Teaching and Learning News

Welcome to a new year full of great learning possibilities and opportunities.

After setting up learning routines and expectations, teachers have begun planning Inquiry Units of learning that will extend to the end of the term.

We provide you with the topics students will inquire into so you can share in the excitement and challenge of learning alongside your child.

You are encouraged to share your own knowledge, help them to access relevant resources like experts, books and videos and discuss your experiences of the topic.

You might take them to places to increase their knowledge of the topic, ask probing questions and draw their attention to relevant past experiences.

Topics students will inquire into:

Prep

Prep, the community that we ‘bee-long’ to!

What makes a successful and happy learning community?

An inquiry into who is in our community and what it takes to belong to belong within a community. Students identify different types of relationships and begin to identify and practice basic skills for including and working with others in groups.

Year One/Two

Who am I and how can I make a positive contribution to our community?

An Inquiry into individual and collective strengths, needs and wants to grow a community. Within my community I need to be healthy, active and safe and know what it means to be a learner.

Year Three & Four

Showing Up!

How and why do people contribute to their communities?

An Inquiry into what communities are, the importance of them and how individuals and groups contribute to them.

Year Five & Six

Plan It - Build It - Do it!

An Inquiry into the design process to create a product (physical / service/ digital).

Students will have a timeline to work on, they will need to do research and work as a team to get the job done.

Asking your child about their day at school

At St Martin's we are all about learning. We name the activities we do as learning rather than work. We talk about what learning we are doing and what learning we have been successful in.

Here are some questions to replace ones that are answered with one word answers (good, bad, ok) or worse still with a grunt !

What did you learn today?
How did you do?
What did you do if you didn't understand?
How can you improve on your learning?
What are you most proud of?

Try these questions. They will create greater opportunities with your child/ren, promoting answers beyond good, well or I don't remember.

We need to find as many ways as possible to have children reflect on their learning and make plans to grow as learners.

Extra Curricula Learning

At SMDP we provide learning experiences outside the mandated curriculum for students with specific abilities or passions.

For the past two years, Nell has been running a gardening club weekly at lunchtime.

A variety of vegetables and fruits have been successfully grown and this week members of the gardening club finished their garden to plate experience by making pizza.

They had harvested tomatoes which were made into a pizza sauce. They made dough and added some purchased ingredients including basil and cheese to provide beautiful margarita pizzas.

They were shared with the staff and voted best pizza of all time!