Issues 2 Term III 2011

NEWSLETTER School Captains Isaac Kim and LisaBall Fernandez Cancer Council Daffodil 2011 and School Vice Captains Rosemary Davis and Hugh Allison

Headmaster’s Message Teachers Should be Paid on Merit Senior School Head of Junior School Issue 2 Term III, 2011

Academic • Christian • Caring

Teachers Should be Paid on Merit Merit pay for teachers is a hot topic in the media at the moment, driven by the Labor Government’s commitment in the 2010 election and subsequent 2011 budget allocation to rewarding the best teachers.

Few people would argue against good teachers receiving higher rewards – yet the teaching profession has overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.

Why? The Government’s proposal is that the top 10% of teachers will receive an annual bonus of around 10% of salary. How the top 10% of teachers is to be identified is not clear but reports say the method is likely to include a number of measures including student results in public assessments such as NAPLAN as well as subjective measures such as ‘value adding’ and assessments made by headmasters/principals, students and parents.

Teachers are not supportive of the proposal because it is fundamentally flawed and is likely to cause division within the profession. Teaching is not an industrial process with clearly defined inputs and outputs that can be measured and rewarded. Student outcomes are dependent upon many factors, including the ability of each student, teaching and learning in previous years, students’ socio-economic background and the resources available. Teaching itself is a collegial and collaborative process where the lines of responsibility are not always clear.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

If NAPLAN tests are used then what happens to the teachers that do not teach students in Years 3, 5, 7 or 9 (the NAPLAN years) or teach subjects that are not tested by NAPLAN at all? If the allocation of teachers to classes is going to determine a teacher’s salary then the potential for lobbying and nepotism is not hard to notice.

The notion that teachers will be motivated to perform better by a 10% increase in salary shows a lack of understanding of what motivates teachers. The decision to enter the teaching profession is rarely financially driven. Most teachers view their job as a calling and are driven by the intrinsic satisfaction gained from the job. Students and parents quickly identify and become dissatisfied with a teacher that does not have a passion for children and for teaching and learning.

Teachers at TIGS already receive merit pay - using a different system to that proposed by the Government.

TIGS, along with many other NSW independent schools has an agreement with staff, supported by the Independent Education Union, where staff receive higher salaries as they demonstrate mastery of 52 professional standards. These standards are grouped as eight elements: 1.

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Teachers know their subject content and how to teach that content to their students; Teachers know their students and how they learn; Teachers plan, assess and report for effective learning; Teachers communicate effectively with their students; Teachers create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments through the use of classroom management skills; Teachers continually improve their professional knowledge and practice; Teachers are actively engaged members of their profession and the wider community; Teachers actively support the ethos and values of the School.

At TIGS teachers seeking to move up the salary scales are independently assessed by the Independent Schools Teacher Accreditation Authority (ISTAA) and they progress when they demonstrate mastery of the professional standards for each pay level.

Why is this a better way of rewarding teachers? It is: • • • • •

a transparent system; managed by the teaching profession; available to all teachers, not just the lucky10%; focused on the professional behaviour of teachers, not measures arbitrarily determined by non-teachers; uniting because it brings teachers and the School together for a common purpose – remuneration for improved professional performance that is available to all teachers.

Students at TIGS benefit from having teachers that are motivated to be better teachers. The excellent results that our students achieve are the collective effort of all (not 10%) of our teachers and support staff. Together they have developed a curriculum and supporting programs that deliver excellent outcomes for our students. The School has no intention to compromise these outcomes.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

Learning from Masterchef This week’s article comes from Rev Sandy Grant, Senior Minister at St Michael’s Anglican Cathedral, Wollongong.

Friends, our children watch very little television, largely by choice, though it also reflects how they are raised. They prefer to read or to be on the computer.

But TV is not all bad, and lately as a family we’ve really enjoyed watching MasterChef. For a start, I relax because there’s no violence, no swearing and no sex! (Mind you, people from all sorts of ‘lifestyles’ are featured since it’s compulsory to reflect ‘diversity’ these days.)

Another strength is the fact that MasterChef models constructive criticism. There is no hesitation in expressing a problem with a particular dish a contestant has cooked: meat too dry, pastry too crumbly, sauce too plain. But there is little humiliation of contestants seen on other reality TV. In fact, the judges go out of their way to praise what was done well. And contestants often work to help a competitor. Even if a dish fails totally, the judges encourage you not to give up, but to learn from the mistakes and try again. So all this helps our children learn that a critique is OK. Most basically, MasterChef centres round something positive – the goodness of food and the joy of eating, especially eating together. 1 Timothy 4:3 says God has created all food to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. And Scripture frequently uses banqueting as an image of heaven! And in our family, we’re all interested, since both my wife and I have grown up cooking, and she has already done a great job teaching our girls to cook. And it’s good to get them thinking about serving others.

And yet there are hesitations. The MasterChef dishes become more and more fancy. Less sweet and sour pork and more duck neck sausage with pheasant stuffing! Could Masterchef reflect the sin considered the least deadly of the famous seven: gluttony?

We think of gluttony in terms of over-eating, teenagers stuffing themselves at all-you-can-eat restaurants, or throwing out leftovers from bigger portion sizes than we need while people starve in Africa. But following C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters, there can also be a “gluttony of delicacy”, where cultivated cook books and lavishly educated palates (not to mention a search for really good coffee) leads to a snobbery about food that actually feeds dissatisfaction.

Paul even said it was possible to live with your stomach as your god, and so to live as an enemy of the cross of Christ (Phil 3:18-19). As we enjoy food, we may need to repent of gluttony, and by the Spirit’s power, cultivate gratitude and self-control.

Rev Sandy Grant St Michael’s Anglican Cathedral, Wollongong www.wollongong.anglican.asn.au

Senior School Deputy Head and Head of Senior School Mrs Monica Watt is currently on long service leave and will return Week 1 Term IV. We wish her a safe and relaxing break!

Leadership

The new Year 11 Leadership Team was announced on Assembly this week. This group of students will take over from the current Year 12 Leaders at the end of Term III, when Year 12 students commence their Higher School Certificate.

The approach to leadership in the School is one of inclusion. This means that we will attempt to provide a leadership position to anyone willing to take on a role. However, in order to apply for a leadership position, students must have received a Personal Presentation Award and undertaken a minimum of 12 hours community service, which is part of their co-curricular commitment outside school hours.

In applying for a leadership position, students were exposed to a process similar to that experienced if they were applying for a job. They were required to complete a detailed application form and attend interviews with staff and current leaders in the area of responsibility they were applying for.

In most cases students have received leadership training in the past, such as the Year 9 Leadership Camp and have undertaken leadership roles during Year 10 in areas such as Peer Support, Students Hosts, Peer Reading and Outdoor Education.

The School is very proud of the significant number of students who are now willing to help others in their community and also recognise the important contribution that they can make to the school community through their leadership.

Junior School

Attitudes To Aspire To

We are now quite well acquainted with the Learner Profile attributes in the Junior School. The children use the language of the Learner Profile in their classrooms and on the playground. They value behaviour that demonstrates these qualities and we can observe the impact of this framework in their learning. The timing is right for us to now focus on the attitudes.

As adults we all know that the attitudes we take to a particular task have an enormous impact on the success of that task. The IB has identified a set of 12 attitudes that are embedded in our teaching and learning opportunities and also explicitly taught to our children in the Junior School. The positive development of these attitudes will have a profound effect on the way our children learn, play together, act in the family home and indeed in the community. It is our intention to promote these attitudes amongst all members of our Junior School community, parents, students, ancillary staff, teachers, tutors, everyone.

The timing is right to now corporately look at the PYP attitudes; these are descriptors of how we aspire for our community to approach each other, our world and ourselves.

They are outward looking and sit beautifully with our Christian mandate of service and stewardship. This term we will look at two attitudes each week together as a community, beginning with “creativity” and “tolerance”. I encourage you as a family to discuss what it looks like to show creativity at school, at sport, at home or work and also apply this thinking to what tolerance looks like in action. Point out to the children when these attitudes are displayed in the television they watch, the games they play or the actions you are taking as a family. This real, contextualised discussion will help our students as they grapple with these complex but valuable attitudes.

Judi Nealy

Head of Junior School

To help you get started in your discussions: Creativity – Being creative and imaginative in our thinking and approach to problems and dilemmas.

Tolerance – Being sensitive about differences and diversity in the world and being responsive to the needs of others.

Mrs Judy Nealy Head of Junior School

JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORT

Soccer Success!

Congratulations to our Girls Futsal Team who placed second in the state this week under the leadership of Mr Robinson.

Merit tes a c i f i t Cer becca Adams Re no l Marza Michae McGuire Sophie

Canteen Corner Cooking Tip - Use Apple Sauce instead of Oil in recipes!

Please remember to order lunch so that you don’t miss out on your favorite items.

Ordering Lunch

To order lunch from the Canteen you can either order online, to do so visit www.flexischools.com.au or by handing your lunch bag (clearly marked with name, year and order) to the Lunch Muncher in the Junior School or at the Canteen window in the Senior School before the start of school.

Canteen Roster Monday 15 August Assunta Disibio

Tuesday 16 August Barbara Mandelson Alice Martin

Wednesday 17 August Marie McCorquodale Alison McKenzie

Thursday 18 August HELP NEEDED

Friday 19 August Joanne Elliott Bronwyn Marvell

Weekly AWARDS KM

Mackayla Hutchinson

1D

Michael Marzano

2P

Isobel Kinnear

3M

Zipporah Corser-Anu, Jayden Grieve

3Y

Hunter Danckwardt-Bruce

4R

Xi Du Atkinson

5N

Holly Kiteley, Grace Summerill

6C

Zaccary Ashby-Abell, Matthew O’Hanlon

The Works 2011 ‘The Works’ 2011 Exhibition 26 – 27 August 2011

Please join us to celebrate art and design and continue the tradition at The Illawarra Grammar School with ‘The Works’ 2011.

The exhibition will feature Artworks, Film, Design, Furniture, Photography, Ceramics and Textiles from HSC 2011 and from past and present students, teachers, parents and friends of The Illawarra Grammar School.

Official Opening Friday 26 August, 2011 7.30pm - 9.00pm in the IGC Announcement of the $2,000 Acquisitive Prize donated by Westpac. Launch of The Works People’s Choice Award.

Saturday 27 August, 2011 The Works Cafe 10.00am - 4.00pm in the IGC

School Contact Details

Have you changed contact details recently?

Current details of all students including names, addresses, emergency contact information, medical conditions and parent contact details including mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses need to be kept on file and accurate at all times. Please ensure that any change of any details during the year are noted on a Notification of Change in Contact Details form and returned to the School office for recording.

2011-2012 Leadership Position Congratulations to all the Year 11 students who received a leadership position this week!

A special congratulations to School Captains Isaac Kim and Lisa Fernandez and School Vice Captains Hugh Allison and Rosemary Davis.

To view a full list of 2011/2012 leadership positions, please click here.

Senior School Sport TIGS Ski Weekend Last weekend 50 TIGS students and six staff went away to the snow. They stayed in Jindabyne and skied or snowboarded at Thredbo. All students attended lessons in the morning and after hot lunches skied or snowboarded with their buddies. Students were able to witness our unique environment, interact with students from all year groups and support each other on this trip.

Thank you to Mr Sormus, Mrs Baird, Dr Davey, Mr Southcombe, Mrs Hammond and Mrs Sharpe for supervising the students.

Science News 2011 EAA Science Competition At last week’s assembly I was pleased to announce the names of students who had achieved High Distinction Awards in the 2011 EAA Science Competition.

This competition attracted over 400 000 students from across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.

The skills assessed included observing and measuring, interpreting and evaluating data, drawing conclusions and inferences, making predictions, experimental design and problem solving.

Six students from TIGS achieved High Distinction Awards and were placed in the top 1% of students in their division. A further 53 students earned Distinction Awards and were placed in the top 10% of their division, and 147 students earned Credit Awards.

Students who received High Distinction Awards were: Year 3 Lincoln Tut Year 8 Liam Bridges Year 10 Kieran Devitt, Ben Goodhew, Jessica Grossmann and Thomas Oyston Students who received Distinction Awards were: Year 3 Niamh Christopher, Joseph Fraser, Connor Harvey, Mila Lancaster, Annabel Malouf and Ruby Tilden Year 4 William Barber, Ella Green, Cody Nugara, Malachi Sigmund and Arthur Vail Year 5 Anish Abey, Zac Ashby, Thomas Bannigan, Ashley Dribbus, Ellen Manson and Isabella Sandy Year 6 Kai Dreyfus-Ballesi and Himali Wijesinghe Year 7 Jacob Ellevsen, Cameron McMillan, Simon Mill, Louis Parsons-O’Malley, Abraham Rose, Jason Standen and

Christian Troiani Year 8 Emily I’ons, James Sutherland and Aislinn Turner Year 9 Kieran Ackhurst, Ethan Butson, Penelope Drastik, Jaiden Fullerton-Harvey, Samuel Isabella, Sarah Long,

Alexander Marzano, Harrison Steele and Stephanie Varcoe Year 10 Thomas Bolt, Damian Galanti, Steven Hristovski, Ken Issa, Timothy Johnson, Harry Kane, Blake Kovac and

Matthew Scavarelli Year 11 Hugh Allison and David Kroek Year 12 Erin Cunio, Robert Henderson, Alexander Hipsley, Kuang Jun Li and Dilpreet Wadhwa.

Australian Youth Aerospace Forum During the July holidays, Hugh Allison took part in the Australian Youth Aerospace Forum held at the University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane.

Congratulations to Hugh for having gained selection to this prestigious event.

To read about Hugh’s experiences please click here.

Martin Sormus Head of Science

To keep up-to-date with the latest news and events that are happening in and around our School, we encourage you to subscribe to the email Newsletter.

Simply visit our website: www.tigs.nsw.edu.au and sign up on the home page.

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