Dear Macgregor Community,

Time flies when you’re having fun and it’s hard to believe we are already in Week 6. Last Friday, we held a Clean Up Australia Day lunchtime event and our playground is sparkling as a result. A big thank you to Kelly Reeves for leading this initiative. Please read on to hear more about what’s been happening in and around our school.

Swimming Carnival and Water Fun Day

Our Swimming Carnival and Water Fun Day were held on Monday 2 March and our students had an amazing day. A tremendous amount of work happens behind the scenes to ensure every child has the opportunity to participate, and we are grateful for the collective effort that made the day such a success.

Thank you to Tara, our PE Specialist, and to all staff who supported the event with organisation, supervision, and encouragement. Thank you also to the parents who assisted before and after the carnival, and to those who volunteered on the day. Your contribution helped everything run smoothly.

Most importantly, congratulations to our delightful students. They were outstanding in both the competitive events and the novelty activities. Their cheering, teamwork, and genuine support for one another, regardless of House groups, were a pleasure to witness and a real credit to our school community.

Respond to the Signal to Attend & Face and Track the Speaker

This is our pedagogical (learning) focus for the next five weeks. It strengthens classroom routines that help students listen, participate, and stay engaged.

Students will be learning to:

• Respond quickly and calmly to the teacher’s signal so the whole class is ready to learn together.

• Face and track the speaker, whether it is the teacher or another student, to show strong listening and respect.

These routines help students follow instructions, participate confidently, and support practices like discussion, partner work, and whole‑class responses.

Why These Focus Areas Matter

Together, these routines help create:

• Smooth transitions and calmer learning environments

• Improved listening and participation

• Safe and predictable movement around the school

• Stronger learning habits that benefit every child

We appreciate your support as we work with students to build these positive routines. Small, consistent habits make a big difference to learning and wellbeing.

NAPLAN testing will occur in our school between 11 and 23 March 2026 for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Online NAPLAN tests provide more precise results and are engaging for students. The tests are tailored (or adaptive), which means that each test presents questions that may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. This helps students remain engaged with the assessment.

Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway.

All Year 3 students will complete the writing assessment on paper.

NAPLAN provides valuable information to schools and parents about literacy and numeracy achievement. It supports school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor student progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.

All eligible students are encouraged and supported to participate in NAPLAN testing. Visit www.nap.edu.au to see interactive versions of the test and for more information.