This month has seen us finish off a Japanese culture study and move onto a project about local, state and federal government. It was great to see our local Mayor, Lawrie McKinna, make some time to visit Stage 3, an interesting time for him to talk about our local government and even answer some of our ‘need to knows’. Our driving question for this project is ‘How does the government affect your life?’ This project will be the first one in which students are not allowed to use technology to present to the audience.
As teachers we are currently in the process of writing reports. I actually find reports quite a great time to reflect on each child and think about what positive aspects they bring and what areas we can improve on. When you know your students, it is actually quite easy to write reports. Yes it does take a lot of time, but is definitely beneficial for all. Last time I sent out reports I asked some of the students, “Did your parents go through your report with you?” The answer was quite often no. So I thought I would write what I will do with a report, if and when I get one.
1. Take report in hand and take a deep breath in.
2. Open report and read through by yourself first.
3. Don’t just read the teachers comments but read through the rubric and understand what has been
written/marked.
4. Take some time to go through the report thoroughly with your child. (Communication)
5. Ask your child why they think they got those marks. Whether it is an Expert or Needs Work, it’s time for your child to reflect on their work. (Critical Thinking)
6. Set some goals for next term to improve in all areas of college life. You can demonstrate setting goals for yourself for your own life. (Collaboration)
7. Make a paper plane out of your report and paint it wonderful colours. (Creativity)
Obviously point 7 is just a joke but in all seriousness, please take some time to go through your child’s report with them and discuss the successes and the areas to improve on for next year.
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