HOW DO WE GROUP OUR STUDENTS ACROSS GRADE LEVELS

A question I am often asked by parents is “How are children grouped in grades each year when there is more than one stream of the grade?”

The sorting of children into class groupings is a complex and time consuming process where teachers are expected to exercise and make professional judgments. It’s all about identifying the particular social emotional and academic needs of all our children and making sure there is a balance across each grade level.

Groupings of children are based on a number of factors such as:

• Current educational philosophies held by the school
• Social, emotional, physical and academic needs of the children within the cohort
• Gender balance
• Student behaviour
• Children who work well together / children who don’t work well together
• Family siblings or family relations
• Court Orders or Legal Interventions

Occasionally we receive parental feedback that their child is unhappy or emotional when they find they are not in the same class as their best friend/s. Whilst we will always do our best to make sure children have good social connections within classrooms, it is often the case that best friends, doesn’t always make for best learning.

The strong message across all our grades at St Ita’s is that class time is for learning and recess and lunch times are for socializing. If your child comes home disappointed that they are not in the same grade as their best friend, use this as a teachable moment to give your child the skills and capacity to be resilient and work through the situation. It’s great preparation for students going into secondary school and moving into the working world with people you have never met before. It is also a great opportunity for children to develop an inclusive, resilient mindset and develop new friendships.

 

FAMILIES LEAVING THE ST ITA'S COMMUNITY IN 2020

If there are any families contemplating a move from St Ita’s in the 2020 school year it is important that we are informed of your intentions so places can be offered to families who are currently on waiting lists. Please contact our school Principal if you are considering a move on p: 5623 7222 or via email: principal@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au.

 

GRADE 6 GRADUATION 

With the current Covid-19 restrictions outlined by DOSCEL and the Department of Education, we have made the decision to run this year’s grade 6 Graduation as an in-house event at school. We have made this decision, so we have something in place for our graduating students to celebrate. The date of our Grade 6 Graduation will be Thursday 10th December.

The Graduation day will start with a Liturgy in our school hall and students will be presented with their graduating Bibles, this will be followed by the award presentations. We will record this presentation for families to watch later in the evening. The children will then have morning tea and have opportunities to take some photos with their graduating peers and have their graduation bears signed.

The students will now be bused to the Neerim South outdoor pool and children will have hot chips for lunch. The children will return to school by 3.00pm. Children can wear graduation attire for presentations and then change into appropriate clothing for the pool.

Whilst this year’s graduation will be very different from previous years, we hope parents understand that the graduation is about the children. We will run this event exclusive to them, to make sure it is a memorable highlight as they finish their time at St Ita’s.

Unfortunately, the Graduation will not be open for parents and siblings to attend, however, as outlined above, we will record the Graduation Liturgy and the student awards so that parents can download and watch.

We thank you for your continued support through these different and often challenging times. It is very much appreciated.

 

PARENT CLASS REQUESTS FOR 2021

Parents are asked to place any requests specific to the needs of their child/ren based on the following understandings and guidelines:  

• All requests for consideration must be directed in email to principal@stidrouin.catholic.edu.au no later than Friday 27th November. (No requests will be considered after this date.)
• We do not offer guarantees with any parent requests. Factors for consideration will help to inform our process – it does not guarantee student placements
• The request must be based on individual student needs and not for preferred teachers, friendships groups or social relationships that occur outside of school
• Email requests from parents will be considered for the upcoming school year only. Email request can be sent to principal@stidrouincatholic.edu.au
• I will meet with and inform all relevant staff of parent input prior to formation of classes. 

Thanks to those parents who have put in written requests relating to their child. We appreciate your input and will do our best to make things work for your child if the request is deemed fair and in line with our request procedures. Once groupings have been decided upon, and announced to the learning community in mid December, there will be no changes made to classes as it creates a domino effect.

2021 CLASS STRUCTURES

We have finalised our class structures for the 2021 school year and they will be as follows:

3 x Foundation classes

3 x Grade 1’s 

2 x Grade 2’s

2 x Grade 3’s

2 x Grade 4’s

4 x Grade 5/6’s

Over the next 2 weeks, staff will be working on sorting children into class groupings. Grouping of students into classes is an extremely complex and time-consuming process.

Each year teachers have conversations with children asking whom they would like to be with in the following year: this can be a friend or learning buddy. There are pros and cons with this process as sometimes, best friends are not always the best support for their personal learning.

It is important that there is a collective understanding in this space by both parents and children to understand that being in the same class with their ‘best friends’ or social acquaintances outside of school is never a given. Teachers will use their professional judgment on what they see each day within the classroom and more importantly the positive or negative impacts that friendships can have on an individual students learning.