LITERACY /

LEARNING & TEACHING 

Library

The library will be open on Thursday lunchtimes, for the remainder of the term, to allow students an opportunity to borrow or return books outside of their regular reading time. I will also be facilitating a group of interested students in understanding and using our borrowing system, so that they can keep the library in order on the days where it isn't monitored by our library technician. If your child wants to be a part of this, they are welcome to join me in the library. 

Author Visit 

Earlier on in May, we had a special visit from author Kylie Allen who hosted a special reading of her book Brave As Can Be! This story, which is beautifully illustrated by Carmen Rocha, shows children the different ways that they can be brave and courageous in everyday situations. The children not only got to hear a great story, but they got an inside look into the writing process. From the planning and ideas phase, all the way through to book publishing, Kylie spoke about her own courage and persistence, and how she overcame these challenges as an author. The sessions were enjoyed by all students across the school. 

Moving Learning forward with Reading & Writing Moderation  

Over the last two weeks, teachers have been busy in our PLTs looking at student work samples and summative data sets in order to moderate in two key areas of learning; Reading & Writing. 

Moderation is the practice of teachers sharing and developing their understanding of what learning looks like, by examining examples of different types of student work and comparing these with formal standards and success criteria (the Victorian Curriculum F-10 Achievement Standards). 

Moderation during this time of year enables powerful professional discussion about: 

• how learning is progressing and what students need to learn to meet Standards
• how to interpret the Victorian Curriculum F-10 Achievement Standards
• what success looks like at different levels of the curriculum

As well as student work samples, we look at three or more pieces of student assessment evidence and data. Any single assessment score is subject to environmental or motivational influences which may affect the data’s accuracy. This process of triangulation ensures that we get a broader look at the individual leaner using multiple sources of evidence to validate our teacher judgements about where they are sitting and what their next steps in learning need to be.