Learning  

Happy International Women’s Day to all women and thank you to everyone who actively inspires and empowers women.  

We are very privileged to be part of a community where we are able to encourage and engage young women to be positive risk takers, have high aspirations and courage to care.  We heard this at our International Women’s Day Breakfast when listening to the guest speaker and alumna, Grace Pucci, talk about owning your own path, finding your power and leaving your mark and see the energy and passion that our students and staff continually put into their learning, extra curricular activities, care for themselves, each other and the world around us.   It makes me very proud to be part of the Academy community. 

In other matters I’d like to take the opportunity to let families know of two updates to our policies and guidelines.   

AI Position Statement and Guidelines 

Last year, we shared our AI Position Statement and Guidelines,  which, due to the changing nature of AI, are reviewed biannually.  Our position on AI, is that while it may be a tool that can help with a variety of tasks, it does not replace the process of learning and thinking.  Therefore, students should avoid becoming reliant on using AI and shouldn’t use it unless explicitly specified.  Students who do use AI must reference this and provide an appendix as detailed in the guidelines.  

For more details including guidance about appropriate and inappropriate use of AI, please refer to the guidelines that can be found in School Documentation on Compass under the Community Icon.

Homework and Study Policy 

The Homework and Study Policy has also been updated and can be found in the Learning and Teaching Policies in School Documentation on Compass. 

In this policy, we make a distinction between homework as set by the class teacher and independent study.  All students should engage in independent study on a regular basis to reinforce memory (overcome "Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve").  

The following guidelines set out the approximate amount of time a student should be spending eachnight on homework, five times per week.  There will be certain times in the school year where a little more or a little less homework is appropriate.  

Guidelines for Effective Homework Completion 

Students are encouraged to: 

• establish a quiet, organised and distraction-free workspace 
• plan homework using a timetable or planner 
• break tasks into manageable components – use th e "Pomodoro Technique" (20 minute bursts followed by 5 minute breaks) 
• take short breaks (10–15 minutes per hour) 
• maintain healthy routines, including regular meals away from the study space 

Parents and Carers 

Support learning by: 

• encouraging consistent routines 
• providing an appropriate study environment 
• supporting communication between home and school 

Homework Club is held in the Library every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until 4.15pm.  Students are encouraged to come along, make use of the support available and complete any homework, undertake independent study or ask questions.  

Over the next few months, you will also see updates to other policies.   If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact me 

Ms Lucy Neil 

Deputy Principal - Learning & Teaching