Another Perspective

For those parents who have not seen it, there was an interesting article on our CEO system website recently about learning spaces and a visit from members of the Catholic Education Commission last September.
As we prepare to begin construction work for our own learning spaces for Year 5 and 6 it is good to see what some of our other Catholic schools have been doing and the response from visitors.


http://www.catholicschools.nsw.edu.au/latest-news/school-news/news.aspx/catholic-education-commission-impressed-with-parramatta-diocesan-schools.aspx

2010 - Welcome Back!

I hope everyone has had a peaceful and relaxing Christmas break. Our school is gearing up for a busy and interesting year as new developments come to fruition.
During the holiday break we have had a roof replaced on the Year 1 and Kinder block..so hopefully no more leaks.
Our Year 5 learning space has had acoustic baffles installed on the ceilings which will help to reduce excess noise. Other furniture for Year 5 has been ordered and we are awaiting delivery.
Our teachers have been in and out preparing for great learning in every grade of the school.
Architects and builders have met again to address the ideas teachers came up with when we met over the last 2 pupil free days of school.
We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back next week and hope the weather is kind to all our children and is not too hot to start our year!
See you soon
Paul

Changes in Learning Environments

I recently read an article by a Bruce Jilk centred around changes in the learning environments. He speaks of expanding the possibilities for learning which often disappear after Kindergartern due to the types of teaching we employ as children get older. He maintains the challenge is to try an abandon old idealogies about the teacher being the 'fountain of all knowledge' and the 'production line' mentality of moving a child through preset stages of school.
He says to nurture truly creative learners we must engage the learner in participating fully with concepts and ideas, play with them, solve them, talk about them and ultimately show their depth of understanding through production and presentation to others.
We are lucky, we have the resources, the technology and the personnel to increase learning for our children.

Lifelong Learning

This week parents and teachers in our school community had online access to this educational blog. My hope is that it will become a vehicle for sharing information about children as learners and adults as learners.
This thought really hit home this week when we completed our transition program for our young new children as they prepare to begin school in 2010. Just like us they are 'lifelong learners', whom I suspect, will learn at a much faster rate than we did, merely because information is so readily available and easily understandable.
My guess is that young children (aged 5) today are already proficient users of technology and solvers of problems...is this your child?
Be the first to comment!

New ways of thinking!

It's always good to have discussion around the things that matter most. Recently I have shared thoughts and answered questions about our journey into new ways of thinking. This thinking is centred around learning and specifically how children today learn.
There is something both exciting and daunting about this for us as adults...because we are so used to the model of our own experience.
As we venture into new modes, new undestandings, new thoughts...we must keep asking questions and more importantly we must keep the learner at the centre of all we do.
I like to ask the question...Is it for the good of the children I teach?
How can we innovate as well as cherish what is good?
The following link is worth a read..a little long but clearly talks about the need for new ways of thinking.


http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/le_white_paper-1.pdf

coming soon

Hi everyone,

Thanks for checking in to my blog.
I am passionate about education which is real for our kids today!
I hope to have a few great posts and links here very soon.
With so much talk of the changes in education today, its hardly surprising that we all have so many questions.

Maybe we will be able to find the answers to some of them together.

Paul