What a thrill for Year 7s, walking into one of their first secondary school classrooms to find Lego! Our new Year 7 Design subject has been using Lego as their connection focus, not just to build but to connect our new students. Working collaboratively, the students have been having great fun designing and building bridges to meet a length-weight challenge. Throughout the semester, they will use cardboard, fabrics and even software packages to design products and solve problems. We can’t wait to see what they produce!
There has also been buzz of excitement in the corridors and courts around Middle School as students have been rekindling friendships and making new connections. With the SRC leaders running a new borrowing system for sports equipment, more table-tennis and picnic tables and increased viewing areas near Sandell Oval, it has been wonderful to watch students enjoying their play and getting to know each other. The House Swimming was a highly successful day too, giving students time and space to swim, talk and connect.
Teachers have also been making connecting with their students a top priority. There have been the classics – name games, People Bingo and one-on-one chats – and there have been the more creatives – paper-aeroplane challenges, wins at scissors-paper-rock before you can exit and the match-up an obscure fact to the student.
Connections help make students feel that they belong, they help make the day much more enjoyable, and they allow the brain to begin to focus on the learning. Significantly connecting is often accompanied by a sparkle in the eye, as both the teacher and student form a mutual respect and understanding of how they will work together in the coming weeks.
All students benefit from the three-way connections between parents, students and teachers. The first opportunity for this is the Meet the Mentor evening next Monday 16 February. These discussions with your child’s mentors are a wonderful opportunity to share information about the social, emotional or academic development of your child.
Within the next few weeks, you will also receive information about the Parent Student Teacher Interviews which run over three evenings towards the end of this term. With more of a focus on academic progress, these conversations are a wonderful opportunity to discuss learning growth. By sharing information, setting goals and discussing concerns, we can all work together to maximise student learning.
Hopefully your son or daughter is beginning to connect with their peers, the subject content and with their new teachers. Please reach out to your Mentor and Head of House if your child needs some support, we all want to help.
Meredith Plaisted
Head of Middle School
