Principal's Report
Dear Parents,
Thank you to those families who came along to discuss your child's progress at our recent parent-teacher interviews. Once these had concluded, teachers passed on some feedback to me regarding queries you had that I thought worth clarifying.
The first is the vexed topic of homework which is one of those topics that no matter how we try, not all parties will be happy. Some will want a lot more, others a lot less or none at all, and everything in between. For those of you who have been at Mackellar for some time, you may recall we reviewed our approach to homework in 2023. This review included parent feedback, school council input, student voice and teacher suggestions. The result has the following principles:
Reading each day is by far the most important aspect of our approach to homework. Reading should be easy at home, enjoyable and very successful. We'll do the teaching of reading if you can assist with the reading practise.
Homework at Mackellar is a chance for parents and children to share and discuss what is happening at school across a range of subjects and using a variety of learning styles and degrees of difficulty.
It is driven by student and parent choice as to which activities are selected, with the older a student gets, the more activities are required of them.
Homework is never new work, nor should it be overly challenging. It will be a revision of work already completed, or a chance to share in the topics being studied in class.
For parents interested in providing their children additional spelling words, times tables, maths or reading activities there are a variety of Apps available on student iPads which will allow this to occur. Some include Study Ladder, Epic, Splash and so on.
Our homework approach acknowledges the balance between school, home, recreation and relaxation. It also acknowledges that older students need a routine ready for high school where the demands will increase. Finally, it is expected that all students complete their homework and hand it in each week.
Whilst this approach won't suit everyone, it is a compromise that school council agreed to based on the many forms of feedback and requests from staff, students and parents alike. I hope this clarifies this topic for you.
On a different topic altogether, our production is five weeks away and counting. Rehearsals have certainly ramped up over the past week and tickets are flying out the door. Please be sure to secure your tickets asap and to purchase a black skivvy for your child's costume. If you require assistance with either of these things, please contact the school.
Kind Regards,
Simon McGlade
Principal