ELC and Junior School news
What a wonderful Term 3 we have had in the Junior School!
My highlights have been our musical soiree, book week parade, our Year 5 students representing and winning their district soccer finals, athletics day and especially our Father’s and Special Friends assembly. These events have provided the time and space we have all yearned for to continue bringing and building our school community. A joyous tone is in the air!
At our assembly, we asked families to donate a toilet bag for those parents, and carers who have the role of parent/caregiver. These donations were taken to St Kilda Mum’s, where we also donate on Mother’s Day. I personally, look forward to this being an embedded tradition for our Junior School, twice a year as we acknowledge those who are less fortunate than us and we show service through our actions.
Thank you for the support you have brought to these events, it makes a difference!
Enjoy the Spring break. Stay safe, stay well and we look forward to a very busy Term 4.
Shelley Parkes
Head of Junior School
Success Is Ours To Achieve, and our pilot trial in transitioning to continuous reporting in the Junior School is evident of this.
During Term 3, we have provided our Prep and Year 5 families with fortnightly uploads of student learning across the curriculum. These continuous snapshots provide transparency to the assessment and feedback process, enabling teachers to provide timely and targeted, continuous feedback to inform and improve student learning. Each upload is accompanied by the intended learning outcome, an achievement standard and a teacher comment, allowing students and families the opportunity to share, reflect on and respond to their learning in real-time.
Our student, parent and teacher feedback in response to this transition has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. I am appreciative of the feedback we have received and have been able to respond to.
Our students have commented on the opportunities to share their learning journey and discuss their achievements and their challenges. Goal setting and next steps are made transparent to students and parents at the point of need and we have seen an elevation in excitement when each upload cycle comes around.
Our parent body has commented on the ease of navigating Xuno to access the uploads, the ownership of when and how they factor viewing into their own schedules, and the connections they are making with what is happening behind the classroom door. Parents feel they have a greater sense of what their child’s learning looks like and their successes and goals are clear.
Our educators have commented positively on the opportunities to provide snapshots across all learning areas and share feedback with families in a timely manner.
We will conclude the year with our Prep and Year 5 cohorts receiving their continuous reporting as we make any final tweaks to the process. We are delighted and excited to be rolling out continuous reporting across the Junior School commencing Term 1 2023. We will run parent information sessions prior to this, to ensure everyone enjoys the same success that has been shared by our Prep and Year 5 families.
Sarah Caffrey
Head of Curriculum Junior School