For a teacher, the term break is a time of reflection and preparation; it’s looking back at what the students have learned and achieved in the previous term, analysing what was done well and what could have been done better, and then looking forward to decide what needs to be achieved in the new term. Todd and I are very happy with the progress being made in Stage 2. We have a great group of students who are responding enthusiastically to everything that’s being presented to them. They truly are a joy to work with.
Pleasingly this term we have doubled the number of girls in the group, we now have four! We welcome Kairara and Emily, who have both quickly adapted to our style of working. The boys have also grown in number with two new students, Matthew and Kai. In total we now have 45 students, remembering that we began the year with 36. Those first couple of days are always a period of adjustment for new students, we do, after all, do things quite differently to other colleges, that’s what makes us unique and special.
In Stage 2 we are just beginning a new project, I’ve called it The People Of The Land – an opportunity to learn about some of the earliest inhabitants of Australia the Yolngu People of the far north. The project has twelve modules, including Dreamtime Stories, Indigenous Culture, Kinship, The Environment, The First White People and Nowadays. Later in the term we will be learning about sustainability, but I’ll leave that to Todd to tell you about closer to the time.
I recently read that fewer men are going into the teaching profession; there are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, given the years of training required, the remuneration at the end of that training doesn’t stack up well against other vocations. Then there’s the actions of a small number of men in such positions of authority and trust having misused their powers, putting all male teachers under the spotlight. I’m also aware of men who have been falsely accused of wrong-doing, resulting in the destruction of their careers. It’s therefore not surprising that men today are looking to careers other than teaching. So, it is quite something that in Stage 2 we have two men team-teaching, is it not? Two men coming from very different professions, who now both love teaching! To top that off, we presently have a male pre-service teacher on section with us, Mr Tony Brown, who is also a parent of the college. So welcome Tony, we hope that you enjoy your four week stay with us. I can already see that Tony loves teaching and working with children as much as Todd and I do.
Welcome back to all IFS/ITS parents and families, here’s to a fabulous term three.
Kind regards,
Rodney
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