Practical projects
In our special education classes
Adopting a project-based learning approach in our classrooms or school can invigorate the learning environment, energising the curriculum with a real-world relevance and sparking students' desire to explore, investigate, and understand their world. Our Special Education students in all the five support classes were given opportunities to work on various DIY (Do It Yourself) practical projects in Design Technology Life Skills curriculum matching with their ability levels. Students were given hands-on experience in using different hand tools to assemble shelving units, step stool, drawer unit, outdoor chair and bottle rack referring to the assembly instructions in the product manual.
All students exhibited great enthusiasm, motivation and engagement in the activities they participated in and expressed their desire to participate in similar project based learning activities. Safe and responsible use of materials, tools and techniques was an essential skill students acquired through these Design and Technology projects.
These Design Technology projects provided opportunities for the students with special needs to realise their potential and develop skills which are essential for their independent living. Because project-based learning is filled with active and engaged learning, special needs students are more likely to retain the knowledge gained through this approach than through traditional textbook-centered learning. In addition, students also developed confidence and self-direction as they moved through both team-based and independent work.
Students placed in No.1 spot!
Special Education students placed Cecil Hills High School at the No. 1 spot in NSW & No. 3 in Australia on Mathletics.
Students in our Special Education classes have made some wonderful achievements on the Mathletics eLearning program this year. Through their consistent participation, learning and performances on Mathletics, Cecil Hills High School was recognised as the best performing school in NSW and third best performing school in Australia on the Mathletics online learning program. Three students from the Special Education classes, Manie Chung, Tommy Lu and William Le Pham received the best achiever awards on Mathletics program in 2016, topping all the students in Cecil Hills High School. Congratulations to Manie Chung, Tommy Lu and William Le-Pham and all participating students and staff in Special Education Unit for this mind-boggling achievement!
Thank you to the parents who have had the opportunity to support their children using the Mathletics program at home and for the very positive response to Mathletics. We are really pleased to see that our students are thoroughly enjoying and utilising Mathletics as a means of improving their nnumeracy skills.
Mathletics is an interactive web-based learning program, which integrates home and school learning via the internet. Students are matched on their ability and skill level, not age or location, to ensure everyone gets a fair opportunity, accommodating individual differences. Students have 24 hour access to Mathletics and can work on the learning activities at their own pace and convenience. Mathletics covers Prep- Year 12 Australian Maths Curriculum and is currently used in over 4000 Australian schools, with more than 800,000 students accessing the Mathletics website every day.
S Sebastian, Teacher, Special Education
We are pleased to let you know that one of our students, Marco Quintao, will be training with the Tigers team as the NRL ambassador for disabilities on Saturday, 3rd December to celebrate International Disabilities Day, raising awareness within our community. West Tigers giveaways, football clinics and a day in the life of a footy player session.... which will be held at the Michael Clarke Recreation Centre at Carnes Hill.
