School information and expectations

SMS messaging and attendance

At Nepean student attendance and safety is a high priority. We know that students who attend regularly are more likely to be successful and safe at school.

To improve our attendance procedures, we will be informing parents/caregivers about any unexplained absences for their child. The school expects parents/carers to contact the school in advance if they know their child is to be absent. An SMS text message will be automatically sent to the mobile phones of parents explaining that our records show that your child is absent from school. Reply by pressing the reply option on your mobile phone when you receive a message from the school and add your child’s name, year, date of absence and the reason they are absent or late.

If you don’t reply by text, please send a note with your child on their return to school. Some of the other uses of the SMS messaging system could include notification of:

• Announcements or reminders of meetings or forthcoming events.
• Band/Choir/Music lesson reminders.
• Parent Teacher Night.
• Presentation Night.
• Recognition Assembly.

General attendance issues

Regular attendance is an essential component of learning and student welfare at our school. Regular attendance is essential to satisfy:

• The legal requirements of the Education Reform Act 1990.
• Preliminary HSC regulations.
• Higher School Certificate regulations.

Roll call organisation

Roll call takes place at the beginning of the school day, as part of the DEAR program and period by period by all teachers. Students are organised by year into roll groups. There are also a few selected specialist roll classes, e.g. SRC, Peer Reading and Aboriginal roll calls.

Extended absences

If your child is going to be away for a considerable period of time due to illness, family holidays etc., please contact the Administration Office so that arrangements can be discussed with the Principal. School work may be able to be provided. An Exemption Form should be completed for extended absences and can be obtained from the Administration Office.

Application for extended leave

Senior students

All Year 11 students must attend roll call. During study periods Year 11 and 12 students may be either in the senior area or attend the Library and complete independent work. Senior students with a study period in Period 5
may go home.

Concerned about your child’s attendance?

Contact the Head Teacher Administration immediately so that the appropriate action can be taken.  Early intervention usually ensures quick resolution. Please refer to the Student Diary for information about:

• Late arrivals.
• Leaving school early.

Explaining absences

Parents are required to provide a written explanation for their child’s absences. If no explanation is received within 7 school days the roll is marked with an ‘A’ indicating an unjustified absences. Students absent for 3 days or more should provide a Doctor’s Certificate, if applicable, upon their return.

Does my child have to bring an electronic device to school?

No. Students are encouraged to bring approved electronic devices to school to enhance their learning experiences. ICT connects students to other students and teachers to provide a collaborative learning environment and is intended to assist with the learning outcomes.

Will my child be disadvantaged in class if he or she does not have a device?

No. Our school's BYOD equity policy ensures all students can have access to a device. This may include short term loan from the library, or even a long term loan in some circumstances. Electronic devices are used as tools to enhance learning, not as tools to replace learning. Good learning outcomes can be achieved with a range of learning tools.

My child brings a phone to school that has the same functionality as larger devices. Can my child’s phone be used as a BYOD device?

No. Even large phone screens are too small to be effective as BYOD devices. While teachers may give student permission occasionally to use phones in class (e.g. to listen to a music track in Music), phones are not considered BYOD appropriate devices.

Who is responsible for maintaining and repairing my child’s device?

The owner of the device is responsible for maintaining and repairing the device. All devices need some form of maintenance, ranging from updates to charging cycles to maximise battery life. The school does not provide repair or maintenance to BYOD devices.

What happens if someone breaks someone else's device?

Students are responsible for their own devices. Nepean CAPA High School is not responsible for any loss, theft or damage to the device or data stored on the device. Parents need to encourage and remind students to look after their devices. Lockers are available through the front office. Malicious damage of property will be dealt with via the normal discipline processes of the school.

What do I need to load onto the device?

Students are provided FREE access to the full Microsoft 365 suite of software and mobile apps. That is Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Sway and more. All NSW DEC schools are also eligible to download Adobe Creative Cloud through their student portal also. All students are encouraged to download and use Vivi to share work with teachers in the classroom or screenshot work teachers display for annotation.

How will students store and share their digital work?

Students will have access to cloud-based storage services such as OneDrive for saving and sharing documents. These services are available from devices with an Internet connection.

How will we ensure students remain "cybersafe" in and out of the classroom?

Digital citizenship instruction integrated with classroom learning is an essential component of any Bring Your Own Devices program. Though the nature of the program will be tailored to meet the extra demands of personal laptops and additional mobile devices throughout the school. Regular dialogue and resources will be shared regarding cyber safety.

All My Own Work

All My Own Work (AMOW) is designed to give students the opportunity to understand, value and use ethical practices when locating and using information during their studies. This includes following the principles of ethical practice to avoid malpractice when students prepare their work.

To be eligible for entry into a Preliminary and/or Higher School Certificate (HSC) course, and for the award of the HSC, all students must complete AMOW or its equivalent. Students studying a full Stage 6 Life Skills pattern of study are not required to complete AMOW.

Learn more

HSC minimum standard

All students need to reach a minimum standard of functional literacy and numeracy to receive the HSC. Find out what skills are needed to meet the standard, how the tests work, and the resources available.

The HSC minimum standard is set at Level 3 of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).

Students need to achieve Level 3 or 4 in short online numeracy, reading and writing tests of skills for everyday life to meet the HSC minimum standard.

This means that students who demonstrate the standard have the skills to do things like:

• follow safety instructions in equipment manuals
• understand a mobile phone plan
• write a job application
• create a personal weekly budget.

HSC minimum standard information

Satisfactory completion of a course

To receive a result in a course which will count towards an HSC and/or an ATAR, you must satisfactorily complete that course. Satisfactory completion of a course involves:

1. Followed the course developed or endorsed by NESA– this means you must attend classes, do the work set by the teacher, study the topics contained in the syllabus, hand in the work required including assessment and non assessment tasks etc
2. Applied themselves with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences provided in the course by the school– this means that you must work consistently and demonstrate to your teacher that you have made sufficient effort throughout the course
3. Achieving some or all of the course outcomes – this means actually doing the work, handing in the assessments and course work and being able to show that you have learnt something about the subject by achieving good marks.

N Award warnings

The school will give you and your parents/carers written warnings in sufficient time to allow you to correct any problems regarding your achievement, application or completion of courses – the three criteria above. If you receive an N warning letter you must complete the tasks as detailed in the letter.

If you receive two ‘N’ warnings in any particular course and you do not complete the tasks it may result in an N determination, which means you have not completed that course and can not count it towards your HSC or ATAR.

Study period requirements

All senior students have the responsibility to ensure they use study periods effectively and need to make a commitment that they won’t waste this valuable time. Senior students have access to spaces to assist in their study; Year 11-Mezzanine of Library; Year 12- J6 Study Centre.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Bags, food or drinks remain in downstairs designated spaces in the library
• Playing computer games or games on devices is not efficient use of time
• The spaces are not designed for students to mingle in large groups, chat loudly or other inappropriate behaviour
• Asking for help and support in their studies
• Being respectful of the space and how they treat the equipment

Senior attendance requirements

Students are to sign in at the front office to indicate they are arriving at school after 8:55am or leaving before the end of period 5. Study periods are allocated to senior students across the state to assist them in meeting the rigorous demands of the senior school. Study periods are made available so that students can complete set tasks in the library/J6, liaise with staff regarding their classwork or travel to other sites such as TAFE. These also compensate for the extra time spent learning outside of normal school hours through movement in courses such as TAFE or VET.

Year 11 and 12 students must adhere to certain requirements:

1. Students must attend all scheduled classes.
2. Once students have arrived at school, they must not leave school premises. If students do leave the school grounds, disciplinary consequences will apply in line with truancy (attendance).
3. If a student has a study period and would like to see a teacher or work on a major project, they must have a note from the relevant teacher (which also indicates supervision).
4. All students must attend all study periods unless there is a flexible arrangement that has been agreed upon with the Deputy Principal. This can be revoked if students truant classes/study periods or have N warning letters.
5. All Year 11 students are expected at Roll Call as it is an opportunity to have the whole group together and create accurate attendance records.
6. Students need to sign out prior to leaving the school.

Driving to and from school

Each year we have a number of students who drive to school. As you would understand we can take no responsibility for this. It is a family decision. All students who drive need to take care and be responsible when driving. No school or family wants to see any injuries to their students. You are often driving at the busiest times of the days when there are buses and small children about.

If you wish to drive to and from school at any time during the year, you must return this permission note to the front office, signed by your parent or guardian. The school accepts no responsibility for any damage, theft or other malpractice which may occur to students’ cars. Under no circumstances are drivers allowed to use vehicles during the day as a meeting point or to drive i.e. to get lunch.

If you wish to travel in a car driven by another student to or from school at any time during the year you must also return the appropriate permission slipto the front office. Passengers have just as much responsibility as the driver to ensure safety on the roads. Under no circumstances are drivers to take other students with them unless they have permission to do so.

• Permission note