Newsletter of The Riverina Anglican College

LEADERS OF WELLBEING REPORTS

All articles published week beginning  27 July 2020

Year 7

Welcome back to Term 3. We hope that you and your family had a restful holiday break. We know that lots of families had to change their plans for this time period and it may not have been the holidays you expected but was hopefully a fruitful holiday nevertheless.

 

The Year 7s have returned with enthusiasm and appear to be very happy to get back to ‘regular schedule’. We have been very impressed with the feedback we are getting from teachers about their participation in class and how they are all wearing their uniform with pride. 

 

As this is the first newsletter that has gone out since you have received your children’s reports, we encourage you as a family to reflect upon the teacher feedback contained within them. Have a discussion with your child as to whether the comments and suggestions mirrored what they thought their report would contain. If your child becomes aware of the areas where improvement can be implemented, this will provide them specific areas to focus upon during this semester. We encourage our students to ‘learn from our experiences’, and this is a perfect opportunity to begin this in their High School journey. 

 

Throughout this term, our focus in Homeroom and Wellbeing time is on Leadership. Over the course of the term we will be working with the students to create leadership opportunities in their Homeroom, Year cohort and wider school community. Students will be using their character strengths that they identified last term to assist them with this. During our House Meeting time this week, students began to discuss world leaders and what qualities these people possess. Our hope is that students become aware of individuals who they may not know about that are achieving fantastic feats and who are making a positive impact on our world. 

Justin Buckley | Acting Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7 

Fox and Stanley House 

Lauren Kelly | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 7 

Browning and Sheppard House 

Year 8

Welcome to the Week 2 edition of our Year 8 report for Term 3. I hope you have all had a chance to slow down over the last few weeks and enjoy each other’s company as family. I can tell that our Year 8s have come back refreshed and excited for another term of school.

 

When planning for this semester, I found it to be quite a strange feeling to be looking at both subject selection and leadership planning for Year 9 next year - at times the Year 7 Orientation just doesn’t seem that long ago! 

 

This week in Year Meeting we spent some time reflecting on our Semester One reports, with a particular focus on the Approaches To Learning (ATLs). It is important that our students can understand what it takes to be a positive learner and what concrete steps they can take to get there. I have attached the document given out for your own perusal. I encouraged the Year 8s to have these ATLs as a real yardstick for their improvement this semester, as they are usually far more in control of these aspects of their learning as opposed to achieving outcomes or letter grades (and these should also improve as a result of consistent Approaches To Learning). Please keep an eye out for the Year 9 2021 Subject Selection Guide, which will be released in the coming weeks.

 

Moments of Joy over the last fortnight

Since the last newsletter, my particular highlights have been:

  • The outstanding attitude to Friday sport during Week 1. It can be hard at times to accept that aspects of school life, such as sport, cannot yet return to normal. But the acceptance and overall participation in simple sports such as bullrush, board games and handball was so pleasing to see.
  • The confidence and ability of our Year 8 students who dug up the courage to perform at TRAC Idol. Caitlin, Tyler, Karin and Harry all performed superbly. It was definitely Harry’s day to shine - both with his singing/guitar performance, but also his dedication to the Shave For a Cure cause. Speaking from the heart about his motivation for raising over $2100, then losing his locks heading into some frosty mornings. It was simply inspirational. -
  • The enthusiasm in those willing to participate in our Kindergarten Readiness Program. It is always heartening to see our students give back to the College.

As always, if you would like to discuss your child’s wellbeing and flourishing here at the College, please don’t hesitate in sending an e-mail or calling either Jennifer or me.

 

Luke Richardson | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 8

Jennifer Jenkins | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing - of Year 8

 

Year 9

Welcome back to all students and parents, we hope you had a restful break. 

Although the Year 9 Parent/Teacher/Student conferences were not able to go ahead, we hope you have had some time to look over your child’s report and have a discussion with them about it. If there is an urgent matter regarding your child’s report, please contact their subject teacher to arrange a phone conversation about this. Students have been working with their Homeroom teachers to gain a better understanding of what the information means, where they went well and areas they may be able to improve on.

 

As part of our Wellbeing time this week, students were given a calendar for the term. They then worked with their Homeroom teachers to map out their assessment tasks. This is always a useful tool to help with planning and organisation.

 

With winter well and truly upon us, students are reminded that they are not to wear the Rugby jumper or the tracksuit top with their school uniform. Thank you to those who are consistently wearing the uniform so well.

 

This week sees the return of some of the Combined Wagga Sporting competition, which is great news. The male and female Soccer teams both get to be the first ones back on the field and we wish them luck for their campaign. While this is very exciting for all involved, spectators aren’t allowed to be at the games. We look forward to hearing the results from these matches.

Emma Smith | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 9

Issac Mannion | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing -  Year 9

Year 10

Once again we are looking at a busy term for our Year 10 students. I know I am feeling very fortunate that we live in regional areas and are still getting the opportunity to go to work and school. After discussions with many students, it seems they have maintained their appreciation for the school and the interaction it offers them daily.

 

At our Year meeting this week, students reflected on their reports by identifying their strengths and weaknesses and what they can do to improve for this semester. We also gave them an opportunity for organisation and to develop their term calendar, with all of the academic, co-curricular, work and family commitments for the term.

 

Mr Heffer has reported that we have had a high level of electives selections handed back and Year 10 have done a great job seeking information and making these selections. Student elective selections will be looked at by our academic team and further information will be supplied in due time. 

 

Once again if you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Meegan Johnson | Leader of Wellbeing -  Year 10

Trevor Dawson | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing -  Year 10

Year 11

The Year 11 students are in their final term before beginning their journey as the leaders of the school. Students have spent time with the Wellbeing Team finalising applications for the upcoming College leadership roles. Mrs Kelly Bowen and I have been overwhelmed with the responses received from the applicants and are looking forward to the interview process during Week 3. I am confident Year 11 will provide a strong and collaborative leadership group who will serve the school implicitly.

 

Homeroom

During Homeroom, as stated, teachers have been working closely with students in preparing applications, discussions around suitable roles and even the encouragement of applying for roles. Submissions for applications have now closed, and the interview process will commence 6 August 2020. This is a very stressful time for the applicants, hence they will require additional support at home as they continue through the process. If you feel at all that your child requires additional support, please do not hesitate to contact me or any member of the Wellbeing team to assist.

 

This week Year 11 were shown a TED video by Drew Dudley regarding ‘Everyday Leadership’ Drew reiterated that leadership is not necessarily all about making extraordinary contributions, leadership is also about making a difference to others with kind gestures, supportive words or showing that you care. I shared a story with the Sheppard students about a time when I was stopped in Baylis street by a young person who introduced herself and explained that she was so relieved to have left school as it was a hard time for her, however, she still remembered me. I was one of her teachers and she recalled how kind I was to her. I could not remember teaching this girl, however, I felt so flattered that I had an impact on her that she wanted to share her feelings with me. Drew Dudley called this ’Lollipop moments’ - times when a person makes a difference by saying or doing something to fundamentally change lives. 

 

Continuing with Leadership as the focus, Year 11 also collaborated their ideas on the characteristics and emotions attached to respectful relationships. I had a great discussion with some students about the different types and levels of love which is associated with respectful relationships. Thank you to Year 11 Sheppard 1 and 2 for their insight and contributions towards the lesson. 

 

Driving to school. 

It is wonderful to see more cars parked in the Year 11 Carpark. Students are reminded:

  • They must always arrive at school well in advance of the first bell.
  • They must apply for Driving to School permission by completing paperwork from the Front Office.
  • Passengers are not permitted unless they have been listed in Driving to School paperwork.
  • Parents must witness all Driving to School documents.

Thank you for your continued support

 

Amall Liakatos | Leader of Wellbeing - Year 11

Kelly Bowen | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing - of Year 11

Year 12

As the trial exams approach in weeks 4 and 5 it is important for the students to maintain a balance between work and rest. 

We’ve posted bits and pieces of additional information in classroom and on the board in the study room. Some of it is from NESA, some from Harvard Business School on dealing with the stress of exams and a TED talk on visualisation.

 

There is also an infographic I recently came across based on a book I’ve mentioned previously in these messages - Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. 

Both this book by Newport, and his previous one, Deep Work, are masterful in explaining how the addictiveness of smartphones and the digital clutter they create are existential barriers to doing deep thinking and learning - exactly what the students need to do between now and the trials, and then between the trials and the HSC. 

Obviously, prising a phone from a young person (any person?) is hard to do, but a reduction of 10-20 per cent is likely to improve concentration, reduce distraction and have an impact on learning. Not to mention the improvement in quality and quantity of sleep, mood and a range of other wellbeing indicators.

In general, a few things to concentrate on in the lead up to the trials;

  • Plenty of fresh food
  • Good night’s sleep
  • Scheduled social media times (on a laptop better than phone)
  • Exercise
  • Conversations instead of digital connections.
  • Deliberate practice: 20 minutes of uninterrupted dedicated practice is better than 2 hours stopping and starting, task switching between apps, listening to music, having the tv on in the background/foreground.
  • SLOP - shed loads of practice: best study is to answer practice questions (throw away the highlighters, and don’t waste time rereading notes.
  • I’ve shown the students how they can use multiple choice for deeper learning. 20 minutes deep instead of 5 seconds shallow.
  • Find out the format, weightings of each section and content of the exams to know what to expect.
  • Practice handwriting as much as possible. There’s no e-learning in the HSC and the best way to get better at ideas flowing from the brain through to pen is to write, write more and keep writing.

Meanwhile, Homeroom time has been used to reminisce about their time at school. Each student has a book to jot down memories and memorable moments as they reflect on their time at The Riverina Anglican College. 

The students also participated in the Mission Australia Youth Survey this week. This is a long-standing data collection exercise that gives the school a snapshot of student wellbeing we can compare to other parts of the country and NSW, as well as longitudinal data for students at our school to identify trends and issues.

Finally, a big shout out to Mrs Knight who has been busy with university applications, queries and other associated questions both last term and this (although she assures me things get really real in Week 6!). Luckily she sits right next door to their study area in the library.

 

 

Dane Fuller | Leader of Wellbeing - 12

Kim Kjaer | Assistant Leader of Wellbeing - 12