Learning & Teaching
Academic Review Conferences
The Academic Review Conferences held this week were a shift from the traditional conference model and were implemented to address a decline in student and parent engagement in past conferences, and to improve student agency, voice and ownership in their learning journey.
The initial feedback has generally been positive from parents, students and staff regarding the productive conversations with families focused on student strengths and areas for improvement and culminating in the students setting improvement goals and improvement strategies.
We thank parents who were able to attend in person, or dial in. The level of parent and student engagement was fantastic. Last year we had 28% of students attend the Term 3 conferences, compared with 90% of students attending the ARCs. The learning improvement plans written by students will be revisited over the course of the semester to refine goals and strategies and reflect on progress.
As with every new initiative or idea it is important to gather feedback from parents to identify future improvements and changes. If you attended the ARCs, can you please complete this quick ARC survey: https://forms.office.com/r/spBkxLfYvF
The Maestro Dashboards provided rich data to simulate conversations at the ARCs and these dashboards are available for all students and parents/guardians. If you have yet to access Maestro or have forgotten how to log into your account, please refer to the attached instructions.
VCE Semester 2 SAC / SAT Assessment Schedule
Students and parents can now view the VCE Assessment spreadsheet on Compass with information the SAC and SAT assessments in each subject and the week in which they will occur. You can locate the spreadsheet by selecting the 'People' icon and the selecting 'School Documentation'.
Book Week 2024
The Benefits of Reading
Thanks to the library team, Jo Montgomery and Andrea Daniels, as well as our Library Captains, for running a successful Book Week around this year’s theme, 'Reading is Magic'. Many teachers, including myself, got involved in the Book Week 'Mystery Reader' events to promote reading to our students, and when I asked students what they were reading, many said they did not read books and did not enjoy reading. This prompted me to do a bit of research into reading trends, the benefits of reading and tips for parents to encourage reading.
According to a Deakin University Study of 12000 Australian teen readers between 2022-2023, reading makes them happier, healthier and more empathetic. Aside from these health benefits other international research has shown that teens who regularly read achieve higher academic attainment and better employment opportunities down the track.
Despite the many benefits of reading, 29% of secondary students do not engage in reading in their free time. The Deakin survey also identified the most preferred activities for teens, aged 11-18. The data (below) indicates a strong preference for technology-based activities with social media use, watching You-tube and TV/Movie watching much more popular than reading. The most popular social media platforms are Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
In Term 4, we will launch a series of three Parent Information Sessions to raise awareness about the challenges, benefits and risks of teens using technology. More about these sessions in the next newsletter.
To encourage children to read more, it is recommended that parents find out what topics and genres of interest as 44% of non-readers say it’s because they can't find a book of interest. Parents behaviour have an influence on student behaviour and parents who model reading are more likely to have to have teens that read. It’s a good idea to create time and space for reading in the home and schedule. Perhaps a technology free hour at home within the day when everyone reads, would help create this time and space.
Improving reading is a priority at the College and our reading NAPLAN results would indicate students have been showing higher achievement in the past two years. All students in Year 7 and 8 engage in a weekly library independent reading classes, where students have opportunity to find text of interests and receive reading instruction from teachers. Librarians, Jo Montgomery and Andrea Daniels and English teachers, quietly encourage students to read and will order in books and magazines, that are of interest to students to encourage reluctent readers. Our Librarians have created a very inviting, quiet environment that entice students to sit, focus and enjoy the transformative experience that comes from reading.
Of course, one of the main barriers to reading are reading difficulties in roughly 20% of Australian students. This could account for reluctant readers. The College supports our students to overcome these reading difficulties with intervention programs at year 7 - 9 through Quick Smart, Learning Support and Tutoring and we are always exploring new ways to improve teen reading. If you are concerned about your child's reading progress or reluctance to read. Please contact their English teacher or our Leader of English, Juanita Blair.
Natalie Manser
Assistant Principal
mar@wantirnacollege.vic.gov.au