Learning Enhancement
I would like to welcome all of our families to the 2025 school year. Thanks to those who came to our information sessions and have connected with their child’s teacher. It is a pleasure to walk through our learning space and see students at all levels enjoying calm, well organised classrooms.
Our work last year in introducing teachers and students to new resources and new ways of learning has benefitted everyone. Some of the changes implemented from the first day of the term include a more explicit teaching model, classroom seating arrangements, new resources, lining up outside and waiting to be invited into the learning space by a teacher, and cold calling.
Explicit instruction is a systematic, engaging, evidence based and success-oriented teaching approach. It involves fully explaining and demonstrating what students need to learn. It caters to the needs of all students, providing structured support so all students can succeed, and opportunities to extend and apply learning to promote excellence. Students who find learning persistently challenging because of limitations in memory, or differences in how they process language and information, benefit greatly from the breaking down, sequencing and scaffolding features of explicit instruction.
Seating arrangements in classroom have shifted from groups of tables to a more linear style where every student is facing the point of instruction. This reduces distractions and is intentional in making the learning and the explicit instruction the focus of the lesson. Tables and chairs can be easily rearranged when group tasks, group discussion and collaboration is required.
Ochre Education is our learning platform for Maths in Foundation to Grade 6 classes, and for novel studies in Grade 3 to Grade 6. The novels, one for each student, are resourced via Catholic Education Sandhurst, as are the literacy teaching kits used in the Foundation to Grade 2 classes.
Lining up outside is the first step in implementing Knowledge Society outcomes. Students are in a routine of entering their classrooms in a calm and orderly way and understand the transition from a play space into a learning space.
This week we introduced cold calling to our classrooms. Doug Lemov explores this practice in his book “Teach Like a Champion.” It is a ‘no hands up’ technique that creates an expectation that all students are ready to answer every question, promoting attention, engagement and participation. Adjustments are made for students who need more thinking time or are less confident, including ‘turn and talk’ before being cold called.
Feedback from teachers has been positive. They have expressed how the routines and expectations help in maintaining an effective learning space, the students are engaged in their lessons and the first few weeks of the school year have been very productive.
We look forward to sharing what is happening in our classrooms in newsletters to come.
regards
Jen McKillop
Eloise Liddell
Jess Moodie
Library News
We want to extend a big thank you to all students who returned their library books from last year! We’re thrilled to report that we only had 14 outstanding books—an impressive achievement. This year, let’s aim for zero outstanding books!
It's been fantastic to see so many students visiting the library again and enjoying our new displays.
Scholastic Book Club News
The first issue of the Scholastic Book Club catalogues has been sent home with your child. In this issue, if you spend $25, you'll receive a *free book*. Spend $50, and you'll get *two free books*, or spend $70 for *three free books*
Please remember that all payments must be made online through Loop. You can make payments by visiting scholastic.com.au/LOOP or by downloading the LOOP app. If you need any assistance with this process, please reach out to us—we’re here to help!
Additionally, every order placed through the Book Club helps our school earn FREE books and learning resources. Book Club orders will close on 17th February 2025.
Happy reading!
Nicole Keenan