Junior School
Semester 2 Goals
Last week, students began the important task of setting their own goals for the second half of the year. While parental input in this process is valued, it is also vital that your son is not just the ‘recipient’ of the goals that you may set for him. Rather, it is key for him to be heard and lead this conversation. After all, students rarely achieve any goals set if they do not actually take ownership of them.
Goal setting is not just about numbers or grades. There is an age-old adage that remains true to this day – a goal without a plan is just a wish! Similarly, James Clear, author of the book, Atomic Habits, suggests that “We do not rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems”. This is certainly the case when considering student goal setting.
In light of the recent Parent/Teacher Interviews and Semester 1 Reports at the end of last term, I encourage you to focus not on your son/s specific grades, but on his approaches to learning. These are the behaviours that will inevitably lead to the achievement of his goals for Semester 2. What are the systems he has in place to achieve the goals he is setting for himself? How balanced is his life to allow him not only time to learn, practise and train, but to unwind and reset so that he has the energy to expend on the things that are important to him – not just to us? His brain needs time to process all that he is learning and thinking, and downtime is the pathway to enabling that to happen. This is where deep learning actually occurs!
If our aim is to develop life-long learners with not only the skills, but the desire to make the world a better place – to solve problems at a local, national and global scale; to make a real difference in their own lives and in the lives of others, then we need them to be well-rounded, healthy, fit and balanced. This is the essence of our approach to each student’s overall educational journey in the Junior School and when applied effectively, it’s hard not to see the benefits!
Semester 1 Academic Awards Assembly
On Monday this week, the Junior School hosted a unique Semester 1 Academic Awards Assembly in the College Gymnasium. I would like to once again congratulate the various student prize winners on receiving an award. I would also like to thank all parents/carers of prize winners who were able to join us for this occasion. Parental involvement in events and initiatives such as this assembly is an important goal of ours in the Junior School and your attendance on the day was greatly appreciated! I would also like to thank Mr Fields (Junior School Curriculum Coordinator) for the considerable time and effort he spent in assisting with the planning and organisation of this assembly.
Year 5 Grandparents’ Day
A reminder that on Friday this week, our Year 5 students will be hosting their grandparents at the College as we celebrate Grandparents’ Day.
Mass will commence at 9:00 AM in the College Chapel, followed by morning tea. Our Year 5 students will then invite their grandparents to join them in their own classroom for a short period of time.
Please note that in light of recent updates to the COVID-19 safety guidelines in NSW schools this term, students will be asked to wear a face mask during indoor components of the morning (Mass and classroom visit) and all adults (grandparents and parents/carers) in attendance are strongly encouraged to also do the same.
Further information regarding this special event has already been emailed to all Year 5 parents and carers. Our Year 5 teaching team is very much looking forward to sharing in this wonderful occasion with the boys on Friday morning.
Novel Selection
In the Junior School, we aim to ensure that all students have a balanced reading ‘diet’. This means that the boys are encouraged to read a range of books in terms of genre, complexity, and structure. One of the hardest tasks in enabling this to occur is book selection. The following blog, A Word About Books, has an extensive list of age-appropriate texts for Stage 3 students to read. It is most important that our boys are reading a wide variety of quality literature from a young age. Please feel free to contact your son’s classroom teacher, or our Junior School librarian, Mrs Gibson, if your son requires any further assistance in selecting an appropriate text to read.
As always, if you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me via email (glenn.stephenson@spc.nsw.edu.au) or phone (8705 9247) and I will endeavour to assist you in any way that I can.
May God bless you,
Glenn Stephenson
Director of Junior School
Junior School Curriculum Outlines
To assist your son with their learning throughout Term 3, please click on the links below to access the relevant Curriculum Outline.
It has also been made available for students on the Junior School Canvas page. I encourage you to sit with your son to discuss the outline and as always discuss what they are learning about in their classes.
Daniel Fields
Junior School Curriculum Coordinator
ICAS Assessments
As per last week’s Especean article, this is a reminder that we are pleased to offer our Junior School students the opportunity to sit the ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) English and Mathematics Assessments. These challenging competitions present real-world scenarios where students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts, using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills.
Parents/carers are invited to register and pay for their son to participate in either or both assessments by completing the following:
1. Go to the Parent Portal: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
2. Enter our school’s access code – TAN920
3. Enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment.
Registration and payment close on Monday 1 August.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like to discuss your son’s involvement in these assessments.
Sarah Tatola
Learning Support and Enrichment Coordinator