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APRIL 2019
Anzac Day goes beyond the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915. It is the day on which we remember all Australians who served and died in war and on operational service past and present. The spirit of Anzac, with its qualities of courage, mateship, and sacrifice, continues to have meaning and relevance for our sense of national identity.
Australian War Memorial
After all the Easter hat parades have ended and the chocolate eggs found and devoured, we turn to one of the most important days in Australia – Anzac Day. In the Australian Curriculum, your child can learn about the importance of Anzac Day: from understanding the significance of the day in Year 3 HASS to more in-depth learning about the commemoration of World War I, including the nature and significance of the Anzac legend in Year 9 History.
The Australian War Memorial is conducting family tours and free kids activities in the lead-up to Anzac Day. Can’t make it to Canberra? Check out some of their online exhibitions.
Photo credit: Ian Roach / Australian War Memorial. AWM2019.4.42.22
Decoding the news for kids
For more than 45 years, ABC’s Behind the News (or BTN as many of us know it) has been educating upper primary and secondary students about current issues and events in the world – you probably have fond memories of watching it yourself as a kid! As an alternative to prime-time TV news, why not broaden your child’s general knowledge on current affairs (and encourage their critical thinking skills) by catching up on the news together? Recent articles include the importance of Notre Dame, the first photo of a black hole and the upcoming federal election.
LATEST NEWS
New releases
Earlier this month, you may have seen articles in the news, showcasing schools that have shown substantially above average gain in NAPLAN. We’ve updated your school’s information on the My School website with more than just NAPLAN data – there are also 2018 school profile and population data, the latest financial information for your school and an introduction written by your school’s principal.
Love your data? You can also check out the NAPLAN 2018
national report to see how students in your child’s grade around the country fared in NAPLAN last year, or visit the National Report on Schooling data portal, which was also recently updated.
Learning a second language
Research shows that learning a second language supports academic achievement and provides cognitive benefits to students. You can speak with your child’s teacher to see if learning a second language is an option for your child this year. Check out one of our recent languages work samples, showing a group of Year 10 boys talking about part-time work in Chinese.
NAPLAN in your language
Our NAPLAN information brochures for parents and carers for NAPLAN on paper and NAPLAN Online are now available in a range of community languages, including
Arabic (عربى), Chinese (中文), Hindi (हिंदी), Khmer (ខ្មែរ), Persian (فارسی), Serbian (Српски), Sinhalese (සිංහල), Spanish (Español), Turkish (Türk), Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) and more. Visit the resources section of the NAP website to view them all.
Take a test drive through NAPLAN Online
Whether your child is preparing to take NAPLAN on paper or online, the demo tests on the NAP website offer a fun and interactive way to experience a sample of NAPLAN questions with your child.
Q&A
My child is doing NAPLAN for the first time. What do I need to know?
NAPLAN tests the fundamental skills of writing, reading, grammar, spelling and numeracy – skills that are essential for your child to progress through school and life. There’s no need for them to spend the rest of their precious school holidays studying for NAPLAN.
The tests are aligned to the Australian Curriculum for English and Mathematics, so what your child learns in the classroom is what they're tested on in NAPLAN. Other than being comfortable with the format of NAPLAN (which your child’s teacher will help them with), there's no special preparation, or NAPLAN books, that are necessary.
NAPLAN results help identify areas of achievement and areas where your child may need more support. Teachers use their students’ NAPLAN results as just one piece of the assessment puzzle – they’re not the ‘be-all-and-end-all’ – and they don’t replace regular school tests or assessments. If you have any concerns, you should speak to your child’s teacher or see more information on the NAP website.
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