From the PDHPE classroom to history, science and beyond, teachers at Queenwood School are working to raise the bar in discipline-specific writing skills – and an instructional framework is paving the way.
The Accelerative Integrated Methodology (AIM), developed by Wendy Maxwell in Canada, is an approach to teaching foreign languages that enables students to learn vocabulary and structures through scaffolded techniques which use gestures, active collaboration and repetition.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) was again in the press this week. A detailed review to be released on Tuesday will report that Australian primary school students have registered a slow but statistically significant improvement since it was introduced in 2008.
A key literacy strategy for 2020 began in Week 1 this term with our daily timetabled sustained silent reading program, ‘Just Read’. With all year groups from Kindergarten to Year 11 taking part in ‘Just Read’, some of our students will be reading a book of their own choosing, on a daily basis, for the first time in a long while.
The Hon Andrew Leigh MP delivered his lecture to the Queenwood community 17 February 2020 on the topic Guns Don't Kill People' and other fantasies in the firearms debate.
Social media, when used effectively, is an unprecedented tool to foster creativity, deep conversation and meaningful connections. It can also be an escape, a commodity, a marketing tool, a vehicle for 15 minutes of fame, a way to receive the latest news or a simply a distraction.
Routines help foster independence and confidence. Rather than constantly being told what to do, routines can return responsibility to children so that they can show initiative and feel empowered.
With the school's own research showing almost a third of Year 7 and 9 girls read for pleasure less than once a week, there was a "sense of urgency" to stem the decline, Ms Stone said. So from next year, the whole school will spend 20 minutes a day reading for pleasure.
The faint glow of an iPad backlight has merely replaced the faint glow of a torch under the sheets as my night-time routine for a lifetime. Books are a gift. The joy of reading opens your eyes to experiences you will never have or sheds new light onto ones you have had. This gift of a lifetime is one we aim to support through our Just Read program in 2020.
‘There’s so much information out there, I just don’t know what to believe’. Over the last few decades, we have created and consumed increasing amounts of knowledge. Libraries stored vast quantities of books and journals, radio and television transmitted events from around the world into our front rooms and most recently the Internet put all of that and more into our pockets. We now have access to literally everything. But what exactly is this knowledge?
We realised that privilege is not about what you have, it is about what you don’t have to think about, and this trip (to MVC) put this perfectly into perspective. It is easy to get worked up about the little things and forget to reflect on how fortunate we are to live where we do and be able to focus on school and friendships rather than how we are going to find a meal that day.