Greetings to everyone in the Ivanhoe East Community
We are getting into the back half of Term 2 and the learning in our classrooms is really maintaining a positive flow. Our School Leadership Team regularly visit classrooms to observe what and how students are learning and to provide feedback to teachers on their practice. It really is the only way to get a clear picture of what’s going on across the school.
As we walk around we often notice that there are some very distinct commonalities across all of our classrooms:
- You would usually see a horseshoe shaped table which is the place where the teacher works with small groups that meet students at their point of need
- You will see tables arranged in clusters so that students have the capacity to work in groups
- You will see a timetable of the learning that will occur during the day which gives the students certainty about what is going to happen and gets them ready for learning
- You will see resources around the room that are there to support students like word walls, anchor charts and visual prompts. All of these resources are there to build independence and accessibility to learning
- You will see IT being used but not everyone using it at the same time. This means that teachers are always evaluating the best way to introduce or reinforce a concept which may or may not involve using devices.
So in a nutshell – the physical design of the classroom – combined with the relationships that exist within a classroom – build a positive environment for learning.
Smiling Minds
Last week we ran a Smiling Minds workshop in the magnificently appointed Performing Arts centre here at school. Firstly thanks to the people that attended and thanks to Sophie Herbert our Learning Specialist, and our Well-Being Team Leaders. Smiling Minds is a mindfulness program that runs as a part of our overall approach to engagement and well-being. It fits in well with Respectful Relationships and our community circle approach. All of these things contribute to a sense of connectedness for our students. I have included a paragraph from the Smiling Minds teacher information pack to share.
What are the benefits of a mindfulness approach?
Mindfulness offers a range of benefits to support student readiness and engagement with learning. It is an effective tool for settling and focusing students at the beginning of any classroom activity, and is also a practice that strengthens and develops important cognitive skills related to learning, such as attention, concentration and memory.
How does it fit in with our curriculum?
Mindfulness can facilitate the development of important social and emotional skills through each developmental stage of a student’s life. Mindfulness provides a foundational awareness and understanding of thoughts, emotions and behaviours and how to self regulate. These are essential skills to support students to fully engage in further social and emotional learning. A comprehensive mindfulness program maps directly to the personal and social capabilities in the Australian Curriculum.
Complaints Policy
At our last School Council meeting we tabled our updated Parent Complaints Policy. This document was developed so that it links in with DET Guidelines, processes and protocols. The complete document is on our website so that families can see the processes and time lines that we follow.
Initial contact should be directed to a child's teacher in the first instance, then through our Team Leaders and Subschool Leaders. In most instances this will end up with a positive outcome.
If it doesn’t, then a Principal Class officer can take on the resolution process as a formal complaint. The steps of acknowledging receipt of complaint, information gathering and response will then follow on from there.
If you have any questions about this process or the policy then feel free to send me an email brett.millott@education.vic.gov.au
Lunchtime Activities
One of our reconnect strategies in Term 2 has been kick starting our Lunchtime activities program. At the time of writing I can report that the following activities are going on. Please share this with your children.
Tuesday
Library is open at lunchtime for students to read, draw , play board games like chess, construct , converse. This activity is run by Hanka Crivelli and I and we can report it is just fantastic.
Wednesday
- Finishing off club (all students in the Year 6 Learning Space)
- News club (all students in the Year 6 Learning Space)
- Teamwork club (Preps and Year 1s in the Gym)
Thursday
- Art club (in the Art room, year levels each week will be announced)
Friday
- Quiet Play club (Preps and Year 1s in the Picnic Area)
Reminder
The areas around schools are indeed busy places especially around pick up and drop off times. In the interests of safety it is important that everyone observes the parking regulations around the neighbouring streets. Victoria Police and Council officers do patrol these areas. Thanks for your support with this matter going forward.
Brett Millott.
brett.millott@education.vic.gov.au