Weekly
news
Term 3, Week 8
Coming up this week
Date
Event
Thursday 8 September
Red Ball Tennis
Friday 9 September
9:10am Chapel - all welcome
Friday 9 September
Peer support
MISSION STATEMENT
To work under God in partnership with parents to provide an inclusive, nurturing and high quality education for every student.
VIsion
Flourishing through faith, belonging and the pursuit of excellence.
From The Principal
Contemporary Learning and Student-led Conferences
At our Parent Information Night this past evening, groups of parents and teachers looked at some common features of Contemporary Learning. Here are some of their take-aways:
- Students don’t learn subjects in isolation. They practise skills from many disciplines (i.e. maths, writing, economics and other subjects) when they do projects
- While there is student agency, there is also a great deal of structure to learning.
- ‘Contemporary skills’ are sometimes referred to as ‘soft skills’ – but they are not soft. Empathy, emotional regulation, reflection, collaboration and other skills are explicitly taught and practiced in classroom learning, on the playground and through projects
- Parent involvement looks a bit different than it did when we were in school. Teachers regularly communicate with parents about what is going on in class. There is also an expectation that parents will contact teachers with questions throughout the term rather than waiting for twice-yearly conferences. Questions may be related to academics, but may also be about friendships.
Upcoming Parent Conferences: The parent role
In Contemporary Learning, parents play a significant role. More specifically, we aspire to the following:
The parent body are seen as key assets in the community and they are actively engaged in the process of learning, making learning public, assessment and feedback and community building.
To be actively engaged in the process of learning, you simply need to show up to listen to the presentation your child has prepared. You and the teacher work together to give feedback, supporting your child in their student role (see below).
Upcoming Parent Conferences: The student role
In contemporary learning, the student role is far from passive.
Students develop and ask questions that begin to drive the direction of learning
Students are competent at asking for, giving and applying feedback from multiple stakeholders (including parents!)
Students develop their understanding of metacognition (thinking about their thinking) and the ability to articulate how metacognition impacts their own learning
When your children prepare for their conference with you, they are developing the three skills listed above. As you attend student-led conferences from Kindergarten to Year 6, you will see your child’s skills increase – these not-so-soft, contemporary skills that are critical in our 21st Century world.
It is for the reasons above that all students are preparing for you to hear and understand their learning at the end of this term. The Deputy Principal’s section of the newsletter has details you can use to sign up for student-led parent conferences.
In the meantime, please reach out to teachers via Seesaw if you have specific questions about friendships or if you have specific academic concerns. The teacher may address the question directly with you and/or they may prompt your child to address the question with you during the conference.
We look forward to seeing you in person in a few weeks. Please note that Friday, 23 September is a pupil-free day. Students will only come onsite for their student-led conferences.
Janet Moeller
Principal
Mark your calendars
CIS Cricket Trials – Kings School
Monday 12 September
Year 5 excursion – Melbourne
Wednesday 14 September – Friday 16 September
Auskick – Oval
Wednesday 14 September
Jackie Murphy Cup – Equex
Friday 16 September
From The DEPUTY Principal
Upcoming events
Student led Conferences
Bookings for Student-led Conferences will open this afternoon at 3:30pm. The conferences will take place in the last week of term. Please be aware that Friday 23 September is a pupil-free day as some of the conferences will take place that day.
The booking for the Student led Conference will close on Monday 19 September at 5pm. Please book so your child can share with you their learning journey to date and their goals moving forward for the rest of the year.
To book an appointment please follow the instructions below:
Click https://lounge.lpsww.nsw.edu.au/ (you may need to copy and paste into a browser)
Use your five digit account number available on your fees invoice as the user name.
If you have not set, or can’t remember your password, click the link “Forgot Password?” at the top right and follow the instructions. The email address must be, for security reasons, the one advised to the school.
You will then be able to book an appointment. If you have any problems please email [email protected].
Engaging students: creating classrooms that improve learning
I have been reading an article from the Grattan Institute about engaging students in the classroom to improve learning. The link is attached below. It is a long article, but if you get a chance have a read from pp21-25.
It outlines 6 common approaches that research has shown will improve learning. They are split into 2 categories, preventative approaches and responsive approaches.
Preventative approaches attempt to avoid behaviour problems by focusing students’ attention on their learning.
1. High expectations (Preventative)
2. Strong teacher-student relationships (Preventative)
3. Clarity and structure in instruction (Preventative)
4. Active learning (Preventative)
Responsive approaches. A typical class will have both behaviours the teacher should encourage and those the teacher should discourage. How the teacher responds is critical to whether problems are resolved quickly or fester and become larger. The teacher’s responses should include a combination of approval and disapproval. One large study found that positive reinforcement was on average more effective than punishment, but that a combination of the two was most effective of all.
5. Encouragement and praise (Responsive)
6. Consistent corrections and consequences (Responsive)
Dylan Evans
Deputy Principal
Taikoz are coming!
Our students are in for a treat in Term 4 on Friday 28 October when Taikoz visits our school for two performances. Taikoz is an Australian, Sydney-based performance group that specialises in the art of taiko – playing Japanese drums. Students across all year levels have been becoming better acquainted with taiko instruments and the pieces we expect them to perform when they visit. Taikoz have been presenting school concerts for over 10 years and come to us through Musica Viva. As an ensemble, they have toured nationally, collaborated extensively, performed internationally and won several awards. Visit their website for a detailed list of their achievements. https://www.taikoz.com/about
Taikoz are known for their high energy performances and we are looking forward to this very special learning experience!
Mrs Lieschke (K-6 Music)
Principal's Award
Congratulations to Lillya (1W) and Charlie (3T) who received Principal’s Awards at Monday’s assembly
Values Focus
The church would fall down if I went in
Have you ever heard that saying, or maybe you said it yourself? I used to think this about myself at one point in time when I wasn’t exactly Christian. With all the things I was doing in life I thought if I ever stepped into a church building again that it would fall down. This is an expression most of us have used at one time or another “the church would fall down if I went in”. Guess what, its still standing.
I truly find this statement interesting because it comes from a place that says that we have done things in our past that we aren’t proud of. What have you done that made you make that statement before? The reality is this couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite what a church organisation might say about your behavior or things you have done, this is what Jesus was doing:
Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, “This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them. (Luke 15:1-2 CEV)
Jesus was hanging out with the sinners and the low-lives of the era. Sinners and tax collectors weren’t considered part of the temple community back then. They weren’t allowed into the temple to ask for forgiveness because of who they were and what they had done. To some extent, we still carry this mentality around with us – that we can’t go to church or be Christian because of who we are. But what Jesus tell us is the exact opposite.
If any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it…? In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to. (Luke 15: 4-7 CEV)
Jesus came specifically to find those who thought that if they went to Church it would fall down on top of them. To find those who were unfit to be in the temple. I guarantee you there is nothing you have done that is beyond the redemption of Jesus’ death on the cross for you. Maybe that’s one of the reasons as Christians we have this hope, because we can never be separated from what Jesus did for us.
Pastor David Cherry
Bethlehem Lutheran Church Wagga
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Other Information
Families leaving the school
Please note that one full term’s written notice is required if you are withdrawing your child from Lutheran School. We purchase learning materials based on projected enrolment numbers at least one term in advance. Hence, the enrolment contract you signed specifies that failure to provide a term’s notice will result in you being charged for the subsequent term.
Uniform Shop Orders
If you would like to purchase uniforms from the Uniform Shop, please email [email protected]
We will email you once the order is ready to be picked up from the office. Thank you.
