Head of Middle Years
Mr Steven Tkaczuk
I would like to commend students for their ability to adapt to Remote Learning during the current lockdown period. Although this is not the ideal method of teaching and learning, it is our adaptability and readiness to shift that help hone various skills and attitudes that can be applied beyond, to circumstances outside of the school setting.
As with any Remote Learning period, student wellbeing is so important. We encourage students (and members of the household) to look after their wellbeing and support one another. When dealing with extended periods of lockdown, you may take into consideration some of the following ideas:
- Maintain a routine
- Create a learning / working environment which is separate to your bedroom
- Take regular breaks to move away from the screen
- Nourish your body with healthy foods
- Hydrate yourself
- Practice mindfulness
- Maintain appropriate communication with family and friends
- Raise wellbeing concerns with teachers / support persons
- Stay focused and remove distractions
From time to time, students do need guidance and encouragement to take into consideration some of the above-mentioned suggestions. Assisting young adolescent minds to navigate situations is not always an easy task, but like any learning experience, perseverance, consistency and the ‘hard conversations’ eventually reap rewards for each individual.
As always, should your child require any additional support or you are concerned about an individual’s wellbeing, please contact your child’s Pastoral Care Teacher or an appropriate member of the College’s staff for further support. There are some wonderful sites such as Headspace and Beyond Blue where resources and contacts of external organisations can be used for additional support.
MYP Learning
In our last e-newsletter, we began exploring the various ‘Approaches to Learning’. To refresh yourself, these were the specific skills that students completing the MYP aimed to develop to enable them to ‘learn how to learn’.
These five categories included:
- Thinking skills
- Communication skills
- Social skills
- Self-management skills
- Research skills
As with any skills development, each individual will find themselves at varying levels of competency. In MYP, these can be understood as:
- Novice or beginning where students are introduced to the skill and through observation, watch others performing it
- Learner or developing where students begin to try and copy others who are demonstrating the skill and use the skill with scaffolding and guidance
- Practitioner where students adopt and apply the skill confidently and effectively
- Expert where students can show others how to accurately use the skill and provide feedback to others on their use of the skill
In order to continually develop these skills, students need to understand which level of competency they currently have. Asking questions such as “What are my present skills? What evidence can I provide to show my development of this skill? What skills can I improve on? What new skills can I learn?” This can allow students to identify the ATL skill which would become their focus of learning. This ultimately allows students to take responsibility of their own learning and continue to grow as a result.
In today’s newsletter, we will explore in more depth ‘Thinking Skills’.
Thinking skills can be unpacked into three categories which include:
- Critical thinking skills - Analysing and evaluating ideas and issues.
- Creative thinking skills - Generating ideas and considering new perspectives.
- Transfer of skills - Using skills and knowledge in multiple contexts.
Source: ‘Approaches to teaching and learning (ATL) skills’
To view the full document and gain additional information about the ATLs, you may view the link below
Parenting ideas to develop a child’s capacity to ‘Problem Solve’
I often have conversations with parents who comment about their child’s ability to be a problem solver. The link below will refer you to an interesting and practical article written by Michael Grose who provides suggestions on how to develop this capacity in young individuals.