I must admit that I occasionally like the idea of exams, a test of you being able to show what you know. I think it goes back to my own childhood where each week we had Friday tests in Spelling, Dictation, Maths…but memory’s dimmed and there could have been other tests each week, for the school spelling champions pennant and so forth. So NAPLAN commenced on Tuesday morning and our students seemed happily involved and ready to do their best work. I realise that might be a generalisation, because examinations for some can be a highly stressful experience. We hope that our CCPS students feel confident and ready to show their best thoughts. One of the Year 3 boys said about their NAPLAN tests on Tuesday morning, “It was easy!” (I have heard that one before, from boys around exams). Miss Hirst remarked words to the effect of, ‘That wasn’t what you were thinking a while ago!’ and laughed. CCPS students over the years in NAPLAN have shown their Learning Gains compare very well with any Sunshine Coast’s school’s students. Schools are about learning so learning gains are at the heart of the matter. I am very mindful that in future years all of our students currently in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9, will be sitting Year 12 statewide examinations for each of their subjects for the whole of their course, at the end of Year 12 to complete their schooling. This is a very, very big shift for Queensland education in schools. NAPLAN testing is part of the familiarisation process that should help our young people confidently show their best work when they arrive in Year 12 assessment examinations.