With Term 2 Academic Reports just around the corner, it’s that time of the year when students can become anxious and stressed about assessment tasks. For me, it’s a sign that they care about doing well, which is much better than not caring at all. But there certainly is a happy middle ground between not caring at all and being paralysed with fear of not achieving the results they want, and sometimes, feel others expect. 

Assessment is not meant be a ‘stick’ to coerce students into learning. Rather a tool to inform the design of engaging and targeted teaching and reflective learning. The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme is structured around an ongoing cycle of Inquiry, Action, and Reflection…there is no end point. As indicated below, assessment is only a very small part of the process of learning that takes place in IB programmes, and rightly so. 

Inquiry: Sustained inquiry frames the written, taught and assessed curriculum in IB programmes. IB programmes feature structured inquiry, drawing from established bodies of knowledge and complex problems.

Action: Principled action, as both strategy and outcome, represent IB’s commitment to teaching and learning through practical, real-world experience. IB learners act at home, as well as in classrooms, schools, communities and the broader world. Action involves learning by doing, enhancing learning about self and others.

Reflection: Critical reflection is the process by which curiosity and experience can lead to deeper understanding. Learners become critically aware of the way they use evidence, methods, and conclusions. Reflection also involves being conscious of potential bias and inaccuracy in their own work and the work of others.

From Principles into Practice (pg11). IBO 2015.

So why do some become totally focused on assessment tasks, when they are mostly an opportunity for students and teachers to consider what they are doing well, what they can improve, and begin conversations and plans to support ongoing improvement? 

It’s very easy for students and parents, and sometimes teachers, to slip into focusing on assessment as that is often the most tangible evidence of learning and what people look for on academic reports. There is so much more going on within IB teaching and learning programmes. It could be argued that ‘Approaches To Learning’ (which are on academic reports), the important skills taught by teachers and displayed by students as they evolve into life long learners, are far more lasting and significant than the standard of achievement attained in a one off task. Or even how well students display ‘Learner Profile’ characteristics. 

NESA (New South Wales Education Standards Authority) and the IB have similar principles regarding assessment. Even Higher School Certificate (HSC) courses, as a high-stakes exit credential, refers to ‘formative’ and ‘summative’ assessment in syllabus documents and course requirements. Formative assessment is assessment ‘for’ learning and summative assessment is assessment ‘of’ learning. Formative assessment is an ongoing cycle of teachers determining student needs and adjusting teaching and learning to build on student strengths and address areas of need. This can be through day-to-day observation, how they engage with set class work, or small pieces of sample writing or demonstration of knowledge, understanding, and skills. Whereas summative assessment provides an indication of what a student can and cannot do at the end of a period of teaching and learning, through more formalised assignments and examinations. Even within the rigours of the HSC, those summative assessment tasks are not the ‘be all and end all’ in reflections about and planning for student learning.

No doubt, assessment of some form needs to happen in a thorough and rigorous learning framework to assist with monitoring student progress, identify and address their needs, and adjust teaching and learning appropriately. Also, yes, it is something that lets a range of stakeholders know where students sit at key points in their learning journey, particularly and usually only in Year 12. As an adult, who has ever pulled out their Year 8 report to show an employer or tertiary institution? 

It’s the conversations and language used when talking about assessment with young people that is most important in alleviating anxiety and stress and encouraging them to keep learning and growing. Regularly letting them know that they are not defined by the result in a task or grade on a report, concentrating on what they can do rather than on what they cannot, and leading them to consider ‘what next’ in their learning rather than anything being an end point. They are so young and have so far to go. 

We wish to remind all students that face masks are mandatory whilst waiting for and travelling on public transport, including all school buses.

It is also mandatory for all students to tap on and off using a valid Opal card or eftpos card, every time they travel. 

Please note students that fail to wear a mask or tap on and off risk a fine by transport inspectors. For more information on travel offences, fines and penalties please click on the link below.

https://transportnsw.info/travel-info/using-public-transport/travel-offences-fines-penalties

The Tara Dads Club is meeting on Wednesday 8 June at 7pm in the Glass Room (beside the Tara Uniform Shop).

Please contact kdickinson@tara.nsw.edu.au if you would like to attend the meeting. 

In our 125th year, come and enjoy a fun filled twilight event at the Tara Family Picnic and Fireworks! 

Pre-order your BBQ dinner when booking tickets.

Activities include a Petting Zoo, Reptile display and lots more family fun!

Tickets
Adults $10
Students and children over 3 years $25 - includes a free Mr Whippy ice cream
Children under 3 years Free

RSVP - 13 June 2022

To book your tickets click on the link below.

Book Family Fireworks Tickets

Shenaya S and Ashleigh G (Year 6)

On Friday 27 May, girls from ELC-6 in Junior School participated in Hake’s Service Learning Day organised by Mrs Abernethy, Mr Harrison and the Year 6 Hake House Team for 2022. The girls brought in non-perishable food items and household goods to donate to the Addison Road Community Organisation to help refugees and those in need. As a learning activity to understand how much the refugees go through, girls read or listened to a story or watched videos about refugees.

Miss Anjulie Bec - JS Music Teacher

On Monday 30 May, the Junior School hosted the Performer of the Year event and girls in Years 3 – 6 had the pleasure of hearing a variety of performances from 13 talented girls. These students auditioned in the lunchtime recital series and were selected to take part in the finalists’ concert by our panel of judges; Mrs Abernethy, Ms MacAskill, Mrs Norman, Ms Mann and Ms Bec. 

The Help Hub exists to support all students in their learning. Students are able to get subject specific support as well as assistance with research, technical support, and organisation in our well-resourced library. Students will need to sign in at the library and sit in the designated area so they can be supported by the staff or students on duty. The Help Hub runs until 4:30pm.

For those who would like longer study sessions, we also have the Extended Day Program. This includes dinner with the boarders and two hours of supervised prep for a small cost of around $25. A range of subject specific tutors are also available in these night sessions. Students will need to be picked up by 8:30pm.

Lara E (Year 11)

Year 11 and 12 Drama students participated in a workshop with Maddie from Clockfire Theatre Company. Within this workshop we worked on many skills, specifically to do with body and earth connecting and using the space around us. We got to experience and experiment with different performance techniques and styles. This workshop was very engaging and fun as we all worked together and supported each other in our attempts to explore diverse theatre 

On Friday 20 May, the Year 8 Geography classes visited the city where we learnt more about the history and geography of water in The Rocks. We explored several landmarks and learnt about the water resources of the First Fleet when they landed in Sydney Harbour. Water was an essential resource to the European colony in which both saltwater and freshwater were needed to live there. 

Charlotte M - Sports Prefect

This year as part of the Athletics Carnival, both the Senior and Junior Schools are raising funds for the victims of the recent Lismore flooding. Recently many parts of Australia have been hit with damaging floods and because of this, many towns have lost everything. One example of a community that has lost so much is Lismore, specifically Trinity College Lismore, which was inundated by the flooding that occurred earlier this year. The school has lost many resources, including but not limited to all its sporting equipment and it is Tara’s privilege to be able to assist them in any way possible. We are taking donations to help them purchase new sports equipment.

Please visit the try booking link and pass on the link to family, friends, and the wider Tara community if you wish to donate. Even though the Senior School athletics carnival is over, donations are still open for the rest of the term to everyone (Senior and Junior School).  

https://www.trybooking.com/BZPYW

This is a great cause and we encourage you to pass on the link so that we can give as much as we can to help this community rebuild.

On Wednesday 18 May, the Year 8 SRC hosted Tara’s Greatest Morning Tea, an event held to raise money for cancer research. The aim was to donate at least $500 to the Cancer Council, to support people affected by cancer, empower people to reduce the cancer risk, and find new ways to better detect and treat it. 

Tara students and teachers brought in baked goods and snacks to share with the whole Tara community. At recess, tables were set out with all the delicious treats in a COVID-safe environment for everyone to eat.

A bake-off was held, judged by Mrs Cropper and Mrs Madigan, two of our Senior Food Technology teachers. Senior School staff also held their own Morning Tea the following day.

In total, we raised over $1,300 for the Cancer Council, significantly greater than what we expected. We were pleasantly surprised that all our hard work and planning produced an amazing event, resulting in a large sum of money raised to help create a Cancer-free future. 

Recently, Year 11 and 12 Economics Students from King's and Tara arrived very early at Tara to hear two speakers discussing the 2022 Federal Budget. Mr Matthew Bunny, Economist at Westpac gave the details of the Budget and how it is affecting the banking sector. Dr Edward Mariyani Squire from Western Sydney University guided the students through a critical analysis of the foundations that the Budget was based upon. At the conclusion of the talks the students had a delicious hot breakfast in the Tara Cafeteria.  

The Da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition that is designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of high school students. Based on Leonardo da Vinci's determination to uncover the unknown, students from all over Australia were encouraged to showcase higher level thinking in English, Maths, Ideation, Engineering, Art and Poetry, Science, Creative Producers, Cartography, Code Breaking and Legacy. This year, with the theme of Patterns, the Year 7-8 Decathlon was held on the 24 May and the Year 9-11 Decathlon was held on the 25 May, run by Knox Grammar School. The Decathlon was held online for the second year in a row, and involved a meeting of 100+ schools, all on Zoom. This gave the girls the opportunity to compete against schools from other states, that would not usually be able to compete due to the geographical distance.  

After the initial meeting on Zoom, groups of schools were separated into breakout rooms, with Knox Old Boys hosting each room. As a result of taking part in the Decathlon, the girls were able to develop and refine a variety of skills, including teamwork, and creative thinking, and reflective of the online environment, collaboration, and media literacy skills. The Tara Senior School teams were organised by Miss Brown, with practice sessions supervised by Miss Brown, Mrs Westerbrink and Ms Ngui. 

Tara received some great results and were successful in the following categories:

Year 8 Team - 2nd in Art and Poetry

Year 10 Team - 3rd in Art and Poetry 

Year 11 Team - 3rd in Codebreaking 

Overall, the Da Vinci Decathlon of 2022 was an extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience for the students. Well done girls!

Football Round 4

• S04 Tara 1 vs Pymble 3, WET
• S08 Tara 2 vs Wenona 3, WET
• Y702 Tara 3 vs Abbotsleigh 13, WET

Football Round 5

• S04 Tara 1 vs Abbotsleigh 2, Loss, 1-2
• S08 Tara 2 vs Loreto Normanhurst 3, Loss, 0-11
• Y702 Tara 3 vs Wenona 7, Loss, 0-12

Sarah D - Basketball Captain

Basketball Round 4

• S02 Tara 1 vs St Vincent’s 1, Loss, 30-35
• S08 Tara 2 vs Meriden 2, Loss, 11-24
• S11 Tara 3 vs Kincoppal Rose Bay 5, Win, 17-8
• S12 Tara 4 vs Kincoppal Rose bay 6, Loss, 23-40
• S15 Tara 5 vs Kambala 3, Win, 18-6
• J03 Tara 6 vs Frensham 8, Loss, 8-38
• J09 Tara 7 vs Kincoppal Rose bay 10, Win, 37-20
• J11 Tara 8 vs Danebank 4, Win, 14-6
• J12 Tara 9 vs Wenona 9, Loss, 20-21
• J14 Tara 10 vs Wenona 10, Loss, 4-22
• J15 Tara 11 vs Ravenswood 13, Loss, 12-33
• J15 Tara 12 vs Abbotsleigh 30, Win, 32-10
• Y704 Tara 13 vs Ravenswood 16, Loss, 12-26
• Y707 Tara 14 vs PLC Sydney 14, Loss, 6-15

The Tara 1sts team improved dramatically during their 4th game against the unbeaten St Vincent's team. Abbey V played phenomenally, showing off her dribbling skills and frequently using her speed to get around the defence and score under the basket. Abbey’s defence was also spectacular, especially towards the end of the second half where she was able to apply some great full court pressure and create many fast break opportunities. Charli H also had a brilliant game, perfectly timing her cuts into the key which allowed her to slip behind the defence and score. The game went down to the final seconds with a tough loss by just 5 points. The Tara 03 team had a wonderful game against Loreto Kirribilli with a great win. Arnvi M and Jovana K worked brilliantly together, scoring several goals within the key. Congratulations to all the Tara 03 girls on their first win of the season!

Within the Tara 06 team, Gemma P and Deborah S were stand out players in their game against Frensham. They were relentless on defence, chasing their player up and down the court and getting many rebounds. Unfortunately the game resulted in a tough loss but all the girls must be commended on their ‘never give up’ attitude. The Tara 08 team continued their winning streak in their game against Danebank. Orchid Y was a scoring machine and highly successful in getting rebounds. Bernice T and Claire K applied great defensive pressure and were able to get several steals.

The Tara 13 team played Ravenswood with several girls contributing to the team. Nikki Y was a standout player, playing a key role both offensively and defensively. Sukhmani K similarly was fantastic offensively with some great passes to her team mates. Unfortunately the game ultimately resulted in a loss against a skilled opponent. The Tara 14 had a tough game against Presbyterian Ladies College. Fiona B and Christine K were fundamental to the team, working together to move around the defence and score several points.

Charlotte M - Sports Prefect

The Senior School’s Athletics Carnival was on Monday, 23 May. The whole day was a blast as each girl participated in a range of events from javelin and shotput to long jump and the 100m sprint. The rain wasn’t going to stop the girls from trying their best and having a good time. The athletics carnival is an excellent opportunity for everyone to get involved. 

On the day, the events are split up into championship events and participation – this ensures everyone gets to have a go and earn house points for their house. By far, some of the highlights from the day were the grade games, where girls got to compete in fun (and a tad competitive) ball games such as rob the nest and tunnel ball. The relays are always the highlight of any carnival as our schools’ best runners run together representing their house and grade or in the teacher, coach’s student relay! Overall the 2022 athletics carnival was so much fun for everyone involved. On behalf of all the students, I want to pass on our thanks and appreciation to all the coaches and staff that made the day possible!

Cameron K - Athletics Captain

All girls from Years 7–12 came together in a day full of track and field events. As well as fun participation opportunities such as ball games and staff vs student races, there was a range of championship events including hurdles, sprints, long jump, javelin, discuss and shotput. 

The enthusiasm from all the girls was impressive with great cheering and support ongoing throughout the day. Special note to the Year 7 girls who won the participation award this year!

There was a range of relays consisting of House groups, Year groups and Boarder’s vs Day Girls. This year, Year 9 placed first in the relay and Day Girls took the win!

After a long day of competition, the points were tallied, and athletic champions were announced as follows.  

The Tara Gymnastics gymnasts attended their first competition in over two years in Newcastle on 28 and 29 May. All the girls competed extremely well, taking out many places in all levels and on all apparatus. They all participated in a physical preparation testing program in which they all received ribbons. A special mention to Ava C and Linda H who received a Bronze medal for their physical preparation testing. Amazing effort girls.

A huge congratulations to the following gymnasts for placing on the podium overall in the level they competed at:

Orla A - 1st Overall Level 4 Senior
Linda H - 1st Overall Level 4 Junior
Mirna I - 2nd Overall Level 3 Senior
Cara K - 3rd Overall Level 3 Senior

We are all very proud of every gymnast and are looking forward to seeing some more amazing results throughout 2022.

WELL DONE little champions!!

Congratulations to Nikhita G for her performances at the MLC Levels 5-8 Friendly Competition held on Sunday 5 June at MLC School.

Nikhita G (Level 8): 3rd in Hoop, 3rd Clubs, 2nd Ribbon and 3rd overall

Nikhita also received a special award from the judges for best artistry in performance!

Head Coach Rachel is very pleased with Nikhita’s achievements – Good luck for the next competition this season!

Mrs Michelle Williams - Careers Coordinator

All girls in Yrs 7-12 are encouraged to read this newsletter every week on the Canvas Careers page.

Careers Newsletter - 26 May 2022

Careers Newsletter - 2 June 2022

For more information please contact Mrs Michelle Williams via email.