Teaching and Learning

Welcome back to Term 3 - I hope everyone had a good break and have settled into the flow of things for Term 3.

We have a busy term ahead with so many amazing experiences for our students across the school this term. Some of these events include:

• L4 and L6 camp
• House Athletics event
• 100 Days of School
• Cooking and Gardening for our L4-6 students
• Maths AMC competition
• L5 Maths Games Day
• Write a Book in a Day Competition (L5/6)
• VHAP

School Wide Maths Intervention

This term we will see the introduction of a daily allocated time for students to practice mathematical concepts. The staff have been introduced to how this will work across the school. From week 4, between 11:30 - 11:50, all students across the school will use the time to practice maths skills and strategies, allowing themselves time to transfer maths knowledge from short term to long term memory. Students will not be taught new skills at this time, instead the teacher will work with small groups delivering explicit instruction on concepts that need revisiting. 

Research has shown us that regular and well-spaced practice moves new knowledge into long term memory by helping students make connections and deepen their understanding of concepts. This then frees up a child's cognitive load to be able to work on more challenging concepts. If you would like to read more about the benefits of practice, have a look here:  https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/practice-acquisition or https://www.edresearch.edu.au/summaries-explainers/explainers/managing-cognitive-load-optimises-learning 

I will include more information on our Maths Intervention program - WIN (What I Need) next newsletter.

100 Days of School

Congratulations to our Foundation students (and teachers) for reaching 100 Days of School - what an achievement. It is amazing to see how far our students have grown since beginning Foundation - they should all be very proud of themselves.