Registration of students on the Student Information Records System (SIRS) in 2019

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
Lynn.Galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au
dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools and other education providers are asked to note the following important dates as the last date for the initial upload of student registration and demographic information to the Student Information Records System (SIRS) in 2019. Please do not leave it until the last date to upload your data.

Thursday, 14 February 2019

• Initial 2019 registration and demographic information for Years 10–12 students (required for Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) student lists and password generation)
• Initial 2019 registration and demographic information for ALL Kindergarten–Year 6 students where these students attend schools either administering National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Online or delivering Brightpath
• Initial 2019 registration and demographic information for all Year 7 and Year 9 students where these students attend schools administering NAPLAN Online
• Initial 2019 registration information for all teachers where students attend schools delivering Brightpath.

Thursday, 14 March 2019

• Registration and demographic information for all remaining Years 7–9 students is due to be uploaded to SIRS on Thursday, 14 March 2019.

Thursday, 11 April 2019

• Registration and demographic information for Kindergarten–Year 6 students where these students attend schools not administering NAPLAN Online or delivering Brightpath is due to be uploaded on Thursday, 11 April 2019.

Updates to registration and demographic information should be uploaded into SIRS on a regular basis for the remainder of the year.

Details of how to register students are provided in the updated Data Procedures Manual 2018, with links to assist schools using Reporting to Parents, MAZE, and Excel. There is also a separate Student Registration Procedures Manual 2018 – Primary Students found at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/349641/Student-Registration-Procedures-Manual-2018-Primary-Students.pdf to assist primary schools with creating and uploading their Student Registration and Demographic File (SRGDG).

Schools are requested to include their school code in any correspondence.

Western Australian Student Number (WASN) requests for 2019

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
Lynn.Galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au
numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au

All current students in Western Australia should have been allocated a Western Australian Student Number (WASN), and be registered with the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. This number remains with the student throughout their school life. Schools need to recognise the importance of the WASN to avoid duplication of records and maintain continuity of student data.

From 8 October 2018, schools will only be able to request WASNs through the Student Information Record System (SIRS) for Kindergarten students commencing in 2019.

For students in academic years other than Kindergarten, contact numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au and give details of the student’s legal surname, legal first name, date of birth and academic year. It is also useful to include your school code in any correspondence. Numbers will be sent back if the student already has one allocated and new numbers requested and generated by the system for those students without a number.

All secondary schools with a Year 7 intake can send a complete list (spreadsheet) of Year 7 students entering their school, including the student’s legal surname, legal first name and date of birth and we will look up the numbers on their behalf.

A reminder that details of how to register students can be found in the Student Registration Procedures Manual 2018 – Primary Students found at  https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/349641/Student-Registration-Procedures-Manual-2018-Primary-Students-web-version.PDF with links to assist schools using Integris (RTP), Civica Maze, and Excel. There is also a Guide to uploading Student Registration and Demographic (SRGDG) file found at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/349636/GUIDE-TO-UPLOADING-STUDENT-REGISTRATION-AND-DEMOGRAPHIC-FILE.pdf and some online training videos found at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/sirs-info/primary-schools.

New report related to the Externally Set Tasks (EST) available for schools

Contacts
John Newman (08) 9273 6757
John.Newman@scsa.wa.edu.au

Helen Hawley (08) 9273 6728
Helen.Hawley@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are advised that an additional Externally Set Task report (EST018) is now available for schools to access through SIRS:  Reports > Other Reports > Externally Set Tasks > EST018 – EST Percentage Scores and Grades.

This report will be available for schools each year only after the Year 12 school data is finalised, as the report provides for each General course a chart of a school’s Year 12 final grades and student EST marks mapped against the state wide distribution of marks for the EST.

When the report is downloaded, the final page provides a graphic explanation of how the report can be read and the lines of inquiry that it can support.

Schools are reminded that other useful reports related to school EST data include:

Minor clarification to ATAR Year 12 syllabuses for Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry, Marine and Maritime Studies for teaching and examination in 2019

Contact
Nolene Harris (08) 9273 6727
Nolene.Harris@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that the text ‘including interpreting confidence intervals in secondary data’ has been deleted from the fifth dot point in the Science Inquiry Skills

The updated version of the ATAR syllabuses can be found on the Science Learning Area, Biology Human Biology, Chemistry, and Marine and Maritime Studies course pages of the Years 11 and 12 section of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website:

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/science/biology

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/science/chemistry

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/science/human-biology

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/science/marine-and-maritime-studies

Sample course outlines have been updated accordingly.

Literature Expanded Text List

Contact
Paula Beck (08) 9273 6782
Paula.Beck@scsa.wa.edu.au

The ATAR expanded list of literature includes the contents of the anthologies that appear within the Literature prescribed text list. This document has been added to the Literature ATAR course page under Syllabus: https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/english/literature.

Schools are advised to ensure that all materials used as primary texts in their Literature course appear in the expanded text list, to avoid students receiving a text penalty in the examination. Literature teachers are advised to encourage their Year 12 students to check that all texts they may consider using as primary texts in the examinations are included in the expanded text list. Use the ‘Command F’ or ‘Control F’ function to search for specific titles or authors within each tab via your spreadsheet program.

The prescribed text list has not been altered or updated.

Corrections to the Integrated Science ATAR Year 11 and 12 syllabuses for teaching and examination in 2019

Contact
Julie Weber (08) 9273 6381
Julie.Weber@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that corrections have been made to formulae in the Integrated Science ATAR Year 11 – Unit 1 and the Integrated Science ATAR Year 12 – Units 3 and 4.

The updated version of the ATAR syllabuses can be found on the Integrated Science ATAR course page under Syllabus: https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/science/integrated-science.

Changes to Composition Portfolio in Music ATAR syllabus for Years 11 and 12

Contact
Nick Fielding (08) 9273 6756
Nick.Fielding@scsa.wa.edu.au

Minor amendments, clarifications and additions (relating only to students completing a composition portfolio) have been made to the Music ATAR Year 11 and Year 12 syllabuses for use from 2019 onwards. The key changes are as follows:

• the school-based assessment table has been modified to include ‘other composition activities’
• suggested school-based assessments have been added
• grade descriptions related to composition have been added
• the portfolio submission requirements in the examination design brief have been modified:
  • total combined time must be 15-20 minutes
  • portfolios to contain a minimum of three pieces (no maximum)
  • only one arrangement permitted as part of the portfolio.

Physics Formulae and Data booklet revised for 2019

Contact
Joy Cicchini (08) 9273 6788
Joy.Cicchini@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that minor changes have been made to the Physic ATAR Year 12 2019 Draft Data booklet used for examination. The changes include:

• two equations from the Year 11 syllabus were added, as their relativistic equations are already included. These are p = mv, E = mc²
• the symbol for electromotive force (emf) ε was added to the emf equations
• the Elementary particles model table has been amended as follows:
  • spin was removed as it is not one of the properties that is covered in the syllabus
  • spin has been replaced by Baryon number and Lepton number which are in the syllabus. Lepton number and baryon number are examples of quantities that are conserved in all reactions
• Mass of particles is referred to as ‘Mass (at rest)’
• the units ‘Megaparsec’ and ‘Light year’ were added, as these units are often used when describing astronomical distances.

A draft copy of the Formulae and Data booklet can be found on the Physics ATAR Course page under Examination Materials: https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/science/physics.