Myrniong and ELC

The American poet Maya Angelou wrote ‘You may not control all the events that happen to you but you can decide not to be reduced by them.’  Our Junior School learning community, made up of parents, students and staff have certainly not been reduced by the challenges of Remote Learning.  Along the way we have learnt a great deal about ourselves;

- Our students and staff are adaptable, resourceful, resilient and optimistic

- Our parents are patient, supportive and encouraging

- We can operate in an online environment that is both safe and supporting

- We have reviewed our work/life balance and improved our time management skills

- Our teaching and learning at a primary level is rooted in relationships - knowing students well is the foundation of our teaching.

- Mental health is of paramount importance  -our environments and experiences support well-being

- We are all responsible for each other.

I wish staff, students and parents a well-earned and restful holiday period.

Junior School Reporting Cycle and Parent/Teacher Interviews

In Term One we issued Goal Setting reports for students in Prep to Year Six classes.  Early on in the Term Two Remote Learning window, we reviewed our reporting timeline.  With the majority of assessment possible during this time away from classroom teaching being formative in nature, the decision was taken to complete the appropriate summative assessments later in the year for the Semester Two reports.  We have brought forward our Parent/Teacher interviews to Week Four of next term (Tuesday 4th August/Wednesday 5th August).  The Junior School prides itself on having an ‘open-door’ policy.  Parents are most welcome to contact teachers at any time to discuss the progress of their children.

2021 Prep Transition Program

As we head into the mid-year break, the College has finalised the 2021 Prep Transition Program.  The focus of the program is to establish a strong partnership between the children enrolled for Prep 2021, their families, Early Learning educators, the Prep classroom teacher and other members of the school community.  The program comprises one informal session, where the 2021 Prep teacher visits the Early Learning Centre, and four formal classroom visits by the enrolled 2021 Prep students.  We will also conduct a welcome morning tea for parents.  This will provide a forum for a question and answer session. 

Dates:

Thursday October 8th (9.15 am to 10.00 am) - Prep teacher visits the Early Learning Centre

Thursday October 15th (9.15 am to 10.00 am) - Session 1 in the 2021 Prep classroom

Thursday October 22nd (9.15 am to 10.00 am) - Session 2 in the 2021 Prep classroom

Thursday October 29th (9.15 am to 10.00 am) - Session 3 in the 2021 Prep classroom + Parent Coffee Q&A session

Thursday November 5th (9.15 am to 10.00 am) - Session 4 in the 2021 Prep classroom + (3.30 pm to 4.15 pm)-Parent Information Session

Thursday November 12th (9.00 am to 3.30 pm) - Whole School Orientation Day

Tuesday December 1st (10.15 am to 10.45 am) - Invitation to Junior School Nativity Service at the Hamilton Uniting Church 

Achievements

Sam O’Sullivan, Sophie Hill and Will Satchell have been awarded a certificate for their wonderful efforts in reading for Ms Bolton’s program during remote learning. Sam topped the chart, reading 86 times over the 11 weeks!!

Stephen Nelson

Head of Junior School