Evidence Forum

It is so wonderful to be back at St Mary's today after my trip away with the Evidence Forum this week. The point of the trip was to visit schools across Australia that have shown high levels of improvement and to examine what they are doing to sustain this. The highlights of the trip included visits to Hilltop Road Primary School in Sydney, Balga and Dawson Park Primary Schools in Perth and the participation in sessions delivered by educational experts in their field, Dr Lorraine Hammond and Professor Bill Louden. Two of the observable high impact teaching strategies included Explicit Instruction and Project Based Learning.  

Next Tuesday my learning journey continues with further expert input and a deep discussion about pedagogy in our Archdiocese. 

I am truly blessed to have been part of this experience and look forward to sharing many of my learnings with the St Mary's staff. The Evidence Forum has been inspiring and affirming. 

I would like to thank Mrs. Croker and Mrs. Tarlinton, and all the staff, for covering my load in my absence.

Clean Up Australia Day

This Friday all of our students will participate in Clean Up Australia Day. The younger students will clean up our playgrounds and along the front of the school, with the older students cleaning some of our adjoining streets. All students will be supervised. Please send in a glove and a plastic bag to put the rubbish in. There will be a small amount available at school as well.