Year Sevens will be moving to High School in 2022. The Department is working towards this move and assessing what needs to be done by then, as well as how it will happen. There are many implications that the move creates and these have to be worked through as well.
Please click on the link below to get to the Department’s page and read parent updates. If you keep this link handy, you will be able to keep abreast of what is happening as it continues to be updated.
Education Department Information Page
In relation to Woodend Primary School, it will include the following changes;
- year seven students transitioning to high school at the end of 2021 to their allocated high school.
- year six students in 2021 will then also be moving to their allocated high school at the end of 2021. Note: This years year 4 students will be in year six in 2021 and will be the first group moving to year seven in high school in 2022.
We will have to consider;
- what graduation looks like at the end of 2021 for year 6 and year 7 students? Questions such as; will it be one large graduation or two smaller graduations that year? Where will we hold it if we have one larger graduation? What will the structure look like that year?
- how do we ensure the Canberra experience is a reality for 2021? Can we realistically take the number of students when year 5,6 and 7 numbers are added together? Can accomodation in Canberra cater for such a large number? Will we be competing against other schools for accomodation space, transport etc at this time as well? How are year five students impacted on during that year?
- in 2022, will it mean additional spaces will be available at our school for enrolments? Is the possibility for this going to be reduced anyway if the new building program happens during 2022 rather than 2020 or 2021 as first proposed (there may be a delay while year seven classrooms etc are being built or refurbished in high schools)?
- what does it mean for staffing? Are any teachers going to take up the offer of teaching in high schools? Will it change the number of SSO hours that we need in relation to student support?
I urge you to read the Department’s information and ask questions through Parent Network or any of our communication channels. You are all welcome to send questions via email to dl.1056.info@schools.sa.edu.au and we will respond either personally or via the NewsBlog. Title it “Year Sevens moving to High School in 2022”.
Kind regards,
Steve Freeman
Principal
August 26, 2019 at 8:51 am
in regards to the Canberra trip it has always been yr 6 and yr 7 who go together so i dont see how this will be an issue for those children in 2021
August 26, 2019 at 9:17 am
Hi Sam, the 6 and 7 students are not so much effected. Rather it is considering if year 5 students get to go as otherwise they miss out on the rotation and we would have one year level that didn’t get the opportunity to go. We are finding that situation also with the MYOJO trip scheduled for 2020. We have had to open it up to year 5’s otherwise they would miss out on at least having the opportunity to consider that trip. What we don’t know is if high schools will then begin a Canberra trip for year sevens in high school from 2022. If that happens then we will have to rethink what role we have in visiting our National Capital. Lots of food for thought at the moment.
Thank you for asking Sam.
Kind regards,
Steve
August 26, 2019 at 11:39 am
hi Steve yes i see the problem now. I’m really hoping it doesn’t affect the trip as i know its a fabulous camp the kids look forward too. my boy is due to go in yr7 in 2021 and i really hope he gets the opportunity to do so. definitely alot of forward thinking to be done.
August 26, 2019 at 11:44 am
another thought is as it happens every 2 yrs after 2021 the next one would be 2023 we could offer one in 2022 and make it a yr 5 and yr 6 then the no one would miss out and then continue every 2yrs from then. then offer local school camps from yr 2 to yr 4
August 26, 2019 at 5:23 pm
We have given that some thought and unfortunately it then means that parents have both a Canberra Camp (about $650) and a MYOJO exchange (about $3,000) being offered in the same year. That would be a lot to ask of parents which we do try to avoid if possible. I appreciate your questions as it does give more to think about.
August 26, 2019 at 11:47 am
as for graduations i guess it depends on the number of children. maybe having 2 separate formal ones for awards and speeches and combining a big party/disco for the 2 years together could be an option.
August 26, 2019 at 5:26 pm
Over time we will get some thoughts from families effected by the timing of the graduations and will try to reach a solution that meets most wishes. I am keen to gather any thoughts from other parents as well on this matter.
September 2, 2019 at 2:54 pm
Is it the grade 5 students of 2021 that would likely miss out? Could it not be split for half of them to go one year and the remainder the next? Even if this means that kids have the same cohort of students in their class for 2 years – or are separated into two classes and only those children rotate between each other for new classes the following year?
As for the graduation a lot of the kids do a lot of sports together and get along well together. A joint one would be lovely for them, if not the presentations separately and then combine afterwards for the ‘party’. I think given they will both enter high school together, keeping them as a solid unit will also help with their transition as well.
September 7, 2019 at 11:22 pm
Hi Cass, we will look at the various ways to accomodate students. There will be one year certainly that a year level may potentially miss out on opportunities that have occurred regularly for some time now. Class structures depend on numbers and information that we get from teachers, students and parents. I think it may be too difficult to have students remain in the same groups for 2 years in a row. However, it will be one of the strategies that will be looked at.
You make good points about Graduation. There are certainly two schools of thought and we will have to make a call on a structure closer to the time in 2021.