From the Principal
Bonjour à tous.
This week there was a noticeable shift in the weather. We are emerging from the wild, windy, wet days of Makuru (June and July) and into Jilba (August and September). Jilba is a season where the winds begin to ease, the days are still cool (cold) in the mornings but by midday, the air has warmed. The days are sunnier with less wind and rain. It is the time of planting the seeds.
This is the time to assist the students to put in the foundation work and to develop the habits they need that will help them reap the fruits of their labour in Term 4. It is time where our strategies for high expectations will pay dividends later in the semester. I have included a link for your reference to help develop those high expectations.
Year 11 timetable construction is almost complete and the enrolments process for Year 7’s will be closing soon. There is a region-wide drop in student numbers in the 2022 Year 7 group. The numbers continue to evolve. Student numbers also is a consideration in the decision making process for VASP and BEST selection process. This process is all but finalised.
En Avant
Mike Sinagra
Principal
STAFF SHOUT OUTS!
Congratulations to Nic Andrews. Nic and Janelle are the proud parents of Kai Nixon Andrew. Born on 03/08/2021 at 2:34 pm and 3.445 kg. This is Nic’s third child. He is an experienced hand at fatherhood now. I’m not sure what is going on in the Mathematics LA but I warmly recommend wearing a mask and practising good hand hygiene.
A massive thank you to Neesha Copley for volunteering the night before to accompany the music students on their Senior Band Camp.
Well done to Leon Rose. The Numero Challenge students finished second and are off to the state championships.
Kelly will be heading into a knee operation this week and we all wish her well.
Congratulations also to the HPE staff with the result from the interschool cross country championship. Bunbury Senior High School has blitzed the field taking home champion school and winning champion school for each individual category as well.
QUESTIONING AND FEEDBACK
Check for understanding
Rosenshine’s central principle is that more effective teachers will systematically check for understanding.
Cold Call – Asking what, not if.
After an input or practice it is better to ask “Trevor, what have you understood?” rather than “Trevor have you understood?” This allows the student to simply answer yes or no. Explaining what they have understood helps to develop the knowledge into long term memory.
Follow-up with more checking
After one student has responded select another and repeat the process.
Explore differences and details
Very often there is rich material in exploring differences between student explanations. This is a time where a common misconception can be spotted and rectified. You can also spot if new vocabulary/concepts have been used correctly.
Reteach, defer or move on
Using your knowledge of the students and the material at hand, decide whether the students have understood enough for you to move on. Otherwise, give more questions, re-teach or move on with a note to return to clear up a misconception.
NUTS AND BOLTS
There is a lot going on this term and we need to keep a close eye on the communications channels. The leadership team is putting the final touches on the IPS desktop review submission. This will be sent off on the 17 August and then we will have the scheduled interviews on the 25 August. Reference group people will be invited to these interview sessions once the schedule has been finalised.
The Ministers visit preparations are also ramping up. This will occur in the same week as the IPS review validation visit.