Scotch Reports Issue 174 (April 2019)

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MITCHAM CAMPUS Way2Go Year 4! The middle primary years are characterised by the beginning of social and emotional change. Children begin to develop their sense of identity, seek early independence and responsibility, and look for new experiences to test their own limits and abilities. With this in mind, we have developed Signature Learning Experiences that reflect this age and stage. Learning in Year 3 is shaped through a lens of ‘Identity and Purpose’. Children build their understanding of diversity throughout the year. At Year 4 the focus is on building resilience through a lens of ‘Courage and Challenge’. Children are encouraged to talk about and tackle new challenges and appreciate courage in others. A new partnership with Way2Go has provided the perfect springboard into a year of Courage and Challenge for Year 4 in <strong>2019</strong>! The Way2Go program promotes safer, greener and more active travel for the school community. Our new partnership with Way2Go, alongside the local council and the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, involves all Year 4 students taking part in a Bike Education program, which culminates in the challenge of an on-road ride. Our riders enter this program with varying levels of experience and confidence. The Way2Go Bike Ed program helps students develop confidence and competence as safe bike riders through an optimal mix of class-based theory and practical skills application. Learning to ride a bike is a valuable life skill and through participating in Way2Go Bike Ed children: • gain knowledge and understanding of the road and traffic environments and relevant road laws, • develop physical and cognitive skills, and • develop responsible behaviours, attitudes and decision-making skills for the safe use of bicycles both on and off the road. At the beginning of the Way2Go program all students were challenged to set a personal goal. These ranged from ‘balancing’, to ‘using hand signals to turn’, to ‘having more control when braking’, to ‘riding without training wheels’ and ‘being able to safely check my bike’. They have since learnt to identify appropriate bike riding clothing and accessories, explain the benefits of their use and the features of a bicycle helmet that complies with Australian Standards. They have also focused on understanding the difference between school rules and government laws relating to bike riding, including understanding how laws shape decisions and behaviour as road user. They have the opportunity to put this into practice with the support of instructors, teachers and assisting parents through practical sessions in the school grounds and on local roads. The ultimate aim of Way2Go Bike Ed is for students to know how to make considered decisions for their own and others’ safety and wellbeing, and to assist them to ride their bikes more often. Students who walk, ride scooters or skate to school need to be aware of their rights and responsibilities when using footpaths and roads. Over the past couple of years, we have seen an increase in the number of children actively riding and scootering to school. We have also seen more students engaging in the community sports of Mountain Biking and Road Cycling. With their Way2Go challenges and training our Year 4s are building confidence and courage on wheels! IEVA HAMPSON Head of Mitcham Campus Year 4 students complete a bike check. 12
01 02 04 03 Online Platforms Whether or not Moore’s Law (the doubling of computer processing speed/power every 18 months – 2 years) holds true, it goes without saying that technology advancement in education is an exciting and rapidly developing space. Our students use technologies such as robotics, 3D printing, augmented reality, VR and applications that weren’t readily available to children in schools only ten years ago. The constant evolution of technology keeps us questioning our selection of digital technologies and importantly, our purpose in using it. When drawing on technology as a learning tool, teachers consider whether it is to simply substitute for something that does not require technology? An example of this is word processing. Or is it to augment a task, adding functional improvement, such as using the tools in Google Maps to calculate distance and time between two locations on a map? Is the purpose of the digital technology to modify a learning experience? Students may be recording their understanding of a concept with a verbal explanation rather than undertaking a ‘test’ and uploading it to the teacher. Even better, digital technology can allow teachers and students to redefine learning. That is, using the technology to create tasks previously inconceivable, such as a virtual fieldtrip. One of the most powerful uses of technology is where we can use it to improve (but not replace) human connection. Over the past few years we have been introducing the use of Seesaw, a platform for student-driven digital portfolios, across Mitcham Campus. Using Seesaw, children share pictures and videos with their parents and receive validation (in the form of comments and feedback) for the work that they share. Seesaw provides a wider sense of audience for work as children document their learning. It also helps capture and celebrate the learning process, not just the end result. Students can use built-in audio recording and drawing tools to reflect on what they have learned or explain how they got an answer. Further benefits of a digital portfolio include the encouragement children get from parent comments and the ability to cross language barriers for families who speak English as an additional language. Through our staff Action in Learning research, Seesaw has now been rolled out across all year levels as a simple way for teachers and students to create, capture and share what's happening in the classroom during the week. When students reach the upper primary years, they are also introduced to SEQTA, an online Learning Management System that is used up to Year 12 at <strong>Scotch</strong>. They begin to upload assessments, which can be seen at home, and receive some of their teacher's feedback electronically. In their final year at Mitcham Campus students also join ‘Yammer’. Yammer is a private platform for enterprise social networking, run as a part of the Office 365 suite of tools. This closed and private network gives our students meaningful, guided and monitored experience in a social media environment before they reach 13 years of age – the minimum age for signing up with social media accounts, such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, et al. Teachers are assigned to the Yammer groups that students join. Our Year 6 Student Action Teams and Student Leadership groups use Yammer to plan, organise and run initiatives. It is exciting to see them using this platform in such a positive and productive way, helping to shape their future social media interactions. IEVA HAMPSON Head of Mitcham Campus 01 Year 2 Maths investigation shared on Seesaw / 02 Student initiative on Yammer / 03 Year Six student leaders on 'Yammer' / 04 Sharing an incursion with Year 1 families 13
Page 1: Scotch Reports ISSUE 174 / APRIL 20
Page 4 and 5: 4 FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Page 6 and 7: SCOTCH STORIES Andrew Saies I atten
Page 8 and 9: EARLY LEARNING CENTRE ELC Literacy
Page 10 and 11: MITCHAM CAMPUS Authors in Residence
Page 14 and 15: TORRENS PARK CAMPUS Class of 2018 R
Page 16 and 17: Destinations for the Class of 2018
Page 18 and 19: TORRENS PARK CAMPUS Rustic Pathways
Page 22 and 23: PHILANTHROPY A Century of Philanthr
Page 24 and 25: SCOTCH COMMUNITY A Time to Celebrat
Page 26 and 27: OLD COLLEGIANS Straight Scotch FROM
Page 28 and 29: I’M SUPER PROUD OF WHAT WE’VE C
Page 30 and 31: OLD COLLEGIANS Old Scotch Cricket A
Page 32 and 33: Rowing Scotch College Old Collegian
Page 35: At Urban Habitats we have a passion

Scotch Reports Issue 174 (April 2019)

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