Included this week:-
- End of Term and reports
- What is Tier 2?
- Mrs Butler's travels
- Next Assembly
It’s almost the end of term and for different people this often means different things, for teachers it’s often the relief of reports being completed (a massive undertaking every year) and the celebration of the first semester of learning. Those who were new students back in January are now familiar faces in the learning space and significant relationships have been formed, the routines are in place and we enter the second half of the year confident in our direction. Growth has been celebrated, challenges tackled and building projects survived.
For parents, and particularly students this can also be an anxious time of year, with reports coming home the questions start arising. How did I go? Will my parents be happy, proud or disappointed? How will they react? Michael Grose offers four key tips for parents about to enter this time. He also reminds parents to perform a quick self check prior to even looking at the report - what am I expecting of my child, do I believe that children learn at different rates - avoid comparing to peers and siblings, am I looking for all progress for my child; the social, spiritual and community as well as the academic.
Tip 1 - Be mindful of confidence levels - regardless of the results be aware that your reaction can greatly impact your child’s response and confidence, deliver your feedback with this in mind.
Tip 2 - Be honest - sometimes reports aren’t all we could want, be honest rather than protective of your child.
Tip 3 - Be constructive - help your child make a plan to look at 2 or 3 areas they might continue to develop on.
Tip 4 - Be Inclusive - avoid telling your child what to do, make it a conversation about future direction.
What is this Tier 2 thing?
Many of you will have been hearing about Tier 2 for a while now, either from your children or throughout the community. Tier 2 at St. Columba’s occurs 3 times a week and is an additional support time for all students. During Tier 2 extra staff are allocated to a learning community enabling teams greater flexibility in the way they structure groups and deliver instruction. All students during this time have a specific learning intention related to their current level of understanding of the topic. It is a highly explicit time of the week and is designed to support the core instruction that takes place everyday. Unlike other supports Tier 2 is for all students, at their point of need.
Mrs Butler’s Travels
I’m struggling to find the words to express the complexity and the profoundness of this experience of being in this place which is called the Holy Land. This is the land of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, and to visit the biblical place of his birth at Bethlehem and his “home town” of Nazareth and to then be at Capernaum which is on the Sea of Galilee, the ancient city where the public ministry commenced. It was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee that Jesus called the first disciples and it was there that many of his miracles, such as the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, happened. Celebrating Mass on a boat on the Sea of Galilee brought home to me the proximity of Jesus to the very landscape in which we were celebrating – this was where he was!!
In Jerusalem, “the Holy City” where for thousands of years the Jews, the People of the first Covenant with God have been drawn, we have not only walked the Way of the Cross of Jesus but we have also been challenged by the reality of this place being a holy site for the Jewish, Muslim and Christian people.
For parents, and particularly students this can also be an anxious time of year, with reports coming home the questions start arising. How did I go? Will my parents be happy, proud or disappointed? How will they react? Michael Grose offers four key tips for parents about to enter this time. He also reminds parents to perform a quick self check prior to even looking at the report - what am I expecting of my child, do I believe that children learn at different rates - avoid comparing to peers and siblings, am I looking for all progress for my child; the social, spiritual and community as well as the academic.
Tip 1 - Be mindful of confidence levels - regardless of the results be aware that your reaction can greatly impact your child’s response and confidence, deliver your feedback with this in mind.
Tip 2 - Be honest - sometimes reports aren’t all we could want, be honest rather than protective of your child.
Tip 3 - Be constructive - help your child make a plan to look at 2 or 3 areas they might continue to develop on.
Tip 4 - Be Inclusive - avoid telling your child what to do, make it a conversation about future direction.
What is this Tier 2 thing?
Many of you will have been hearing about Tier 2 for a while now, either from your children or throughout the community. Tier 2 at St. Columba’s occurs 3 times a week and is an additional support time for all students. During Tier 2 extra staff are allocated to a learning community enabling teams greater flexibility in the way they structure groups and deliver instruction. All students during this time have a specific learning intention related to their current level of understanding of the topic. It is a highly explicit time of the week and is designed to support the core instruction that takes place everyday. Unlike other supports Tier 2 is for all students, at their point of need.
Mrs Butler’s Travels
I’m struggling to find the words to express the complexity and the profoundness of this experience of being in this place which is called the Holy Land. This is the land of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, and to visit the biblical place of his birth at Bethlehem and his “home town” of Nazareth and to then be at Capernaum which is on the Sea of Galilee, the ancient city where the public ministry commenced. It was on the shores of the Sea of Galilee that Jesus called the first disciples and it was there that many of his miracles, such as the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, happened. Celebrating Mass on a boat on the Sea of Galilee brought home to me the proximity of Jesus to the very landscape in which we were celebrating – this was where he was!!
In Jerusalem, “the Holy City” where for thousands of years the Jews, the People of the first Covenant with God have been drawn, we have not only walked the Way of the Cross of Jesus but we have also been challenged by the reality of this place being a holy site for the Jewish, Muslim and Christian people.
Next Assembly
Our next assembly will be held on Friday June 23rd at 2.30pm in the school hall, LG 1 will lead the assembly.
The following Prep students will be introduced at this assembly:-
Samuel Gleeson, Chloe Pitt, Max Rix, Bailey Stowe, Madison Brown, Patterson Taylor and Nate Cleveland.
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Our next assembly will be held on Friday June 23rd at 2.30pm in the school hall, LG 1 will lead the assembly.
The following Prep students will be introduced at this assembly:-
Samuel Gleeson, Chloe Pitt, Max Rix, Bailey Stowe, Madison Brown, Patterson Taylor and Nate Cleveland.
Back to main
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