Dear Parents and Carers,

• It is a wear green (sun safe clothes and closed-in shoes) day. We will attend Mass at 12.00pm.
• We are looking forward to a community gathering and some fun on the flats 3.30-5.30.
• We thank the Community Council for catering.
• We hope you have put the date in your diary and you can be here with your children!

If you wish for your children to stay after school until you can arrive they need to be in the care of an adult. The teaching staff are not responsible for the children for the afternoon. Please ensure your children know who their carer is until you arrive, that person is responsible for their supervision.

St Pat’s Kids Learning Journal In 2021 we are exploring teaching and learning about the expectations of being St Pat’s kids using our learning journal. When students come to a member of the leadership team to share and celebrate learning we also write in their journal.

 Birthdays & How To Celebrate

Ever been stuck for how to celebrate your child’s special day? One of the St Pat’s kids shared with me the joy of her recent birthday and how the day transpired. Her parent ‘gifted’ her with the whole day to plan and share. This student planned from wake up til bed time the who, what, where and when of the day. Special breakfast, a nail appointment, paddle boat ride and a family dinner were just part of the fun. If you want to know more I am sure Sofara and her mum would love to share the special day. You may like to try a version of this with your children. 

Catalyst: High Impact Teaching Practice

Principle 7 Obtain a high success rate.

Teaching for mastery ensures all students in a class are ready to move on to the next stage in the topic, thus preventing students from taking misunderstanding into their future learning.

The optimal success rate was found to be at 80% understanding. This shows that not only have the students learnt the material but also were challenged in doing so. Any higher rate and the work may not have been challenging enough. Any lower rate the work may have been too challenging.

Principle 8 Provide scaffolds for difficult tasks.

When introducing a more difficult lesson, Rosenshine suggests using scaffolding. Providing students with a framework more easily allows them to make progress. The scaffolds can then be gradually removed as their competency grows.

Examples of scaffolds can include; checklists, cue cards or writing frames. Teachers can also anticipate commonly made errors and build tools into the scaffold tasks that reduce the chances of students making the same mistakes.

Blessings,

Jo