Head of Middle School

Welcome back to Winter Term. This week I gave each year group my well-practiced Premiership Quarter talk. For the Year 6s this was new, for the Year 8s they knew what was coming. It is a challenge each year to make it fresh and interesting; thankfully the Eagles v Carlton game of Round 17 was a brilliant illustration of what I was talking about. The Premiership quarter message borrows from the perennial coaches' comment that the third quarter is when the good teams make their moves. It was a parallel that most boys recognised as we commence our third academic quarter of the year. An interesting statistic I was able to reveal, based on the last 6 rounds of the AFL, is that the team in front at ¾ time won 92% of the time.

This week all Middle School boys sit down, analyse and reflect upon the details and comments in their Semester 1 Report and identify up to three aspects they would like to improve on this semester. In consultation with you and their teachers they will then develop an action plan to achieve these goals by the end of the year. We do this to cultivate the habit of ownership and accountability for their learning and hope that this reflective goal setting process becomes a personal habit when they move into Senior School and beyond. Parent Student Teacher Interviews over the next few weeks will be when your son shares his goals and plans for this coming semester. I look forward to seeing many of you then.

Over the holidays Mr Edwards and Mr Van Ingen-Kal set up a display of the Year 6, 7 and 8 Design work from last semester. Wooden kangaroos, balancing surfers, wooden aeroplanes and bedside lamps with accompanying drawings and specifications plans presented a fantastic display in the Library Gallery. The models reflect the work done in Wood Design, Metal Design, Product Design and Process Engineering. Add these to the Long Table Luncheon put on by Year 8 Food Design at the end of last term and we have seen an impressive showcase of the skills and talents being developed in this learning area.

Mr Richard Ledger

Head of Middle School