The Week Ahead

Firstly, I would like to wish all the mothers and those who are in mothering roles a belated Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that you had a lovely day on Sunday. It is the time of the year where we would usually be busily preparing for the Mueller fete to commence in a week or so. However, if you are wondering why you haven’t seen any advertising yet this year it is because the fete has been moved to Saturday the 21st of July.

One thing that hasn’t moved from this time of year is NAPLAN testing for the Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 students. It is now a regular part of the school calendar and has been operating in Australian schools for over a decade. Tests can be stressful and nerve-wracking for students and we hope that Mueller students this week do not feel too much pressure. Classroom teachers and Learning Assistance staff have been working hard on creating an environment where students feel prepared for the tests and supported in their NAPLAN experience this week. It is important to remember that these tests are not ‘pass or fail’ and are different to tests such as QCS which are high-stakes tests which play a role in determining students opportunities for further study.

NAPLAN is not something that we put undue attention or pressure on, however it does provide us with valuable information about the literacy and numeracy progress of our students. The information is valuable in helping us to structure effective learning but as we know test results do not define a student and their school experience. Whilst we want students to be as proficient as possible in key areas such as literacy and numeracy we all know school is about more than this. The diversity of learning offered in the Mueller program places high value on not only academic pursuits but social and emotional development, interpersonal skills, confidence and creativity. There are many programs and opportunities to develop these in a school week, especially through the Primary School ‘Kingdom Culture’ activities. There are also some specific upcoming events which will focus on these things such as the rehearsals for the Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang musical (showing on June 1st and 2nd) and Year Eight and Eleven camps running this week.

We wish students ‘all the best’ this week, regardless of the activity they are undertaking and pray that will enjoy their week in the Mueller community.