From the Head of Junior School

Dear Members of the St Gregory’s College Community,

Welcome to the first Newsletter of Term 3. Semester One as we all know was extremely different to anything experienced here at the College since its opening in 2018. I must say that school is a very different place without the involvement of our parent community and I look forward to the future where we can have parents on-site to enjoy the wonderful learning and life of the College as we know it! We look forward though to touching base with you all at the upcoming Term 3 Parent Forum on Monday 10 August at 7:00pm – put that date in your diary and join us for the evening, it makes for a wonderful ‘date night!’.

Read Out Loud

Today we live in a world full of digital information, yet reading has never been so important. We know that for young people the ability to read is the door opener to the 21st century: to hold a job, to understand their world and to learn themselves. One of the purposes of special reading time for children is enjoyment and another is to receive lots of praise and encouragement. Parents, could I ask that you sit with your -children as they read, please? This will ensure that omissions, insertions and incorrect observance of punctuation protocols may be highlighted and corrected. Research points very firmly to the correlation between regular, supervised experiences and skill enhancement. Similarly, I encourage parents to read out loud to their children.

Hints for Listening to Your Child Read

Before reading, talk about the cover, the title, the pictures, and discuss what the book may be about.
During reading, discuss what has been read up to that point, and imagine what will happen next time.
After reading is finished, talk and ask questions about the story and the pictures.
When reading a harder book together, take turns. Beginning readers can read the repetitive parts and more experienced readers can read a paragraph or a page.
On finding an unknown word:

Pause to give your child time to work out the word

Prompt

– go back to the beginning of the sentence, or read past the difficult word to the end of the sentence.

– look for a clue in the picture or the words

– look at the first letter and think about what the words could be

– ask “Does this make sense?”

– try to sound out the word

– if necessary tell your child the word

Praise your child for trying even if mistakes are made.

Enjoy Reading – it should be fun!

Pearls of Wisdom

This week as I was chatting with a group of our Year 3 and Year 6 students, we got into a discussion about ‘what makes a great teacher?’ The colloquial chat that followed was quite simple yet also in an interesting way quite profound. As teachers, we all have a strong desire to be the best teacher we can be, to learn from others and to continue to develop and change in this dynamic profession. It is a complex craft and one that not many would admit to knowing all the answers to! So, what pearls of wisdom did this group suggest in regards to ‘great teaching’. Well, here are some of the comments that I could remember (abbreviated) that I have been reflecting on this week.

A great teacher:

‘Enjoys teaching the class’
‘Makes a difference to us all’
‘Gets to know me and what I like and don’t like’
‘Gives their best’
‘Has high standards in the Junior School’
‘Learns with us and makes it fun’
‘Inspires us to want to be the best we can be’

There is a lot that can be taken from that discussion and it is definitely something that I have been reflecting on this week. As I type this and look over the list, I know that I can honestly apply that to our staff here at the College. There is a passion for learning that is clearly evident – I see this in the staff room, in the corridors outside rooms and it is very clear in our learning spaces. They have a passion for knowing ‘their’ students. Academics are important, but those incidental conversations are so important to acknowledge to students that we care. Our standards are important and are something that each staff member sees as vital in making St Gregory’s College what it is today. As we move down the PYP path we know that learning with the students is important and the balance of explicit teaching and have an inquiry mindset is important – this provides the right mix to engage and challenge the students at their point of need. As I move from class to class daily, I am proud to be wandering in and out seeing the inspiration, seeing the engagement and seeing the partnership of teachers and students. I am sure that you all know how hard the staff work here and having this small conversation with some of our Junior School students cemented in me that they are in such great hands in the classrooms and know that the teachers are also proud to be educating your children.

Just a reminder about a few dates on the horizon:

Year 6 to Year 7 Interviews (on Zoom) – Thursday 6 August
Year 1-6 Reports are open for parents on Friday 7 August
K-6 Parent Forum (on Microsoft TEAMS) – Monday 10 August 7:00pm
JS Assembly (on Microsoft TEAMS) – Friday 14 August at 2:10pm

As our St Gregory’s College motto states, ‘You will reap what you sow’.

Joel Weekes

Head of Junior School