31 May 2017
No, Maddie Cummings (pictured) is not playing around while she should be reading. She is actually using a fun learning device simply known as a whisper phone that allows her to independently read and clearly hear herself without disturbing her classmates. Her teacher, Miss Amy Symons, smiles when she adds that it's amazing the impact a few plumbing joints and pipe can make on student engagement. On a more serious note, Miss Symons added: "Strong reading programs underpin our school's single minded focus that students will reach reading proficiency". Principal Kel Smerdon said: "The school has four consecutive years of strong Year 3 Reading trend data improvement with the school's Year 3-5 NAPLAN growth placed in the state's Top 5 %". Mr Smerdon attributed this growth to a consistent focus on teacher quality through mentoring and coaching as well as the capacity to reduce class sizes and substantially resource learning support through the Gonski model. Mr Smerdon said: "We don't wait around in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 to ensure students are meeting benchmarks. Students are tracked and supported extensively from day one because if school's neglect junior students they damage learning outcomes moving forward". It seems the proof is once again in the data as Young North Public School has also placed in the top 15% of the state when combined Kindergarten to Year 3 Literacy and Numeracy data was released for the first time this year. It seems one of our local schools has plenty to be proud of.