Siblings put to test
AS IF getting four children ready for school in the morning wasn't hard enough, one Warwick mother is getting all four of them ready for their NAPLAN tests too.
The Le Sueur kids - Ethan in Year 3, Wilson in Year 5, Bronte in Year 7 and Ben in Year 9 - are all sitting their 2012 NAPLAN exams at the same time and mum Sharyn said there was a waft of stress in the Le Sueur household this week.
She said the secret to keeping their stress levels low was to treat each child individually.
"Different kids deal with NAPLAN differently," Mrs Le Sueur said.
"Ethan is a bit stressed because it's his first time, but then you've got the other end of the spectrum with Ben who isn't fazed.
"You have to deal with each child individually and tell them to chill out and it will be fine."
Mrs Le Sueur said she was in two minds about what she thought of the NAPLAN system.
"It's good to find out where they rank and where they need help, but then the other aspect is, is it really necessary to put them through that?" she said.
"We're lucky here in Warwick because the teachers don't stress as much, whereas in Brisbane or the city I think parents look at NAPLAN results from schools when selecting a school (for their child) so it's more stressful."
Year 5 student Wilson, had some wise words he wanted to share with other students who may have been stressing out this week.
"It's not that hard and if you get it done it's gone and dusted," he said.
Bronte, Year 7, had much the same attitude.
"If people don't freak out on normal tests, why do they on the NAPLAN? It's just the same," Bronte said.
Ben, Year 9, said he was excited to have the tests out of the way and wouldn't miss them in the years to come.
There will be a few sighs of relief this afternoon as students walk out of the school gates, done with NAPLAN testing for another two years, or some even forever.
