Download Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga Page of 6 03/01/2012

Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
03/01/2012
File name:
Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
Duration:
07:02 minutes
Page 1 of 6
PROGRAM START:
00:00-00.05 seconds
Visual:
Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat cover screen
Text: Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat
Audio:
Instrumental music
00:06-00:09 seconds
Visual:
Text: Melrose Primary School (Wodonga)
Audio:
Instrumental music
00:10-00:31 seconds
Visual:
Murray Redenbach (School Principal, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
Audio:
The National Partnerships Program provides us with specialist teachers that engage our
staff, engage our students and are more and more engaging our community in the educative
process. By using those people as tools we’re finding we are getting really good results now
with learning.
Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
03/01/2012
Page 2 of 6
00:32-00:41 seconds
Visual:
Melrose Primary School sign, sweeping pan of school grounds from outside the fence
Audio:
Underpinning our program is our teaching of emotional intelligence. Now emotional
intelligence you might gather is the social and emotional development of the child.
00:42-00:56 seconds
Visual:
Murray Redenbach (School Principal, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
Audio:
But we’re actually taking that one step further, teaching kids why they learn, how they
learn, the purpose behind what they’re doing and then that hopefully gives them the
catalyst to want to learn.
00:57-01:27 seconds
Visual:
Pam Hilditch (Numeracy Coach, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
Audio:
Several years ago the Hume Region introduced the common curriculum. As a part of the
common curriculum the numeracy fluency assessment interview was introduced across
schools in the Hume Region. This school has picked it up. It now operates throughout the
school from Prep to Year 6 and we actually hand on the information and it goes into the
middle years college as well; so it forms a transition right through to Year 8. The children are
assessed on the booklet.
01:28-01:35 seconds
Visual:
Sweeping pan of the booklet, view of Pam Hilditch in a classroom with children
Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
03/01/2012
Page 3 of 6
Audio:
The booklet is handed on with all the information in it from year to year, from teacher to
teacher and across schools as well so if the child moves within this area the booklet goes
with them as well.
01:36-02:29 seconds
Visual:
Pam Hilditch (Numeracy Coach, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
Audio:
One of the initiatives that we’ve introduced which has had a powerful impact, probably far
more than we initially thought when we sent our first two or three teachers off to be
trained, was we now have 70% of our staff trained as numeracy intervention teachers.
They’ve undertaken 10 weeks of training. This has both been done externally through the
Hume Region and internally with the National Partnerships money and because I was one of
the coaches we were able to run it internally in our school. That training means that these
teachers are learning skills and concepts, how to use questioning, and the use of concrete
materials to scaffold the students’ learning.
02:30-02:39 seconds
Visual:
Sweeping pan of students working
Audio:
While it was powerful in terms of one-on-one, which is how they learn, the skills the
teachers have now taken back into their classrooms has probably been what we would
consider the powerful part of it. It’s actually made subtle changes to how teachers deal with
their whole group of students, not just the child that’s at risk.
02:40-03:09 seconds
Visual:
Sweeping pan of students and teachers using ICT in different situations
Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
03/01/2012
Page 4 of 6
Audio:
ICT we use as a tool to engage our students. We actually have an ICT coach who works with
teachers to enhance skills again as I’ve said. ICT is a really good way to engage students. We
don’t see it as an add-on or one-off, we just see it as a normalised part now of student
learning. If you walk and had a look at the classrooms now most of the classrooms would be
using ICT just as a normal process of learning.
03:10-03:29 seconds
Visual:
Murray Redenbach (School Principal, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
Audio:
I was talking to a young student, a Koorie child, the other week and he said “Mr Reddo, one
of the reasons I’m going to come to school tomorrow is because we’ve got the laptops in
our school.” To me, that’s really, really powerful. The laptop is one of the tools to get kids to
school because they can see there’s a purpose for them coming to school.
03:30-03:49 seconds
Visual:
Video of students working, then Murray Redenbach (School Principal, Melrose Primary
School) talking to camera
Audio:
We also use data, very clearly, as one way of enhancing teacher capacity. If teachers have an
intimate knowledge of each and every student, where they’re up to, where they are in the
level of their learning, we find then there can be a better engagement of students.
03:50-04:07 seconds
Visual:
Pam Hilditch (Numeracy Coach, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
It’s collected throughout the year. There are certain times of the year when all the data has
to be updated. We also have continuous data being collected which we use to inform our
Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
03/01/2012
Page 5 of 6
challenge groups, which has been one of the initiatives that we’ve implemented through
National Partnerships.
04:08-06:08 seconds
Visual:
Deb Bowman (Acting Principal, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera, and video of
Deb Bowman and Pam Hilditch looking through the black data book
Audio:
Something very new and powerful that’s being used at Melrose Primary School is the
ongoing development of our black data book and this black data book is really a mobile and
personalised version of the data walls that schools are using. The purpose of the black book
is for confidentiality, so instead of having all of their names up on a wall the children’s
information and data is safely stored in the black book and that black book is brought out
and used at staff meetings, team meetings, professional learning team meetings as well. If
we have a paraprofessional such as a speech therapist working with us we also get that
book out and look at the data that is contained within. The black book is updated at the end
of each reporting period, so mid-year and the end of the year. Each child’s photograph is
colour-coded according to teacher judgements for VELS, and this is in the area of number
and reading. So the children are colour-coded, the teachers place the photos into the black
book pages and straight away we can see where the children are fitting in relation to
teacher judgements for VELS. From there we engage in a process of reflection and
investigation. So we can see the children who are making great gains and celebrate that. At
the same time we can look for children who might be plateauing and possibly slipping
behind, so we know straight away who those children are and then together we can come
up with strategies that are used in the classroom to move them forward. The teachers come
up with useful strategies and explicit teaching tasks and as a team there could be a group of
children who have like needs, so as a team the teachers will come together to plan teaching
activities for the children.
06:09-06:18 seconds
Visual:
Video of teachers working with students in the classroom
Audio:
Transcript: Melrose Primary School, Wodonga
03/01/2012
Page 6 of 6
I think no longer is it just one teacher in a classroom behind the door with thirty children,
we have to have that collective knowledge of all the children within our school.
06.19-06:29 seconds
Visual:
Deb Bowman (Acting Principal, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera, and video of a
teacher working with students in the classroom
Audio:
It’s not just that teacher’s responsibility; we all have a responsibility for those children. And
so, by using the black book we’re building the knowledge that we have of every child within
our school.
06.30-06:47 seconds
Visual:
Murray Redenbach (School Principal, Melrose Primary School) speaking to camera
Audio:
Another focus this year will be engaging our parent community. We believe that if we have
an engaged parent community who value education they will encourage their young people
to come to school, therefore our data will improve and therefore our students’ educative
outcomes will improve; it’s a win for everyone.
06.48-07:02 seconds
Visual:
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development logo, dated Feb 2012
Audio:
Instrumental music