Message from the 

Head of the Junior School

In the News

Over the weekend a story on the evening news caught my attention about the state of children’s spelling. For some students spelling comes so easily, for others it is so very difficult and a real challenge for them to overcome. Spelling is important, society says so. Many a time spelling mistakes in publications are publicly pointed out. Society expects us to spell perfectly. Yet we will all admit there are some words we cannot spell and need to look up before we write them down. Nobody knows how to spell every word in our language and even brilliant spellers get it wrong sometimes.

Dictionaries and spelling checkers are great, but come with their own problems, as to look up a word you need to know how to spell it. Spelling checkers spot the spelling that does not exist; but they won’t highlight a word if it’s misspelled yet does exist.

The first two stanzas of an ode to a spelling checker by Mark Eckman and Jerrold H Zar, illustrate the problem:

I have a spelling checker,

It came with my PC.

It plane lee marks four my revue

Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,

Your sure reel glad two no.

It’s vary polished in its weigh.

My checker tolled ne sew.

This brings me to the question, what can we do to make the task of learning spelling easier? The first step is to understand why there are problems in the first place with English spelling as this will start to break down barriers. Explaining why words are spelled the way they are can help us remember them. The stories behind the spelling are fascinating and add interest and motivation. 

English spelling is not as chaotic as it might first appear. There are thousands of words we have no trouble spelling at all. So how did we manage it? For some time, I have been interested in learning about the development of the English language. I have found the more students understand how English has developed the better they understand how to use it. With over a million words and 1300 years of history there are many interesting stories to tell and help explain the many factors that defy generalisations in our language.

English, as we know it today, can be traced back to the 6th Century and the Anglo Saxon monks who came to England from Europe.  In 1066, the French brought radical changes and by the 15th Century English had started to look very different as thousands of words entered from both the French and Latin. These new words started to influence the existing words in unexpected ways, leading to changes in pronunciation. 

In the 16th Century scholars started to look at the etymology of words in an attempt to regularise spelling. By the 17th Century dictionaries began to appear as people tried to cope with variations in spelling. Today thanks to the internet we have our best opportunity to understand the variations in English.

Raising Readers

Reading gives us a place to go when we have to stay where we are. Research provides us with evidence of the benefits of reading 20 minutes a day in building key reading skills. Reading is incorporated into all home learning at KWS and is not confined to home readers or library books borrowed from school. Reading does not have to be a solo activity, there are many benefits from reading together with your child. Below are a few ways to “build” a better reader.

1. Create reading rituals and read together every day
2. Snuggle up close with a book
3. Talk about the pictures (younger students),  big ideas or themes and ask questions
4. Share different types of reading materials
5. Read with expression
6. Read favorite books again and again
7. Record yourself reading or play an audio book on car trips or as an alternative to television

Reading comprehension is developed when we explicitly make connections. As your child reads, independently or together with you, ask them about the following connections:

1. Book to self – between the book and your own life or experiences?
2. Book to book – between the book and another book you have read?
3. Book to world – between the book and events in the real world?
4. Book to media – between the book and something you have seen on TV, read on a computer or heard in a song?

The key here is to encourage reading that is interactive, promoting longer and more frequent conversations with your child.

A Busy Week

There is so much that goes on here at KWS that makes it such a wonderful place for students to learn. Thank you to the staff who are so willing to take on experiences outside of the classroom. Area 51 activities have begun and with such high demand a third day has been scheduled. Students have started training for our upcoming netball gala day where we will enter 3 teams into the competition. Chess club is beginning and staff were overwhelmed by the level of interest in debating. Out Little Potters club are working hard in the garden. This group will be closely supported this term by our Maths club as the garden is rejuvenated with new beds, soil and planting. Look out for what the students have to share on this project in the coming weeks!

Canteen

Thank you for your support in the changes to the canteen. It has been so lovely to have the students partaking in the many activities available to them at lunchtime. It is greatly appreciated that all items are now being ordered and between Miss Simkins and Mrs Sharpe food is being delivered to classrooms in time for lunch. At this time, some students are discovering lunch was not ordered for them. Mrs Sharp is arranging for a sandwich and a piece of fruit to be supplied by the canteen. If your child has a canteen slip in their diary could you please send in the money the following day to the Junior School Office.

Kiss n Go

Safety of students, staff and parents is the primary concern of all individuals using Kiss n Go. Thank you to parents and caregivers for remaining in cars during peak times and for the placement of bags in the car, rather than in the boot. Staff members are on hand to assist with getting students in and out of cars. In the morning you may have noticed our Year 6 leaders who are there to help. If your child is unable to enter or exit the car on the curb side parking may be a safer option. This week flags have arrived to assist with a smoother pick-up process.

Kiss n Go is proving to be a great opportunity for parents and staff to have those quick conversations that can make a big difference in a student’s day. Could I ask for your assistance in keeping the traffic moving,  to move up to the top spot in the zone or arrange with the class teacher to give you a call in “half an hour.”

Contacting your teacher

Over the last fortnight many families have engaged in conversations with their child’s teacher. Conducting interviews so early in the term has a defined purpose. At this point in the year, we have information gathered from teacher-to-teacher handover and previous academic and pastoral tracking documentation. Information from classroom observations help to build on this understanding of how our individual students learn. Parent conversations help complete the picture as they highlight changes from year to year or critical events that may have occurred over the long summer break and may impact learning.

While these interviews are scheduled twice a year, at KWS we encourage parents to contact class teachers as the first “port of call” throughout the year if you would like to discuss your child’s learning. The class teacher has the best knowledge of your child. If you would like to make a time to chat, please either send a note through the diary or contact the Junior School Office junioroffice@kws.nsw.edu.au. Please be aware teachers may not be able to take calls or respond to emails that day, they will be in contact the next day (excluding weekend). 

Thank you to the many parents who took advantage of the time offered by teacher over the two evenings.

Emails

We are working towards Wednesday being email note day in the Junior School where you receive one email with attachments. A second email will be sent for items that are family or child specific.  Always at the start of the year there are many pieces of communication that need to be passed onto families. Thank you for your patience as we work towards this goal. 

Earrings

A reminder that earrings are plain gold or silver studs and while at this stage girls may wear sleeper earrings; I would encourage studs for school.