Whole School News
Welcome to the 2023 school year!
It is my privilege to oversee the Cocurricular life of the Secondary School. I am eager to begin working with our entire community to offer a broad suite of opportunities outside the classroom for our students. It is my vision that each student will find a cocurricular opportunity that resonates with them and in so doing contributes to their personal wellbeing.
In 2012 Martin Seligman published a seminal work on wellbeing and selected five components that contribute to wellbeing; these components are often referred to as the PERMA model. Positive Emotions (having and recognising), Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishments all contribute to personal wellbeing. A wellbeing framework is being developed here at GSG and I look forward to discussing all the benefits that young people experience through their participation in cocurricular programmes in future Anchor articles.
With the easing of COVID restrictions, some more serious planning is underway to bolster our interstate and international tour offerings. Expressions of Interest are still open for:
Melbourne Digital Industries and Game Development Technologies Tour
Tour Coordinator: Mr Kieran Bailey
Click HERE for form.
Gold Coast Netball Tour
Tour Coordinator: Ms Ellen Smith
Click HERE for form.
Please feel free to register your interest in these opportunities.
Mr Ian Robson | Head of Cocurricular & Innovation
A Thinking Student is an Engaged Student
Teachers often find it difficult to implement mathematics lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling “non-thinking” student behaviour. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Dr Peter Liljedahl has translated 15 years of research into a practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom.
The above lines are part of the preamble to a contemporary, evidence-based body of research that the Mathematics Department is committed to implementing in Years Seven to Nine at Great Southern Grammar. The focus of this project is to increase engagement and promote thinking skills in all our Mathematics students. We want our classrooms to be a place that all students want to be in, and this means that they have to be different from the classrooms that have traditionally existed in schools in Western Australia.
If you have a child/ren in Years Seven to Nine, ask them what different things have been happening in their Maths classrooms this week!
If you have any questions about this project, or would like to view the keynote speech that Dr Liljedahl gave to the Mathematics Association of Western Australia (MAWA) in November 2022, please feel to contact me.
Mathspace
Mathspace is an online learning tool that Great Southern Grammar uses with students from as early as Year Four. It utilises powerful adaptive learning technology for mathematics and aims to give the right help, at the right time, for everyone.
Here at GSG, we use it in the classroom when we feel it fits right with our practices, and also to set homework tasks to build skills and techniques. As a parent, you can also use Mathspace at home to encourage your child to become a self-directed learner. With Mathspace, they can practise what they’re learning at school and get personalised support in topics they might find challenging.
Mathspace is running two free webinars for parents and carers to share tips on how you can support your child’s learning on Mathspace at home. The registration links for these webinars are:
Wednesday, Feb 15th, 7pm AEDT / 4pm AWST
Tuesday, Feb 21st, 9pm AEDT / 6pm AWST
More information on these webinars is included in the flyer that you can find here 2023 Parent and Carers Info Night Flyer.pdf
Mr Ross Barnett | Head of Mathematics
Secondary Assistance Scheme - applications close 6 April 2023
The State Government through the Western Australian Department of Education provides an allowance to assist eligible families with secondary schooling costs.
Parents/guardians must apply for the Secondary Assistance Scheme (SAS) each school year (annually) – applications do not carry forward to future years.
To be eligible for the allowance the parent/guardian must hold a Services Australia (Centrelink) or Veterans’ Affairs card that represents a statement of income for the family.
Hard copies of the forms are available at Reception.