Monday, May 31, 2010
Book week for the boys
Over the week the school has guest readers and visiting authors such as Stu Duvall. The inter squad book quiz, book mark competition, and reading log challenge are all part of this exciting week.
Book week is all about reading and this is especially important for boys. At Huntley the hallmark of success for a reader is when boys truly start reading for pleasure. It is important that staff are good examples to our students. Headmaster Brad Gay reads extensively. “During term time I tend to read professional texts. This term for example I have already read: James Popham's, "The Truth About Testing", Douglas Reeves, "The Learning Leader", Neila Connors, "If you don't feed the teachers They eat the students", Sheena Cameron, "Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies". My last great read was Maurice Gladwell's "Tipping Point". I am currently reading Gladwell's, "Blink". I also read a number of boys books so I keep up to date with what they are reading. Currently I am reading Morris Glietzman's book "Then" the sequel to "Once". During holidays I read a variety of novels. I have been reading Robert Jordan's Series lately. 12 Volumes recommended to me by a student two years ago!”
Huntley teaches reading in a similar way to mainstream schools but with some differences designed to especially engage the boys. The library for example has a huge array of non-fiction books, and the fiction section is stocked with boy friendly books. Many of the books are series books as boy's love to read these. Robert Muchamore’s Cherub series is a firm favourite at the moment. It has all the hallmarks of a great series for boys. The character is a boy, he is a spy, he faces danger, and he has a certain amount of power. He is a boy’s boy.
Book week sends out the message to the boys that reading is a worthwhile important part of their education. Research tells us that if children cannot read their ability to comprehend and make sense of what they are being taught is greatly impaired. Book week is fun way of highlighting this to the boys.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Huntley Headmaster wants ugly planning from teachers
Teachers use school wide data from national tests such as P.A.T.’s (Progressive Achievement Tests) to write their class appraisals and inform their next steps they intend to take with their classes. They then use formative data throughout the year to ascertain whether they are meeting the goals they have set for their class. Ugly planning ensures that teachers are reflecting on their teaching constantly to improve the way they teach. This sees true professional growth and also ensures the boys get the best possible input into their learning.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
What drives me?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Open Day
I would also like to thank all the Parents and Staff that helped out on the day.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Ducks and assessment!
Yesterday we had Buck Gardner visit us.
Buck is a professional Duck Caller, some of you may have seen him on TV a week ago. He is a very nice man and the boys absolutely loved his talk. Many Thanks to Giles Standford for organising this.
Left to right Bradley Gardner, Brad Gay, Buck Gardner, Tracey (Mooses Sports)
Check out his website
http://www.buckgardner.com/
(This was done outside class time)
Assessment Parents and learners have a right to quality assessment feedback that gives indication as to progress made, learning strengths and weaknesses, what the learner needs to do to build on strengths and address weaknesses and what we all need to do to help the learner get there. It is also not unreasonable for a learner to know where their strengths and weaknesses are comparative to their peers. The image of the learning triangle with the child supported by the teacher and the home is a powerful one. We need to engage our school community in the assessment discussion. If we are to truly personalise learning we must ensure that the contexts for learning are truly authentic, that the child’s voice is heard, that our Learning Communities are informed and supported, that our schools are appropriately resourced and that teachers and school principals are nurtured, challenged, informed and most importantly affirmed.
Today we had our first re-vamped Quality Learning Circle QLC as a staff. It was wonderful hearing the staff talking about best practice and new innovations they are trying in their classrooms. The short two week goals they had set for their classes had very positive results and many staff feel the boys are starting to identify vocabulary outside of their lessons. This increased awareness in vocabulary is a positive spin off for all concerned.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
National Standards
No one disagreed with National Standards as a concept but many were unstandably worried about how schools data could be used and interpreted by media. We will be looking at what we assess and report to try and make the reporting process more understandable for parents. Our aim is that parents have a clear understanding of where their sons are at and what we intend to do about this. Parents should see progress made throughout the year relative to their sons ability.