3 June 2016

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s News

Dear Parents and Caregivers

I watched with interest on Tuesday night a program entitled Revolution School. The program documents the progress of a so-called low-performing school, Kambrya College in outer-suburban Melbourne. The school has engaged the services of the University of Melbourne to address issues associated with student performance, which reflects the broader discussion about education, government funding and Australia’s educational standing internationally. We often hear that the more money invested in Australian schools, the worse it gets! We are most likely to hear this and other forms of rhetoric in this historically long election campaign.

There were a few things which struck me as I watched this program. One of my observations was that, regardless of where you are in Australia, the issues with students are fundamentally the same: some are disengaged from learning; some are stressed and anxious about their performance; parents want assistance with supporting their child’s education at home. I listened to the stories of students and their families, and watched the struggles and triumphs of teachers in classrooms, and all of these reminded me of my work in a number of schools: with students, teachers and families. After all, we’re really not that different from one another.

The other aspect of this program which I found interesting was the focus on particular strategies implemented by teachers to lift student performance, in particular the focus of the work of Professor John Hattie. Professor Hattie is considered to be the foremost educationalist in Australia currently, and his research is finding its way into schools across Australia and the world. It has also found its way into our school.

This year we have been focusing on evidence-based strategies to improve student learning, with a particular focus on Hattie’s work which is an analysis of over 70000 studies involving more than 240000000 students. Hattie’s study identified the strategies that have the strongest impact on student outcomes, and focused our attention to the most influential factor in the classroom: not the teacher him/herself, but what the teacher does.

As a teaching staff we are currently exploring a framework for teachers to adopt these strategies. Teachers are currently implementing a lesson structure which highlights:

Learning Intentions: What are the goals of this lesson?

Success Criteria: Ways for the student and teacher to determine if they have achieved the goals of the lesson.

Formative Assessment: Informal opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and can do, and for teachers to determine the progress of each student.

If you have some time to watch Revolution School you will see in action this approach to structuring a lesson. It allows students to know the aim of any given lesson and what they have to do to demonstrate that they know and understand the key concept(s) of the lesson. Formative assessment can take a number of forms, but are usually tasks set by the teacher for students to complete in class, which allow the student to show their knowledge and understanding of the concepts. All of our teachers are engaged in data gathering to measure the progress of students and to determine the extent to which these strategies are having the desired impact on student learning. Our P&F Meetings next Semester will feature some of these strategies to allow parents some insight into the work in our classrooms.

Find out more about the program, Revolution School here:

Dr Michael McCarthy
Principal

Leader’s News

Last week our first meeting for Teen Vinnies was held in the Prayer room on the Secondary Campus with the election of our first Teen Vinnies Committee for 2016. The position of President has been filled by Ben Manahan, ably supported by Vice President Sonya Perrett; secretary is Weylin Alldridge with the treasurer’s role being shared by Jared Hitchener and Hannah Debnam. These students will be inducted into their roles in a special ceremony at assembly next Wednesday afternoon.

On Monday our first official meeting was chaired by Ben and a wonderful roll up of students ensured some fruitful discussion surrounding our plans and goals for the future. The committee is keen to continue to raise funds for SVDP as well as GBSS, but to also raise awareness of the work of SVDP and the many opportunities it provides to teens and families in our community. Projects on the agenda include providing morning tea for the members of SVDP in appreciation of their work, a games afternoon followed by dinner, and a movie night.

Our “Can it For a Cause” winter appeal is drawing to a close and the response has been overwhelming. The “competition” on the primary campus has certainly initiated some class rivalry as classes endeavour to bring in the greatest number of cans. These cans, together with donations of winter clothing, will be delivered to SVDP next week. Many thanks to students and their families who have supported this appeal so whole heartedly.

As Pentecost Sunday brought our Easter season to a close, we now enter into Ordinary Time; a period of days where we have the opportunity to listen to and reflect on the life and teachings of Jesus’ ministry -- days of hope and a time to mature in one's faith.

God bless,

Megan Mahoney
(APRE)

School News

Year 7 & 8 Immunisation Clinic

The second Immunisation Clinic for Year 7 and Year 8 students will be held on Wednesday 8th June at 1:30pm.

If you completed the consent forms for your child and they attended the first clinic held on 2nd March 2016, then your child will be vaccinated. Please ensure your child has breakfast on the morning of the vaccination.

For any questions regarding this clinic please call The Administration Support Officer, Virginia Allen from Oz Care on 46 397801, or Angie Sims on 46 815904.

Year 7 Maths Classes show their creativity

The Year 7 students are working on designing church windows for their Maths assignments. The task involves using three colours and a variety of angles. Students can create designs as complex or as simple as they like, as long as it involves at least 40 shapes. Angles and patterns that have been studied in our geometry unit are being utilised. Both Year 7 Maths classes have been enthusiastic with the task, and we are seeing some very creative ideas!

Mr Andrew Barker and Miss Tracey Cullinan
Year 7 Pastoral Care Teachers

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show”

As we are quickly approaching the end of another busy term, both Prep classes have been hard at it this Term learning about letters of the alphabet and their sounds, various numeracy concepts, along with the very interesting ‘family tree’ oral presentations for their history unit. There has been a great deal of playing both indoors and out with ‘soccer’ being the feature game of outdoor play.

The ultimate highlight for this term was on Friday 27th May when Prep classes, Prep staff and parents had the opportunity to go on an excursion to Toowoomba to attend ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show,’ at the Armitage Centre.

The students were taken through the ‘magical’ stories from the well-known children’s author, Eric Carle - featuring some of the delightful characters from four of Eric Carle’s bestselling classic tales The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse, Mr. Seahorse and The Very Lonely Firefly and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The show was truly amazing and had the students, staff and parents excited and entertained throughout the entire show. A huge thank you is extended to all parents and grandparents that attended the excursion and for the students’ commendable behaviour throughout the whole excursion.

Glenda McNichol and Tricia Armstrong
Prep Teachers

Red Shield Appeal

Several St Joseph’s students joined in the annual Salvation Army Red Shield Doorknock Appeal last Sunday. Thank you to these students for assisting in the Salvation Army’s major fundraising drive.

Scholarships awarded to Eloise Biggin

Congratulations to Eloise Biggin who has been awarded two scholarships at a special ceremony at Australian Catholic University recently. The Catherine McAuley Scholarship is for a commencing undergraduate student for leadership and community service to create a more just, merciful and sustainable world, established by the Sisters of Mercy to honour the founder of their Order. The Gleeson Family Scholarship was established in 2006 by the family of Mr John Gleeson AM, whose work in industry and telecommunications improved the lives of thousands of people, particularly those living in isolated and rural areas.

Eloise Biggin with Professor Jim Nyland -ACU Associate Vice Chancellor (Brisbane).

Sports News

Darling Downs Cross Country results

The Darling Downs Cross Country for students was held on Tuesday 24th May at Kearney Springs in Toowoomba. Secondary students Hannah Debnam placed 18th and Rory McDonagh placed 26th.

Primary student Jordan Waterworth placed fourth and has gained selection to represent the Darling Downs. Claire Williamson placed in 8th position, Brigid O’Dea placed in 11th, and both Chelsea Debnam and Jai Cook placed in 30th position. Congratulations to all the students for their efforts in competing in a highly competitive regional event.