Primary School Focus The Primary School Academic Team continues to encourage staff to challenge their understanding of Inquiry Learning and how best we can effectively offer this pedagogical style of learning. A day spent with Kath Murdoch at the end of the year allowed staff to reflect on their understanding of guided inquiry and how the ‘inquiry approach’ naturally builds the skills of agency within students. The statement inspired primary staff that after over 40 years of teaching through inquiry, Kath felt there was always something to adjust and learn. This session follows a year-long focus on consolidating, challenging and building our understanding of Student Agency, Inquiry learning, and transdisciplinary learning. The central focus within the Primary School has been developing Literacy skills and competencies of staff and students. We have spent the year working with Adjunct Professor Misty Adoniou. She has led staff to reflect on using mentor texts to explore and explicitly teach grammar and punctuation. Focusing on quality literature to write like authors has led staff and students to successfully use engaging text to write their own, share thinking, and improve and experiment with sentence structure, punctuation and grammar. Misty has worked with staff as a whole in planning sessions and modelled processes in classrooms. This has successfully driven improvements in professional knowledge and student outcomes. Teachers and Learning Assistants have also accessed a plethora of external professional learning opportunities across the year, such as: • Designing Rigorous and Engaging Learning Experiences • Enriching the MYP Language Acquisition classroom • Explicit instruction: effective and efficient teaching • High-impact teaching strategies • Zones of regulation • Diverse Learning Needs Symposium • Communication and Autism • Inclusive Learning Post Pandemic • Nurturing Learner Agency through Inquiry • Musica Viva in Schools: music and culture • Cyber Safety for students • Apple iPad in the early years series • IPSHA Wellbeing Data Deep-Dive • PETA Leading with Literacy Conference • Australian Primary Principals Association Conference • Positive Schools conference • Trauma workshop • Treatment for children with selective mutism • Diabetes training • Reading – school libraries supporting literacy and wellbeing • Supporting English Language Learners
49 | CGS | Annual Report 2022
