Under the Australian Government’s Disability Standards for Education (DSE) 2005, schools are required to consider what adjustments to assessment conditions are reasonable in the context of the eligible student’s circumstances. Adjustments are then provided to minimise, as much as possible, barriers for a student whose disability, impairment, medical condition or other circumstances may affect their ability to read, respond to or participate in assessment. 

These barriers fall into three broad categories:

• permanent
• temporary
• intermittent

Students may also be eligible for AARA where illness and misadventure (for example a broken limb) or other situations may prevent students from demonstrating their learning, knowledge and skill in assessment.

Ineligibility - Students are not eligible for AARA on the following grounds:

• teacher absence or other teacher-related difficulties
• matters that the student could have avoided including technological difficulties and poor time management
• matters of the student’s or parent’s/carer’s own choosing (e.g. family holidays, co-curricular commitments)

At MSM, all students are required to provide documentation to be considered for AARA. Families have the opportunity of getting a confidential medical report completed, which is available on the College website (under the Resources for Parents link), or health professionals may use a different report format, as long as the report provides:

• a diagnosis of the disability and/or medical condition
• a date of diagnosis
• a date of occurrence or onset of the disability and/or medical condition
• details of symptoms, treatment or a course of action related to the disability and/or medical condition
• how the condition affects the student participating in assessment, particularly timed assessment
• professional recommendations and reasons for the AARA request/s.

Ms Sissi Lilley, Program Leader – Middle Years and Ms Jo Howe, Program Leader – Senior Years manage AARA processes in the College and review eligibility every term and medical documentation needs to remain current. For students in the Middle Years, this documentation needs to be provided annually for short-term conditions. For students in the Senior Years, this documentation may need to be provided every six months, depending on the condition and QCAA requirements. It is important to note that AARA does not necessarily transfer from one semester or unit to the next as the overall goal is to build skills and capacity in students so that they are able to complete assessment without AARA wherever possible. If a parent feels that their daughter may be an eligible candidate for AARA, please contact the relevant Program Leader for an initial conversation.

Year 10 Immunisation

A reminder that Year 10 Immunisations will take place on Thursday 14 July.
 

Uniform

It is lovely to see our students wearing their Winter Uniform with pride. A reminder that Sports Uniforms are not to be worn to and from the College. Students are expected to use the College bag or College crested/logo tote as part of their uniform. If students require more space than their tote to carry essential items, they are NOT to carry a different tote or other bag, they will need to be using their College bag. 
 

Student Drivers

We have an increasing number of student drivers at the College and I am pleased to report that for the most part they are exercising very safe driving habits. The streets surrounding the College have limited parking and as such, we respectfully request that students avoid parking in Aloomba Road to enable staff to access the parking available in this road. Thank you in advance for your support of our staff in this matter.