Assistant Principal Report

Assistant Principal -

Mr. Mark Henderson

 

EAL STUDENTS RECOGNISE WORLD REFUGEE WORLD WEEK IN A SPECIAL EVENT

Friday, 22nd June

 

World Refugee Week is a great opportunity to recognise our refugee students and promote awareness and empathy for all.

 

The special event featured personal stories from both students and teachers, inspiring messages on a colourful flag, a musical performance and singing.

 

Year 11 student Dumeana Mattosh, from Iraq, said she enjoyed sharing her story with classmates.

 

“I was so happy to tell my personal story and to hear from others. The event upheld a sense of belonging and community. My message to everyone is to appreciate what we have now because you never know what will happen tomorrow.”

 

Congratulations to MCs Ambrose Lou and Sarah Alkaff, as well as inspirational student speakers S’He Da Be, Inamarzi Ya and Dumeana Mattosh.

 

Thank you to Ms Duyen Vo and Mr Roger Clark for organising such a memorable afternoon which acknowledges an important event for the Westall Community. Mr Clark’s musical performance was a highlight and the video can be found on the College Facebook page.

LITERACY BULLETIN

At Westall SC, we use Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) as a vehicle to ensure all students are learning at their optimum level. In previous Literacy bulletins, I have discussed some aspects of the model, such as TAPPLE and checking for understanding.

 

Today I would like to introduce ‘Activating Prior Knowledge’. Here is how it fits into the model:

Activating prior knowledge is used to provide a connection between something students already know and the new content they are going to learn.

 

Activating Prior Knowledge explicitly retrieves pertinent information from long-term memory and places it into working memory, so students are now consciously thinking about it and will learn new skills/content more easily.

 

There are two ways to activate prior knowledge:

 

Universal Experience

  • Prior life experiences

OR

 

Sub-skill review

  • Re-teach a subskill that is needed in the new lesson
  • Great for students with gaps
  • A useful refresher for those who already know the skills

IRON ARMOUR PROGRAM

In the past two weeks, a new mentoring program has been introduced for Year 8 and 9 boys to support them in their personal development and build their communication skills to assist them in succeeding in school. Ms Armstrong has organised a mentor who will work one-on-one with the students on a fortnightly basis to guide them through the program. The program will also see the students undertake a range of team building activities. We look forward to seeing the boys develop in the coming term. A big thanks to Ms Armstrong for her work in making this project happen.

 

TAEKWONDO ICREATE STUDENTS VISIT CLAYTON NORTH PS

Mr. Andy Tran took a group of Taekwondo iCreate students to Clayton North Primary School to run some coaching sessions with the primary school students.

 

The group received glowing feedback from Assistant Principal Edward Strain:

Well done Mr Andy Tran and Mr Charles Tran for the wonderful program you provide to our students. Congratulations to our Taekwondo students for showing such passion for the discipline, both inside and outside of school.

 

PARKING ON ROSEBANK AVENUE

Could we please remind our College Community that we need to be mindful when dropping off and picking up students before and after school. There have been many instances of entrances being blocked by parked cars and it is important these remain free of parked cars.

 

Please pay attention to the bus bays as these have been parked in at times, making it difficult for buses to pull into the College.

 

Also, please be reminded that the front car park is NOT to be used by families for school pick up and drop off.

 

Thanks for your understanding and support.