The Newman Selective Gifted Education Program
De La Salle College Ashfield became an accredited Newman Selective Gifted Education School in 2018. Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) initiated the Newman Program in 2011 as a response to ensuring educational equity was achieved for gifted learners in both Catholic Primary and Secondary schools.
Newman Selective schools provide high-quality professional learning for staff and an authentically rigorous program for gifted learners within a nurturing Catholic environment, thus enhancing the whole-person. They offer a wide range of opportunities that cater for a variety of gifted learners and supports students’ social and emotional wellbeing.
The guiding principle for our Newman Selective Gifted Education Program is based around the understanding that ‘Gifted Learners are best placed academically, socially, and emotionally when they are with like-ability peers for a significant proportion of their time at school.’
At DLSA we have in place a set of appropriate identification measures and procedures to identify gifted students. We use this information to analyse student needs and to inform planning of learning experiences. We use a range of objective and subjective measures to determine which students require the pace, depth and complexity we seek to offer in our Newman Class. We collate data and information from a wide range of sources including information from primary schools, Allwell Tests, Progressive Assessment Tests (PAT), NAPLAN, and information provided by parents during enrolment interviews and beyond.
There are a few differences between the learning that occurs in the Newman Selective classes and the general mixed ability classes. In the Newman classes, the common core content is still taught, as with other classes, but because of the ability of gifted students to master the content faster, the Newman teacher, may at times explore content at different levels of complexity, breadth and depth, depending on the needs of the different students.
In 2019 and beyond, De La Salle Ashfield will be participating in Phase 3 of the Newman Expansion, an initiative that focuses on a systematic identification and selection process for students interested in being considered for a place in our Newman Selective classes. We would like to invite interested parents to complete the Parent Nomination form on behalf of their child in order to apply for a place in our Newman classes.
Nomination Process
If you choose to complete and submit the Parent Nomination form, your child will sit the Newman Selective Higher Ability Assessment test, which has been designed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Details regarding the test will be shared once your child’s nomination has been reviewed.
Instructions on how to apply for a placement in the Newman Selective cohort are listed below –
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Parents may download and complete the form and submit with their child's enrolment application.
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Attach copies of supporting evidence to the nomination form (eg: ICAS Competition results).
Our Catholic Primary feeder schools will provide us with your child’s diagnostic assessment data, such as PAT Math and PAT Reading, which will support their nomination. There will be no need for parents to collect any information from their child’s Catholic feeder Primary school teacher as this will be shared with the College via Compass.
If your child has been enrolled from a school outside of Sydney Catholic Schools, we recommend asking your child’s Primary school teacher to provide you with any diagnostic assessment information they have gathered that is related to your child’s educational development (eg: PAT Math results) and attach this information to the nomination form.
Each nomination for a placement in a Newman Selective Gifted Education Secondary class will be carefully considered by the Newman Selection Panel, even those without additional evidence.
Contact Details:
If you have any questions in relation to the Newman Selective Gifted Education nomination process, please contact our Leader of Pedagogy & Learning, Mr Steve Long, at the College on Ph: 9797 3200.
Letter to Apply for Newman Selective Cohert (please click)
Newman Selective Application Form (please click)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Click here to view the Frequently Asked Questions in English.
Click here to view the Frequently Asked Questions in Chinese.
Click here to view the Frequently Asked Questions in Vietnamese.
Click here to view the Frequently Asked Questions in Korean.
Click here to view the Frequently Asked Questions in Arabic.
Click here for a link to the Sydney Catholic Schools website containing further information.