Parents come to hear about our new teaching & learning model

Last night we had a very good representation of our College community with over 60 parents, along with current and potential students, gathered in the College Hall to hear about the ‘Rushworth Model’.

I shared with parents the outcome of some research that has recently been conducted in many countries across the world. As can be seen from the diagram, there are three key ingredients to building engaged and resilient students in their education.

Rushworth Debating Prowess

Just an hour ago I left the debating room at Echuca College after having the great honour of hearing our senior and intermediate debating teams ‘do their thing’ and win their debates against St Joseph’s College and Echuca College. And, as I write, more results from the junior team and the second round debates are pending.

Whilst it is entirely appropriate to congratulate the individual students (and they will be acknowledged in a full report next edition), what is so inspiring is the consistent good performance of our students especially as we come up against the best students from much bigger Colleges.

Clearly there is something special about Rushworth P-12 College. What is it?

There are probably many right answers to this question, but I would like to suggest, after my conversations with staff, students and parents alike that there are some key qualities of student life at this College that make the difference.

1. We value the safety of all students. This includes ensuring that students are consistently reminded about how to respect each other, and we have quality staff in student leadership positions who follow-up any reported problems in line with our policies.
2. I don’t want to be ‘mushy’ here, but at Rushworth P-12 we aim to value each and every child. Most of our staff are parents themselves, and all staff appreciate that children must always be appreciated and respected – even when they are in trouble!
3. We aim to challenge our students. We have certainly done this well in the past and the new Teaching and Learning Model (see ad. below) commencing in 2010 will provide an unprecedented opportunity for students to also challenge themselves.
4. I want every child to go home happy each day. I know that there will be the normal ups-and-downs, but school should be a good place to be with friends, fun and learning all in the mix for making it a good day, every day.

As principal, I love talking about this school, and I would especially hope that a representative from each family will join me, the staff and some students as we present our plans for next year at a special information night to be held on Wednesday 19^th August.

See you at the information night!

Leigh Mellberg

Principal

The start of every school year…

The start of every school year always seems quite hectic for parents, students and for us as a school.

As I have visited teachers and students in the Primary area I have been delighted to see a very calm atmosphere with students participating so well in the various tasks and activities of the session. I want to congratulate Carolyn Fraser (P-1), Marg Turner (2-3) and Amanda Nelson and Brendan Fraser (4-6) for the great start they have made in the Primary section.

As a school, we have always been keen to see improvement in our student results. I am pleased to announce that the Region is supporting our school with an extra part-time (2 days per week) member of staff to specifically focus on Literacy skills. Her name is Kylie Lipscombe and she comes with a wealth of experience as a teacher and as a coach. She will initially be working closely with the Primary staff to try and turn our students’ good results into excellent results. She will also be assisting the whole staff to improve literacy across the school.

Our Grade 6 students, along with others in the class, will very soon benefit from the Government’s Netbook Project. This is to make a laptop computer available to every Grade 6 student to provide new opportunities for teaching and learning. Parents of these students will need to pay $52 per year for three years – a heavily subsidised price – to own this laptop. The staff in these classes will be attending a special day of training in Bendigo to ensure that they are able to best use these new resources in their classes.

While on the subject of computers, we have classrooms in S Wing with brand new Apple and PC machines to enable students to access the very latest technology including multi-media and other high-end digital activities.

I want to thank the parents who attended our first focus-group (Middle Years). It was a great opportunity to talk frankly about education. I was pleased to hear the many affirmations of what we are doing and some areas of concern in which we could do better. I am looking forward to meeting other parents next Wednesday at 3pm (Early Years) or 6pm (Later Years) in the staffroom with refreshments provided.

Firstly, let me thank the Rushworth College community…

Firstly, let me thank the Rushworth College community for their welcome of me.

 

Since commencing at the school a couple of weeks ago, I have been surrounded by staff and students who have taken the time to welcome me and help me get to know the people and culture of Rushworth.

I am very proud to be the principal of this school. I am in the process of discovering the many thoughtful and effective programs that the school offers to its students. So many staff extend themselves in extra ways to ensure that students at this school have the very best standards of education and opportunities to engage in extra-curricula activities.

At our very first whole-school assembly on Monday morning, I was pleased that a number of parents came to join us and have the pleasure of seeing students entering the stadium in an orderly manner, sitting in their correct rows, listening carefully to the various speakers, and looking very neat in their school uniforms.

 

 

I do believe, however, that a good school can strive to be better. I have put to the students two key focus areas for our school:

• I have asked students to be mindful of building positive relationships and friendships. This includes looking out for each other, being kind to one another, helping keep others safe and simply being honest in everything that is done.
• I have also asked students to try their best. It’s easy at times to be half hearted or to give in to ‘near enough is good enough’ but to strive for quality and excellence requires a commitment from deep inside. Great inner effort releases great inner rewards.

There is no doubt that if these two simple ideas become a consistent part of our culture at Rushworth P-12, it would be an incredibly positive place to come and learn and very few other rules would be needed. I am looking forward to the years ahead and to getting to meet the families of our students. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at the College if you have and questions or concerns about the education of your children.

 

Leigh Mellberg