Deputy Principal, Teaching and Learning 

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss

How do we prepare our students for a confident future?

You may think of a range of responses to this question, but fundamentally I think the answer is around effective reading. Does this surprise you? Literacy is the foundation of a high-quality knowledge rich education. How we go about this has been up for debate, but evidence-based research points to the fact that we should screen students early, teach all kids at risk, skilfully and intensively, and maintain this approach for as long as it takes.

How are we supporting our students who need that extra bit of help with reading? 

The programs we have adopted in our Junior and Senior School are evidence-based, explicit and sequential. We work on a scope and sequence for all essential early reading skills and our lesson plans and activities are designed to engage and support our students to decode and review their reading practices.

While our teachers continue to develop their professional expertise in the science and art of reading, we know that it is our parents who can support our efforts in the classroom. Do you read at home? Do you read to your children? Do they see you read at home? Books, magazines and newspapers? How you model reading at home can have a big impact on the behaviour of our students. The way you talk about reading and books, likewise influences how our young people engage with texts.

At The Hamilton and Alexandra College we are exploring new ways to support your sons and daughters be confident readers. We look forward to implementing a range of innovative programs to help support our students read with confidence in 2022.

Would you like to know more about how to support your child to read?  Your child’s classroom and English Teacher or Librarian can help you find suitable texts for your child to read and some strategies to build confidence to read.

Susan Bradbeer

Deputy Principal of Teaching and Learning