Head of Early Childhood

How Do We Build Understanding?

This is often a question staff ponder as they develop their lessons and configure the type of learning experiences given to students. The work of Harvard’s Project Zero offers a useful solution in their Teaching for Understanding research and methodology. Tina Blythe in The Teaching for Understanding Guide offers the more detailed definition of “Understanding” that is required, a performance perspective. “The Performance perspective says, in brief, that understanding is a matter of being able to do a variety of thought-provoking things with a topic, such as explaining, finding evidence and examples, generalising, applying, analogising, and representing the topic in new ways.” This leads to a definition with a focus on the ability or even disposition to apply what one knows to new situations, alternate contexts or to solve new problems. There is a difference between the things you know and the things you understand. If you were asked to write on a subject that you have a deep “understanding” on, this would be quite different from a topic that you simply “know” about. In the Preparatory School, students are given multiple opportunities for hands-on learning which help build a deep understanding. Teachers use the thinking moves as a guide when planning learning opportunities. They refer to the Understanding Map which defines each of these thinking moves when they are planning for learning.

By identifying and naming the types of thinking students will require as they develop their understandings, teachers are better able to identify learning experiences, scaffolds and routines which will support this. Our goal is to always identify the type of thinking students will need and select strategies which support this, rather than selecting a strategy with attention to the thinking it builds. The long game is for students to develop the metacognitive skills to identify the thinking they require in a particular context and to select strategies which support this. 

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

The staff are looking forward to welcoming grandparents and special friends to school tomorrow. The school day begins at the regular time of 8.20am, where students will begin classes as usual. We invite grandparents to start their visit in the Prep classrooms at 9.00am with a musical concert to follow in Dunnet Hall. If grandparents and special friends are staying for the Junior School’s similar event there will be a light morning tea served in the Piazza.

Arrival to School

Could I please remind all families that there is a teacher on duty from 8.00am. Students are not permitted in the playground, without a parent or carer present, before this time. Thank you for your vigilance with this very important duty of care reminder.

Book Week and Supporting Our Farmers

On Thursday 23 August, the Prep School will be participating in a Dress Up Day as a culminating activity for Book Week. This year’s topic is Find Your Treasure and students are invited to dress up with a pirate theme or another treasure idea they have in mind. A reminder that students need to be able to use the play equipment and participate in sports lessons and therefore sandshoes and appropriate clothing is a requirement.

It has been heart-warming to hear the students’ recent response to the plight of the farmers. To this end, the Prep School will be raising funds in the form of a gold coin donation during Book Week Dress Up Day.

Spring Fair

Thank you to the wonderful generosity of the community for the many donations of sweets for the upcoming Redlands Spring Fair. These donations will go toward prizes for our Early Childhood stalls –  Old Fashioned Lollies, Lucky Dip and Lob-a-Choc. There is a box in the Prep Reception if you would like to make a donation and haven’t already done so. Next week, a book of raffle tickets will go home to the eldest family member on the Junior Campus, giving our community an opportunity to win some terrific prizes and support the Redlands Spring Fair. Both sold and unsold raffle tickets need to be returned to the Prep Reception by 3 September. Thank you.

Jump Rope for Heart

Mrs Chipper has organised incremental goals for the students to reach as fundraising targets this term. Last week the students of the Prep School reached a milestone fundraising amount of $20,000.00. This meant that the Head of Early Childhood would be a student for the day in the class that had raised the most amount of money. In Week 6, I am looking forward to spending some time in One Green. Congratulations to the students in this class and all of the Prep School for their fundraising efforts.

Mrs Audrey Fellowes
Head of Early Childhood
afellowes@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9848