2020 Term 1 No 3
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2020 TERM 1 NO 3 Wednesday 4 March 2020 FROM THE DEPUTY HEAD CONTENT FROM THE DEPUTY HEAD > With the Year 7 Weekend, Open Day and the Welcome Dinner now complete, and the Outdoor Education Week underway, the School has begun BOARDING > preparations for the Year 10 Weekend scheduled for Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March. TEACHING & LEARNING > STUDIES > Involvement Over the next few weeks students will be discussing their extra-curricular DRAMA > involvement in their Form Groups. Year Coordinators will be keen to ensure that the involvement of each student is varied and at an appropriate level, ENGLISH > befitting the ethos of Frensham. HSIE > If you are concerned about the involvement of your daughter in the extra- JAMIESON PROGRAMME > curricular life of the School, please do not hesitate to contact your Year LANGUAGES > Coordinator or Form Tutor. MATHEMATICS > Technology The use of technology at Frensham is embedded in all classes, Prep and the MUSIC > Boarding Houses. Educating our students to use technology appropriately is SCIENCE > an on-going challenge. In addition to ensuring the safety of all users, teachers help to develop skills and support students to use technology as a respectful PDHPE > and efficient communication tool. DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S INTERNATIONAL AWARD > Understanding the potential consequences of posting text and images on social media sites, and using language that fits with our community expectations, are SPORT > all part of this process. If you are concerned about your daughter’s use of technology please do not hesitate to contact us. AGRICULTURE > EQUESTRIAN > Mr Geoff Marsh, Deputy Head of Frensham, Deputy Head of Frensham Schools VISUAL ARTS / DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY > BOARDING Weekend highlights The weekend excursion to Jamberoo was hugely popular … everyone returning to the Houses after a full day of water slides and thrills on adventure rides. Commentary included ‘That was the best day ever!’ and ‘I used to be afraid of heights, but now I think I’m ready for abseiling at Camp, after going on The Perfect Storm’. Our weekend activities are carefully considered, providing a balance of fun, interaction, quiet time, study and organisational time, as well as physical challenge. Whether it be a full day out at Jamberoo, or a local shopping trip to Bowral, there is something for everyone and an opportunity to connect in friendship, develop independence and enjoy community. Reminder re Weekly Boarder departure and return Weekly Boarders may depart on Saturday from 10.30am (or after IGSSA Sport) on an Open Weekend. Students can return to school on Sunday by 8.30pm or no later than 8.00am on Monday morning. Online Exeats: Full Boarders Full Boarders may take an exeat on Friday, Saturday or Sunday night. An Exeat Form is required to be completed and emailed to [email protected] A copy of the Form is available on Schoolbox, in the Parent Forms section. A reminder that Weekend Exeats for Full Boarders are due by Friday lunchtime. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated. Last week we tested online Exeats and should be ready to implement by Term 2, latest. Frensham to Central Bus service The Frensham to Sydney bus departs from Stanley Street at 12.30pm, arriving at Bay 9, Upstairs Western Forecourt, Central Station at approx 2.30pm. A return trip to Frensham departs at 6.30pm on Sunday evening, from Bay 9, Upstairs Western Forecourt. Students are asked to sign up for this weekly bus service by Thursday each week on the lists outside White Cottage. Please note that families will be charged for this service in your term account. Weekend Planner Below is a list of our weekend activities for Years 7-9, to assist with planning visits to the School or Exeats for your daughter. All events are subject to the weather and should changes need to be made, we will communicate this via email to the girls in advance. Week 6 Sunday 8 March 2.00pm-4.30pm Ten Pin Bowling Week 7 Saturday 14 March 12.30pm-5.30pm Robertson Show Week 8 Sunday 22 March 1.00pm-4.30pm Macarthur Square TRAVEL INFORMATION - Bookings are due to House staff by Sunday 8 March End of Term, Start of Term and Long Weekend (SSTS instructions) To ensure the best chance of securing a seat on School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) services for End of Term and Start of Term Travel, students should make their bookings with House Staff by Sunday 8 March. SSTS travel is meeting the needs of the students travelling to their place of residence and can only accommodate other requests once all bookings have been made. Late bookings will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, based on train / coach occupancy and the ability for SSTS to safely complete the additional bookings (managed by SSTS). Late bookings cannot guarantee a seat on the SSTS coach services, and preference will remain with the boarding students travelling home who made their booking requests by the nominated booking deadline. End of Term, Start of Term and Long Weekend (Frensham instructions) Airport Drop Off/ Pick Up, Minibus or Hire Car options Airline/Airport travel details should be submitted to House staff by the requested date, which is published in the newsletter. We ask that flight bookings at the commencement of vacation are made after 6.30pm, as traffic to the airport from Mittagong can be unpredictable. Parents are asked to ensure that their daughters are fully briefed on ticket information. A staff member will travel to the airport with the girls, check them in and ensure they are clear on arrangements. Return pick-up times vary. A staff member meets students at the luggage terminal between 4.00pm and 7.00pm, so please coordinate flights during this time period. Correspondence To ensure a prompt reply to all enquiries relating to Boarding, we ask that parents communicate with us via the following options: Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 2 4860 2114 Mrs Tanya Vaughan, Director of Boarding; Ms Amanda Graham, Deputy Head of Boarding : : 2 : : TEACHING & LEARNING Standardised Assessment Programme at Frensham In Teaching and Learning, as part of Frensham Schools Strategic Priorities 2018-2022, we are continuously seeking to improve and extend our assessment and benchmarking using a research-based, robust set of tools to provide data across multiple subjects and years. This enables us to study individual, class and cohort level of achievement and growth. This approach to data analysis ensures excellence in teaching practice and enhances creative pathways for learning that increase personalisation and flexibility for all students, so they can achieve their personal best. In 2020 we will continue to utilise the UNSW Global Assessment programme—REACH. The REACH Assessment tools provide us with an annual, independent and objective benchmark of student progress to support our teacher professional judgement, class-based tasks and formal school-based assessment programme. These tools also inform future curriculum planning and programming. The REACH assessments are based on the Australian curriculum for the relevant Year, are suitable for use across all ability levels, and are administered in comfortable timed conditions for all students. Items range from recall and routine application of knowledge and skills, through to more demanding questions that provide additional challenge for high ability students. In 2020 students in Years 7-10 will undertake the following Assessments in an online digital delivery: Science, Writing, English and Mathematics. Testing will take place between May and August. In addition, we have always provided our students with the opportunity to challenge themselves using UNSW Global ICAS Competition papers. We will continue to use this tool in addition to REACH. ICAS was redesigned in 2019 and is aimed at recognising academic excellence for high potential students, emphasising challenge and extension in tight timed conditions. The ICAS Competition online papers in 2020 will be offered to those students who reach the top 10% of the cohort in each Year from Years 7-12 allowing them to apply their learning and challenge themselves at ‘competition level’ in each of the disciplines above. The 2020 ICAS Assessments require students to think beyond the classroom and provide us with data that acknowledges their performance achievement at the highest level. Please refer to the UNSW Global website for further information: https://www.unswglobal.unsw.edu.au/educational-assessments/ Ms Kate Chauncy, Director of Teaching & Learning, P-12 Coordinator of Gifted & Talented Programmes STUDIES Year 12 has confirmed all academic subjects and personal details with NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) by signing the Confirmation of Entry forms. Additionally, access to Students Online is encouraged as a guide for all information about HSC Examinations, Assessment rules and study advice. Successful academic studies require realistic educational expectations, motivation to do what is needed, and consideration for wellbeing (sleep, physical activity and maintenance of healthy relationships). Senior students are currently completing and preparing for assessment work for the term, and establishing or maintaining sustainable revision practices. The Senior Studies Information Booklet contains information that outlines strategies for being a successful learner. In addition, students are guided in their learning by class teachers and may also approach teaching staff to act as mentors for support and encouragement. The mentoring relationship is about guidance and does not replace the student–class teacher partnership. All students have access to the School Assessment calendars via Schoolbox. These calendars provide an opportunity for students to plan how they will best demonstrate their knowledge and skills in their subjects. Student consideration of the marking criteria when completing hand-in Assessment tasks, is a key element in assisting them to check their understanding of the task and to determine to what extent they have met the demands.