The staff journal of Marist Schools Australia Volume 24 Number 2 LLaavvaallllaa July 2018 INSIDE • Welcome to Cardijn College Noarlunga • Marist Novices in Central Australia • Marist College Eastwood on Pilgrimage Contents From the 2 From the National Director 5 Marist College Bendigo Director 5 Marist College Bendigo 6 Cardijn College Noarlunga The Use of NAPLAN 8 Marist College Eastwood 9 Marist College Ashgrove data in Catholic Schools 10 Marist Pilgrimage 2018 Recently I was given an old dog-eared book by a colleague. He 12 Marcellin College Bulleen was very pleased to be passing on this treasure, which was 14 From the Archives titled The Story of the Marist Brothers in Australia 1872 – 1972, by Brother Alban Doyle. I read it with great interest. Of particular 16 Marist College Canberra note in this work was the recorded renown of the Marist 17 St Teresa’s Catholic College Noosaville Brothers as highly successful and innovative educators before 18 Sacred Heart College Adelaide their arrival and subsequent significant contributions to 20 Marian Lecture 2018 education in Australia. Evident in the letters by leading 21 REMAR Australian clergy in the mid 19th Century, was the consistent desire for the Catholic Church to run quality schools. Figuring 21 Marist Youth Ministry Queensland prominently in these plans and keenly sought were the Marist 22 Marist Youth Ministry Brothers. The success of their schools in many Dioceses and 23 Marist College Bendigo countries in Europe, had fast built a reputation due to the 24 Marist Solidarity efficacy of their methods. There was some local frustration that the Superior General of the time, Brother Louis-Marie, delayed 25 Marist Novices in Central Australia the first Brothers’ departure until he was confident they had 26 Newman College Churchlands undergone the necessary formation and training. Noteworthy 27 Marist College North Shore in this history, are reports from two of Sydney’s major daily 28 Marist Schools Australia newspapers on the success of Marist and other Catholic schools in the public exams of 1890. The Daily Telegraph cited the outstanding results as “directing attention to the life and Editor: Br Tony Paterson energy of the Catholic Church”. Some 128 years later, judgement of schools by their results is still making headlines, Contact details: as can be seen in the current robust discussions surrounding Marist Schools Australia Australia’s first ever national testing regime in literacy and Marist Centre, numeracy – NAPLAN. PO Box 1247, MASCOT, NSW, 1460 Australia Email: [email protected] This interest in school results has not waned in Australian society. School results and analysis still sell newspapers. Lavalla Parents seek empiric evidence. Parents understand Published by Marist Schools Australia instinctively the precious opportunity education presents for Design & Artwork their child. Every day counts. Every lesson counts. Every minute Sydney Design Studio Pty Ltd • 02 9452 1967 counts. Whilst formation in faith is the ultimate unquestionable Lavalla, the name given to this magazine is taken from priority for any Catholic school, parents are not willing to risk the village in France where the future of their child in this world, to a school with a poor reputation in teaching and learning. Whilst NAPLAN has a part St Marcellin Champagnat established the world’s first Marist to play in forming that reputation, it is far from the full story of The s taff journal of Marist Sch ools Australia the success of a school. Volume 24 school in 1817. Nu mber 2 L July 2018 There are now Marist Lavalla Whatever one’s philosophical leaning in regard to centralised schools in 80 countries. testing, large cohort assessment, particularly in numeracy and Cover: Staff and Students from Marist literacy, is a feature of education in many developed nations College in Eastwood on the throughout the world. It is important to remember that in Champagnat Pilgrimage at La Rosey Australia, before NAPLAN commenced in 2008, almost each State in Southern France. and Territory had its own literacy and numeracy tests. None of INSIDE these assessments drew the same polarised vitriol as NAPLAN Welco • me to Cardign Co llege Noarlunga • Marist Novices in Central Austr Marist alia • College Eastwoo seems to elicit. The added dimensions the My School website d on Pilgrimage 2 Lavalla bring to the whole NAPLAN experience Figure 1 are cause for much of the dissent. Yet NAPLAN is a major investment by the • Pedagogical frameworks Government and the data from NAPLAN • Explicit teaching provides credible, external and objective Data informed programmes and practices information for teachers, parents, and pedagogy • Differentiation students. A challenge for us as Catholic • Individualised learning educators is to ensure NAPLAN data resides at an appropriate level of importance in our overall assessment regime and is utilised in ways, which, Data literate • PLCs / sharing practice enhance our broad holistic goals for professional • Structured time each young person in our schools. • Building teacher capacity learning • External expertise As the current debates around NAPLAN continue, I take this opportunity to share some findings from relevant research to the current questions and discussions. In Data aligned • Highly organised matrices 2010, the first year NAPLAN results were assessment • Integrated and varied made public on the My School website, I • Formative commenced doctoral research to answer processes • Diagnostic the question: “How do teachers and school leaders working within the large-cohort Data rich • Descriptive benchmarks centralised testing regime of NAPLAN • Consistent terminology in Australia use NAPLAN data to student • Learner self-awareness improve student learning outcomes as feedback • Teacher/Student relationships measured in NAPLAN performance?” In its final form the Thesis was titled “The Use of NAPLAN Data in Catholic Schools.” • Enabling structures This research was conducted across 38 Data informed • Professional goal setting Catholic schools. The success of each leadership • Accountability to students school was gauged by measuring and • Learning aspirations comparing consistency in above average learning gain over two years of schooling for three individual cohorts over a six year (The full text of the Thesis can be found at national testing in literacy and period of testing. Using the data on the http://researchbank.acu.edu.au/theses/599) numeracy, as well as promoting the My School website, learning gain for each importance of other assessment and Participants from participating Catholic school performance data. Our Marist school in reading and numeracy was schools described positive influences traditions and intuitions in regard to compared with learning gain for schools and experiences of NAPLAN data in education are as important today as they serving students from statistically similar school communities, when the data was were in the middle of the 19th Century. backgrounds and students from all carefully and appropriately integrated and Australian schools with the same starting communicated as one source of data In concluding , one would imagine those score in the same first year of testing. It among many , to enrich a school’s early Australian Church leaders who so was clear from the research that the learning environment, along with the eagerly desired excellent Catholic schools in which students consistently learning experiences for each student. schools would be delighted that two of demonstrated greater learning gain our colleagues have recently been The publication of data on the My School utilised wide ranges of assessment data to recognised and honoured nationally for website presents a significant challenge inform rather than drive leadership and their leadership and influence in for schools in working to ensure parents decision making in relation to five key Australian education. Marists throughout understand and appreciate the range of areas of influence on student learning the country join in warmly reliable and authentic assessment outcomes. Figure 1 illustrates a brief congratulating Kate Fogarty and Ross measures undertaken at the school level. overview of the research findings. Tarlinton on receiving these important As Marist schools serving communities in awards, the details of which are Figure 1 Using NAPLAN data with school- 19 Dioceses across the country, it is described below. initiated assessment data to improve important we continue to constructively student learning. contribute to the discourse surrounding Dr Frank Malloy Lavalla 3 Kate Fogarty recognised for recognised for her dedication to education We are indeed fortunate to have Kate and professional learning in the annual John among our leaders of Marist Schools in outstanding leadership in Laing Awards for Professional Development , Australia, and congratulate her on this professional learning and managed by the Principals Australia Institute. recognition for her outstanding, selfless leadership and service to students, development In her time at the helm of Assumption families and staff of Assumption College College, Ms Fogarty has sought to The John Laing Awards acknowledge Kilmore. significantly transform the teaching and outstanding Principals from every learning focus of the College. She has led Australian State and Territory who Ross Tarlinton OAM co-educational schools in rural Victoria demonstrate highly effective leadership over the last decade and is committed to in