Term 2 Week 10

22 June 2026

In Term 2, we are inviting parents and carers to participate in the NSW Public Schools Parent Survey. The survey gives you the opportunity to share your experiences at our school, including communication, inclusion, wellbeing and how your child’s learning is supported.

Hearing directly from our parents and carers will also help us understand what is working well and where improvements can be made. Participation in the survey is optional, your responses are anonymous, and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. You can access at the survey at: https://surveyme.education.nsw.gov.au/sc/bF_DtT1yrWXRL5wg7JbumQ2

Apologies for the late postponement of our P&C meeting last week due to illness. Our next P&C meeting will take place tonight at 7:00 pm at Woonona Bulli RSL. It’s pleasant to share that we are getting repeated large turnouts to this meeting. If you have not attended previously, new members are always welcome!

Semester 1 Student Reports will be sent home via School Bytes tomorrow. These reports provide a comprehensive overview of your child’s achievement, effort, and social development across all Key Learning Areas (KLAs) throughout the first half of the school year.

The NSW Department of Education A–E Scale Breakdown

• Grade A: Outstanding
  • What it means: Your child's achievement in the subject is outstanding. They confidently apply their knowledge and skills in a range of new and complex situations. They are working well beyond the baseline expectations for their year level.
• Grade B: High
  • What it means: Your child's achievement in this subject is high. They confidently apply their knowledge and skills in a range of familiar and new situations.
• Grade C: Expected (formerly referred to as 'Sound')
  • What it means: Your child's achievement in this subject is at the expected standard. They apply their knowledge and skills in familiar situations.
  • Principal’s Note: A 'C' grade is an excellent achievement! It means your child has completely met the rigorous NSW Syllabus requirements for their grade level at this point in the year. The Department updated the parental reporting language from "Sound" to "Expected" precisely to reassure families that a 'C' indicates solid, successful learning.
• Grade D: Basic
  • What it means: Your child's achievement in this subject is basic. They apply their knowledge and skills in familiar situations with support. They are on their way to meeting the outcomes but require ongoing scaffolding.
• Grade E: Limited
  • What it means: Your child's achievement in this subject is limited. They apply their knowledge and skills in some familiar situations only with significant support. This usually indicates that targeted learning adjustments or intervention plans are in place to support their growth.
• N/A - Not Accessible
  • What it means: Your child was not present at school to complete the content, process or skill.

The Effort Scale (A-E)

This scale measures your child’s mindset, resilience, and daily classroom engagement. It acknowledges how hard they are trying, regardless of their academic starting point.

• A – Outstanding Effort: Enthusiastically participates and consistently strives for an outstanding standard in their work.
• B – High Effort: Actively participates and always tries to present work to a high standard.
• C – Satisfactory Effort: Actively participates and regularly tries to complete work to the required standard.
• D – Inconsistent Effort: Sometimes participates; inconsistently attempts to meet the required standard.
• E – Unsatisfactory Effort: Rarely participates or attempts to complete tasks to the required standard.
• N/A - Not Awarded: Effort grade was not awarded due to student absence.

How to Read Them Together: Common Parent Scenarios

To help make sense of how these two metrics interact, consider these four common student profiles:

Scenario A: The "Hard Worker" (C Achievement + A Effort)

• What it looks like: A student receives a 'C' for Achievement and a 'A' for Effort.
• The Principal’s Insight: This is a wonderful result! It tells us that your child is working with immense dedication and enthusiasm to successfully meet every single requirement of their grade level. Their high effort is the engine driving their success, and they should be highly commended for their work ethic.

Scenario B: The "Struggling but Resilient" Learner (D Achievement + A Effort)

• What it looks like: A student receives a 'D' for Achievement and a 'A' for Effort.
• The Principal’s Insight: Do not be discouraged by the 'D'. The 'A' for Effort tells us that your child has a fantastic growth mindset. They are trying their absolute best, and with that level of determination, academic growth is inevitable. The school will continue to partner with you to provide the necessary support to bridge the gap.

Scenario C: The "Comfortable" Learner (B Achievement + C Effort)

• What it looks like: A student receives a 'B' for Achievement and a 'C' for Effort.
• The Principal’s Insight: Your child is naturally capable and finds the academic content easier to grasp, but they are coasting in third gear. A satisfactory effort is fine, but our goal as educators will be to stretch this student, encourage them to take more risks, and push their effort into a 'B' or 'A' so they can unlock an 'A'.

Scenario D: The "Disengaged" Learner (D Achievement + E or D Effort)

• What it looks like: A student receives a 'D' for Achievement and a 'E' or 'D' for Effort.
• The Principal’s Insight: This combination is an important red flag. It tells us that the academic struggles are likely tied to disengagement, a lack of confidence, or missing learning habits. This is a clear indicator that the school and home need to collaborate on a targeted strategy to boost classroom engagement and rebuild motivation.

Key Points for Parents Regarding School Reports

1. On-Balance Professional Judgement: Teachers do not just average out test marks to give an A–E grade. They look at a holistic range of evidence collected throughout the semester—including classwork, observations, projects, and formative quizzes—to make an "on-balance" decision about where your child sits against the standards.
2. Effort vs. Achievement: The A–E grade purely represents achievement against the syllabus outcomes. A student can try incredibly hard, show wonderful dedication, and receive a 'High' or 'Outstanding' for Effort, but still receive a 'C' or 'D' for Achievement. Both metrics are equally important when discussing growth.

A Final Message for Families

Remember, an academic report is a tool to celebrate growth and plan next steps. When discussing reports at home, praising effort (the A-E score) is often much more powerful than focusing solely on the grade (the A–E score). Children who know their hard work is valued develop the resilience needed to succeed through primary school and beyond.

Partnering with our families is vital to supporting student growth and attainment. To discuss your child's progress, goals, and next steps in learning, we will be hosting parent-teacher interviews.

• Booking Availability: Our online booking portal is open on School Bytes, allowing families ample time to secure a convenient session. The booking system will remain open after reports are distributed for any final scheduling. Detailed instructions on how to access the portal have been sent out via email.

Interview Timelines and Variations 

While the majority of our parent-teacher meetings will take place during Week 11 of this term, please note the following necessary schedule variations due to prior school commitments:

• Stage 3 Classes: Due to the upcoming Stage 3 Canberra educational excursion occurring late this term, parent-teacher interviews for 5/6B, 5/6R and 4/5E will be held early next term. This ensures our Stage 3 teachers can give their full focus to our students during this important experiential learning trip.

We highly value these opportunities to connect with you. If you have any immediate questions regarding the reporting process or booking portal, please do not hesitate to contact our front administration office.

We hope that you can join us for our Biggest Afternoon Tea this Friday, which is an entire community event, held in conjunction with the school, SRC and P&C. Students are encouraged to dress in blue and yellow on the day and bring in a gold coin donation, or whatever amount families feel fitting. We are expecting a rather large gathering on the day and therefore we are also seeking donations of cakes or snacks that we can serve on the day. The canteen will be open for cold drink purchases only.

This Friday also coincides with the Socceroos’ World Cup match vs Paraguay, starting at 12:00 pm. We have decided to make this a special day to also include our Athletics Carnival Ribbons Assembly. The day will run as follows:

• 11:30 am     Athletics Carnival Assembly
• 12:00 pm     Socceroos’ vs Paraguay in the hall
• 2:00 pm       Biggest Afternoon Tea

The community is invited to attend any or all parts of the day.

Do you have a child starting next year, or know someone who does? If the enrolment application has not been submitted, please do so now as we are in the planning phases for our Kindergarten Transition Program. The key dates and times will be communicated in the very near future. Paul Cuthbertson
Principal

When planning leave which is for more than 5 school days, please complete an Application for Extended Leave. This can be found in the FORMS section of School Bytes. Please do not apply for extended leave under planned absences.

For any absences that are 5 days or less, please go to School Bytes, click on Attendance and create a Planned Absence.

For the safety of students, families and staff, bikes and scooters are not to be ridden in front of school between the marked areas from 8:00 am to 9:30 am nor between 2:30 pm and 3.30 pm

• 22   P&C Meeting 7:00 pm at Woonona Bulli RSL
• 23   Reports go home
• 26   Athletics Carnival Ribbons Assembly 11:30 am
• 26   Socceroos’ vs Paraguay 12:00 pm in the hall
• 26   Australia's Biggest Morning Tea 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm in front of the hall
• 29   Southern Stars DANCE Rehearsal - Illawarra Sports Stadium

• 1-3  Canberra Excursion - Stage 3
• 3      Last Day of Term 2
• 20    School Development Day
• 21    First Day of Term 3 for Students
• 23    Southern Stars CHOIR Rehearsal - Illawarra Sports Stadium
• 30    District Athletics Carnival - Day 1
• 31    District Athletics Carnival - Day 2

Cooper H, Olive T, Kade M, Sadie C, Reuben F, Ezra N, Jett P, Marley T, Lily T, Georgia B

Tulli P, Talulah N, Lacey J, Liam J, Lux P, Dimitri P, Axle C, Audrey A, Ollie H, Ava P, Cade C, Finn B, Alani A, Jai C, Lily T, Joey N, Ziggy F, Honey B, Brody T, Ayla O, Rex N, Rhys D, Remi B

Verity L, Billy K, Kalani J, Owen T

Billy K, Anders K, Spencer D, Anika D, Liam J, Vali T, Kyan C

Sophie D, Jake F, Vali T, Lucy W, Maddison H, Bowen P, Kyan C, Evie S, Eden-Rose G, Lily P, Annika F, Buddy K, Lachlan R, Will D, Poppy G

Will N

Disclaimer: Russell Vale Public School advertises in this column as a service to parents. Russell Vale Public School does not endorse, sponsor or accept responsibility for the management or organisation of the advertised events or services.