Assistant Principal Update

Teaching and Learning

​​​​​Professional learning communities (PLCs) are an approach to school improvement where groups of teachers work together at the school level to improve classroom practice and student learning.​ This term teachers at John Fawkner College (JFC) have just completed their first 5-week cycle of professional learning. Working alongside their Teaching and Learning Coaches, our teachers introduced new or alternative strategies into their classroom practice to improve the learning of students.

Underpinning the work of our Professional learning communities is the simple but powerful idea that: teachers learn more when they work together. The more teachers learn, the more our students learn. We will continue to work and learn together to engage students in effective learning.  Our school focus next term will be on improving school literacy. 

Learning Intervention and Support at John Fawkner College

We are committed to continuous improvement here at JFC.  This year we have increased our Learning Intervention team so that we can include support across all year levels through three College programs.

QuickSmart Literacy years 7-8- Focuses on the automaticity of word recognition, fluency in reading connected texts, and development of vocabulary. The primary aim of QuickSmart is for our students to develop their reading comprehension skill set so that they are more confident learners in our classroom. 

Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Program (MYLNS) years 9-11 - provides intensive teaching support to JFC students who are at risk of finishing school without the literacy and numeracy skills they need for future work and study.  The MYLNS program gives students learning support by having an additional teacher present in their classroom to work alongside their classroom teacher in English, Science and Humanities classes. The sole aim of out MYLNS teacher is to work one on one with students to improve student literacy and numeracy skills.

Tutor Program years 9-12 – The transition to Remote and Flexible learning brought on by COVID-19 in 2020 was a challenging year. However, with the hard work of our students, parents, teachers, school leaders and support staff, we made it out to the other end a more resilient community. In order to support those students who were most effected, this initiative is designed to support students whose learning has been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. JFC has recruited 2 additional teacher tutors to work in the classroom to provide targeted teaching to students identified as needing support.

In forthcoming newsletters you will meet the teachers and support staff who are leading this work in the classroom. They will report on their success in working with JFC students.  We will endeavour to share their best practices with you to try at home too!

As parent teacher interviews approach, don't forget to take this time to reflect on your child's learning. Here are 5 questions you can ask your child about their learning:

1. What did you learn today?
2. How did you do?
3. What did you do if you didn't understand?
4. How can you improve your learning?
5. What are you most proud of?

Maria Hristova

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning