There are several important events coming up for our Middle School students this term.
Next week our Year 7 and Year 9 students, will begin undertaking their NAPLAN. Students have had some practice sessions to familiarise themselves with the online delivery of the program. Students will need to check their Compass to be sure that they are at the correct session. The information collected allows us to identify student learning growth as well as offer additional learning supports for students who are not achieving that growth as expected.
Year 9 students have also had some introductions to what their future pathways will look like at Lalor Secondary with a session in the Explore program. Students were genuinely interested to hear about what the VCE certificate is and what steps to undertake this year, and next, to ensure that they are set up for success and have as many options open as possible. We spoke about how to build a study timetable and getting into some good study habits early.
Year 10 students have had a few things happening. A special lunchtime assistance session was run my Ms Raza and Ms Bussell last week to provide additional supports for students who needed help with their work experience placement. It is very important that students seek out a placement nice and early so that they can secure some work experience that is interesting to them. We have a range of supports here at the school to guide students but they must be proactive in securing their own placement almost . This is the first time that students in Year 10 really get an opportunity to be out in the workforce, potentially in a career that they would like to have in the future. Sometimes the biggest value of work experience is in students trying something they think they like, but realising it is not for them. Parents can support students by encouraging them to contact as many employers as it takes to get a placement.
The Year 10 student leadership group has been spending some time working with Ms Kotsopoulos on something special for the Year 10s. I won’t leak any surprises early, but it was a great meeting and we have much to look forward to! I will report on this in upcoming newsletters.
Julie Ryan
Assistant Principal
