Message from the Head of Teaching and Learning

The FROG Prince

Never before has Teaching and Learning been more exciting and more challenging. Advancing Technology means that the experience of the 21st student is changing exponentially - Our challenge is to prepare our students for an unknown world; for jobs that currently do not exist; for challenges that we can barely envisgae today – for a world that will look very different in just 5 years’ time and may well be entirely beyond our own recognition in 10 years’ time. Our students’ challenge is to develop the resilience and adaptability necessary to embrace this unknown future. This is very exciting but it can also be a little intimidating. The role of schools and teachers is to adapt intuitively to the individual needs of our students.

Decades of research have shown that parental engagement and involvement in their child’s education significantly impact positively on a student’s success. The 21st Century learner must be at the centre of a close three-way relationship between the student; their home and the school. It is the communication that allows for collaboration and it is this collaboration that is vital for each student to thrive. Semester 2 will see the launch of a new version of FROG; the school’s Learning Management System. FROG is one of the ways in which students, teachers and parents and caregivers can communicate and collaborate effectively to support the learning and development of our students. 

Through the newly created FROG Student Portals, students will be able to access simply and easily, the relevant academic information they need to study their subjects independently outside of the classroom; practising self-management and self-organisation – taking ownership of their own learning. In addition to having a yearly overview of their course, students will be able to access assessment notifications, syllabus documents, past papers, resources, links to videos and podcasts, websites, blogs and vlogs. Any information they need about Sport and other Co-Curricular activities will be posted and updated through FROG, allowing them to plan and organise their time effectively. Advice about maintaining mental health fitness and well-being and information about relevant events, competitions and excursions will be easily accessible.

There are more exciting, contemporarily relevant and personally authentic distractions for our children then there ever were for us, and we cannot simply ignore that. We have to harness and acknowledge their world in order to ‘grab’ their attention or we will lose them. If we are willing to enter and embrace their world, they will reciprocate and the learning will automatically follow. FROG is one of the ways in which we do this. It is also a great teaching and learning resource in the classroom from K-12. Educators are now realising that if we are to compete for our students’ attention, we need to offer our students an experience that motivates them to become intrinsic learners because we cannot rely on the extrinsic motivation of a predictable world. We all know what makes for great lessons: immediate feedback; challenges that increase in mastery, opportunities for group work, collaboration and class discussion; feeling safe and secure. Using FROG in the classroom can literally transform the learning environment for some of our students.

Knowing what it is that your child is studying in any subject and at any given time of the year means that you can really engage with and support your child with their learning. From Semester 2, Parents and Caregivers will be able to visit the Student Portals, which are accessible from the Community Dashboard. As a parent and caregiver, you can chat and touch base with your child in a more informed and meaningful way; FROG will equip you to more actively and explicitly support your child with their studies through enthusiastic discussion of their homework and projects.  Being able to access the Assessment Notification of your child and the nature of assessments that they have coming up, means that as parents and caregivers, you can actively offer their support whether that be literally helping them with their studies or creating the optimum environment for them in their independent study. Staff, student and parent access to the Portals also makes for more meaningful Prep time in the Boarding House as staff are able to personalise their support accordingly.

Whilst students must take ownership of their own learning – there is no doubt that the collaboration of the students, teachers and the Home environment are intrinsic to their overall success and well-being – The new FROG can facilitate this.

Mrs Serena Lewis

Head of Teaching and Learning