Junior School Report

Message from the Director of Learning - Ms Alice Paget

Welcome back to all our Year 7 and 8 students to on-site learning. We are very excited to see our students again and be able to teach them face-to-face! I am so proud of all the Junior School students with their development of new skills, maturity, and enthusiasm in online classes, as well as their conduct on Microsoft Teams (our main learning platform) and learning progress throughout Term 2. Well done Years 7 and 8!

The team of teachers and extra support staff in the junior school did an outstanding job in modifying their teaching style, adapting their resources and supports to allow for a smooth transition into remote learning. Thank you very much to the team of amazing staff we have at Westall!

Here are a few pictures of our Year 7s enjoying the return to face-to-face learning, thank you to Ms Read for showing our Year 7s how to make pasta from scratch and carbonara sauce. I think we have a few chefs in the making!

What was remote learning like for teachers?

What a curved ball we were thrown at the end of Term 1! Despite the very unfortunate situation around us, we had to try and make the most of the situation we were facing. The staff very quickly begun their professional development journey in ‘remote learning teaching’. Teachers in the school did a fabulous job navigating the platforms of Microsoft Teams, and a range of websites and applications to increase connectedness, support wellbeing and learning growth over the upcoming Term. 

Staff utilised video calls, live recordings of PowerPoints, live documents (where staff can see students working in real time) and a range of other innovative platforms. One of our favourites was www.whiteboards.fi, which helped the teaching staff to check for understanding through a virtual live mini whiteboard students can draw and write on. The staff member is able to see what all the students are writing or drawing on their boards in real time. This helped our teachers check for understanding and see how the teacher needs to modify their teaching, by capturing the level of understanding of all the students in the classroom. Have a look at the picture below, which shows some example of how it has been used in the Maths classroom:

Looking forward:

Semester 2 is almost upon us! The Year 7 and 8 students are looking forward to beginning their new electives next semester, which may include Food Technology, Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Digital Technology and Visual Communication and Design. 

The Year 8 students will begin to make important decisions regarding their pathway through secondary school, starting with their choice of a Year 9 elective next semester. Their time in the junior school, studying a broad range of subjects will assist them in making an informed decision based on their passions and interests. Both Years 7 and 8 students will choose their iCreate subject for next year too.  There is an information booklet on Compass for any students, parents or guardians wanting to know more about the iCreate subjects. 

Ms Alice Paget

Online Learning Reflections

Mr Sean Fraser:

Online learning has come and gone, but the skills both the students and teachers have learnt throughout will continue to be used, even back at school. The Junior School is so proud of everything you have achieved during this period. You have all grown in your ability to adapt, to be patient, self-motivated and resilience. These skills are so important and the way you guys have all developed them will help you so much in the future. You have shown us how amazing you can be and all the potential you have for the future. We are excited to be getting into term 3 soon and really diving into this ‘new age’ of learning, using parts of regular and online learning.

Ms Rebecca Tomkins:

While completing remote learning, students still had plenty of opportunities to earn Westall Points. This can be done by showing a care for yourself, care for others and a care for your learning. As students earn more and more Westall Points, they climb ‘Mount Westall’ and begin to win awards. 

During remote learning, our first year 7s won their Bronze Award, for achieving 25 Westall Points. 

Congratulations and well done to the following students:

• Victoria Liu
• Ryhanna Mautairi
• Katherine Tang
• Louise Jean Espino
• Declan Collison
• Annie Eng
• Mischa Koumakis
• Leandro Nieto

We also wanted to acknowledge those students who put in an effort to log on to online classes every day during remote learning. This was a very different way of learning for everyone, so thank you to these students who showed outstanding dedication during this time:

• Cyrus Khademi
• Shafayat Omar Rihan
• Mearlea Seang
• Luke Slinchenko
• Katherine Tang

We are looking forward to celebrating these achievements and congratulating these students in person now we are back at school. 

What was Remote Learning like for Students? 

A perspective from Khaing L 

My experience with remote learning was astounding! When quarantine had first been introduced, I had some concerns. However remote learning had helped me a lot, mentally and physically. I was able to be more independent with my work, it provided me with lots of time to better understand concepts and finish off homework tasks. 

Despite the fact that we were inside most of the time due to classes, our teachers would encourage to go outside and be active! This motivated me to go outside during break times, doing physical activity and getting some fresh air!

Although there was times where online learning was challenging, we all maintained a positive attitude! Taking online classes definitely made us take a step out of our comfort zone, we had to turn on our cameras and speak in front of everyone when asked to – this improved my confidence! 

Online school was both challenging and fun. It was a new concept to all of us, although we faced some difficulties, we were optimistic! Overall remote learning was certainly a great and enjoyable experience!

by Khaing L - Year 7

Year 8 Visual Arts

The students in Year 8 Visual Arts have been exploring a unit of work based on 'Portraiture'.

In celebration of their achievements over the 2 terms, above is a showcase of their creative talents, which covers the areas of Photography, Painting and Collage. The students have explored a range of Portraiture styles both traditional and contemporary. They developed ideas for the renowned Australian Portraiture Award, the 'Archibald Prize'. 

Even in Remote learning having limited art materials to create artworks, the students had to think 'outside the box' and come up with ways to make portraiture using household items. Many looked in fridges, wardrobes, pantries and back yards for inspiration. Can you guess what some of the Portraits are made from?? Have a close look! Even Picasso went through a period of time where he only had blue paint to make art - which he called the 'Blue period'. Just goes to show anything is possible for arts's sake!!

Ms Helen Ifandis

Arts Coordinator

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