Learning & Teaching
Learning from Hubs
Teaching Reading at St John's
Recently the media has had coverage about the reading ability of students in Australia that is a cause of concern, so I thought I would take this opportunity to give an overview of what we do at St John's. There has been a lot of talk about whole language vs the science of reading and this can often cause confusion for parents about what schools should or could be doing. Both approaches to teaching literacy skills have been around for a long time and there has been a strong push towards whole language approaches in the past which has now been rightly questioned in research and evidence. There is also a lot being said about the science of reading or science of learning. This is not a program but instead named components that research and evidence-based practices have highlighted as being critical to the success in learning to read. This aligns with what MACs is launching this week as their 'Vision for Instruction'. I will share more around this in our next newsletter. Like everything we do at St John's we look for high-quality, evidence-based practices that will best impact learning outcomes. For literacy we consider a child's phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language ability to drive our teaching and intervention. Over time, our NAPLAN results for Reading as a school have been consistent, and while there is always room for growth, they have been overall positive. If you have any questions around what we do at St John's I strongly encourage you to reach out to any of our Learning and Teaching leaders who would be more than happy to talk to you about this.
Look out for opportunities to learn more in space across the year as we unpack the different components to be considered when learning to read and some tips for what you can do at home. For now we encourage as much exposure to text in their world as possible. This could be when you are on walks, driving in the car or at places like the supermarket or restaurants. We also recommend that not only do you take time to sit and listen to your child read but also read to them and with them. By reading to your child and with your child they are learning a lot about what a 'good' or 'proficient' reader does with tone, speed, expression and a general love and enjoyment for reading.
Emily
St John's Learning and Teaching Team
Prep Hub: Lauren ldavis@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au
1 Hub and 2 Hub: Jenna jgladman@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au
3/4 Hubs and 5/6 Hub: Amy alittley@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au
Maths Leader P-6: Mairead mdoherty@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au
Cyber Safety & Digital Wellbeing
Student Incursions & Parent Information Session
Student Incursions
This week, children from Years 1-6 participated in their first cyber safety incursions for 2024. Each term, students will tune into a live streamed incursion that focuses on different aspects of Cyber Safety & Digital Wellbeing. This term’s focus was around Digital Citizenship and the Internet. It covered topics like trusted adults, passwords and digital footprints. In Innovation, the preps have been singing along to Damo’s ‘What Does the Internet Do?’, which was featured in the 1/2 Incursion, as well as everybody’s favourite, ‘Screen Time & Green Time’.
Tip Sheets for Parents & Carers ensure the conversations and topics we introduce in the classroom continue at home. Click on the links below to access them:
Parent Information Session (Webinar)
‘Raising Kids in a Digital World’, presented by Marty McGauran (Educator) & Carley McGauran (Psychologist)
This webinar will cover topics such as social media, online gaming, impacts of screen time, managing devices in the home, child and tween online trends, explicit/adult content and strengthening family communication.
Thursday 21 March
7.30pm - 8.45 pm
Register here: bit.ly/21march2024
(If you would like access to the replay of this webinar, register via the link above)
Kind regards,
Bess Naughtin
Innovation Educator (Prep & Years 3-6) & eLearning Leader
enaughtin@sjfootscray.catholic.edu.au