Masterclasses 2010

At Cedars we have a commitment to inspired learning so our Masterclass Program is very important to us. For the last three  years at Cedars we have run a variety of Masterclasses in English, Maths, Science and in Leadership, Outdoor Education and other cocurricular pursuits. Our Masterclass Program is set to expand this year with the possibility of offering classes for parents in particular subjects or pursuits.

This week students in Years 8-10 will be invited to join in our latest Masterclass Program. Students in Years 5-7 will be invited at the start of Semester 2. This program is a little different from others in that it will be largely driven by the interests and skills of the students involved. Participants will be invited to take on a learning challenge which is designed to promote problem solving, high order thinking and both independent and interdependent learning.

The Challenge is a special extension project design based on educational research including the Habits of Mind and the Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Here are the underlying assumptions that are driving this project:

• Learning is a consequence of deep thinking.
• People learn when they have opportunity and motivation to learn.
• Knowledge and skills are acquired through clear information, reflective and abundant practice and informative feedback.
• Effective learning requires the learner to pull together concepts learned in the subject matter, approach open ended rather than one right answer questions, complex projects and the like, taking into account that individuals possess many different styles of learning.
• Effective educational systems support multiple intelligences.
• Less subject matter and deep probing of selected subject matter results in better learning.

We believe that if we are able to prompt our young people to reflect on their actions, their learning and their thinking we will help to prepare them for their lives after school. We will give them the skills and the strategies to face dilemmas and to find solutions to problems both inside and outside the classroom. As a Christian school we are committed to prompting our students to weigh all their decisions in the context of God’s word and spending time reflecting on how to weigh up the challenges and problems is essential.

Students have been nominated to attend our Masterclass. If your son or daughter is in Years 8-10 and is interested in joining in our Habits of Mind Challenge please encourage them to come to the Library on Thursday at lunchtime to find out more information.
If your son or daughter joins in the challenge we expect parents will want to get involved in the learning process and seek to encourage them in the project. We are hoping that our students will also show initiative and seek to link with experts in their chosen field of enquiry both within and outside our school community. If you are interested in supporting our students in the Habits of Mind Challenge please don’t hesitate to ring me at school.

We are excited about the possibility of this exciting new project. 

Mrs Julie Reynolds
Principal

My School Website

Cedars parents might have joined the millions of parents who have accessed the new My School Website. In looking at our local schools I am sure you will have joined me in feeling very proud of our students and teachers and celebrating the strong results our site shows. The staff and I have welcomed the publication of this material but I would like to offer a few comments about them. Firstly the information on this site is very minimal. Although we have done very well as a school I have reservations about a site that claims to compare schools on the data gathered from one test on one day. It is like evaluating the worth of a racing car by looking only at the tyres. Unfortunately the media makes stories out of minimal information and encourages sweeping statements for good and ill. Parents may not be aware that every school presents an annual report to the government with this information and much more. This is generally available on every school’s own website. You can access our Annual Report for 2008/2009.

 I would urge parents to read these reports for much more information than the MySchool site will ever offer.

Mrs Julie Reynolds
Principal