the year. The template will be sent to all Compass Teachers at the commencement of the school year by Year Co-ordinators.
ACADEMIC GOAL
• At the commencement of each term, students meet with their Compass Teacher to develop an academic goal, focusing on areas for growth and strategies for success. Students are to check in regularly with their
Compass Teacher to discuss progress, receive support, and make adjustments as needed. Students then reflect on their goal in their report by writing a comment about their achievements, challenges, and next steps.
HIGH POTENTIAL AND GIFTED STUDENTS
• If any psychometric assessments are presented by parents to Compass Teachers, please speak with the Learning Enhancement Co-ordinator K-6 and Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic.
• Prior to sharing any assessments, please email parents seeking their written permission to share.
• Any student observed working beyond curriculum outcomes or for purposes of enrichment/extension by Compass Teachers, observations should be shared with the Year Co-ordinator and the Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic.
Learning Enhancement referrals
Teacher refers student who is not meeting social/ academic/behavioural expectations
Teacher and LE teacher to gather data to support this assumption.
Referral does not go ahead at this point – monitor
Parent meeting with LE/ CT/YC to advise and support parents on suggested next steps.
The outcome of the meeting and decision will be recorded on Edumate by LE.
LE team and/or Head of Wellbeing to recommend further strategies. These are shared with all relevant teachers.
Yes?
LE Collaborative Team meeting to discuss the referral and possible actions.
Review effectiveness of Teaching and Learning strategies. Has the student’s learning improved?
No?
Teacher and LE teacher to contact parents/carer to discuss observations/ data and IAP (learning strategies)
Speech Day and Celebration of Learning
CELEBRATION OF LEARNING
Students in K-2 receive a picture book at the annual Celebration of Learning that takes place in Term 4. Teachers are to write a personalised comment about the student for the book plate.
Students are presented with their picture book at the Celebration of Learning as part of the honouring ceremony.
3-6 SPEECH DAY
A range of awards are presented to students in Years 3 to 6 at the annual Speech Day.
A full list of categories and descriptors is provided annually by the Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic. All Year Co-ordinators and Specialist Co-ordinators are provided a copy of this list to share with teams.
Teaching staff are to wear academic gowns for Years 3 to 6 Speech Day.
Excursions / Incursions
Process for organising an excursion/incursion and completing a risk assessment.
• Consult Year Co-ordinator and Deputy Head of Junior School - Academic regarding curriculum links prior to booking excursion/incursion.
• Confirm dates available with Deputy Head of Junior School - Operations.
• Once confirmed, provide to the Deputy Head of Junior School - Operations 4 weeks prior to the excursion/incursion:
o Completed Risk Assessment.
o Completed Excursion/Incursion Notification Form
o A parent permission note to be uploaded to the Portal.
o Pymble Excursion/Incursion Notification Forms and Risk Assessment Templates can be found on the Junior School Teams tile.
• Complete all necessary checklist items on Excursion/ Incursion Notification Form. Forms will be scanned onto Teams.
• Organise a grade meeting prior to the excursion/incursion. All team members are to read the risk assessment and identify students in their group who have critical alerts or medical issues. Those team members are responsible for the identified student throughout the excursion and must carry the required medication and forms.
• Ensure all medication is in date prior to excursion/incursion.
• Provide invoices to the Administrative Co-ordinator for payment.
• Collect pre-ordered first aid kits from facilities.
• Confirm bus bookings with the Administrative Co-ordinator.
• Immediately after returning from the excursion/incursion, please return first aid kits to Facilities and student medication to Hedgehog House.
Academic Competitions
Students in the Junior School are provided opportunities to build their strengths, passions and knowledge by participating in a variety of competitions. Students may participate in these competitions through year level activities or by expression of interest.
Listed below are the competitions available to students in the Junior School. For further information about competitions, please talk to Deputy Head of Junior School - Academic.
Student Strengths and Passions Opportunities External and Internal Opportunities – Junior School 2025
EXTERNAL COMPETITIONS
Dorothea McKellar Poetry Competition
John Locke Institute, 2025 Global Essay Prize
Write On Writing Competition (Years 1-6)
Pens Against Poverty Writing Competition
Write a Book in a Day
da Vinci Decathlon
Maths Olympiad
Maths Games
Maths Explorer
MANSW Investigating with Maths
Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge
Academic Competitions
Student Strengths and Passions Opportunities External and Internal Opportunities – Junior School 2025
AMT Mathematics Enrichment Program (Newton Mathematics)
AMT Australian Mathematics Competition
ICAS Writing
ICAS Mathematics
ICAS English
ICAS Science
OzKids in Print Competition
INTERNAL COMPETITIONS
Public Speaking Competition
Shark Tank
INTERNAL INITIATIVES
Curiosus Magazine
Paper Engineering Club
STEM Club
Formula Goblin
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS
Year 1 Palaeontology Unit
Year 2 Ancient Times Unit
Year 3 Amazing Brain Unit
Year 4 Creative Writing Workshop
Year 5 Sokratis Junior Research Program
Student Strengths and Passions Opportunities External and Internal Opportunities – Junior School 2025
Academic Report Writing Style Guide
Reports are official school documents which provide a summary of the academic, social and co-curricular progress of a girl. They are a formal means of communicating student progress between staff and parents, and for this reason the comment should be addressed to the parents and not to the student.
Whilst reports describe achievement at a particular moment in time and at the end of a set period, they are also written within the long term context of the academic and personal growth of each girl. Teachers should aim to show not only how far a girl has come on her journey, but also where she should be going next.
Reports also act as a way of acknowledging and affirming the strengths and achievements of a girl, while also allowing the teacher to recommend strategies for improvement in areas which require attention. With regard to the latter, teachers should keep in mind that parents expect that they will have been informed about a major concern well in advance of the report being written. This includes where a student is to receive an “Approaching Expectation” or “Experiencing Difficulty” grade or where a student has dropped a grade eg “Exceeding Expectation” to “Above Expectation”.
Comments on reports should also be consistent with what has been said at Academic Learning Discussions, unless there has been a major change in attitude or results. If this is the case, parents should be informed before receiving the report.
The tone of written comments should be positive and affirming of student strengths and recommended next steps for academic growth. Teachers need to be honest in their appraisal of student growth and progress and clear in the recommended next steps a student should follow to support academic growth.
Teachers should comment on the following:
• how the student demonstrates growth and progress in areas
• recommended next steps for academic growth
GRADING FOR REPORTS
Pymble uses the Common Grade Scale published by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) to describe student performance at each of five grade levels (A-E) on a number of report outcomes and assessment tasks.
Teachers are required to use a range of work samples and assessment tasks, teacher observation and professional judgement in deciding which grade (Exceeding Expectation (A) – Experiencing Difficulty (E)) to award for each report outcome.
Year Co-ordinators and Specialist Co-ordinators are required to organise moderation meetings during each reporting period to facilitate discussion between teachers of the different classes or groups, to ensure consistency of the awarding of grades across the different classes in all Key Learning Areas. During these meetings, teachers discuss the work samples and assessment tasks to develop a common understanding of what student work at each level looks like.
Teachers need to remember that outcomes are evaluated on a statewide basis and not just within the Pymble cohort. Furthermore, as we are working within a standards based environment, there is no set pre-determined limit of the number of grades that can be awarded for each outcome or assessment task. The moderation process described above will ensure there is consistency across different classes in the same course.
If a student has achieved a specific outcome, they receive a “Meeting Expectation”. If they are not yet to demonstrate the level expected, they receive an “Approaching Expectation”. “Above Expectation” is for a student who has demonstrated a consistently high level of achievement in an outcome. “Exceeding Expectation” is when a student demonstrates an extensive knowledge of the outcome. Please make sure all assessment tasks allow students the opportunity to demonstrate extensive knowledge.
Grading for Learning Outcomes is on the following scale:
Academic Report Writing Style Guide
COMMON GRADE SCALE – CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS
Exceeding Expections
Above Expectations
Meeting Expectations
Approaching Expectations
Experiencing Difficulty
The student has extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.
The student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and skills to most situations.
The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the process and skills.
The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.
The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved a very limited competence in some processes and skills.
The overall grade the student has achieved, using the Common Grade Scale above, will be printed on the subject page. The overall grade distribution across the cohort will be printed on a separate document together with the course outline. This supplementary data document is sent to parents at the time reports are accessible to them on the portal.
Kindergarten do not have an overall grade.
EFFORT IN MY LEARNING
Grading for Effort in My Learning and Approach is on an A-E scale. E is the lowest and A is the highest.
Religion and Compass only require an effort grade in the report.
KEY TO INTERPRETING THE STUDENT’S EFFORT AND ACHIEVEMENT GRADES
A Is a committed, enthusiastic and highly motivated learner who consistently tries her hardest
B Is a willing and motivated learner who regularly tries her hardest
C Is a willing and motivated learner, depending on the learning activity
D Is at times a willing and motivated learner. Often requires prompting and supervision to engage with her learning.
E Is rarely a willing and motivated learner. Needs consistent prompting and supervision to engage with her learning.
Effort and Approach to Learning
E D C B A
The shaded area indicates the student’s effort and application grade
Report writing process
IT IS EVERY TEACHER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT:
• each student in the class has an accurate report of growth, progress and recommended next steps;
• all report deadlines are met; and
• prescribed character limits are adhered to.
Compass Teacher responsibilities:
GENERAL COMMENTS
• Write an error free and articulate comment of a maximum of 800 characters including spaces for each student in the class – minimum 700 characters including spaces.
• Write a personalised comment that demonstrates genuine knowledge of the student. It is a real opportunity for you to show you know the student. The tone of the comment should be positive and affirming of the student’s strengths.
• Comments are to be written in Microsoft Word using the General Comment template rather than directly in Edumate.
• Hand in a printed copy of General Comments including completed Student Comment/Goal, Attitude to Learning tick boxes and Compass effort grade and Religion effort grade to Junior School Administration Coordinator who will forward the printed copy to Head of Junior School for proofreading.
• Head of Junior School will return proofread comments back to you with details of any further amendments and/or corrections required. These proofread comments will be placed in your pigeonhole. Edits should be minimal as general comments should be in final form (eg ready to go to parents).
• Make any further amendments and/or corrections required.
• Upload into Edumate. Please inform the Junior School Administration Co-ordinator when edits/corrections have been updated on Edumate.
• All edited and corrected Reports are to be kept within the Compass Class report folder provided to the Compass Teacher.
GENERAL COMMENTS SHOULD INCLUDE:
• attitude and approach to work (organised, neat presentation, creativity, incomplete work, time management, etc)
• how the student looks after her belongings, including uniform, iPad and how she is prepared with the correct equipment for lessons
• participation in the classroom (contribution in discussions, independent work, asking questions, reflecting on contribution of peers)
• contribution to pair and group work (collaboration)
• skills: critical and creative thinking, creativity, problem solving, ideating, etc
• areas of passion or interest
• leadership positions held (if appropriate) (eg Class Captain, Sustainability Captain, ICT Captain, SRC Captain etc)
• any highlight/achievement linked to co-curricular activities
• how the student faces/overcomes challenge and sets personal goals
• seeks feedback and uses feedback to improve understanding
• a personalised comment about Compass (URSTRONG, Kimochis, Grow Your Mind etc)
• participation during Outdoor Education, working as a team, challenging herself to experience new activities
• Reference to co-curricular achievements (IPSHA, Nationals in swimming or diving etc)
STUDENT COMMENT ON COVER PAGE – SEMESTER 1 AND SEMESTER 2
All students will write a comment based upon their academic learning and growth. The tone of this comment should reflect student voice, be grammatically correct and not marks focused.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students will write a comment on an area of learning that they have enjoyed and write what they are proud of in their learning.
Years 1-6
For Semester 1 Reports, Years 1-6, will write a comment that focuses on a goal the student has developed with their Compass Teacher and also includes a reflection on their learning throughout the semester. For Semester 2 Reports, Years 1-6 will write a reflection of their goal and of their learning throughout the year.
SPECIALIST AND KLA (ENGLISH, MATHEMATICS, ETC) SPECIFIC COMMENTS
• Write an error free and articulate comment.
• Employ a positive tone, affirming of each student’s strengths and with a focus on growth or progress.
• Comment on the following areas:
» how a student demonstrates growth and progress
» recommended next steps for academic growth
• It must include 2 comments based upon a piece of work, presentation, artwork, performance or activity (see highlighted example)
• do not include the word demonstrating in a student comment as it is already used in the phrase
• demonstrates growth and progress in the following areas
• For recommended next steps, for subjects such as Inquiry, PDHPE, CAPA, Languages, the comment should focus on a student’s skill rather than curriculum content, as the student may not have an opportunity to revisit the content area suggested for next steps.
Report writing process
» For example, you would not write a comment about a student’s understanding of democracy if the student is not revisiting democracy in her learning.
• For recommended next steps in Mathematics and English a comment can be written about curriculum content if the student is revisiting this content area in Semester 2 or the following year provided it is in the Scope and Sequence.
» For example, if a student needs to continue to develop her understanding of place value, or apply mental strategies for addition and subtraction, or incorporate figurative language in written texts, it can be recommended next steps as she is able to revisit this in lessons in Semester 2 as per the Scope and Sequence.
• Be mindful in a subsequent reporting cycle to review the previously reported next steps for academic growth and acknowledge if a student has demonstrated growth and progress in the identified area on the report.
• If a student hasn’t achieved the recommended next steps for academic growth you can acknowledge this but add specific detail on what she still needs to do. Do not repeat the previous comment.
• Ensure that the comments reflect the grades awarded and outcome boxes ticked.
• Comments are to be written in Microsoft Word rather than directly in Edumate.
PROOFREADING OF REPORTS
• Comments uploaded on Edumate should be in final form (ready to go to parents) not in draft.
• Once all comments have been uploaded on Edumate, each Compass Class Report will be printed for final review by the Compass Teacher. Compass Teachers are to read each student’s full report and make any suggestions or amendments on the hardcopy of the report. Do not make any changes in Edumate.
• Specialist Comments only need to be checked by Compass Teachers for punctuation errors, typos or missing grades.
• Once the whole Compass Class Report has been edited by the Compass Teacher, the Compass Class folder, together with the whole Compass Class Report and Grade Spreadsheets, are to be returned to Junior School Administration Co-ordinator for final review by Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic.
• Edits and amendments by Deputy Head of Junior School - Academic should be minimal as comments uploaded on Edumate should be considered to be in final form (eg ready to go to parents).
• Deputy Head of Junior School - Academic to return Compass Class Report to the Compass Teacher to make final amendments and/or corrections required on Edumate.
• Compass Teacher to forward any specialist comments to relevant Specialist Teachers to make amendments on Edumate.
• Specialist Teachers are to return any hardcopy of comments back to the relevant Compass Teacher and inform Junior School Administration Co-ordinator that edits have been uploaded onto Edumate. Specialist Teachers to sign each page to confirm edits have been made on Edumate.
• Compass Teacher to sign front of reports to confirm edits have been made on Edumate.
This line is automatically printed from Edumate.
No full stops
[Student name] demonstrates growth and progress in the following areas:
- reading aloud with growing expression and accuracy
- applying the grapheme-phoneme correspondence when spelling unfamiliar words in her written pieces
- recalling the main idea of text during reading group discussions
- making good attempts to include literary devices and direct speech to enhance the impact of her writing, as evidenced in her adventure story about Sam and Louis
- writing using simple and complex sentences about autumn leaves and applying appropriate sentence level punctuation
4
5
This line is automatically printed from Edumate. Comments referring to a student’s work.
[Student name]’s recommended next steps for academic growth are:
- answering using full sentences and correct tense when responding to questions during reading groups
Minimum 3 Maximum 4
Space between hyphen and first word
- summarising sequence of events from beginning to end of a text read
- focusing on expanding her choice of vocabulary when writing to entertain or persuade
These comments can be content related if the content is being revisited the following semester.
Report writing process
• Compass Teacher to return Compass Class Report to Junior School Administration Co-ordinator and inform Junior School Administration Co-ordinator that the report is ready to be sent to parents.
HOW TO DISABLE STUDENTS ON EDUMATE
All students including students in your Compass Class and/or English/Maths Group will appear in Edumate for those subjects. If you do not teach a student but they are in your list on Edumate, you will need to disable that student.
If a student is receiving a modified report, you will need to disable the student from all subjects on Edumate including Religious Education, General Comment, Languages and all specialist subjects.
If you do not disable the student a blank page will print regardless of whether another teacher has uploaded comments and marks on Edumate.
To disable a student on Edumate, click the box at the top of the screen, next to the student photo.
MODIFIED REPORTS
Students will receive a modified report if they have commenced at the College in Term 2 or Term 4, or leave the College in Term 1 or Term 3.
Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic will inform Compass Teachers and Year Co-ordinators of students who will be receiving a modified report and provide the relevant template to complete the report.
Pymble Report Writing Conventions
NAMES
• Check that you have spelt the name correctly.
• Do not overuse the name. Use a mix of the girl’s name and the pronoun.
• Reference to girl or student not young lady.
• Do not use an abbreviated form of the name or use a nickname.
• Always use the girl’s name as it appears on the class list in Edumate. Sometimes a girl will have two names on the list; her actual name and a preferred name in brackets. This is often the case for a girl with an Asian name who has decided to use an anglicised name at school. If a second name appears in brackets, use the name in brackets on the report. For example: Tan, Jingjing (Sally) – use Sally in your comment.
COPYING AND PASTING
You can write reports in Microsoft Word and copy and paste the comments into Edumate once it has been edited. Please ensure that you copy the comments into the correct student’s report.
Cutting and pasting the same comments for multiple students has caused many problems, and you are strongly discouraged from doing this. It is very embarrassing when a parent contacts the College to inform us that the name in the comment is wrong. Teachers are to compose personalised comments about each girl, referencing specific work samples or projects the student has completed within the subject area.
NOT APPLICABLE OR NOT DEMONSTRATED
Explain the reason in the teacher comment.
CONSISTENCY BETWEEN GRADES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, AND TEACHER COMMENT
• There should be consistency between the grades awarded, the learning outcomes and the teacher comment.
• For example, if the student achieves an Overall Grade of ‘Above Expectation (B)’, avoid talking about ‘excellent’ progress, as the word ‘excellent’ implies work of an ‘Exceeding Expectation (A)’ standard according to the Grade descriptors which is found at the front of the student report.
• If you have indicated that the student ‘always’ takes responsibility for her own learning and ‘always’ completes her homework, then it is not wise to say that she needs to develop better study habits. If she needs to develop better study habits, then you should consider ticking ‘usually’ for the related learning outcome.
REFERENCES TO NOVELS, BOOKS, MUSIC, ETC
Any reference to text, book or music must include the author or composer eg, Blueback by Tim Winton, Wonder by RJ Palacio, The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns
Pymble Report Writing Conventions
TENSE
The report should be written primarily in the present tense. The past tense can be used to refer to a unit of work, event or activity that is now complete.
Example:
Jessica is a responsible and diligent student who consistently produces work of an excellent standard. She worked well to complete the Science Challenge in Term 2.
FULL STOPS AND COMMAS
• Insert one space after a full stop
• Insert one space after a comma
• PDHPE, HSIE, HSC (no full stops)
CAPITAL LETTERS
Use capital letters for the following:
• subject names, eg English, Mathematics, Science, Life Saving and major topic titles
• Mathematics – lower case for strands and sub strands eg data, addition
• English – lower case for strands such as reading and writing
• specific terms and semesters, eg Term 1, Semester 2
• Year groups, eg Year 1, Year 5, Year 7, Year 12
• Preliminary Course, Advanced Course, Extension 1
• Junior School, Middle School
• positions of responsibility, eg Class Captain, ICT Captain, SRC Captain, Sustainability Captain, Kindness Captain, Library Monitor, Prefect
• Compass Class
• Compass Teacher
• Chapel
• Year 6 musical, Year 1 and 2 showcase
• Eisteddfod not eisteddfod
• PowerPoint (note also that it is one word), Internet, iPad
• College, when referring to Pymble Ladies’ College
• Unstructured Play sessions
• Outdoor Education Program
Some words that do not need to start with a capital letter include:
• assessment, examination, examination mark, performance examination, yearly examination, assignment
• times tables
• class work, course work, portfolio, design brief
• adjectives such as geographical, musical, mathematical, scientific
• semester, eg ‘this semester…’
• individual sports, eg swimming, basketball, athletics
PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE
When referring to Pymble Ladies’ College, use the full name or the word College; do not use the truncated form Pymble
COLLEGE VALUES
When referring to values use the full reference College values; do not use values.
HYPHENS
co- multi- non- selfco-curricular co-operate co-operation co-operative co-operatively co-ordinator co-ordinate co-ordination co-ordinating
multi-step multi-syllabic non-contact non-fiction non-living self-assured self-belief self-correct self-confidence self-direct self-expression self-management self-motivated
HYPHENS – MATHEMATICAL TERMS
• equal-arm balance
• half-hour time, quarter-hour time
• quarter-to, quarter-past
• three-digit number
• two-digit number
• two-digit and three-digit numbers
• three-dimensional objects not 3D objects
• two-dimensional shapes not 2D shapes
Pymble Report Writing Conventions
NO HYPHENS
• decision making
• hard working
• inquiry based learning (also note inquiry, not enquiry)
• kind hearted
• problem solving
• real life
• real world
• same sized symbols
• self portrait
• thought provoking
• well structured
• well considered
• well groomed
• well timed
USE OF ‘HOWEVER’
‘However’ is not a co-ordinating conjunction and should not be used to join two parts of a sentences as ‘and’ and ‘but’ are used. For example, it is not correct to write ‘Jessica works diligently in class however she should benefit from further revision of key concepts at home’.
The following are examples of acceptable usage:
• Jessica works diligently in class. She should, however, benefit from further revision of key concepts at home.
• Jessica works diligently in class. However, she should benefit from further revision of key concepts at home.
• Jessica works diligently in class; however, she should benefit from further revision of key concepts at home.
OTHER SPECIFIC CONVENTIONS:
• refer to co-curricular activities, not extra-curricular activities
• use numbers when referring to Term 1, Semester 2
• use numbers for a specific year, eg Year 2, Year 5, Year 10
• use words when referring to the numbers one to ten, for example, ‘the two activities’, or counting by fives, tens, ones, skip counting by twos etc
• avoid contractions such as won’t and hasn’t; write the words in full
• write words such as examination and Mathematics in full
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (per Syllabus) or First Nations people
• use two separate words for the following:
» class work, book work
» class mark
• proofread, proofreading (one word)
• use ‘program’ rather than ‘programme’
• focused not focussed
• towards not toward
• learnt not learned
• Mathematics not Math
• utilises not utilizes
• recognises not recognizes
• when referring to Compass program use a capital for Compass
• URSTRONG should all be upper case
• Grow Your Mind when referring to the Grow Your Mind program
• analog not analogue when referring to an analog clock
• SRC Captain not Student Representative Council
• Venn diagram
• Where two teachers share a class, write ‘we’ rather than ‘I’.
The following verbs and nouns sometimes cause difficulties:
practice (noun) v practise (verb)
Examples of correct usage:
• Additional practice might improve Alison’s skills
• Alison needs to practise her essay writing skills.
effect (noun) v affect (verb)
Examples of correct usage:
• Gemma’s absences have had an effect on her work.
• Gemma’s recent arrival has affected her results.
Avoid ending a sentence with a preposition such as ‘in’ or ‘of. For example, it is incorrect to write ‘Jessica has completed work she can be proud of’ or ‘Jessica is a helpful member of the group she is working in’. Correct usage includes:
• Jessica has completed work of which she can be proud.
Pymble Report Writing Conventions
• Jessica deserves to be proud of her standard of work this semester.
• Jessica is a helpful member of her group.
Avoid split infinitives, eg ‘She is able to clearly and succinctly express herself’. Here, the infinitive ‘to express’ is split by the words ‘clearly and succinctly’. It should read ‘She is able to express herself clearly and succinctly’.
OTHER THINGS TO NOTE:
• Avoid making a judgement that a girl is ‘not working to capacity’, or that she is ‘working to the best of her ability’. Focus on what she is doing well and what she needs to do to improve.
• Avoid giving guarantees such as ‘she will improve’. Write ‘she should improve’ instead.
• Avoid the expression ‘well liked’. It is preferable to use ‘popular’.
• Avoid the expression ‘She is a valuable member of the class’. All students are valuable. Write about what it is that you value instead. ‘She provides valuable insights during class discussions’; ‘her thoughtful attitude is valued/appreciated’.
• Do not refer to the girls as a lovely young lady or a pleasure to teach, all girls are a pleasure to teach.
• Avoid phrases such as “Lucy worked well this semester” as the words “this semester” take up valuable characters and Reports are semester based.
• Avoid writing ‘I would encourage’ or ‘I would recommend’ – while this is correct and seems polite, repeated use of ‘would’ in one comment or across a number of comments in one report interrupts the flow and seems artificial. “Student name” is encouraged…..
• Teachers often start a sentence with ‘Jessica is able to… explain, demonstrate, count, read, discuss…’ When used multiple times in one comment or across a number of comments in one report, it makes the comment wordy. Consider mixing this with ‘She explains, demonstrates, counts, reads, discusses…’
• Avoid repetition of the same word within a comment; try to use a variety of words.
• Avoid referencing subject area in a comment as there is already a subject area title on the report – for example avoid, “Rebecca is an active participant in Mathematics”, “Joan enthusiastically engages in Visual Arts”. This helps provide more character count in the comment.
SOME USEFUL SYNONYMS:
• excellent: outstanding, exceptional, superb, impressive
• enthusiastic: engaged, diligent, passionate, active, energised, keen, vivacious, eager, avid
• high: fine, very good, very pleasing
• substantial: sound, good, pleasing
• developing: improving, steadily progressing, continuing, adequate
• develop: enhance, advance, improve, increase, expand, extend
• pleasing: impressive, pleasant, delightful, enjoyable, gratifying, lovely
• shows: indicates, reflects, displays, demonstrates, exhibits, reveals
• ability: skill, talent, dexterity, proficiency
• happy: cheerful, engaged, motivated
• demonstrating: displaying, exhibiting, showcasing, showing, illustrating, expressing, justifying, interpreting, describing
Reports - Responsibilities
YEAR CO-ORDINATORS AND SPECIALIST CO-ORDINATORS
• Organise buddy editors within grade team and a schedule for the writing of comments/effort for each subject.
• Provide Deputy Head of Junior School - Academic with course outlines and outcomes.
• Mentor team members in report writing. Please note that some teachers will require more guidance and assistance than others. It is your responsibility to determine this and provide the assistance as required. Please raise any concerns with Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic as soon as possible.
• Ensure all staff in the year group/specialist team are familiar with the report writing process and Pymble style guides, including the Reporting Style Guide. Provide time in grade meetings/specialist team meetings to review guides as a team.
• Ensure all staff in the year group or specialist team have observational notes on students to support the report writing process and provided opportunities to discuss grades awarded as part of moderation process and within grade meetings and specialist meetings.
• Ensure all team members are aware of the report deadlines and meet the reporting deadlines.
• Guarantee the accuracy of the reports including grades within your Year Group so reports are honest and accurately reflect a student’s academic performance.
• Organise opportunities in grade meetings or specialist meetings to moderate work samples for reporting against the Common Grade Scale together with your Learning Enhancement/EAL/D Specialist Teacher.
• Informing Head of Junior School (copying in Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic) of any parent concerns regarding their daughter’s report.
• Provide to Deputy of Head of Junior School – Academic the following reporting spreadsheets:
» Compass Class/Specialist Class Grade Spreadsheet setting out marks for each student for each Key Learning Area; and
» Year Group Grade Spreadsheet setting out a summary of grades for each Key Learning Area for the cohort of students.
DEPUTY HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL – ACADEMIC
• Deputy Head of Junior School – Academic will run a face to face session with new staff on how to write Pymble reports, the Junior School processes in the reporting cycle, how to upload Pymble Reports on Edumate and will provide exemplar reports to new staff to be used as a guide.
• Participate in proofreading reports and returning amendments to Compass Teachers or Specialist Teachers.
• Responsible to the Head of Junior School for ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of student reports.
• Organise a date with College Services for reports to be uploaded to the parent portal.
• Responsible together with the Head of Junior School to the Principal for ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of student reports.
• Ensure all Year Co-ordinators are aware of the report deadlines and meet the reporting deadlines.
• Guarantee the accuracy of the reports including grades within the Year Groups.
• Organise reporting spreadsheets for Head of Junior School and Deputy Principal of Academics.
HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO:
• Sign the front page of every student report.
• Participate in proofreading reports and returning amendments to Compass Teachers or Specialist Teachers.
• Responsible to the Principal for ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of student reports.
• Ensuring the Junior School Reports meet NESA compliance.
