Director of Curriculum

From the Director of Curriculum, Mr Damian Kinnersly

2022 End of Semester 1 Statement of Attainment Reports

Semester One Statement of Attainment reports will be available from 4:00pm (Friday, July 15) via PAM. An explanation of the terms used for the report, work habits and practices can be found on the home page in PAM in Knowledge Banks/Parent Information.

The teachers of St Patrick’s are committed to real-time, continuous reporting. As a parent, this means that you have access to your son’s performance on all summative assessment tasks via PAM within two weeks of the assessment being submitted. Feedback for each assessment task has been provided in a number of forms including assessment rubrics, criterion sheets, annotated assessment tasks, or direct use of the written feedback section within PAM. I encourage each parent to make contact with your son’s teachers regarding their progress or results throughout the year.

Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) testing – August 11

In Term 3 on Thursday August 11, the College will be involved in testing as part of the College’s involvement in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is the world’s largest international comparative assessment and is one of the international assessments in Australia’s National Assessment Program (NAP).  PISA measures how well 15-yearolds are prepared to use the skills and knowledge in particular areas to meet real-life challenges.

Approximately 26 students born between 1 May 2006 and 30 April 2007, regardless of year level, will be chosen randomly by PISA to undertake the testing. Students will spend around 3¾ hours completing a computer-based assessment, including answering questions in one or more of the assessment domains (mathematics, science, reading, and creative thinking), and answering questions about their home background, aspects of students’ lives, such as their attitudes and motivation towards learning, availability and use of ICT and their preparation for their future career.

More information regarding the students involved will be communicated once PISA informs the College of the nominated participants.

2023 External VET Applications

As we begin preparations for subject selections for 2023 for current students in Years 9 and 10, I wish to bring attention to the opportunities to undertake VCE VET programs offered through the Highlands Cluster. These programs are suited for students who are seeking vocational training and qualifications to complement their senior studies and are two-year programs.

Positions in these programs are not guaranteed and an application must be submitted for consideration through the Highlands LLEN website and the College’s subject selection process. Students seeking to enrol in these external courses must undertake an interview with the Director of Curriculum, Mr Kinnersly, as part of this process to help determine suitability with a student’s learning program.

External VET courses incur additional fees as they are conducted by external TAFE providers and will be added to the College school fees. Typically, a course may cost between $1000 and $4000 per year. The cost varies upon which course the student wishes to undertake and numbers of enrolments in the program from all schools in the Ballarat region. Final costings cannot be confirmed until early 2023. Parents are asked to contact the Finance department in regards to payment plans if required.

Further information regarding the application process and available courses will be communicated early in Term 3 as part of the subject selection process. Prior to this, I encourage families to visit the following websites for further information regarding VET in the VCE and VET offerings within the Highlands cluster.

VCAA Get VET – https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/studentguides/getvet/Pages/Index.aspx

Highlands LLEN VET – https://www.highlandsllen.org/page/vet-cluster/