Semester Two - Ormiston College Mobile Site

At the start of Term 4, Mrs LeeCatterall took up the position of Headof Junior School and spent a busyfew weeks getting to know students,staff and parents as well as takingon her new role. Mrs Catterall bringswith her a vast range of experiencehaving taught in both the State andindependent sectors in Queenslandand in New South Wales. MrsCatterall comes to Ormiston fromFraser Coast Anglican College whereshe had worked for fourteen years,firstly as the inaugural Head ofEarly Childhood, then taking on theposition of Deputy Head of the JuniorSchool, a position she held for nineyears. Joining Mrs Catterall at theCollege is her son in Year 3 and herdaughter in Year 8.“In my short time here I have beenable to observe student success inacademic competitions, success onthe sporting field, performances atconcerts, presentations on assemblyand the list goes on. I have maderegular classroom visits and haveobserved the wonderful work ourteachers are doing and have beenable to witness first hand a largenumber of confident, well-organisedstudents who are committed to theirstudies.Term 4 has been really exciting forme and many plans for 2011 arealready in place.“The Junior Arts Centre is nearingcompletion and will be a fantasticaddition to the College. It will beequipped with a lecture theatre whichwill seat 150 students, an art anddrama room plus numerous musicpractice rooms which will be able toaccommodate all of our music classesand co-curricular tuition students.“We will have a number of newstaff joining us in 2011 due to theadditional Prep and Year 5 class thatwe are to welcome in January. Wewill also see some staff movementacross the grades. This is particularlyimportant for the continuedprofessional growth of our staff.“As we move towards implementingthe Australian National Curriculumwe will focus on ProfessionalDevelopment for staff in this area.Part of this development will bethrough the Dimensions of Learning(DOL), the planning framework thatintegrates the best teaching practicesand strategies that can be used toimprove the quality of teaching andlearning. Teacher Aides as well asJunior School staff will be involved inthis ongoing program.“Our Early Learning Centre is oneof the few early childhood servicesin the State to have been approvedto pilot the government’s plannedkindergarten program that is to beimplemented in 2014. The working ofthis program will be of great benefitto both our early learners and thestaff involved.”“I am already so proud to be part ofthe Ormiston College community inmy role as Head of the Junior School.Above (l-r): Sandra Jamieson (Assistant Deputy of Junior School), Lee Catterall (Head of Junior School),Phillip Makridakis (Deputy Head of Junior School), Sandra Sheahan (PA to Head of Junior School).4 The Oracle Semester Two Edition 2010