Teaching and Learning
Welcome back to our Teaching and Learning news. We have had a very busy fortnight at Concord School and I have the privilege of sharing all the exciting things that have taken place in the teaching and learning space. Most of our school have participated in a very special activity over the past fortnight with the Lower Primary students having a Showcase and Performance, our Upper Primary students a presentation evening, our VCAL parents an information evening and our Primary aged students a Sports Day. Our insert this week will largely focus on these events.
Pre-CAL Information Evening
Just a quick reminder that we will be promoting the Pre-CAL program in the coming weeks by providing some information sessions for our families to allow for a greater understanding of the overall aims of Pre-CAL. Sessions will be held on Thursday the 16th of November. There will be one session at 9.30am at the Watsonia Campus and there will be a final session at 6.00pm at the Bundoora Campus in the Transition Building. We strongly encourage your attendance at one of these sessions as we value the input from our community but we also endeavor to be as transparent as possible with our information.
Lower Primary Showcase and Performance
On Friday the 27th of October the students and staff from the Watsonia Campus held a showcase and performance evening. The evening started with the showcase where students walked their parents around the gym and showed off some of the best pieces of work that they had completed so far this semester. It was amazing to see the pride that our students displayed when showcasing their talents. After the showcase it was time for the performance. The performance was related to our ‘under the sea’ integrated unit and it incorporated key skills from the performance arts and physical education curriculum. All of our students sung and danced the night away and we even had our staff and families joining in on the festivities.
A great big thank you to all our Lower Primary staff who once again gave their time to support this evening, without whom we could not have had such a wonderful celebration of learning.
Upper Primary Presentation Evening
On Wednesday the 25th of October our Upper Primary Learning Team held their annual presentation evening. During this evening students showcased the learning that had taken place during their Paddock to Plate integrated unit. It was so wonderful to see our students demonstrate their understanding of the process. Some students even offered farm grown produce to complete their presentation.
Once again I would like to thank our Upper Primary learning team and staff members who worked diligently with the students to organise the event and gave so generously of their time to do so.
VCAL information Session
Our VCAL team also held a few sessions last week for the families of the students who will be accessing the VCAL program in 2018. This session focused on the content of VCAL and the VET components within the program. Many questions were answered through this process and if you still have queries about the program please contact Bronwyn Hart our Secondary 11-12 Team Leader.
Primary Sports Day
On Monday the weather held out just long enough to have our Primary Sports Day. This event was held at our Watsonia Campus and was a wonderful opportunity for our Primary aged students to spend some time together. The best component of the day was that our Secondary 11-12 students organised and ran the whole day as part of their VCAL program. Many students returned to the Bundoora Campus and ran to my office to show their ribbon clad jumpers. It was fantastic to see the level of engagement from the students across the school.
Kirrily Lamers,
Assistant Principal
Why we need to Read to Our Children
The great joy of being a school librarian is being able to read and share so many wonderful books with my students. One of the most important things I explain often to our students is when borrowing a library book is that a library book is not a reader. Books can be enjoyed in many different ways. They may choose a book to read or it could be they enjoy looking at the pictures and exploring the book by themselves. It maybe they want to share it with someone or they want someone at home to read the book to them. Reading to your children and discussing what you’re reading is also another wonderful way to help children understand the world around them. It also helps to develop their language, which is essential in helping them learn to read. So please encourage your children to become regular borrowers from the school library and share the books they have chosen.
Mem Fox Australian author and education academic wrote “Research around the world has proved that children who are read to regularly are better able to learn to read easily, happily and quickly.”
BBC article on why storytelling is important to children says “The benefits children get from having stories read to them are hugely increased when parents talk and ask questions about the story as well.”
Listed below are some articles parents and carers may find interesting in providing information about the benefits of reading to your children.
http://memfox.com/for-parents/the-short-road-to-happiness-and-the-long-road-to-failure/
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/about/research/readtoyoungchild.pdf
http://www.smh.com.au/national/proof-of-benefits-of-reading-to-children-20130302-2fd7s.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zyvhpv4
Catherine Ruhl
Librarian Bundoora Campus