From The Principal
end of Term Dear parents, students, families and friends,
We have come to the end of yet another fortnight. It is amazing how quickly the weeks pass by. We are nearly at the end of Term 3 and therefore, three quarters of the way through the year. The last newsletter for the term will be published on the last day of term in Week 10.
Winter Gala Sports
Last Wednesday our Year 5/6 students competed in the Winter Gala Sports in Volleyball and cricket. I attended the cricket and I must say I was very impressed with the two cricket teams. Both teams did their very best in the most difficult and challenging conditions I have ever seen and experienced during interschool sport. The boys displayed excellent teamwork and sportsmanship, representing our school to the highest standard.
Father's Day Breakfast
Last Friday we celebrated Father's Day with our annual Father's Day Breakfast. The bread rolls were fresh, the bacon sizzling and the eggs runny. There was a massive turn-out with over 100 dads, granddads and uncles attending. A big thank-you to all the teachers who made the extra early start at dawn to cook the bacon and eggs. Thank-you also to the parent committee for organising the special Father's Day t-shirt. I hope all the dads found these to be a special memento. On the Saturday of Father's Day Weekend I attended the Carlton Open Training session with my daughter Breanna. They were taking pictures of dads with their children, so I thought I would share the picture of Bree and me that ended up on Blues Social media.
Kaboom Sports Mini Olympics
Later on in the day on Friday, to continue the celebration of St. Augustine's Feast Day, the students took part in tabloid sports run by Kaboom Sports. The theme was mini Olympics. Due to the windy conditions it was decided to hold it indoors in the hall, however, this didn't stop the students from having a fun time and working up a sweat.
School Concert
Our school concert will be held on Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th September, 6pm – 8pm in the hall. Students from Prep to Year 6 are required to attend both nights. Parents need only attend one performance, though of course you are welcome to attend both performance nights. The performances will be identical on both nights.
We ask that students are dropped off at school between 5.15pm and no later than 5.30pm. Please do not drop off students any earlier than 5.15pm as the staff will need to have dinner beforehand. Drop off point will be their classroom. At the conclusion of the performances, students can be collected from where they are sitting with their class in the hall. Please ensure you inform the classroom teacher before taking your child.
Footy Fun Day
Thursday 19th September is Footy Fun Day. Students can dress in their footy gear or in their team colours (AFL or local footy club). There will also be a party pie and party sausage roll lunch at $3.00 each. These can be ordered on Trybooking. Please be aware that due catering purposes, no late orders can be accepted once the booking form is closed.
End of Term 3
Thursday 19th September is the end of Term 3. The students will be dismissed at the usual time of 3.15pm. Please remember that we still have one more performance that night. Friday 20th September is a School Closure. It is a Curriculum Day as the teachers will be planning and preparing for Term 4.
Start of Term 4
For the first two weeks of Term 4 I will be based at Annunciation Primary School in Brooklyn. The principal, Mrs Anna Yorston is having knee surgery during the school holidays and won’t be able to return to work until Week 3. The Deputy principal is also absent on long service leave, so they have no senior school leader or anyone with leadership experience to oversee the daily running of the school. This is why I have been asked by the Western Region Office to step in as caretaker until Anna is able to return. Mrs Mazzeo will be Acting Principal and the rest of the School Leadership Team – Mrs Witchell, Miss Paglianiti, Ms Loretta and Miss Librizzi will support her, as they do me.
MACS Vision for instruction Part 2
I will continue to talk a little about MACS Flourishing Learners - Vision For Instruction.
The following evidence-based practices are derived from research on how students learn as well as studies of the most successful teachers. These general high-impact practices are designed to ensure MACS students flourish in our classrooms.
Coherent, knowledge-rich teaching and learning programs: Students need a broad range of knowledge and skills to have a strong foundation of information across the whole curriculum that will benefit them beyond their school years. Coherent and deliberate planning of knowledge taught and sequencing of tasks has been shown to positively impact student learning. Tasks that build upon each other and are deployed based on student prior learning are the most effective (Wexler 2020).
Explicit instruction model: Effective teachers design lessons that begin with teacher-guided instruction and gradually shift responsibility for learning to the student with modelling and guided practice. This leads to student independent practice only after foundational knowledge is established (Clark, Kirschner & Sweller 2012).
Explicit instruction is effective across a variety of contexts and for different groups of students (AERO 2022a). Explicit teaching refers to a whole system, not just an episode within a lesson, which means that teaching might look different from one day to the next, building on prior learning. The stages of teaching, from introduction of new content to independent practice, might all occur in one day or may occur over a week or more, depending on the content and the students.
Explicit instruction sequence:
Starting with the introduction of new content and skills, effective teaching will generally follow this sequence:
• Explicit instruction: Teachers fully explain the concepts and skills that students are required to learn. The most efficient way to teach knowledge is to teach it explicitly, and this is particularly true for the introduction of new concepts (Rosenshine 2012). However, this does not mean students are passively receiving information.
• Modelling: Effective teachers break down what students need to learn into smaller learning outcomes and model each step so that students can see what is expected of them (Rosenshine 2012).
• Guided practice: Teachers provide multiple opportunities for students to practise, and support is gradually removed as students develop understanding and can work more independently.
• Independent practice: Once students have developed understanding, teachers ask students to complete tasks themselves while the teacher monitors and provides feedback.
Formative assessment: Effective questioning is a core part of effective formative assessment. Instruction is most effective when it is highly interactive with frequent checks for understanding. Identifying where a student is in their learning by assessing what they know also helps teachers choose the right starting place before introducing a new unit of work (AERO 2021).
Regular review: Rehearsing and reviewing information creates stronger connections and makes prior knowledge more readily available for use. As a part of a routine, use low- or no-stakes quizzes for frequent review. Material that is practised and discussed in review will be easier to recall. If students are struggling with a concept during review, teachers can do a quick re-teach lesson.
This is how teachers teach here at St. Augustine's from Prep to Year 6 across all of the subject areas, including religious education and the specialist subjects.
COMING IN 2 WEEKS
WHOLE SCHOOL BLACK TIE EVENT!!
St. Augustine's School Concert
https://www.trybooking.com/CUSCI
All invited guests are to dress up for the event in their best evening wear.
Dress To Impress!!
Footy Finals are here!!
Sadly only one match in Melbourne all weekend!!
Kind regards,
Matthew Stead
