NAPLAN, finally,  commenced this week and we congratulate our Year 3 and Year 5 students for their positive participation. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a nationwide assessment that provides a snapshot of core skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It offers useful data that helps parents and schools understand how students are progressing against national benchmarks and can highlight areas where further support or extension may be valuable.

Make-up tests will take place when students return if they were absent.

Thank you for ensuring your children are ready to participate especially given the challenges with ACARA’s technology. We are very proud of their efforts and the way they have approached these assessments.

The year has started strong for our Year 6 leaders. They have been meeting during lunch each Monday with Mrs Young, Ms Clayton and Mrs Ford to plan for the year. Our Student Identified Captains have met and discussed their strengths and priorities for 2026. 

We are pleased to announce the following roles for our Student Identified Captains: 

• Community Captains – Alice Liang and Leo Jones
• Environmental Captains – Annabel Carroll and Noah Fineberg
• Technology Captains – Annie Latis and Charlie Deng
• Wellbeing and Pastoral Care Captains – Cara Serfontein and Isaac Deacon

Congratulations to our Junior School swim team for their outstanding performance at the CASA Primary Swimming Championships held recently at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. The evening was a proud moment for Illawarra Grammar, with consistent excellence across relay and individual events, ultimately earning us the title of Champion School.

Our mixed relay team set the tone for the meet, winning the opening event in impressive fashion. Throughout the evening, our swimmers secured victory in three of the five relays and finished second in another, showcasing remarkable teamwork. Additionally, five swimmers earned top-three places in their respective age categories, and seventeen qualified for the CIS Championships on March 25.

Special congratulations to Age Champions:

• Yuxuan (Joey) Ren – 1st Junior Girls
• Stephanie Pan – 3rd Junior Girls
• Alexander Blair – 2nd Junior Boys
• Cara Serfontein – 2nd Senior Girls
• Ethan Zhang – 3rd Senior Boys

We wish our swimmers the very best as they prepare to represent Illawarra Grammar and CASA with pride at the upcoming CIS Championships.

Mrs Jessica Ford, Director of Academic and Pastoral Care

Thank you to all families who attended our Parent Teacher Interviews last week. Something I have noticed straight away about Illawarra Grammar is the strong partnerships we have with our families. It was a pleasure to walk around the School throughout the week and observe the meaningful conversations taking place about each student’s learning. These discussions are an important part of our shared commitment to every child’s growth.

We know that when school and home work together in partnership our students feel supported, confident and motivated. How fortunate to be part of a school community that is actively working together to support our young learners. 

Another important way that Illawarra Grammar continues to  partner with families is through our Celebrations of Learning. These Celebrations of Learning are an opportunity for your child to share what learning looks like in their classroom. It is not only a celebration of their growth, but also an insight into our rigorous and intentional learning programs. We are looking forward to having the following Celebrations of Learning this term: 

• Kindergarten Celebration of Learning – Wednesday 25 March 9.30am-10.30am 
• Year 1 Celebration of Learning – Monday 30 March 11.50am-12.40pm
• Year 4 Celebration of Learning – Tuesday 31 March 11.50am-12.40pm

Harmony Week will be celebrated across Australia next week. It is a time in the year when we recognise and honour the rich cultural diversity within our School community, and more broadly, our country. Harmony Week reminds us that everyone belongs and it provides an opportunity for students to learn about, appreciate and celebrate the many cultures that shape who we are. Across the Junior School, students will participate in learning experiences in their classroom that not only encourage inclusivity and respect, but also understand the history of Harmony Week and why it is significant.

Please note that parking in the bus zone on Princes Highway is illegal. Students will not be released from school, even with siblings, to meet parents and carers in cars parked in the bus zone. Please utilise carline or park in surrounding streets to safely collect students.

Please remain in your vehicle while in carline. Do not exit your car to collect your child, as this disrupts traffic flow and compromises safety of students and staff.

Please also note that students who are in Year 2 and above, with siblings in the Senior School, are asked to meet their older siblings at the Senior School Carline. This helps to ease congestion and supports the smooth running of the Junior School Carline.

l

Bella Carswell – Year 12

On Monday, the Year 12 Biology students went on an excursion to the Museum of Disease at the University of New South Wales to further our understanding of infectious and non-infectious diseases.

After the one-and-a-half-hour bus ride to the University of New South Wales, we attended a presentation on the effects of disease on organs, where we observed real donated specimens preserved in formaldehyde display containers. During the talk, we learned about the detrimental effects that poor lifestyle choices can have on the body and how people can reduce their risk of developing disease.

We then visited the main display, which contained more than 100 donated organs affected by disease. Here, we inquired about the causes of infectious diseases and the medical treatments available. Seeing real examples was particularly helpful in understanding the true impacts of these illnesses.

After lunch at the UNSW food court, we attended another presentation focused on genetics and DNA. In this session, we learned what DNA is made of, what it is used for, and how it supports biomedical research into disease.

We were also fortunate to take part in a station-based activity organised by the UNSW staff. Each station included information panels and interactive tasks, such as creating our own plasmid. These activities added a visual and hands-on element to the experience, helping us gain memorable insights. We explored how DNA is used in diabetes treatment and how genetic conditions are passed down through families.

Overall, the excursion to the UNSW Museum of Disease was a valuable experience that greatly expanded our understanding of disease and modern biomedical research. Thank you to Miss Araparkas and Mr Parsons for organising the excursion.