On Friday 11 October, it was International Day of the Girl Child which was set up by the United Nations in 2011. The aims are to focus attention on the need to address the challenges girls face, and to promote girls’ empowerment and fulfilment of their human rights.

Spotlight On: Labelling

20 September 2019

It is easy for adults to label children, even from an early age. How many times have you heard someone say, “She is just so shy”? The impact of these words can be staggering. Yet, children change and develop significantly over time. Unfortunately, labels do have a tendency to stick.

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Spotlight On: Over-Parenting

30 August 2019

Taking responsibility for our own lives is hard work. It is mental effort that we would all like to avoid – and that includes our children. They will assume the mental load of taking responsibility for themselves only if the circumstances require it. As parents and teachers, our duty is to shape circumstances such that they will demand personal responsibility of our children.

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Spotlight On: Effort and Motivation

23 August 2019

Teachers regularly assess students in terms of the effort they put into their schoolwork. Effort is crucial to success and to assist students to rise to their potential we need to help them find the right kind of motivation. So which type of motivation are we talking about? Intrinsic motivation? Extrinsic motivation? Or perhaps a combination of both?

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Spotlight On: Studying History

16 August 2019

Teaching about a nation’s past, particularly about dark or confronting events, remains as contested as ever. As a History teacher, I’m often struck by the topics students engage with and those they do not.

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Spotlight On: Science Week 2019

9 August 2019

Destination Moon: more missions, more science is the school theme for National Science Week in 2019, which begins on Monday. The theme is designed to reignite the passion for solving problems that sometimes seem unsolvable, with a particular focus on space. Big picture thinking is required to solve problems in Science. Teachers at Queenwood are inspiring students to undertake their own ‘big picture’ thinking in a number of ways.

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Spotlight On: Y-PEP

2 August 2019

We often forget how lucky we are to live in such a privileged part of the world and take for granted the opportunities and resources available to us. Despite how fortunate we are, we cannot always protect children from some of the harsh realities of our world.

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Spotlight On: Global Education

26 July 2019

The vision of WLSA is to create a community of schools which ‘advocate for the development of open-minded, resilient and responsible global leaders who can re-shape how we want to live and work with each other in the world‘.

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Spotlight On: Humour in Teaching

14 June 2019

Good teachers differentiate, plan and deliver powerful lessons and provide effective feedback to their students – among many other things. But what of the great teacher? The traits of a great teacher in the 20th Century are no different from those of the 21st Century and will probably be the same in the 22nd Century.

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Spotlight On: Shakespeare

7 June 2019

Shakespeare. A name that can conjure up joy and groans, fear and love, laughter and confusion. He’s been around for a while for a reason. Schools, universities, curriculum authorities, theatre companies and film directors all contribute to his ongoing cultural and educational currency.

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Spotlight On: Being There

31 May 2019

‘You had to be there’ – a phrase that highlights the importance of physical presence in order to truly understand. For me, it perfectly sums up the central purpose behind our recent trip to Kempsey, a town roughly 400km north of Sydney, and particularly a moment that a small group of Year 11 Queenwood students shared as they stood under a tree listening to a story.

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