Moving on from beginnings
We have had an action packed start to 2017 with a Parent Information night, camps, Launchpads, special assemblies and the swimming carnival. Now, reality is coming to the fore and It is highly likely that students are finding meeting homework and assessment deadlines, taking responsibility for organisation of their uniforms, laptops etc is causing them stress (and possibly their families). I would like to encourage parents to remember that the best thing we can do for our Middle School students is to let them learn from making their own choices rather than nagging them and doing the organisation or follow up, communication etc for them.
If you weren’t able to make it to the Parent Information Night you may want to have a look at this great clip on the power of ‘Not Yet’ by Carol Dweck. I think it’s worth remembering that our Middle School students are ‘in training’ and that while we need them to be able to do certain things – they’re still building the capacity to be good at these ‘certain things’. We all need to remember that when we do things for them – even the remembering! – we are telling them that we don’t think they are capable of doing this themselves and it’s a good chance that they will give up – or keep waiting for you to do it for them. They may not be good at it ‘YET’ but unless we give them a chance they will not learn either. On the school front, we are very keen to guide them, give advice and assist with organisation – let’s keep working together on this.
Homework
Homework is an important component of school life in Middle School. We don’t expect students to complete brand new work at home, rather it is a continuation or completion of what was covered in class. It usually helps them to better understand what they have learnt and usually gives them the space to take their time and really finish something well without the interruption of the bell for the next lesson etc.
Middle School Homework Guidelines
| SUBJECT | YEAR 7 | YEAR 8 | YEAR 9 |
| Homework Allocation Guideline | 70 minutes/day | 80 minutes/day | 90 minutes/day |
| Maths | 30 min x 3 times/week | 35 min x 3/week | 30 min x 3/week |
| Science | 30 min/ x 2 times/week | 30 min x 2/week | 40 min x 2/week |
| Humanities | 30 min x 5 times/week | 30 min x 5/week | 40 min x 4/week |
| French | 20 minutes x 2 times/week | 20 min x 2/week | 60 min/week |
| Electives Christian St., HPE | 40 min/week | 40-50 min/week | 70 min/week |
Assessment Calendars and Connect
Ensure your child has organised themselves with this and that they have made note of when their specific assessment tasks are due. Students who miss a deadline (and who have not been granted permission for a late submission from their subject teacher via the Extension Application Form that can be found on Connect) will be issued with an After School Detention.
Uniform
All old logo uniform items are not allowed, please dispose of these as students may find that they need to spend the day working in the RTC if they wear these to school. Also canvas shoes or shoes that are not completely black are not to the uniform code and will be followed up on in a similar manner.
Recently we hosted Graham Hyman to present to parents on the topic of ‘Understanding Your Teenager’. The theme or main message was that the most valuable relationship students have at this age is with their parents! When it appears they are pushing you away, Graham recommended a ‘Sara-Lee’ approach to parenting, that is, spend a few minutes right now gathering together 5 -10 things you love about your child. Save them fast in your memory. Then when you have that moment of frustration or issue – pull out your memories, place them layer upon layer upon layer. Then tackle the problem with these thoughts in the back of your memory.
On this note, no one loves your children like you do. At Glasshouse we recognise this and are happy to communicate with you regarding any concerns. Graham Hyman also spoke to the Year 7 students. He mentioned to the children – if it’s not worth reporting, it’s not worth remembering. So therefore, if it IS being remembered, perhaps we need to know about it. Please contact your child’s Pastoral Care teacher or Year Level Coordinator if there are any issues or concerns.
The Glasshouse CC theme for this year is ‘Whatever it true, noble, praiseworthy, admirable, right, pure, lovely – think on these things’. (This is a sentence out of the bible found in Philippians 4:8) As we help our students to manage the highs and lows of school life this is our filter and something we can refer back to in our conversations. Perhaps you would also like to make a copy of this one to put on your fridge at home to remind them that we are all hoping to aspire to this in our interactions and actions.
Jacqualina Vreeling, Head of Middle School