From the Head of the Junior School

Perseverance

How do you decide how to get to the desired learning and where do you start?

These were the questions that we asked ourselves before term started when we considered Assessment for Learning with Ms Jennifer Borg from the Assessment Unit.

Assessment for learning provides opportunities to gather real-time evidence of what students are learning and involves both teacher and learners in ongoing dialogue, reflection on learning and decision-making.

This formative assessment process becomes central to classroom practice.

Firstly, by the teacher gathering evidence of where the learners stand in their learning

Then using this evidence to make the necessary adjustments in planning to provide constructive feedback that moves learning forward.

Activating prior learning and checking for understanding remains so important in our everyday teaching at St Edward’s.

Doing so under mitigating circumstances due to Covid restrictions, such as little movement around the classrooms, no sharing of resources and limited group work was to be an even greater challenge!

Learning should begin with the answer, not end with it.

Through frequent checking for understanding, our teachers can activate our boys’ prior knowledge and discover any misconceptions through these checks we move the learning forward.

This checking for understanding encourages thinking, talking and reflection on the learning.

This can be achieved in a variety of ways.

To maximize opportunities to think and encourage critical thinking a variety of formative assessment techniques can be used.

This may include quick brainstorming activities by using a prompt such as a photograph, a phrase or word to find information about what the boys already know.

Using concept maps helps to organize similar ideas and make connections to help the pupils understand content. The use of KWL to find what learners are ready now, want to know and what they have learned is a simple but effective technique.

Using open ended questions regarding a new topic is a useful prompt for boys to answer, using individual mini whiteboards and enables the teachers to check for understanding at a glance. This encourages critical thinking to reflect and explore. Exit slips enable a quick summary of what the pupils have learned that lesson and kept to enhance future planning.

Many of these techniques were noted by the inspectors from the Quality Assurance department, who visited Junior School in the third term and praised us for our questioning and collaborative learning.

Our use of Think, Understand, Learn means that all students are included and not just a ‘raise your hand’ culture means that individual feedback can be given.

Lent term meant that we were able to continue some of our long awaited extra-curricular activities.

Carnival parties, games and dressing up fun was back on the agenda!

We raised funds as well as camaraderie by commencing the annual sponsored walk, which had been postponed for the previous two years.

It was good to be walking out in the fresh air as a class group, if slightly smaller than the whole Junior School ramble of pre covid times. Different year groups took different routes with the more adventurous reaching Xaghra and Smart City and some choosing the familiar route of Rinella Bay and enjoying the spring sunshine.

We welcomed once again being able to perform in front of a live audience. For some of our boys this was the first time they had ever been able to perform in front of their parents.

From the Supercalifragilistic Mary Poppins to Ding Dong the witch is Dead from the Wizard of Oz. The Oompa Loompas and Charlie and the Chocolate factory and the precocious Matilda. Who will forget Bruce being forced to eat the whole chocolate fudge cake?

Finally, after almost 2 years we were able to resume our outings, which are so important to broadening horizons as well as fun! Year 3 went on a school outing to Piscopo Gardens. It was a truly memorable outing where we got to see not only indoor and outdoor plants and herbs but also toucans, meerkats and budgies.

The boys were also given the opportunity to feed the fish and at the end of the outing they planted their own bean seed. It was indeed an educational outing that the boys really cherished not only because it links perfectly with the Science topics that were carrying out in class but also because it was a very hands-on event, wherein the boys participated in a direct and practical way. Later in the year they visited the Malta Bird park, which turned out to be a beautiful, educational and entertaining day.

Year 4s visited Vincent Eco Farm to learn about organic farming, feed the animals and plant their own seeds.

Year 5 and 6 both visited the Kamaja outdoor pursuit activities. The students were able to test their physical skills and dexterity by engaging in an obstacle course which included an introduction to survival skills, the theoretical aspects and evaluation of their performance.

A visit to the Malta Chocolate enabled the older boys to use their imagination to create their own 3D figure from delicious chocolate and decorate with sticky sweets and treats before eating their creations…before they melted!

Louise Mallia Head of Junior School