Principals Message

Dear parents and carers

Last week at the Principals Meeting I was very proud to listen to a presentation on co-teaching by Trish Mitchell from the Catholic Schools Office. Trish is a Subject Matter Expert in Maths and has spent time in our learning spaces. Trish presented to all the principals in the Diocese and CSO staff. 

“I am privileged to introduce the Year 2 teachers: Katrina Duncan & Bridget Murphy from St Xavier’s Primary School in Gunnedah. It is the second year these ladies have been a part of the MaST project (Maths Initiative) and I consider them to be outstanding teachers. Sharon John, Leader and Mentor K-2 is also a part of this team, along with paraprofessionals Alex Howarth and Julie Gillham.  

This is an example of the Supportive Co-Teaching Approach. While mathematics is Katrina’s strength she often takes the lead when delivering the lesson. She usually models the concept and is primarily responsible for the flow of the numeracy block. Villa in A Guide to Co-Teaching, defines it nicely where ‘one teacher functions as the sage on the stage, and the other functions as a guide on the side’. The photos shown today are examples of how all professionals are circulating among students monitoring progress and providing task assistance when needed. The division of labour is pre-planned and determined when co-planning during afternoon debriefs and meeting sessions. The communication between Katrina, Bridget, Sharon and the paraprofessionals is evident by how fluid the lesson is. Students are moving between groups and have opportunities to work independently as all teachers know exactly where the students academic needs are at. The accountability of the team who have the mantra, ‘they are all  our students’ is strong and supported by agreed practices and professionalism. 

I need to reiterate that the Gradual Release of Responsibility in the mathematics block is fluid and supports the needs of the learners based on their academic entry point. All stages of the Gradual Release may not occur in every lesson, every day. Bridget, Katrina and Sharon use this model while co-teaching and sharing the responsibility of teaching mathematics. Their classroom works, ‘like a well-oiled machine’, the careful co-planning ensures everyone knows who they will be working with, what content they are engaging in and how. Katrina can be modelling a new concept to the majority of the class, Bridget is using the guided tables to withdraw a small number of students who need extra support while Sharon is on the floor targeting those who need particular key words and steps repeated. When students disperse and gradually take more responsibility for the task, the teachers take guided groups and it is here that I must point out an important stage of this cycle...the need for one of the teachers to be roaming and monitoring the independent learners. It is vital to question the student’s learning and engage with how they are going...waiting to engage with students’ work during break time or after school does not give feedback to the learner or the teacher when it is crucially needed. 

The teachers are constantly communicating with one another to ensure the timing of the task and where the focus is shifting to. This co-debriefing before, during and after the lesson is the core to their success. Monitoring, working alongside all students in the space, co-assessing and moderating support the notion of - these are all our students. 

I would like to congratulate Year 2 at St Xavier’s Gunnedah for demonstrating what a high functioning team is and their strong co-teaching style to ensure all students are engaged in mathematics.”

We are proud of the work that is taking place in all our co teaching learning spaces and it is rewarding to have this work acknowledged publicly.

Kind regards,

Jen