Junior School
Term 2 in Junior School
Welcome back everyone to Scoresby Secondary College for term 2 of the 2018 school year. We hope everyone had an enjoyable, well deserved and safe break over the last two weeks. We would also like to remind everyone that Homework club is again running every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:00pm-4:00pm in the Library. It is important that services such as this are utilised by students and we encourage anyone who is needing a little extra support or time to complete tasks to attend these sessions.
Years 7, 8 & 9 Elevate Education
On Tuesday 24 April, our Years 7, 8 & 9 students participated in an in-school program ran by the team from Elevate Education. The years 7 & 8 students participated in the Study Skills Kick Start program whilst the year 9 students participated in the mnemonics session.
The Study Skills Kick Start program helps students to build a foundation for study further into their schooling lives; this includes being able to extract important or key information from text/s and allowing the students to analyse this information by taking short hand notes in the most efficient and effective ways possible. The students focused on spelling, reading, writing, retaining information as well as speaking and listening. Students used resources such booklets to complete short exercises and discussions which allowed them to explore different strategies relating to how they can improve their literacy skills/study skills.
The study skills kick start program for junior school students covers;
- Transitioning to Secondary School
- Dynamic Reading skills/skip reading
- Effective note taking skills
- Conceptual learning techniques
- Independent Learning
The mnemonics session that the year 9 students participated in focused on the students enhancing their ability to use memory techniques for their study including peg words. As a part of their session, the year 9 students also gained an insight into ways to remove distractions that may hinder their work ethic and productivity. Some popular techniques to avoid distractions in this session included the removal of phones and or smart devices and to avoid lying down or sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Physical activity and exercise in between studying is also a positive influence which can help keep the brain stimulated and in a state of alert and readiness as well as increasing heart rate and blood flow which helps with motivation.
The Memory Mnemonics seminar covers;
•Maximising attention and minimising distractions
•Memory and learning styles
•Semantic learning techniques
•Avoiding rote learning through use of high level techniques
Junior School teachers will continue to support the implementation of study sills over the coming term and into semester 2 where years 7, 8 and 9 will focus on selected skills to assist with their study and revision that will be supported by classroom teachers. The following newsletter editions will provide information regarding the implementation of study skills and advice on how parents and careers can support the learning at home.
We would like to thank the staff who assisted on the day: Maria Christoforou, Robin Czuchnowski, Sam Eddy, Vicky Manioudakis and Su-Nhi Kim.
We wish the junior school all the very best as we launch into what promises to be a very intense and encouraging term 2.
Miss Emily Phibbs - Year 7 Coordinator
Mr Jake Barnett - Year 8 Coordinator
Miss Casey Lawson - Year 9 Coordinator
Mrs Emma Morris - Head of Junior School
KIOSC Visit
On Thursday 26 April, the Year 7 students attended KIOSC for a science program aimed to teach students about water and its importance. We did three lessons throughout the day, including learning about how in developing countries they gather and use water and then we attempted to purify water using sand and rocks. For our second activity we were given a hypothetical community and tried to find a balance between saving water, money and people’s well-being. Lastly, we investigated pollutants in rivers and then tested different types of water. Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable experience with the opportunity to continue our learning outside of a typical classroom.
Holly Gaul