From the Deputy Principal 

Safari’s and Surveys!

Yesterday I went on Safari and, no - it wasn’t in Africa, but right here at Moama Anglican Grammar! The Year 3 students did an amazing job of creating models and researching information about endangered animals. Led by their teachers, Stacey Hemmingway (Briggs) and Lauren Livingstone (Williams), the students project culminated in a simulated safari journey that made you feel like you really were in Africa or in a tropical ocean with the endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle. I was so impressed with how much the Year 3 students knew about the endangered species they completed their project on. I certainly learnt a lot during my safari adventure.

The Year 3 endangered species safari project is one great example of some of Deep Learning (one of our schools strategic projects) going on around the school. However, deep learning is not just about big projects, it is also about encouraging and up skilling students to use their initiative, creativity and independence in the learning of their everyday curriculum content. To make this happen effectively across the school it is important to upskill our teachers about how to facilitate deep learning in our students best, which is exactly what our teachers did this week. Facilitated by Education Consultant Teaching and Learning, Jennifer Woods, from the Association of Independent Schools, our Primary and Secondary teachers were involved in two professional development days this week all about how best to facilitate deep learning in our students.

There has been a lot happening in our wonderful school this term. The Music Pods arrived which will be a great addition to our Music Program across the school. As the pods have been placed where our chickens used to be housed, we needed to find a new home for our egg laying friends. The girls have a far more suitable spot, where their house has been moved to, with a lovely big tree in their new run. The foundations of our Indigenous Awareness Garden will be installed during the holidays, and we will be working with local Indigenous advisors to make sure this garden does our local Indigenous culture justice. We will be having our inaugural Alumni Reunion for those who graduated (or attended in the years prior) in 2010, 2011 or 2012 on May 28 and our Alumni committee are busy organising the relevant details for this event.

This week we were treated to our Year 9 to 12 Music students conducting a lunchtime concert for the rest of the school. Deep learning doesn’t just happen in the core subjects. The way these students presented their music skills, combined a variety of instruments, voices and entertained the crowd was a credit to them and their teacher Ms Codie Ellis. Very impressive and enjoyable performances.

Being able to witness some of the excellent work being completed by our students is one of the joys of visiting different classrooms when I can. In Design and Technology, the Year 12 students were working with our Nao Robot, Ritchie. One of the students will be re-programming Ritchie as one of their projects this semester. In Year 6 Visual Arts, the students had the challenging task of creating a giant painting of a poppy to commemorate Anzac Day. The students worked individually and collaboratively to design, paint and create the poppy by painting sections of the poppy that when put together produced a fabulous painting of a complete poppy.

As you would have read in an earlier Newsletter, we are running school wide feedback surveys early next term. Feedback from the whole MAG community is an important part of informing what we do here at school. Two years ago, our students, teachers, leaders, Board and parents/guardians participated in the AIS (Association of Independent Schools) developed Perspectives Surveys. The questions are specifically written for schools to gather important data to guide school improvement. In the period of May 2 to May 15 2022 we will be asking our MAG community to complete these surveys again. Sometime in the next few days families will receive a letter with information about the surveys. Then on, or just after, May 2 an email will be sent out from evidence@aisnsw.edu.au with a personalised link to your survey. These surveys are completely anonymous. Please keep an eye out for this email address in your inbox at that time.

We look forward to your feedback so we can continue to work on developing and improving learning opportunities and the wellbeing of our students.

Mrs Kathleen Kemp

Deputy Principal