Student Learning
Annabelle Marinelli - Deputy Principal & Learning and Teaching Leader
The Age Schools Summit
Last week I attended The Age Schools Summit - 'Disruption, Resilience and New Possibilities' at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne with over 200 leading educators. I was privileged to be invited to speak on one of the panels, with other leaders, about Curriculum Planning.
To view the full program click HERE:
On the panel I was joined by Dr Jordana Hunter - Program Director at the Grattan Institute, Stephen Griel, Chief Executive Officer - Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), and Sharon Foster Executive Director of Curriculum - Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). It was an incredible honour to be seated amongst such a highly esteemed panel.
They shared their experience and expertise around Curriculum Planning and how this can be interpreted and implemented in classrooms. The panel discussion focussed on the release of the Grattan Institute's latest report on Curriculum Planning, drawing on case studies from schools, which outlines how schools are encouraged to foster a whole school approach to curriculum planning. They recognise the challenges in planning for a diverse range of students' learning needs and being able to deliver this in a rich and personalised way for our students.
I was able to contribute to the panel expressing my thoughts on the complexity of curriculum design and the importance of knowing our students and outlining how we do this at Trinity. At Trinity, school leaders and teachers work together during dedicated collaborative facilitated planning time every week to look at student data, student work samples and students' needs and interests to plan for student learning. We aim to find out a students 'ZPD'- their zone of proximal development. The pre assessment data helps us to identify what students already know and what students need to learn next. Teachers have a deep understanding of the Victorian Curriculum at different levels, and access a variety of high quality materials and resources to plan for the diverse range of learning needs in our classooms and to engage students in learning, at their point of need.
Here is a snippet from the 'live feed' at the Age Summit panel session on Curriculum Planning....
If you are interested in knowing more about The Age Schools Summit and some of the panel discussions which were engaging and inspiring please access the link below:
Invitation to attend the Learning Expo - 5th April 9am-10:20am
Next week on Wednesday 5th April we will be holding our Learning Expo. This is an opportunity for students to share their Inquiry learning from Term 1 with the school community and their families. You are invited to come along and join your child's class at 9am as they make their way around the school to discover the learning that has happened in all classes.
Parent Helper Workshop - 26th April 9am-10am
In Week 1 next term, I will be running a parent helper workshop for parents who may be interested in helping in classrooms. The workshop will cover how you could help in your child's class. We will discuss things like - what it means to be a parent helper, confidentiality, strategies that you can use to help students with Reading, Writing and Numeracy, as well as how you can go about getting your Working With Children Check. Please mark this date in your calendar as we would love for you to come along.
When: Wednesday 26th April at 9am
Where: Mezzanine
If at any time you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning, I encourage you to make a time to chat with your child's class teacher, or to come and see me if you would like to chat about any aspect of learning at Trinity.
Kind Regards,
Annabelle Marinelli
Deputy Principal - Learning & Teaching Leader
amarinelli@tcs.catholic.edu.au
Learning Events/Opportunities in Term 1
- NAPLAN - Year 3 and 5 (Week 7, 8 & 9)
- Learning Expo (Week 10, Wednesday 5/4 at 9am)
- Harmony Week - Multicultural Night (Week 8 - Thursday 23/3)
- Trinity School Fete - (Week 9 - Saturday 1/4)
- Parent Helper Workshop (Term 2)
If at any time you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning, we encourage you to make an appointment to see your child's teacher. I am also available to chat with you at any time about the learning at Trinity.
Kind Regards,
Annabelle Marinelli
Deputy Principal - Learning & Teaching Leader