Principal Message

Hello everyone,

Here is our intervention team at work, planning support for individual students and groups of students. They are in the data room, where individual and cohort learning is tracked to help make good decisions about next steps in teaching, learning and wellbeing support.

As well as specialist writing, reading and numeracy support we have focused recently on handwriting. Work began with our current Year 8 students last year. Year 9-12 students who requested support had a hand writing assessment recently. Shannon Denley, an Occupational Therapist from Riverina Hand Therapy, works with our Literacy Team to provide interventions and exercises for students during coaching on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

To improve handwriting, students need to practise the exercises and writing strategies daily. Parents can support with encouragement and reminders. Daily exercises to reduce pain and fatigue, as well as increase strength and speed, can be found in this handout. Here are some images of problematic hand grips and of intervention exercises, kindly modelled by three of our students.

Next term, we will start work with Year 7 students and restart interventions for Year 8 students. If you know a student, not already involved, who may benefit from a handwriting intervention please contact Ms Scoble for more information and possible involvement.  

National Self-Detection Program for Scoliosis

Year 7 girls will participate in a scoliosis self-detection program next week or first week in Term 2. PDHPE teachers will provide a Self-Detection Fact Sheet from Scoliosis Australia and lead a discussion in class. Screening at age 10-12 is a considered a sound preventative measure and well worth supporting, given that 25 girls per thousand are at risk of developing a significant spinal curve and that 3 girls per thousand will require active treatment in the form of a brace, or surgery.

National Consistent Collection of Data

Please read the letter below about National Consistent Collection of Data to assist Government agencies in schools better support students with disability.