Middle Years
Term 1 Reflection
It’s been a packed term in Middle Years for all of our Year 7, 8 and 9 students, but it is now time for a break. We hope that all of our students and their families have a safe holiday and come back rested and refreshed for the new term!
In order to continue to improve and progress as learners, we suggest that you take the time these holidays to sit with your child and reflect on how they have gone over the last 9 weeks and set some goals for next term. The interim report is a good marker to use as a guide to help in this, as it shows how well students have developed and integrated suitable learning behaviours into their everyday practice thus far. Making sure that students understand these learning behaviours as well is key. If you’re unsure about how to unpack them, I wrote about them in last week’s newsletter.
If you were able to attend the interviews held on Tuesday 22nd March, feedback that you received in these would be another excellent means of setting some goals for the following term, particularly if teachers shared tips on how to further assist and support your child at home.
One thing that we have found that greatly assists students in their learning progression and in reaching their goals, is regular attendance. Regular attendance ensures that your child is receiving consistent feedback and support in their progression, and also means that there are fewer gaps in their learning that can limit progress. Gaps in learning can unfortunately magnify the more a student is away, and students who have many unnecessary absences have reported to us that they find it extremely difficult to function alongside their peers once they’re back in the classroom. Ensuring that your child is only away from class for a valid reason, such as co-curricular programs like sport or music, or for illness, will greatly assist them in helping to reach the goals they set for themselves. It is also worthwhile then to consider the number of absences your child has had this term, when reflecting on how they performed in their interim report.
When setting goals, please remember the supports that we offer as a school to further assist in your child’s learning and progression. We offer two programs that run on a Thursday afternoon to any student who would like additional support outside of the classroom. Maths Boost and Homework Club run from 3:30 to 4:30 every Thursday. Maths Boost runs in Rees House and is facilitated by members of the Maths team. Homework Club runs in the Library and is an opportunity for students to get support in subjects other than Maths. These are a free service which many students take advantage of, to their benefit.
Year 7 Mentor Group
Students in Year 7 focused on the value of kindness this week in their Wednesday Mentor Group time. During the lesson, students identified three acts of kindness they would complete over the next few days: one for a peer, one for a family member and another for a member of the wider community.
Students then put all of their acts of kindness on the board creating a Kindness Tree. The reason for doing this was to understand that, like a tree which grows by being nurtured, kindness towards self and others nurtures and helps to develop connectedness with others and happiness with self.
Please take the time to chat with your children about this value, about what they have chosen to complete and whether or not they have completed their acts of kindness yet. It could be a very useful way to discourage squabbling between siblings over the coming days!