INTERCONNECTED

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit..” Acts 2:38

It is my firm view that everything is interconnected. The world values connectedness, however, to be interconnected is more powerful and essential to everyday life. To be interconnected allows each person to be committed to each other at a much deeper level. There is a sense of commitment and responsibility to being interconnected with people, businesses, the community, or any organisation...including a school.

I appreciate that St Bede’s Primary School is a place where the level of interconnectedness is clearly visible. We have students who are interconnected to each other and their teachers through high quality learning and other activities. We have committed parents and community members who are interconnected not only through their attendance at parent days or sporting events but at a much deeper level. We appreciate and value this. 

Throughout Term 2 and the early stage of Term 3, I have been fortunate to meet prospective parents who are considering St Bede’s for their child/ren. They are coming in search of a school who values individuals, has strong values and is connected. I am proud to categorically proclaim that we value and prioritise the interconnectedness of our school community as this forms a solid foundation for learning. 

The scripture passage above from the book of Acts is rather interesting and pertinent to our work that is undertaken by everyone associated with St Bede’s Primary School. Jesus challenged his disciples to spread the movement of faith and discipleship among all people. He encouraged them to begin right where they were; sharing grace with ‘their’ people. We do this each and every day by being true to our school motto “Walk in Love and Peace”. At St Bede’s actions speak louder than words.  

Paul, Peter and Barnabas spread the Word and strengthened churches. Here at St Bede’s we also spread the Word of Jesus and are builders. We are builders in many different ways other than religion. We build students and their learning, values, relationships, knowledge and maturity. 

Students who feel attachment and school commitment, had positive interactions with peers, and productive parent child discussions performed better academically and had fewer psychological problems (Stewart, 2007). Meanwhile, school involvement, parental school involvement and socioeconomic status had a low effect on achievement and psychological problems (Stewart, 2007). Put simply, no matter where schools are, no matter how involved parents are, schools that are able to make students feel connected to their schools and encourage positive peer interaction have higher academic achievement and healthier students (Stewart, 2007; Marin et al, 2008; Beattie, 2007). 

Finally, I would like to share some observations of the strong connections at St Bede’s.

1.  Last week, I witnessed a kindergarten student take a fall in the playground. Before I could walk several steps, she was surrounded by several Year 6 students and 2 teachers. They provided care and comfort. 
2. I also witnessed a conversation between students from different grades sharing about their holidays. A genuine connection and interest was shown from the older students.
3. On a daily basis, our wonderful staff connect and reconnect with students, providing support and encouragement.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to the interconnectedness of St Bede’s Primary School.

Regards

Andrew

On Monday 18 July St Bede's teachers utilised the pupil free day to analyse student assessment data and to commence planning mathematics programs for Semester 2. The assessment data clearly indicates individual and collective strengths and focus areas.

Our mathematics practices are based in the Science of Learning including cognitive load theory, interleaving (spacing out review questions) and retreaval practice developing automaticity (remembering and accessing).

There are 3 elements of each mathematics program at St bede's:

Daily Review

Research clearly indicates that review should be systematically planned and incorporated into the instructional program. Daily review is a focus on the mathematical skills that have previously been taught. Long term retention is best served if questions on a particular skill are spread out in time, rather than concentrated within a short interval. Review immediately after instruction consolidates the ideas from that instruction, while delayed review aids in the relearning of forgotten material.

Review promotes continuity and helps students to attain a more comprehensive view of the mathematical topics covered. It helps them summarise main ideas, develop generalisations, and get an overall view of what they have been learning. Review helps students to assimilate or consolidate what they have learned, enabling them to fit ideas into new patterns and also serves as a diagnostic tool, revealing weaknesses and strengths to students and teachers. It helps teachers identify what is already known and what is not yet known; then reteaching can be planned.

Further, review assures that the prerequisites needed for learning new content have been mastered and adds to students' confidence in their ability to move successfully to new mathematical topics.

Heavy Lifting Lessons

These are the explicit teaching lessons that deliver concepts and introduce students to new concepts and skills. These lessons are designed to go deeper in the learning, establishing real world connections and provide feedback for both the teacher and student. 

Explicit teaching practices, including the effective use of feedback, are key elements of effective teaching. Such practices ensure that students have a clear understanding of why they are learning something, how it connects to what they already know, what is expected of them, and how to do it (explicit teaching). They also ensure that students are given opportunities to ask questions and get clear feedback about their performance against learning outcomes (effective feedback).

Cognitive load theory provides theoretical and empirical support for explicit models of instruction. The research demonstrates that for novice learners, explicit instruction, incorporating direct guidance accompanied by practice and feedback, is more effective than partial guidance.

Inquiry lessons

In inquiry lessons teachers use questions, problems and scenarios to help students learn through individual thought and investigation. Instead of simply presenting facts, the teacher encourages students to talk about a problem and draw on their intuition to understand it. Inquiry-based learning also focuses on letting students ask their own questions — essentially providing their own inquiry. Student led questions follow teacherguided inquiry.

As previously advised, St Bede's will have 2 pupil free days in Term 3 on Friday 5 August and Friday 9 September. Care will be available from YWCA on these days.

YWCA, who are our current before and after school providers, will provide care for students enrolled at St Bede's on those days.  Parents can enrol their child/ren by contacting YWCA on 6185 2000.  

If parents need to enrol students into before and after school care at St Bede's, the website is https://childrens-services.ywca-canberra.org.au/school-age-care/

Bastille Day will be celebrated on Monday 1 August 2022. Students are invited to wear red, white and blue to help celebrate. A big thank you to Mrs Sood for organising activities for students to undertake during french lessons.

On Tuesday lunchtimes students have been participating in construction activities. In Week 1 students used Duplo to build and construct anything that they could imagine. In Week 2 students were challenged to utilise large paddle pop sticks and straws to create and construct.

This week, student will participate in a tower challenge to build the tallest tower with paper and 1m of masking tape. Who will build the tallest tower?

Construction and engineering challenges allow students to problem solve and work collaboratively as a team. These challenges develop a range of skills in children of all ages.