Learning and Teaching

EDUCATION WEEK

This week is Education Week, which is held each year to celebrate education in Victoria.

Teachers and students have been engaging in learning tasks throughout the week focused around this year’s theme: ‘Active Learners: Move, Make, Motivate’, which celebrates physical activity, hands-on learning and student voice in education.

We will be holding an open morning on Friday May 20. Parents, carers and other family members will be invited into classrooms to see their child/ren's learning in action! 

We hope that you have enjoyed the increasing number of social media posts throughout Education Week, as each teaching team is providing a post showcasing the great learning that is happening each and every day in our classrooms.

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE DAYS

At Wembley Primary School, as governed by the Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2022, each teacher  will be participating in a Professional Practice Day.

Due to the importance we place on collaboration, each teaching team has been allocated a day per term to enable them to further collaborate and focus on: 

• moderating student work samples
• analysing cohort and class data
• differentiation and moderation in preparation for reporting
• implementation of Essential Learnings
• planning and pacing for Term 3, and 
• mobilising actions from our Annual Implementation Plan.

Professional Practice Days begin in Week 4, from Friday 19 May 1, and will occur over the next few weeks. Please see the 'Important Dates' section of the newsletter, which specifies the day that your child/ren’s teacher/s will be engaged in their Professional Practice Days. On Professional Practice Days, teachers will be in attendance at school, however a casual replacement teacher (CRT) will teach the class.

YEAR 6 UNLEASHING PERSONAL POTENTIAL INCURSION

What we did at the incursion…

During last week’s incursion the Year 6 cohort participated in a series of 3 sessions focusing on ‘Personal Potential’. The first session was about “Leading with or without a badge”. We discussed qualities of friendships and leaders. Students participated in challenges with their BFFT ( Best friend for today).

During the second session (The Epic Race), we worked in small groups using the A.S.P.I.R.E framework. We were challenged to see which group could construct the tallest tower, the most creative structure, the tallest building which holds a tennis ball. In this event, teams had to work together and find strategies to complete the challenges.

In the final session, (The Battle of the Houses), students worked in Wembley House Groups. This challenge involved us working out a way to keep a yoga ball afloat using different strategies. 

This incursion helped students unleash their potential and express themselves in which they feel comfortable- Sarah Moscato

What I’ve learned about influence and kindness…

I’ve been taught how the slightest things can influence others most significantly. For example, one small act of kindness can influence them to be a leader and act kind too. These small little groups of people being kind can inflate into massive groups and that group can influence others e.g. UPP’s incursion influenced me to be a kinder, smarter leader, and some of the challenges we did really showed me that. 

One of the things we did at the incursion was watch a video. This video was about a man dancing alone in a park, packed with people. One person, however, came to join him. That one person not only showed kindness by coming and dancing with him, but he also influenced everybody else in the park to come and dance, too. The two people inflated to what seemed like about a hundred people, dancing. And all because of the second person's influence- Makayla Hayden

What I’ve learned through teamwork and challenges…

I’ve learnt that you can boost efficiency while working as a team rather than individually. For instance, we were doing a challenge in which we had to build a tower with blocks. If we were working separately, it would have taken a long time to complete the tower, and if it fell down, putting it back together would take longer. Whereas, if you were in a team, you could place blocks simultaneously and it would be much quicker to rebuild.

Another quality that I’ve learnt about is synergy. Synergising with your team members can help build trust and respect. In the third session, we worked in our school houses as a team to play “Keep it up” with a yoga ball. We had to move around in accordance to the movements to the other people in our house to make sure that the ball didn’t touch the ground.

Overall, I learnt that it is easier to complete a challenge as a team- Aaira Rizvi

What I’ve learned about leadership… 

I’ve learned that you can be a leader even without a badge. And I can do something little like pick up a bit of rubbish on the floor and it can influence people to also pick up rubbish when they see some on the floor. I also learned that you don’t have to tell people to do something, you just have to continue to do that certain thing that you are doing and that could influence people to join in whatever you're doing. 

I’ve learned that you have to work as a team to do well in challenges that occur while you're leading. You have to make sure that all of the voices are heard so you have the best chance to overcome the challenge in your way.

Something else that you have to do while you are leading is make sure you're respecting people and others that are around you, so that they will hopefully have respect towards you- Kiran Murthy

ESSENTIAL LEARNINGS AND CURRICULUM OVERVIEWS

As mentioned in previous newsletters, we have decided to replace the Yearly Essential Learning Planners (YELPs) on our website with a more straightforward concise Curriculum Overview for year level, each term. We hope that this supports parents and carers in understanding what learning areas their children are engaging with on a weekly basis. 

Term overviews will clarify the Essential Skills or Learning Targets that students will be exposed to, explaining learning foci week by week. Detailed curriculum planners can still be requested by families who are interested, or who may be working with tutors or health professionals, although we ask that it is understood that these are working documents, continually under revision by our teachers. 

We are pleased to let you know that these overviews have now been published to the website..

Example: Cover page - this page details the Essential Learning titles across all core curriculum areas.

Example: Curriculum area expanded page - this page details the specific Essential Skills or Learning Targets associated with each individual curriculum area. 

We will be seeking feedback from our School Council Education Subcommittee on this change, in time for Term 3.