As the end of Term 1 approaches, I would like to congratulate our students for their efforts this term.  I would like to also thank all our Year 8 team who have worked tirelessly each day in ensuring that students have rich and engaging learning programs.  Thank you to our parents also for their efforts to work in partnership with us in supporting high levels of attendance and our high expectations around behaviour.

In staff meetings our staff are continuing their inquiry into better understanding and supporting attendance at KMHS.  The focus of this grade report is to share some of the important research around attendance highlighting the importance of students having high levels of attendance each day during 2024.

Attendance concerns need to be addressed before they becomes problematic. Research shows that missing 10% of school, or about 18 days, negatively affects a student’s academic performance. That’s just two days a month and is known as chronic absence. Chronic absenteeism (missing more than 10% of the school year), is an early indicator of disengagement.

Every day a student attends school counts.  If students attend school 4½ days a week their attendance at the end of the year will be around 90% attendance. This results in 4 weeks missed per year or 16 weeks missed during high school.  We would like our students to have a minimum attendance of at least 90% each year because any less than this impacts their social and academic successes.  If students attend 4 days a week their attendance at the end of the year will be around 80% attendance.  This results in more than half a term missed per year or one year of school missed at KMHS over the course of their schooling. If students attending 3½ days each week their attendance at the end of the year will be around 70% attendance and this results in more than a quarter of the school year missed each year. 

Every minute a student arrives at school counts. Arriving late or missing class leads to missed explicit instruction and the possibility of also missing the learning of new concepts that are being presented and explained. Looking at our attendance data we have noticed that several students are arriving at school late each day.  Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to over 3 days lost learning each year while arriving 15 minutes late every day adds up to 2 weeks absence a year.  If a student arrives 30 minutes late every day they miss around 19 days of learning. While on the surface a late arrival might not seem like much of a problem however, when this continues over time it results in a lot of missed learning.

Before I conclude this grade report I’d like to share some further messages. 

Students who miss school don’t attain essential literacy, numeracy and social skills and will require intervention to catch up. Poor attendance can affect a student’s ability to make and keep friendships; a vital part of growing up. Attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience.

Less than 65% of children achieve good results in literacy and numeracy with an average of 15 days absence a year compared to almost 90% where the average is less than 8 days. Chronic absence can be a leading indicator that a student might not complete high school impacting future employment opportunities. 

When students improve their attendance rates, they improve their academic prospects and chances of future success.  This is the work we are engaging in together. 

If you feel that your child has missed too much school already this term, we encourage you to contact their class teacher, Grade Leader or Grade AST so we can work in partnership with you in building a plan that removes any barriers to attendance and improves their feeling of engagement and satisfaction with learning. 

I hope that all parents and students enjoy a restful break during the school holidays and we look forward to working in partnership with you again during Term 2 this year.

Year 8 contact details:

8A Class Teacher – Mr Todd Nankervis - todd.nankervis@decyp.tas.gov.au

8B Class Teacher – Mr Leigh Richardson - leigh.richardson@decyp.tas.gov.au

8C Class Teacher – Ms Sherron Casey - sherron.casey@decyp.tas.gov.au

8D Class Teacher – Mrs Emma Dobson - emma.l.dobson@decyp.tas.gov.au

8E Class Teacher – Mr Dylan Warren - dylan.warren@decyp.tas.gov.au

8F Class Teacher – Mr Nick Stokes - nick.stokes@decyp.tas.gov.au

Additional teachers working with Year 8:

Mrs Jade Howard - jade.howard@decyp.tas.gov.au

Mrs Jo Bent - joanna.bent@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 Leader – Miss Emma Attard - emma.attard@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 Leader – Mr Daniel Richardson - daniel.richardson@decyp.tas.gov.au

Grade 8 AST – Mr Nathan Karas - nathan.karas@decyp.tas.gov.au

Year 8 Assistant Principal – Mrs Kate Hume  kate.hume@decyp.tas.gov.au