2013 Senior Admissions Handbook - The Southport School

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20 The Southport School Senior Handbook 2013 Reporting Year 8 to Year 12 boys receive full reports at the end of each semester and a progress report in the middle of Semester One. Year 10 students will also receive a progress report in the middle of Semester Two. Literacy & Numeracy Up-Skill Program The Literacy & Numeracy Up-skill Program offers assistance to boys in Years 7, 8 and 9 who have been identified through various testing instruments as those who would benefit from extra tuition to achieve sound grades in English and/or Mathematics. Boys are invited to join the program on the basis of test results, term and semester reporting and/ or the recommendation of their English or Mathematics teacher. The program takes place on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30pm until 5:00pm and involves TSS teachers of English and Mathematics working with small groups of boys or with individual boys to improve the acquisition of knowledge, skills and processes required by the curriculum. Boys who accept a position in the Up-skill program are expected to attend every session. English as a Second Language (ESL) ESL support is provided to boarders in Years 7 to 10 during evening prep. The program covers a combination of English skills, particularly reading and writing, and also allows students to receive extra help with their school assignments. Reading skills are developed by teaching boys strategies to read more effectively, while improving their writing skills through grammar practice, self-correction and relevant writing tasks. Students are also be able to seek guidance from the teacher to check assignments to see if they understand what they are expected to do and are answering the question correctly.
The Southport School Senior Handbook 2013 21 Robotics Program Nearly everyone is familiar with the LEGO brick. It spans differences in age, gender, culture, and levels of skill. It is therefore the ideal classroom solution which can include all students in the learning process. Teaching with LEGO provides important opportunities for students to acquire a wide range of personal skills for the future through: • Promoting creative thinking • Improving communication skills • Strengthening the ability to acquire understanding. The Southport School has developed a World Class ‘Prep Year to Year 10’ LEGO Technology and Robotics Program. The classroom programs are designed to support a four-step learning process consisting of the following phases: Connect, Construct, Contemplate and Continue. One of the key aspects to ‘learning by making’ is the fact that students learn best when they can either relate new experiences to their existing ‘knowledge bank’ or are exposed to an idea so compelling that it inspires them to learn more about it. This is the Connect phase. The Construct phase is all about constructing things in the real world and piecing knowledge together in the mind. The children plan, program software or build solutions to solve given Challenges. An important phase in an effective learning process is the Contemplate phase, which involves students taking time to think about what they have seen or constructed, and deepening their understanding of what they experience. They discuss the project, reflect and adapt their idea, and the teacher encourages this process by asking questions. The Continue phase builds on the natural urge to want to know more. Doing so will lead students to a new Connect phase, thus allowing them to enter a positive learning curve, where they overcome increasingly difficult challenges. Optimal Learning Learning is best when students are given the opportunity to explore the world on their own, but within a guided environment. When students actively construct things in the physical world, it helps them to build understanding in their own minds. This enables them to create even more sophisticated solutions, yielding more skills, more knowledge, and more solved challenges in a self-reinforcing cycle. Students retain more of what they learn from a creative process of this kind. This is called learning by making. Let It Flow Research into human development and learning has demonstrated that being challenged to the limits of one’s ability is fun, and creates experiences that are rich in learning. When students are sufficiently challenged, and thus enjoying themselves, learning becomes as natural as breathing - you aren’t even aware that you are doing it. And when the challenge of solving a problem is matched to the student’s current level of knowledge and skills, a formula for optimal learning emerges. This state is called Flow. Students who create their own solutions to problems experience the thrill of genuine achievement - an experience altogether different from simply memorising the achievements of others. This makes learning an adventure. The more empowered students feel, the more they enjoy their classes, and the more they begin to take charge of their own learning process. LEGO Toolsets and Programs by Grades. Each of the LEGO Technology and Robotics Year level programs are based around a Technological or Engineering theme.
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2013 Senior Admissions Handbook - The Southport School

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