TAS News
Learning. Believing. Achieving – Term 2 Week 4
Date: May 12, 2017 Posted by: Sue Wicks
NAPLAN is finished for another year.
Well done to our Year 3, 5, 7, and 9 students as they joined students from around Australia in sitting 3 days of NAPLAN testing this week. NAPLAN causes much debate in both education and wider circles. Our approach to NAPLAN (which is compulsory for all Australian schools receiving government funding) is as follows:
- NAPLAN is a standardised, government-administered test that all Australian Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students undertake
- NAPLAN provides a benchmark that all students can be measured against for achievement in Literacy and Numeracy
- NAPLAN provides valuable data that can be used to identify and assist individual students with their learning as well as feedback into the effectiveness of school teaching programs and pedagogy
- NAPLAN is a point-in-time test and therefore is most useful when considered as part of a more wide-ranging assessment and feedback program
- TAS does not train students for NAPLAN, but acknowledges that students need to be familiar with the test in order for it to accurately measure what it is intended to measure
- TAS believes that focussing on student progress over time is more useful than concentrating on absolute scores.
- TAS believes that every student should be assisted to take the NAPLAN tests where possible.
2016 Year 12 Outcomes
I thought our community may be interested in the Year 12 outcomes for our 64 2016 graduates. It is wonderful to see all our young TAS graduates successfully moving into the next chapter of their lives:
University of Queensland: 9
Queensland University of Technology: 7
James Cook University: 25
Griffith University: 6
Central Queensland University: 1
Australian Catholic University: 1
Australian Defence Force Academy: 3
University of Technology Sydney (NSW): 1
University of Canberra (ACT): 1
Australian National University (ACT): 1
Monash University (VIC): 1
LaTrobe University (VIC): 2
University (name unavailable) (UK): 1
University of Mississippi (USA): 1
NMIT (NZ): 1
Apprenticeship: 2
GAP Year: 1
TAS @ The Gallery – the Brett Whiteley exhibition
My thanks to the TAS community for embracing the opportunity to attend the Cairns Regional Gallery last Friday evening to view the Brett Whiteley exhibition. What a wonderful evening. The art was magnificent and the company outstanding. Thanks to Marian Wolfs from the Cairns Regional Gallery and Ms Leanne Shead (acting Head of Arts) for organising this terrific event. Thanks also to our wonderful students who served canapes.
Triathlon
Some great recent results from our terrific triathletes.
Emma Simpson placed 6th at the School Sport Australia National Triathlon Championships in Sydney. The following day, as part of a Queensland State relay team, she placed 2nd to earn a Nationals silver medal. Two days later at the Yungaburra triathlon, Emma was the 1st placed overall female and Cody Haseldine was the 3rd placed overall male in in the sprint distance event.
Remarkably, the TAS program is the only FNQ triathlon program to qualify triathletes for school Nationals, qualifying four in the past two years. Emma’s silver medal makes a total of three medals (gold, silver & bronze) in two years at National level for our program.
Outstanding! Our thanks to Mr Haseldine and his staff for their tireless commitment to our triathletes
Year 6 Camp
Our second week of Year 6 camps is now complete. The program has been a great success from all accounts, where students are challenged to develop their resilience outside their usual comfort zone and to overcome hurdles. My thanks to Mr Osmond, Ms Beveridge and the camp staff.
