Junior School Report

Message from the Director of Learning

- Ms. Alice Paget

Welcome back to Year 7 and 8 students, parents and guardians to the new school year at Westall Secondary College! To all new parents at the College, we endeavour to make your child’s transition into secondary schooling a smooth and positive experience! We hope that the transition program during the end of 2019 and the first few weeks of the school year has helped your child to feel comfortable, supported and excited about the year ahead.

 

The College is confident to be continuing the same junior school structure as in 2019, with all Literacy (English/EAL) and Numeracy (Mathematics) classes having a mixture of Year 7 and 8 students. The rationale behind this decision is to ensure that each student’s Literacy development is our number one focus. The new structure will reduce the variability of students’ Literacy levels in each classroom. This, in turn, complements our Explicit Direct Instruction model of teaching and allowing teachers to utilise specific Literacy/EAL strategies within the classroom and promote growth in each curriculum area. The evaluations of the structure from 2019 proved to show excellent results in growth data from both a Literacy and Numeracy perspective.

We have a range of semester elective subjects in Year 7 and 8 to allow the students to explore their passions and interests, including, Music, Digital Technology, Food Technology, Dance/Drama and Woodwork, as well as Weekly Sport and our iCreate elective every Wednesday afternoon.

Junior School Leaders

Hello, I am Sean Fraser, your Year 8 coordinator for 2020. I started teaching at Westall in 2019 and I am very excited to be a part of the junior school this year. This year, I am teaching Junior Maths and Science. I look forward to meeting all parents and working with our wonderful Year 8 students. I cannot wait to be a part of everything we will achieve this year.

Year 7 Adventure Day

‘NOOOOOOO! AHHHHHH!’ I could hear screaming as I walked my group of new Year 7 students to the Spooky Maze. I rushed to the origin of the noise.  I did not want to lose a Year 7 student; I had only been their Coordinator for four days! That would not have been a great look for the school.

When I found the new Year 7 student, she was laughing and shouting, ‘Wow, that was so much fun!’ Phew. As many of the students would find out, the flying fox can be both scary and exhilarating. I heard a chorus of squeals and happy chatter throughout the day, as students experienced tube sliding, tree surfing, initiative and team building activities, and completing the many different mazes that were on offer. Our aim was obviously to have fun, but, also for our new group of students from different schools, to get to know each other and their teachers and support staff. In addition, we wanted our students to try new things and challenge themselves by going out of their comfort zones (tree surfing requires students to climb high in the trees and weave through obstacles). 

 

The snoring and sleeping students on the way home was another sign that our students had enjoyed themselves and pushed their bodies and minds to the limit. Thank you to the Enchanted Adventure Gardens in Arthurs seat for such a fabulous experience. 

 

Miss Samantha Dewhurst

Year 7 Coordinator

Year 7 and 8 Weekly Sport Update

Year 7 and 8 students are busily preparing for the start to their weekly sport competition which begins on the 25th and 28th of February against McKinnon Secondary School. Students have been given the choice of sports from Volleyball, Tennis and Softball/ baseball.

 

Due to term 1 being a short term, and with the addition Beaumaris, bringing the number of teams in our division to 8, the format of weekly sport this term has changed. Instead of playing every school each term, as per previously, the 8 schools have been divided into two pools of 4 based on proximity. We have been placed in pool ‘B’ alongside McKinnon, Bentleigh and Brighton. Following the three pool games, a final will then be played between the winner of pool A and the winner of pool B to find the Kingston champion to represent the division at regionals.

 

Another change this year sees our year 9 and 10 students in Sports Academy becoming coaches, referees and mentors for our year 7 and 8 students and travelling with the team for both home and away games, supporting and assisting where possible. Thank you to these students as we look forward to seeing our younger students excel with this extra help and guidance.

Good luck to all teams for your upcoming games!

 

Mr Hugh Robertson

Sports Coordinator

What is happening in Year 7 Global Literacy?

The start of a new year and straight into the deep end for students and teachers alike. It is always interesting (and gratifying) seeing students take those first few steps in secondary education. Here at Westall, we take that step in Global Literacy with the study of the workings of the Australian Government.

 

There is a connection there for our students and it is always a pleasure to see them grasp it. Just as secondary college changes from an imposing (even scary and confusing) place to a place of learning and adventure, our government changes from a distant and faceless organization to a collection of people working to guide our nation. As understanding grows, students start to see their part in the checks and balances that support our nation and understand the rights and responsibilities that will be theirs to enjoy and protect in a few short years. Having students identify the person whose job it is to represent them, and the effort and care that goes into passing a law never gets old for me, and is a wonderful example of the empowerment of good education.

 

Mr James Graewolfe

Global Literacy Teacher