Students Representing Our School

Participating in the Instrumental Music Program (IMP) for our Years 5 and 6 students can open up many doors. Congratulations to the students listed below who have been selected by audition for the ACT Instrumental Music Program’s Extension Ensembles in 2020. This is the equivalent of ACT representation in Music.

Caelan A

Charlotte L

Matilda M

Felix R

Amelia V

Ashleigh W

The ensembles will perform at school, community and directorate events throughout the year. Some groups also participate in interstate and overseas tours. We look forward to seeing our students in action over the course of the year.

School Improvement Journey

AAP_1_page_summary.pdf

AAP_1_page_summary _pdf 150.58 KB

Last week I shared our school improvement plan for reading. We had our first school visit with Christine Topfer who helped us to narrow our focus to ensure every student receives quality reading instruction. 

The philosophies and practices of a Professional Learning Community are heavily embedded in our action plan. This can be one of those mystery things for people outside of education so I thought I would share some information about what it is we are striving to be.

A professional learning community (PLC) involves much more than a staff meeting or group of teachers getting together to discuss a book they’ve read. Instead, a PLC represents  a focus on continuous improvement in staff performance as well as student learning. Called “the most powerful professional development and change strategy available,” PLCs, when done well, lead to reliable growth in student learning.

In a nutshell, PLCs entail whole-staff involvement in a process of intensive reflection upon instructional practices and desired student achievement, as well as monitoring of outcomes to ensure success. PLCs enable teachers to continually learn from one another via shared visioning and planning, as well as in-depth critical examination of what does and doesn’t work to enhance student achievement.

Ngunnawal Primary School is committed to growing as a PLC to ensure all students acheive at high levels.

School Environment Upgrades 

Our outdoor garden area was completed with the additon of a mural. Our 2019 Year 6 students also gifted the school with some picnic tables. These have now been installed in the courtyard. We love seeing our families making use of the the picnic tables around the school.

COVID -19

We thank everyone for keeping calm and working with us to minimise the risk of COVD-19 in our school. We are continually monitoring the advice and direction given by ACT Health and the Education Directorate to keep our students safe. Last week all students received instruction from their teachers about handwashing. Handwashing signage has also been installed in all bathrooms. Today, all classes received hand sanitiser. The school is comitted to ongoing communication via Facebook, SZ App and SeeSaw to ensure we get new information to our families in a timely manner.

The following changes have occured to our calendar:

I love it when student's share their learning with me. This week I had a visit from some students in 4SM who shared their dance inspired by indigenous culture. They developed a story, music and dance about 2 magpies and 2 swans.

Rebecca Turner

Principal

WHOOPING COUGH (PERTUSSIS) NOTIFICATION

Ngunnawal Primary School has had one reported case of Whooping Cough (Pertussis) 17/03/2020 . Please be aware that this is a notifiable disease, and children with the disease should be kept away from school. A fact sheet is attached below, but please contact your doctor or ACT Health on 6205 2155 for more information or advice.

ACT Health: Pertussis/Whooping Cough Fact Sheet

• You can still get whooping cough even if you are fully vaccinated as protection from the vaccine wears off over time.
• If your child has been vaccinated, the cough may be mild, particularly at the start of the infection. Even if the cough is mild your child is still able to pass the infection to others.
• Please see your doctor as soon as possible if your child has a cough. A swab test is most accurate in the first 4 weeks of coughing. There is no need to have your child tested if they do not have a cough.
• If your child is suspected of having whooping cough and the doctor has ordered a swab test, please keep your child at home until the results are available as they may be infectious.
• If your child is diagnosed with whooping cough, they must be excluded from school until they are no longer infectious, which is usually after taking an appropriate antibiotic for 5 days.
• Whooping cough is most serious for babies under 6 months of age.

Please contact ACT Health on 5124 9213 if you require any further information about whooping cough.

YEAR 3 SPOTLIGHT ON LEARNING

Year 3 have had a fun and learning filled Term 1. Students are to be congratulated on their efforts in all areas. Please ask your children to share:

• How they will persuade their class that their chosen country is the best place to visit
• The current reading strategy they are working on
• How they can use the jump strategy when adding numbers

Inquiry

We are exploring Australia and its neighbours. We have researched countries including New Zealand, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and more. After research, students will present their findings in a Travel Expo during Week 9. They will also provide a persuasive argument of why their chosen country would be the most interesting place to visit.

Literacy

Year 3 are enjoying our whole school Reader’s Workshop focus this term. We have participated in mini lessons on a given reading strategy and students have daily opportunities to practise the strategy with their own ‘just right’ book. These strategies can then be used at home while reading. All classes have developed expectations of what this learning will look like.

Maths

In Maths we have just completed our place value unit, during which we explored how three, four and five digit numbers can be broken down into tens of thousands, thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. Students are also working on their addition skills and will learn mental strategies for making calculations and practise solving word problems.

ACT schools will participate in NAPLAN Online testing from 12-22 May 2020.

All students participating in NAPLAN Online 2020 are expected to have done a practice/familiarisation test prior to the May NAPLAN tests. ACT schools undertaking NAPLAN Online this year will participate in a practice/familiarisation test between 23 March and 9 April 2023. The practice test does not assess student performance and has been developed to replace one of the familiarisation activities that schools have traditionally undertaken.

What is NAPLAN?

NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in literacy and numeracy against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia. the testing window begins on the 12th of May.

What is tested in NAPLAN?

Withdrawing your child from assessment

Parents or carers may withdraw their child from the tests to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing. It is recommended that withdrawal be considered in consultation with your child's school.

The withdrawal form below must be received by the school principal prior to testing.

Disability adjustments

Where a student’s circumstances meet the criteria for adjustments to access the tests their test conditions may be adjusted.

The adjustments made should reflect the kind of support and assistance provided for assessment in the classroom, noting that adjustments that are appropriate in a learning environment may not be appropriate in a standardised assessment environment.

The school will be working with families to identify potential adjustments to support children to demonstrate their learning through the assessment process.

Exemptions

Students may be exempted from one or more of the tests (i.e. writing, reading, conventions of language or numeracy) if they fall into one of two categories:

• students with a language background other than English, who arrived from overseas and have been attending school in Australia for less than a year before the test
• students with significant intellectual disability and/or those with significant coexisting conditions which severely limit their capacity to participate in the tests.

The school will contact families if your child meets the criteria.

Privacy

The Education Directorate collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information to carry out its functions. Personal information about students and parents/carers will be used as part of NAPLAN Online testing and readiness tests. The use of this information is required for students to participate in NAPLAN testing, provide reports to parents and schools and to undertake research and compile statistics using anonymised data. More detail on how we handle your information is available in the Education Directorate Privacy Policy available at http://bit.ly/2FBwRbcACTEducationprivacypolicy

As part of undertaking NAPLAN Online, the Education Directorate works closely with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and Education Services Australia (ESA). ESA operates the NAPLAN Online platform which will contain personal information. ACARA will collect anonymised information about each student who takes the test online from the Education Directorate.

Further information on how ACARA and ESA protect privacy is available through the ACARA privacy infographic http://bit.ly/2D9gSvJNAPLANonlineprivacyinfographic and ESA Privacy Policy www.esa.edu.au/other/privacy.

Further information on NAPLAN Online, including the public demonstration site, is available at www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/naplan-online.

The ACT is in a very good place to respond to COVID-19 and the Directorate has developed plans for ACT schools to respond to the potential spread of the virus in school communities. The Education Directorate continues to work closely with ACT Health.  

To assist parents, carers and the broader school community, the following answers have been complied to frequently asked questions around how ACT public schools are managing their response to COVID-19.

Are schools boosting their cleaning or hygiene practices in response to the threat of COVID-19?

We are focusing our cleaning on maintaining the best possible hygiene standards to staff and students. All ACT public schools have been asked to ensure school- wide hygiene practices such as hand washing are in place, encouraged and maintained and that signage is displayed around good hand hygiene, preventing the spread of germs, coughing and sneezing

Currently, the ACT Government is not advising additional cleaning or disinfecting procedures to be implemented in schools, public transport, shopping centres and other public places.

How will the school respond if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 at a school?

• Planning has been underway to assist our schools in the event of the spread of the virus in our school communities. When and if there is a case of COVID-19 in an ACT school, these plans will be scaled in proportion to the spread of the virus. Our response will be based on ACT Health advice and learnings from other jurisdictions.

Is it possible that schools will close?

• If a student or staff member were to test positive to the virus, the impacted school may close for a short period while ACT Health investigates the incident. Those students and staff identified as close contacts of a case will need to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
• Parents will be notified by their school if it is to close via their normal communication channels which include email and SMS.

What about my child’s learning? (will there be provision of online resources?)

• All ACT public schools have access to the Google platform which they use daily with their students. We are working ensure that flexible learning options are available for all students.

For college students, how will workload and BSSS requirements be met?

• The ACT Education Directorate is working with BSSS to ensure college students will still be able to meet learning requirements if their school needs to close for a short period.

Advice for parents on sending children to school

If your child develops any symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath:

• Call your GP in the first instance. By calling your GP before arriving they can take appropriate infection control measures.
• Call your school to let them know.

As always, please do not send your child to school if they are showing any symptoms of sickness. Once your child is well again, they can return to school.

My child has COVID-19, do I need to notify the school and how long should they be excluded from school?

• Yes, you need to notify your child’s school as soon as possible if your child has received a positive diagnosis for COVID-19. Your school will work with you and ACT Health to follow up close contacts and take appropriate public health action in line with national guidelines and well-established processes.
• The ACT Education Directorate will also receive direct advice from ACT Health, if a public school student or staff member returns a positive diagnosis for COVID-19.

What happens if my child has had close contact with another student who has a confirmed case of COVID-19?

• Students and staff identified as close contacts of a case of COVID-19 will need to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
• Being quarantined at home means that you, or your children, need to stay at home, except if you are unwell and need medical attention. You cannot go to work, school, or public areas (such as shops or cafes/restaurants) and should not use public transport, ride share or taxis. You also need to tell people not to visit you while you are in self-quarantine.

Someone in our household has coronavirus, can my child go to school?

• If you are concerned your child may have been exposed to or have symptoms of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it’s important you limit exposure to other people to reduce the risk of transmission.
• Students identified as close contacts of a case of COVID-19 will need to self-quarantine at home for 14 days.
• Being quarantined at home means that you, or your children, need to stay at home, except if you are unwell and need medical attention. You cannot go to work, school, or public areas (such as shops or cafes/restaurants) and should not use public transport, ride share or taxis. You also need to tell people not to visit you while you are in self-quarantine.

What should I do if I think my child may have COVID-19?

• You or your child should get tested if:
  • you’ve travelled overseas recently, and you develop symptoms of COVID-19 within 14 days of leaving an overseas country.
  • you’re concerned you may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19 and you develop symptoms of the disease within 14 days of contact with the sick person.
• If you think you might have COVID-19:
  • Limit your exposure to other people by isolating yourself at home.
  • Call your GP and let them know you are worried you may have COVID-19. Testing will be arranged by your GP or medical practitioner if they determine it is necessary. It usually takes about 24 - 48 hours for the test results to be returned, but in some cases may take longer.  Further information for someone who is being tested is available here.
  • If you can’t see your GP, the preferred Walk-in Centre (WiC) for assessment is Weston Creek WiC. If you are attending a WiC, please ensure you use a mask and hand sanitiser available at the front door.
  • You do not need to visit the Emergency Department unless you have severe symptoms, such as shortness of breath, chest pain or high fever.
• If you or your child have recently travelled internationally or been in contact with someone who has COVID-19, and have symptoms of COVID-19 (such as fever, cough or sore throat), it is important that you take certain steps to reduce the risk of transmission.

Are students and their families who have travelled to certain countries excluded from my school?

• New quarantine requirements are in place for anyone arriving in Australia from overseas from midnight on 15 March 2020.
• Anyone returning from any overseas country, should isolate themselves for 14 days.
• The ACT Health Directorate continues to work closely with the Australian Government and other health authorities across the country to monitor and respond to the evolving global situation. As the situation evolves advice will be updated, as necessary.

Are events going to be cancelled at my school?

The Australian Government has announced that all organised, non-essential mass gatherings attended by more than 500 people must be cancelled from Monday 16 March 2020. 

This announcement does not recommend school closures however, it does apply to a range of school events and events organised by school communities.

From Monday 16 March, the following events will be cancelled in ACT public schools:

• upcoming school or regional/ACT swimming, athletics and other sporting events, large band or other music concerts where there would be large gatherings of students
• school assemblies
• parent/teacher nights
• school open days/nights.

Are school excursions still going ahead?

Local and interstate school excursions, including camps will be cancelled - effective from Monday 16 March. 

All camps scheduled to commence from Monday 16 March will be postponed and rescheduled, or, if there is no other option, cancelled.

Where can I go for more information?

The community is urged to keep up to date through the ACT Health website (www.health.act.gov.au). This is where the latest health advice is available. People can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080 for further information on COVID-19. The line operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.