Category: Schools

Announcing the inaugural Inner West Independent Schools Expo

Families in the Inner West have a new, local, forum to discover more about the range of excellent independent schools servicing their area.

For the first time, the Independent Schools Expo is hosting a dedicated Inner West event at the Le Montage function centre in Lilyfield on Sunday, May 1.

Choosing the right school can be a difficult decision for parents. With so many educational options on offer, gathering enough information to make an informed choice is a complex and time-consuming task.

At the Inner West Independent Schools Expo, parents can meet face-to-face with staff and students from some of Sydney’s leading private schools – in one convenient location. Days of research can be accomplished in just a few hours.

Expense, location, academic standards and facilities are all important factors when selecting a school; but equally vital to a child’s happiness and success is a school’s culture.

Many parents look to independent schooling to foster traditional values in children, such as self-discipline, integrity and respect for themselves and others. A good education is expected to produce confident, grounded adults well-prepared for life after graduation with the skills to achieve their full potential.

But schools are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. To determine the best fit for your child, it is important to consider a number of questions. What is the school’s focus? In what areas does it excel? Can it accommodate your child’s strengths and needs? Is its social atmosphere suited to your child’s temperament?

As well as the right educational environment, parents will want to find a school that is in harmony with their own family values and beliefs.

Above all, parents want their children to enjoy school. To feel a sense of belonging and social ease among like-minded friends in a safe and caring school community.

At the Expo, families are encouraged to engage with school representatives and explore their offerings in detail to find the best match between school and child.

Participating schools include boarding and day schools, single sex, co-ed, faith-based and secular options from preschool to Year 12.

Every child is unique. Here is your opportunity to find the school to which your child is uniquely suited.

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Getting the most out of parent teacher interviews

As term 1 comes to a close, schools will soon be hosting parent teacher interviews. These meetings are a valuable opportunity for parents to attain greater insight into their child’s progress, academically and socially.

Speaking one-on-one with teachers allows parents to canvass their child’s areas of strength and weakness and to coordinate effectively with the school to provide more support if needed. Parents can also discuss a range of issues that may be affecting a child’s school life beyond the classroom.

Parent teacher interviews are usually restricted to 10 or 15 minutes so it’s important to come prepared with questions that will elicit the most information in the shortest time.

Trinity Grammar recommends parents ask these three essential questions:

1. What are my child’s strengths?
To determine where they’re performing best and what their current level of achievement is.

2. Are there any areas of concern?
Not just academically but also behaviourally or emotionally.

3. What are the upcoming focus areas of the curriculum and how best can we support my child?
Clear goals make it easier for parents to work with teachers to help children achieve to the utmost of their ability.

Parents may also find it helpful to ask questions about specific aspects of their child’s schooling such as homework, discipline measures and school expectations around behaviour, uniform and punctuality.

This is an occasion for parents to forge a strong partnership with teachers and, where needed, formulate a plan to improve their child’s learning outcomes.

“The key to a successful interview is to make sure that you are prepared, listen to advice and finish with an agreed way forward,” The Scots College counsels. “While parents are occasionally not happy with the progress of their children, the importance of parent-teacher-student interviews cannot be underestimated, especially in kick starting a change in attitude or direction.”

The NSW Department of Education urges parents to make it a positive experience by highlighting children’s accomplishments and ensuring that they are on-board with any agreed academic or behavioural strategies: “It’s important to discuss the meeting with your child and really congratulate them on their strengths. If the teacher made suggestions of things you could do at home, discuss these with your child and commit to following through with them.”

Each child is different and parents will have varying concerns. Some parents may feel that attending the parent teacher interview is unnecessary as their child is doing quite well and there are no issues to raise with the school.

But parent teacher interviews aren’t only about addressing problems, they’re also about celebrating a child’s achievements and engagement in the school community.

As the NSW Department of Education warns: “If you don’t go to parent teacher interviews, you’re also missing out on the chance to hear really positive things about your child that they may not tell you themselves. It’s equally rewarding for teachers to share good news with a parent.”

No matter what a child’s situation, the parent teacher interview is a critical communications channel between school and family. Make the most of it to optimise your child’s chances of success.

Read more:

Three essential questions to ask at parent teacher interviews – Trinity Grammar School, March 5, 2016
http://info.trinity.nsw.edu.au/blog/3-essential-questions-to-ask-at-parent-teacher-interviews

How to get the most out of parent teacher interviews – The Scots College, February 4, 2016
https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/tscnews/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-parent-teacher-interviews

Parent teacher interviews – NSW Department of Education Schools A-Z website
http://www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au/homework-and-study/planning-for-the-future/parent-teacher-interviews

How to engage girls in STEM subjects: Make it fun

The Australian Industry Group (AIG) estimates that up to 75% of the fastest-growing occupation categories require a sound knowledge of the STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Yet student participation rates in these subjects is falling, with only about 10% of students nationally studying advanced mathematics at the Year 12 level last year, according to Engineering Australia estimates.

When it comes to girls, the problem is worse. Girls make up slightly more than half of the Year 12 student cohort but only around a third of those students studying STEM subjects. Alarmingly, the STEM gender gap is now wider than it was in the 1980s, says the AIG.

To increase female participation in these subjects, a different approach is required. Dr John Ainley, principal research fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research, told The Conversation that “The early experience of engagement with science and mathematics is really important.

“The crucial thing is not just to have novel things that catch people’s interest, but novel things that are built on in a sustained way.”

One educator has seen great success with this method. Susan Bowler came to teaching after 20 years in the IT sector. Engaging girls in STEM is her passion and, as she revealed to Education Matters magazine, robotics is her secret.

When Bowler introduced robots into a class at the all-girls Ogilvie High School in Tasmania, “the girls just took to them like crazy, they really, really enjoyed them,” she says. Her after school club RoboSquad United has since gone on to win 24 competitions including four international championships.

Robotics is an excellent teaching tool because it can be incorporated into many different subjects and it utilises project-based learning skills: critical thinking, collaboration and communication, says Bowler.

“Those are things that are not necessarily taught in a standard classroom,” but it’s what makes learning fun, Bowler explains. “They’re happy doing it, they’re working collaboratively, they are learning, they’re having fun, they are talking, and being silly in many cases!”

“I think if you really want to get girls started in STEM, you’ve got to make it creative, you have to make it very open-ended, and you have to put it in a context where they can see the benefit of it,” she says.

Susan Bowler will be presenting at the 2016 EduTech conference, Monday, May 30 and Tuesday, June 1, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Read more:

EduTech 2016: STEM and girls – Education Matters magazine, 2016
http://educationmattersmag.com.au/edutech-2016-stem-and-girls/

Lifting our Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Skills – Australian Industry Group report, 2013
http://www.aigroup.com.au/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServlet/LIVE_CONTENT/Publications/Reports/2013/Ai_Group_Skills_Survey_2012-STEM_FINAL_PRINTED.pdf

The Decline of STEM studies in Year 12 and Constraints to University Engineering Studies – Engineering Australia policy note, 2015
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Resources/stem_at_school_and_higher_education.pdf