From the Head of Junior School
Dear Members of the St Gregory’s College Family,
Well, we are underway for another term and one that will be full of events, learning and community. It is wonderful to have our families back for Term 4, safe, happy and ready for another term of learning! There has been plenty happening at the College over the break and I look forward to the new buildings being open soon! Over the break, you all should have received an email from me outlining the specific events and calendar items for this term that will keep us all engaged in the happenings in the College.
Building Works
We are so close now to finishing off our second stage of our building program in the Junior School. The classrooms are now complete an we are about a week away before the final touches on the new library space are finalised – I know Mrs Cosentino is very excited about her new home! We look forward to showing the students and families around these spaces soon. Over the next week, we look forward to starting the modification of the site by laying turf. There are exciting times ahead for our Junior School students!
If you have been at the Junior School this term, you would have seen a lovely new concrete path that we will look to create handball courts on outside the admin block and also a lovely new rock garden that was created behind the admin block for the students. I want to thank Mitch, an Old Boy of the College, from Summit Landscapes for completing these two projects for us.
A sense of Wonder and a Spirit of Inquiry
We often hear the word “inquiry” used in our classrooms. So, what does this mean?
Inquiry is a way of teaching and learning that is all about triggering curiosity, wonder and excitement. We know that children love to ask questions – it’s how they make sense of the world and their place in it. Formulating questions is the initial phase of learning through inquiry, questions that the students want to find answers to. In the classroom, questions are a powerful tool for teachers to promote thinking and learning and when children are able to pose questions and investigate them. Students buy-into their learning through ownership and responsibility. The student questions, often placed on the classroom Wonder Wall or board, are researched and answers are found.
In an inquiry classroom, teachers are at times co-learners working with children engaging in sustained and shared conversations. This does not mean, the basics are overlooked as there is a time for explicit instruction and a time for learning together. Through such conversations, teachers are able to enrich and guide thinking and learning and students can gain new understandings of themselves, the learning process and the topic under investigation. This means that there is less of a focus on transmitting knowledge and more about supporting and extending the children’s attempts at understanding. Learning is richer and more effective when it develops over time and when there are opportunities for planning and reflection throughout the experience. The class routine allows for blocks of uninterrupted time in which to think, investigate and explore. Thinking and learning happens more effectively when they are unhurried as ideas need time to develop.
Inquiry is often a collaborative task. Learning is enriched when children work with others to solve a problem or investigate an interest. Exposure to others’ ideas and perspectives help broaden individual understandings and as children work together on a joint project they develop strong relationships with each other.
The Weeks Ahead
As per my letter to you over the break, there are many events on the horizon that we are preparing for. A few in the next couple of weeks are:
- Kindergarten Excursion – 28/10
- Book Fair from 28/10
- Kindergarten 2020 Transition Lessons start 30/10 @ 3:30pm
As our College motto states ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’.
As our St Gregory’s College motto states, ‘what you sow, so shall you reap’.
Joel Weekes
Head of Junior School