Assistant Principal's report

Ks for RUOK

Kalinda Staff completed the Ks for RUOK challenge in the month of July and we were extremely proud to collectively raise a whopping $1170 towards Suicide Prevention. We collectively walked/ran/wandered over 700 kilometres which I think is a fabulous effort. Thank you so much to those staff members who took part, and an especially big thank you to the members of our community who donated to our cause through the RUOK website.

This Heart Foundation blog reminds us that walking with a friend or colleague can be good for our hearts and our heads, now that the sun is finally making an appearance I hope you might be able to take advantage!

Homework

The following is an excerpt of information sent to the parents in Grades 5 and 6 this week: 

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Earlier this year, we invited recent Kalinda graduates and their families to respond to a survey about the transition to high school. The purpose of this survey was to investigate whether Kalinda Primary School could be doing more to support our students as they move into a new phase of their education. We recognise that the move to high school is a very big change for our students and we always want to be checking in on the effectiveness of our processes and whether they have continued positive impacts on our students. 

One question we asked respondents, was to indicate which aspect of High School they found the most challenging to get used to. Of the responses we received from both students and parents, a large percentage of respondents (46.7%) indicated that ‘keeping up with homework’ was the most overwhelming challenge starting High School. Other responses included ‘finding your way around the school’ (16.7%), ‘getting to know new people’ (16.7%) and other aspects of high school life (with much smaller percentages again). 

Whilst we recognise that research based evidence points to homework having little to no impact on educational outcomes for students on the whole, we also know that completing achievable, relevant homework tasks can help students to create healthy organisational habits where they learn to prioritise schoolwork amongst other important aspects of their lives including sport, relaxation, hobbies and family time. You can read more about our philosophy around homework in our Homework Policy. 

With this in mind, from now until the end of the year, students in Grade 5 and 6 will be expected to complete some small tasks set by their teachers. We have scheduled these tasks ahead of time to prioritise relevant learning, achievable timelines and differentiation to include all learning styles and abilities. 

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We know that the answer to developing these healthy habits is not a photocopied worksheet every week. Which is why teachers have worked hard to identify useful opportunities to broaden, extend and support the learning being done at school. We want to prioritise a student's feeling that these tasks are going to help them flourish in the classroom, not simply a chore to tick off (which then becomes a burden for families!)

Thank you to our 5/6 team who have worked on developing a schedule that includes a range of achievable, relevant tasks such as preparing for assessment, practising learned skills, and even some flipped learning. (Flipped learning is where a child works on learning a skill or new material at home, and then extends that learning with active and supported application at school). I'm pleased to say that our Grade 4 team have also been thinking about ways to begin developing these skills by including some weekly Spelling tasks and a recent Biography assignment. Thank you to families who have supported their students in beginning to develop these habits. 

Take care Kalinda, you matter to me. 

Lauren Hopkins

We are kind. We are resilient. We are respectful.