Celebrating Our Teachers!
Today is World Teachers’ Day, and what a wonderful chance it gave us to stop and celebrate just how remarkable our teachers are! Teaching is one of the most complex occupations in existence. Research states that teachers make dozens of in-the-moment decisions every half hour — hundreds across a single day (more than brain surgeons!) — each one shaping a child’s learning. Much of the great teaching happens in the small, often unseen moments — the quiet word of encouragement to a nervous student, the quick check that everyone has understood before moving on, and the warm welcome at the classroom door each morning. Day in and day out, our teachers go above and beyond for the learning and wellbeing of every child, and we are so grateful for all they do.
Our Teaching Sprint (a narrow, shared focus) for this term is all about writing narratives. Teachers are using consistent icons and gestures to help students learn the structure of a story, then using visualisers — cameras that project onto the screen — to explicitly model the thinking behind planning a narrative and turning that plan into a full written piece. It is a powerful way for students to see expert writing in action.
It has also been an extremely busy and exciting fortnight across the school, with Grade 3 camp, the Grade 2 sleepover, a Grade 1 special afternoon, Prep Zoo excursion, Prep swimming, a Grade 5 science excursion and Grade 5/6 Sport Ed all taking place. A huge thank you to our teachers for organising and running these wonderful experiences, and to the parent volunteers who gave their time to support them — they make such a difference!
The 502 Way
VTLM 2.0 also sets out four elements of teaching — the practices our staff use every day:
Planning — teachers carefully sequence what is taught so learning builds step by step across the year.
Enabling learning — warm, inclusive classrooms with clear routines and high expectations help every student engage.
Explicit teaching — new skills are modelled and taught directly, with worked examples and regular checks for understanding to check students have understood each step, before moving on.
Supported application — students practise and apply their learning in varied ways until they truly master it.
School Wide Positive Behaviour
Over the past fortnight our focus was our Classroom Expectations, and it has been wonderful to see the positive impact. Students are taking real pride in meeting our expectations, and many have loved earning extra PRIDE Dollars along the way. Thank you for your support at home! For Weeks 5 and 6 our focus moves to our Hallways. The poster is in this newsletter.