Screening and Assessment for Teaching and Learning

With the beginning of a new school year we have various screening processes underway across the school.  These include formal screening and assessments to assist with placement in programs that we use here at St Joseph’s such as the Reading programs InitiaLit and MiniLit.  The screening and assessment is used to determine exactly where each learner is at so teachers can tailor classroom learning to the needs of each of our learners. Another screening tool we use here is Brigance.  Brigance assesses the following skills: gross motor, fine motor, speech and language, general knowledge, readiness, basic reading, and basic math skills. All Prep students are screened using Brigance and new students in Year 1 are also screened.  The information gathered from these assessments is recorded and used to add to the already exceptional quality of teaching we have here at St Joseph’s.

CES Specialist Visit

We are fortunate enough to have access to a high quality team of specialists that regularly visit us from Catholic Education Cairns.  Akira Ernst (Psychologist and Counsellor), Steph Fox (Speech Language Pathologist) and Zinna Aylward (Occupational Therapist) were on site last week.  They were able to meet with teachers and visit classrooms to observe the general goings on associated with teaching and learning. Akira, Steph and Zinna often work with teachers and provide strategies and support with processes to accommodate the diverse needs in our classrooms.  We are very lucky to have such knowledgeable and dedicated specialists on hand to assist with the learning needs of our school community.

Friendology

The implementation of Friendology across our school is well underway.  Students have been learning about the ‘rules’ of friendship with the following ‘4 Friendship Facts’ being central to this learning;

1. No friendship (or relationship) is perfect.
2. Every friendship is different.
3. Trust and Respect are the 2 most important qualities of a friendship.
4. Friendships change...and that’s okay. 

You may begin to notice posters appearing in classrooms with the friendship facts and other Friendology related concepts.  By the end of Term 1 we expect there will be a common language being used across our school when discussing friendship and relationships.

Warm Regards,

Sigita Ulanas