From Br Steve Hogan fsc
Greetings,
Firstly, thank you to the Parent & Friends Association (P&F) and in particular Ms Carina Morales and the Gala Day sub-committee for all their work in preparation for Gala Day 2024. Thank you to all those who have volunteered their time on the day. If you have an hour and can help, please pop in and Carina AND the committee will be happy for your assistance. For those who can’t volunteer, thank you for all your support through your donations to stalls, baskets, cakes and in particular those that come along to make community on Saturday.
I am happy to report and congratulate Year 12 for meeting the challenge we put to them in their mid-Year exams, that is to attain 250 Band 6. They actually achieved 300 Band 6 results and are on track to achieng very well in their HSC exams. The target for the Trials was 302 Band 6’s which we now need to increase while the target for this Year’s HSC is 380 Band 6’s, something well within their capability and aptitude – we continue to encourage one’s personal best and hone the talents God has given us.
I am also happy to report, that there has been continued growth in our Writing in Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN in 2024 and in our Year 10 Allwell.
The Oakhill College Learning Framework is the basis to our approach to teaching and learning at Oakhill College and is based on best evidence and best research regarding effective learning and 21st Century Learning Outcomes (www.21p.org). The Oakhill College learning framework, which is visible and accessible to students and parents, provides access to the teaching and learning in the classroom and also to data on student's achievement. It is this data that we are now utilising better to inform teaching to ensure we teach to student’s needs in what is known as ‘targeted teaching’ or differentiated learning. This also allows us to provide extension to those more able, and thus keep all learners motivated.
Much of this data will be made available to students and parents through the Student and Parent Portal in TASS. We will provide you with details shortly when this becomes live and how to access it.
The Oakhill College learning framework is not a whole new pedagogy, but a pedagogy that includes the old such as practice and repetition and homework, along with the new such as higher order thinking, analytical discourse, independence and ownership of learning. But as we know, boys in particular still need much guidance, supervision, explicit teaching, and short-term goals in their learning process.
Celia Lashlie in her work on boy’s education once said, “boy’s overestimate their ability and underestimate the effort required to achieve it”.
Teaching and learning at Oakhill College is still more traditional with line-ups before entering and greeting. There are routines seating plans, explicit teaching and raising of hands. We also have in many classes mini-white boards for all students to write an answer and hold up for the teacher to see, informing the teacher who knows and does not know and if to re-teach. This is all part of explicit instruction. And, as you know we also have rules and routines where good behaviours are taught and caught.
Teaching and learning are very much a partnership, and this is very much part of the custom and culture at Oakhill College. I would like to share with you a resource from ‘Education World’ that may be helpful for parents as the suggestions are very practical and are ideas that enhance learning at school. The ideas follow the alphabet. In this Newsletter I will share A, B, C, and D only.
A - Attendance is a critical factor in any child’s school success. Children should attend school every day, except when ill. It is impossible to replace the learning that happens on any school day with make-up work. Regular attendance and promptness are good habits that are expected and appreciated at all levels of school and the workplace.
B - Bedtime. On average children need 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Sleep is important for many reasons. Lack of sleep can cause children to be hyperactive, impatient, or cranky. It is more difficult for children to concentrate and learn when they are tired. Encouraging activities such as quiet reading just prior to bed is a great transition and helps children relax. It is most important the mobile devices are off and preferably out of the bedroom at night as many hours can be spent during the night unknown to parents when everyone should be sleeping.
C - Choices. According to Jim Fay, author of ‘Becoming a Logic Parent’, giving children choices is more effective than making demands. He suggests (i) never give choices if it causes a problem for you or someone else; (ii) give only two choices both equally OK with you. For example, Would you like peas or carrots? Or, Do you want to do our homework now or in 15 minutes? If your child does not answer within 10 seconds, make the choice for them.
D - Determination. Children need to hear parents say that making an effort, working hard, and planning ahead are important. We need to encourage children to set reasonable expectations and celebrate with them when they make progress toward their goals. Children need to learn that sometimes they need to make sacrifices to achieve their goal. Struggling with learning tasks from time to time is part of a student’s 'job'’. In the end, the feeling of accomplishment they will get will lead to bigger and better accomplishments in the future.
You may wish to read the other suggestions by going to the website www.edicationworld.com
This past week have been very important in the Roman Catholic calendar: Pentecost Sunday. Fr Vincent formerly from St Madeleine’s Parish Kenthurst, reminds us that the real miracle of Pentecost is one of allowing the Spirit of God to work within us and create an inclusive community where everyone is respected, dignified and accepted. This reiterates our own Lasallian principles of respect, inclusivity, and being brothers and sisters to each other. The Spirit of God enables us to look at reality from God’s perspective and impels us to recreate humanity in the context of God’s compassion, peace and justice. This process of transformation starts from the family, one’s personal family but also our school family. The spirit of God invites us to listen with the heart of the other, “to hear the voice of God in the pain and despair, the business and clamour of difference, challenging us to embrace the essence of faith – love your neighbour as yourself”. [Adapted with permission from St Madeleine’s Parish Bulletin 20th May 2018].
Br Steve Hogan fsc
Principal
